"We are always trying to do our part to minimize these price increases," says IC 

WARRENVILLE, Ill. (Jan. 7, 2008) — For IC Corp, honesty has always been the best policy, even when discussing price increases.

"Getting the information out has always proven to be the better way than pretending its not there or not talking about it," said David Hillman, IC’s national sales manager. "Most people don’t like prices going up, but when you talk about it in the open, they might not like it, but they’ll understand."

The company recently announced a $2,500 to $3,000 increase for new IC buses in 2008, citing increases in raw materials. Oil prices, which recently hit a high of $100 a barrel, and the rising cost of essential commodities such as aluminum, steel and copper is affecting overall production costs and, in the end, the price of new buses.

"We are always trying to do our part to minimize these price increases," said Hillman. "We don’t just sit there and say, ‘It’s easy. We’ll just make the customers pay more.’ Because that’s not easy. We try to protect our customers as much as we can."

By being part of larger company Navistar, IC benefits from volume purchasing on a global scale. The company said it also tries to be as efficient as possible at its assembly plants.

"We also look at our designs and try to take costs out when we can," added Hillman. "For example, we might change the design of a bus if we find a door that works just as well, but is less expensive."