An engineer is celebrating 50 years of continuous service at a bus company.
Richard Alexander, who is now engineering director at Stagecoach Bus Company, joined the industry as an apprentice aged 14.
After struggling at school he followed in the footsteps of his transport manager father and engineer brother and joined Southdown Motor Services.
He spent the first five years learning how to dismantle and re-manufacture every component of a vehicle, giving him a solid grounding.
A promotion came in 1985 when he became fleet engineer for the West Sussex Division of Southdown.
After the privatisation of the National Bus Company, Southdown was taken over by Stagecoach in 1989 and Richard was promoted to chief engineer in 1991 as Stagecoach acquired further bus companies across the south coast.
He said: “It has been exciting working for a group that has challenged the boundaries of public transport to give value for money but is always at the forefront of innovation.”
Richard is currently looking for new apprentices to join him in the south team.
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