Midwest Transit Equipment of Kankakee, Ill.-based was recognized as an IC Bus Regional Dealer of the Year and received the 2011 North American Tom Cellitti Dealer of the Year award during IC Bus’ recent annual two-day dealer meeting in Orlando.
John McKinney, president, Navistar Global Bus, said Midwest Transit’s dealer principals and team members won the Cellitti award because they truly represent the ideals and values of IC Bus. Cellitti was inducted into the NAPT Hall of Fame in 2010. He is the senior vice president of reliability and quality at Navistar and has been with the company since 1975.
“Customers want more than a great bus — they want to know their dealer will take care of them even after delivery. We are proud to recognize these dealers who have demonstrated their commitment to their customers throughout 2011,” McKinney said.
Other IC Bus dealers from around the country were awarded Regional Dealer of the Year honors: Western Canada IC Bus (Western Region), Leonard Bus Sales (Eastern Region) and Waters Truck and Tractor (Southeast Region). All dealers were chosen based on market share, customer satisfaction ratings, success in school and commercial bus markets and year-over-year performance improvements.
Company officials also recognized 10 IC Bus Dealer Scholarship recipients. Those eligible under the program are IC Bus dealership employees and their families.
Close to 100 dealer executives gathered with IC Bus corporate officials at the meeting, which highlighted IC Bus’ 10 years of being No. 1 in market share since 2002. Dealers discussed opportunities for this year with the goal of keeping the manufacturer at the top.
“Our people, including the IC Bus team and our dealers, have helped us stay number one and I have confidence that we will continue to lead the industry in market share moving forward,” McKinney said.
