and luxury motorhomes (Spartan was a supplier for certain models of the Blue Bird Wanderlodge, for example). During the economic times around the millennium, lower initial capital costs for school buses seemed to trump their longevity. When it was time for purchasing decisions, financially pressed districts and contractors tended to select cheaper products with short life cycles. This was much the same dilemma faced by Wayne Wheeled Vehicles parent company Harsco-BMY, where a lesser quantity of higher quality products (at a correspondingly higher price) had also been the plant's historical output. Carpenter had been struggling for almost 20 years when it too finally ended school bus production in 2001. Spartan, by then a ⅔ owner, did not see a solution to the market dilemma and felt the projected continued losses would exceed the value to their business plan, voting to end the venture. Future of the Plant The former Wayne Corporation plant, after standing idle for a number of years, was purchased by a group of investors in 2005 with the intention of using the plant and surrounding property for a business park. The investors intended to use the large plant to house a number of smaller companies, rather than looking for a single, large corporation. At the end of 2006, the property along Interstate 70 was becoming re-utilized for a number of retail and industrial enterprises. Included was construction of new retail businesses such as restaurants and service stations near the busy Interstate highway exit which had been known for over 25 years for the massive bus factory and acres of yellow school buses and chassis of Wayne Corporation. Products Wayne Papoose school bus (1971–1973) Wayne Lifeguard school bus (1973–1995) Wayne Busette school bus (1973–1990) Wayne Transette bus Wayne Transette XT bus Wayne Chaperone school bus (1985–1995) Wayne Chaperone II school bus (1985–1995) Wayne Lifestar school bus (1986–1995) Wayne RD 9000 school bus (1995 prototype only; never mass-produced) References External links Wayne County Historical Museum – main page The old Wayne Works circa 1921 A horse-drawn kid hack at the Wayne County Historical Museum Frank Cyr, Father of the Yellow School Bus Divco Club of America The History of Miller-Meteor STN 100 Years of the School Bus U.S. DOT, NHTSA, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for School Buses (FMVSS) Companies established in 1837 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1995 Coachbuilders of the United States Richmond, Indiana Defunct companies based