Bus boss makes classy exit after sharing $15 million from business sale with staff

Melbourne’s Grenda family have been lauded for giving $15 million to employees from the sale of their 66-year-old bus business.

Grenda Corporation, a third-generation family business, has been offloaded after difficulties keeping the business in the family. But the $400 million sale of its transit operations has been sweetened by praise for a decision to give a large portion of the proceeds to staff.

Patriarch and major shareholder Ken Grenda and sons Geoff and Scott – head of GTM and Volgren respectively – have paid bonuses averaging $8,500 to the company’s 1,800 staff members, with some receiving up to $30,000. The bonuses were based on time served and position.

Ken told the Herald Sun: “A business is only as good as its people, and our people are fantastic.”

“This is to recognise that. We have had people here who are second generation, and one fellow in the same job for 52 years.”

“We have grown from just four bus routes in Dandenong in 1945 to operating 1,300 buses in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. You only get there if you have good people.”

Michael Apps, executive director of the peak bus body the Bus Industry Confederation, describes the 79-year-old Ken as a “legend” of the bus industry.

“They’re a long-standing family bus company, and my experience is they’ve been committed to their staff and the industry,” Apps says.

“Ken is a legend in the industry. The general feeling within the industry was it’s a shame they decided to step out of the industry.”

“But business is business, and families have to make decisions.”

Grenda’s transit operations (Grenda Transit Management) were sold last year for $400 million to fellow Melbourne bus firm Ventura, who will retain the workers. The business provides route, school and charter bus services across the city.

Grenda’s bus making arm, the largest in Australia, has been also been sold. The arm, Volgren, has four factories in Australia supplying buses to the Government and private fleets. It has been sold to Brazilian bus giant Marco Polo.

Apps says the purchase was likely driven by Marco Polo’s desire to be seen as a global manufacturer and Volgren’s technical expertise. He says between 80 and 90% of Australia’s buses are manufactured here, with many coming from China and Malaysia.

Apps expects the takeover by Ventura to be seamless. “Andrew Cornwall runs a good operation,” he says, referring to the Ventura Group managing director. “It’s a good outcome that an Australia company bought it.”

Announcing the sale process late last year, Ken said the decision to sell had “not been taken lightly, particularly given the involvement that Geoff, Scott and I continue to have in the business.”

“However, as the family grows, interests continue to diverge, with the next generation not expected to be in a position to run the business for a number of years,” he said.

“As such, we have decided that the business would be better positioned under the care of an organisation with strong ambitions in the industry that will continue to capture the significant growth opportunities and build on the current platform.”

Grenda has a rich history: in 1925, George Grenda started a milk carrying company in outer Melbourne; by the end of the Second World War, it had a dozen buses and George changed focus from milk to public transport. In 1977, it started manufacturing buses.

According to its website, its turnover was close to $400 million across its transit arm and the company is the largest bus operator in Victoria.

Grenda was contacted for comment this morning but was unavailable.