Thomas Built Buses

Thomas Built Buses, Inc.

Formerly	Perley A. Thomas Car Works
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Bus manufacturing
Founded	1916 (1916) (as Perley A. Thomas Car Works) 1972 (1972) (as Thomas Built Buses)
Founder	Perley A. Thomas
Headquarters	1408 Courtesy Road, High Point, North Carolina, 27260 , U.S.
Area served	North America
Key people	T.J. Reed (President, CEO) John W. Thomas III (President, 1992–2002)
Products	School buses Commercial buses Specialty vehicles
Production output	15,000 vehicles/year[1]
Owner	Daimler Truck
Number of employees	1,600
Parent	Daimler Truck North America
Website	thomasbuiltbuses.com

Thomas Built Buses, Inc. (commonly known as Thomas) is an American bus manufacturer. Best known for its production of the first ever rear engine Type C school bus. Thomas produces other bus designs for a variety of usages. Currently, its production is concentrated on school buses and activity buses, along with their commercial derivatives.

Founded in 1916 as Perley A. Thomas Car Works, the company was renamed in 1972 to better represent its primary product lines. Headquartered since 1916 in High Point, North Carolina, Thomas has been a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America (the parent company of Freightliner) since 1998. Prior to its acquisition, the company was operated by the Perley A. Thomas family, the final major school bus manufacturer operated under family control.

Since 1936, Thomas has produced school buses in High Point, North Carolina. In addition to bus bodies, the company also produces vehicle chassis for its Saf-T-Liner/Transit Liner EFX and HDX buses.