Carpenter School Bus 3D model. Carpenter Body Works (typically referred to simply as Carpenter) is a defunct American bus manufacturer. Founded in 1918 in Mitchell, Indiana, the company produced a variety of vehicles, with the majority of production consisting of yellow school buses for the United States and Canada.
Remaining a family-owned company into the late 1980s, Carpenter entered bankruptcy at the end of 1989 and was forced to reorganize to survive. In 1995, the company relocated to the former Wayne Corporation facilities in Richmond, Indiana; in 1996, the company rebranded its product line as Crown by Carpenter. In 1998, Carpenter was acquired by specialty vehicle manufacturer Spartan Motors.