Alexander Dennis rolling along with £100m orders

Scottish bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis said yesterday that it has a £100 million order book after winning contracts for 500 vehicles from a string of transport companies.

The Falkirk-based firm, which employs 900 of its 2,000 workers, said recent recent deals were a positive sign after two years of difficult market conditions.

Chief executive Colin Robertson said the firm had orders for 116 buses for Go-Ahead, 99 to be supplied to Arriva, 59 for National Express and 43 for London Sovereign. It also has deals in place to export vehicles to Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Robertson said there was increasing interest in the company's hybrid-electric technology for low carbon vehicles. First Minister Alex Salmond toured the Falkirk plant yesterday.

He added: "All round it has been a positive start to the year and at last we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel after two years of very difficult market conditions."

He said the company had worked closely with bus operators and those relationships were "reaping dividends".

The company said that for every one person it employs, an estimated three jobs are supported elsewhere in Scotland.