Ward Body Works (also known as Ward Industries and Ward School Bus Manufacturing, Inc.) was an American
bus manufacturer. Headquartered in
Conway, Arkansas
Conway is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Faulkner County, located in the state's most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area, Central Arkansas. Although considered a suburb of Little Rock, Conway is unusual in that t ...
, Ward specialized in
yellow school buses, alongside buses for other uses. Founded in 1933 by D.H. "Dave" Ward, the company was family-owned for nearly its entire existence.
Among several innovations, Ward was the first manufacturer to perform a rollover test on a school bus, leading to changes in school bus body design.
Ward would also become the first school bus manufacturer to assemble buses on an assembly line.
In 1980, Ward filed for bankruptcy and was reorganized as American Transportation Corporation (
AmTran
American Transportation Corporation (better known as AmTran) was an American manufacturer of school bus bodies. Tracing its roots to Ward Body Works (established in 1933), AmTran was formed in 1980 following the 1979 bankruptcy of Ward to co ...
) keeping the Ward brand name in use on school buses. In 1991, AmTran was acquired by
Navistar International
Navistar, Inc is an American holding company created in 1986 as the successor to International Harvester. Navistar operates as the owner of International-branded trucks and diesel engines. The company also produces buses under the IC Bus ...
, with the Ward name phased out during 1992. Today, International produces school buses using its
IC Bus
IC Bus (originally IC Corporation) is an American bus manufacturer. Headquartered in Lisle, Illinois, IC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Navistar International. Established in 2002 by Navistar through the reorganization of subsidiary manufa ...
subsidiary (the successor to AmTran).
History
D. H. "Dave" Ward founded Ward Body Works in
Conway, Arkansas
Conway is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Faulkner County, located in the state's most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area, Central Arkansas. Although considered a suburb of Little Rock, Conway is unusual in that t ...
, in 1933 when he "lowered the roof of a wooden bus for Mr. Carl Brady of the
Southside Schools". Southside Schools were located about 15 miles north of Conway.
A blacksmith by trade, Ward grew his business primarily on body repair of bus bodies in the area.
In 1936, he built his first complete school bus body. One of the first manufacturers of the time to use all-metal construction, the first school bus m