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The S & S Group has acquired the high-quality PA and coach systems brand Coach Entertainment Systems, a Napier-based business, adding to their already impressive portfolio of quality products.
S & S Group Managing Director Sam Early shares the drive behind providing reliable and high-quality commercial vehicle technology. Acquiring a new business can be a daunting task for any company but adding Coach Entertainment Systems to S & S Group’s portfolio was a pointed and sensible business decision.
The Napier-based business first opened its doors nearly half a century ago and quickly set about becoming a household name within the bus and coach industry for their elite quality passenger coach sound and video systems. So prolific was Coach Entertainment System’s popularity, that S & S Group explored how to develop a similar product range to compete before the COVID-19 Pandemic.
However, that particular missing piece of the puzzle became an opportunity when they acquired Coach Entertainment Systems, folding
its expertise, connections, and product range into the S & S Group. The addition expands S & S Group's range of electronics supplied by the company to the truck, bus and coach industries, allowing the company to focus on high-end PA and entertainment systems in vans and coaches nationwide for New Zealand, and Australia.
“Coach Entertainment Systems has always supplied high-end, premium products, and has maintained its relationships with customers through excellent service,” S & S Group Managing Director Sam Early says.
“Our views have always been to provide our customers with exactly what they need, with long-lasting and high-quality products.
“So, with similar values – we’re not the cheapest guys on the block, but we’re very good at what we do – the acquisition was a natural step.
“Now we are focusing on rebuilding and expanding the support to the market so that operators can ensure their fleet is well equipped and supported nationwide with facilities in both Auckland and Christchurch going forwards.”
It is one of the recent additions to S & S Group, with RB Electronics added to the group in 2021. This is in addition to the S & S Group’s existing offerings; Commercial Vehicle Electronics and S & S Security Solutions. RB Electronics deals with PA and sound systems for vans, coaches and buses, installation and maintenance of electronic systems for vehicles.
Commercial Vehicle Electronics provides parts and components for S & S Security Solutions, which delivers the system design, installation, servicing and maintenance for electronics in commercial vehicles nationwide. S & S Security Solutions supplies, installs and maintains RUB-compliant CCTV systems, AI passenger counting systems, driver fatigue, ADAS collision detection and AI pedestrian and cyclist detection systems.
These additional safety products are all fully integrated into the company’s CCTV system and available on its cloud-hosted CMS server 24/7 from anywhere in the world.
To the uninitiated, this means that S & S Group is a literal one-stop shop that supplies, installs and maintains specialist electronics for commercial vehicle fleets of any size. It is no wonder that many of New Zealand’s high-profile Bus and Coach companies are supplied and maintained by S & S Group.
“Our business model is an opportunity for bus and coach companies to have a single point of contact when ordering and maintaining vehicle electronics in their fleets with cohesive integration of systems to ensure ultimate functionality and reliability,” Sam says.
“They will be able to order our passenger displays, CCTV and safety add-ons, PAs, radios and more to provide ease of purchase and servicing for their vehicle fleets of any size, nationwide.”
The safety aspect of this proposition and the longevity of the products is paramount, especially for commercial vehicles that can cover hundreds if not millions of kilometres before coming to the end of their life. Therefore, providing products that are easy to operate but reliable for the operators and drivers who depend on them is crucial, Sam says.
When it comes to passenger and vehicle safety, the S & S Security arm of S & S Group aims to provide the best tools possible to help drivers to do their job professionally and keep their passengers and vehicles safe. They also aim to reduce downtime, which was critical during COVID-19 when every vehicle needed to be on the road and making money.
“The more vehicles are out on the road, the better it is for everyone,” says Sam.
S & S Group has also partnered to become nationwide service agents of Hanover Displays – a UK-based company designing and manufacturing passenger information systems for the public transport industry since 1985. With operations based in Auckland and Christchurch, S & S Group's Hanover technicians services displays of all varieties and also counts themselves as Mobileye authorised service agents for collision avoidance systems.
“While we might be a small operation, we’re really proud to have these partnerships under our belt,” Sam says.
“And while we’re a young set of players in the industry, we’re currently at the cutting edge of the industry.
“As the industry grows – especially with the urban bus network changing vastly over the next few years with the introduction of low emissions or battery electric vehicles – we want to grow with it, increase our product, support, and just make sure that everyone is receiving the best service.”
So, these acquisitions and partnerships are just the beginning of the S & S Group journey, with opportunities aplenty in an increasingly innovative industry.
This advertorial was first published in the Bus and Coach Association monthly magazine, the Circular, in their May 2023 issue.
