FYI from MCI™

MCI is aiming for the stars

This fall, for the first time, MCI plans to make its best-selling J4500 model available to converters in an effort to boost its presence in the entertainer-driven and motor home conversion market.

MCI already sells its E4500 model to converters but the J4500 — which was introduced in 2001 and has quickly become the top selling coach in the seated market — is expected to give the company some added fire power in a business where newness and styling are key elements.

"Conversions represent about 20 percent of the total market for highway coaches," says Jay Daab, MCI's vice president of conversion shells. "We're committed to expanding our presence in that business." Additionally, the RV industry is forecasting to grow between 3 and 5 percent over the next five years due in part to the growing popularity of motor homes among baby boomers.

"The J4500 has a lot of stylistic flair and that makes it a natural for the entertainer or motor home market,"says Daab. "It's very sleek, very lithe and curvy. We think it will do very well."

MCI also has some changes in store for the J4500 shell designed to make it more attractive to bands and performers on the road. Foremost among them are raising the roof three inches to 89 inches (or just under 7.5 feet), and replacing the awning-type windows with slide windows.

"Three inches may not sound like a lot, but where it really makes a difference is in the sleeping arrangements," says Daab. "There are six bunks in stacks of three and those added inches can mean the difference between bumping your head and feeling cramped or having a good night's sleep."

In all, the J4500 will be able to sleep eight people — six in individual bunks and two in a queen-size bed in a special compartment reserved for the star.

The company has estimated that as many as half of the conversion ready coaches (or "shells" as they are called in the conversion market) it expects to sell this year will be J4500 models. The first J4500 shell is due off-line from MCI's Winnipeg plant in September.

"We expect the J to be on par with the E fairly quickly because of the added ceiling height," says Daab. "It certainly makes sense that one of our most popular models be available to this growing — and high profile — segment of the market."

Meanwhile, MCI has hired Superior Coach Interiors of Lebanon, Tennessee, to create a prototype interior on an MCI® E4500 shell that will be used as a demo coach for the entertainer market. Superior has designed coaches for Aerosmith and other bands.

The conversion market has two different segments — motor homes, and touring coaches for entertainers. Surprisingly, perhaps, the latter tend to be more basic.

"First and foremost, touring buses need to be functional," says Nick Audino, president of Superior Coach. "They're going to house up to a dozen people for a period of months and be in use almost continuously. In general, motor homes are built with the idea that you will park them before you use them. A tour bus, however, is designed to be used while the bus is going down the highway."

In practice, this means a microwave instead of a cook top in the galley, positive locks on refrigerators and cabinets and furniture that is firmly bolted in place. It also means that bunks and beds are positioned head to back in order to minimize injuries if a bus is forced to stop suddenly.

For a number of reasons, tour buses also require some additional heft than coaches built for the motor home market. "Rock bands can really be rough on a coach," says Audino. "You've heard about what they do to hotel rooms? They do the same thing to coaches. I overbuild furniture bases and things like that because I know there's a possibility people will be walking or even jumping on them."

Audino's knowledge of this aspect of entertainer behavior is first-hand. Before entering the coach conversion business, he was a bus driver for 15 years in the 1980s and early 90s for everyone from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to rock bands such as Motley Crewe and Iron Maiden.

Another area where coaches have changed dramatically, says Audino, is electronics. "Back in the 1980s, a bus would have 12 volt lights, a refrigerator, a microwave, a television, a VCR and a car stereo system. It was very barebones by today's standards."

The E4500 prototype, however, will have nine flat screen televisions, a Sony Surround Sound audio system, satellite television and tracking systems as well as video and DVD players and a Sony XBox for video games. "We put about four miles of wire into a bus today," says Audino.

The one missing component, he adds, is Internet service. "The technology just isn't there yet for reliable high-speed mobile Internet service," he says. "None of the current systems work very well so it just makes sense to wait and add them at a later date."

Audino builds about 20 conversion coaches a year with each one requiring up to 3,000 man-hours of labor. "We've built them in less than four weeks but eight to 10 weeks is more typical," he says.

The E4500 prototype will debut this fall at MCI's "Entertainment Coach Summit Meeting," a two-day event for tour bus operators and interior builders to be held October 3-4 at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Pinehurst, which is located in the rolling hills of southern North Carolina, was the site of this year's U.S. Open. The resort has eight golf courses in all.

"It will be a great opportunity to show off our Entertainer Demo coach to the people who really drive the industry and also get in a few rounds of golf," says Daab.

Daab is also at work on a new advertising campaign "to position the whole ultra luxury side of MCI's business, both on the entertainer side and the seated side with our E4500 LX edition."

MCI's E4500 LX edition, unveiled at UMA EXPO 2005, featured both a conventional seating area with high-end leather seats by Amaya and converter touches including an enhanced galley and interior finishes.

By having Daab responsible for both conversion shells and the LX editions, MCI becomes a one-stop shopping source for operators seeking up-scale converted interiors.

For more information contact Jay Daab or e-mail fyi@mcicoach.com with your comments on this article.

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