School Bus Fleet, October 2017
Krapfs Family Oriented Culture Endures With School Bus Company Acquisition Krapf School Bus recent acquisition of Birnie Bus is one of its most significant expansions in its 75 year history The companies shared values will help Krapf maintain the core values of its foundation By Clayton Wong Editorial Assistant They have a strong management team They have an excellent reputation for safety and service They have actively supported the industry associations for the improvement of the overall industry Blake says Those are all things weve done here at Krapf as well so really it merges two very similar profiles and enables us to further improve on all of those things that the two companies have been doing independently One of the companys biggest challenges in the expansion is keeping Krapf operating like a family business Blake says which is why the company looked toward Birnie Bus which has been run by President and CEO Tim Birnie as well as his 39 OCTOBER 2017 SCHOOL BUS FLEET W hen Krapf School Bus acquired Birnie Bus in June the company made one of its most significant expansions to date The acquisition adds about 1325 employees and about 875 vehicles according to Blake Krapf president and CEO of the Krapf Group the parent company of Krapf School Bus For Blake the decision to acquire Birnie Bus was cultural as much as it was financial When we look at opportunities we are interested in making sure that its the right cultural fit he says While its important to make sure that an acquisition is a sound business decision Krapf School Bus is focused on doing so while maintaining its core values Importance of shared values In determining whether an acquisition opportunity would be a good fit for the company Blake says Krapf looks for an organization that shares similar goals values a commitment to high quality service and a dedication to providing safe service A good management team and consistently high performing drivers are also key factors It is precisely those characteristics that made Birnie Bus an ideal fit for Krapf BUS CULTURES COMBINED Shown here is the Krapf Groups executive team including Blake Krapf president and CEO fifth from the left
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