BraunAbility, headquartered in Winamac, Ind, has announced that it will build its final Paratransit commercial vehicle in October and recently honored the life of the vehicle line, which produced mobility-equipped full-size vans for commercial use, with a celebration.
According to news release from BraunAbility, more than 25,000 Paratransit vans were built in Winamac during the course of the vehicle line’s life, with 3,000 being delivered to North Carolina alone.
Nick Gutwein, BraunAbility president, notes that BraunAbility founder, “Ralph Braun began installing wheelchair lifts on full-size vans like these. This product is where it all started. This is Braun.”
The release notes that BraunAbility began production on the paratransit vehicles in the late 1970s. The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 helped springboard orders of mobility products by state and federal agencies, the release adds.
The paratransit product was built on the Ford Econoline chassis, however Ford has discontinued its Econoline product, and BraunAbility made the decision to end production of its Paratransit unit.
In the release, BraunAbility states that it will focus its efforts on manufacturing wheelchair lifts and wheelchair accessible vehicles for consumer and commercial use.
Source: BraunAbility