The Chippewa Herald, Sunday, January 25, 2009
By ROD STETZER

BLOOMER – Ease back into your chair on one of the new Blackhawk Express motorcoaches and take in a football game on the satellite TV hookup. Then keep connected to work by charging up your laptop or cell phone to the 110 volt electrical outlets on the bus, as you keep track of the game. While you’re busy monitoring Aaron Rodgers’ progress on the DirecTV feed, new devices are working to keep you safe.

A stability control system, which is a box in the luggage bay, monitors when your driver takes a corner. The system can adjust the steering wheel and uses ABS brakes to make the turn go smoothly.

On the driver’s console there’s a small readout keeping track of the pressure and temperature of the bus’ eight tires. The thermostat is mounted on a rim, inside a wheel. If one of vehicle’s wheels starts to heat up, the driver is alerted and can make adjustments. A sensor in the bumper alerts the driver when backing up the 45-foot long bus. And one of seven separate computer modules limits the speed of the bus to no more than 70 mph, the speed limit on rural highways in some states, such as Minnesota.

“Whatever they can put on to make our buses safer, we do,” explains Dave Joswiak, who co-owns the Bloomer bus company with his wife, Diane. Daughter Amanda and son Joshua also work for the company, which has 50 employees.

Diane Joswiak is a Bloomer native and Dave Joswiak has lived in Bloomer for about 30 years. The company’s six new buses have better headlights and brakes. And they help the environment, cutting some emissions by as much as 90 percent. Joswiak explained the the diesel exhaust is recycled through a particulate filter. So sulfur in the exhaust is cut by 90 percent and nitrogen oxides reduced by 52 percent. A 12-speed transmission helps with the bus’ power.

“A lot of these things aren’t that exciting to people, but, to us, they are,” he said. That’s important because the Bloomer company’s buses get more than their share of use. Joswiak estimated for 2008 the company’s 15-bus fleet went 1.4 million miles over 49 of the 50 states (with Hawaii being the obvious exception) and all of Canada’s provinces.

The company is used by both the University of Wisconsin-Stout and Eau Claire, and local high schools such as Eau Claire North. Those students might not know that several computer modules run different bus functions, including one for the transmission and another for the engine. “We have a laptop to plug in to test certain functions,” he said. For example, the company can check how many hard stops its drivers had, how many minutes were spent driving over 65 mph and how long the bus was idling.

Of course the customers can use their own laptops on the new buses, which are equipped with Wi-Fi. So you can send an e-mail after the Packers game even if your bus is rolling into, Nome, Alaska or Atlanta.

“We go everywhere,” Joswiak said.

View this article at The Chippewa Herald online.

National Bus Trader, February 2007

A good business philosophy has always been: What customers want, customers get. For Bloomer, Wisconsin-based Blackhawk Express that means the purchase of another MCI E4500.

"Customers love the E model," said D.J. Joswiak, president and owner of Blackhawk Express. "This model is the backbone of our company." Including the newest delivery, Blackhawk Express now runs its charter business with a fleet of 12 coaches, eight of which are MCI E4500s.

"Since buying our first E model in 2000, business has steadily increased. Every new coach purchase since then has been an MCI E4500 to support our growth," Joswiak said.

Blackhawk's newest E4500 is outfitted with a wheelchair lift, Cat C-13 engine and ZF AS Tronic tansmission, the SmarTire™ tire pressure monitoring system, and an Amerex fire suppression system, and passenger comfort options including six REI flat screen monitors, DVD player, cordless mike and eight disk CD changer.

Blackhawk Express was found in 1981 and serves the northwest Wisconsin area.

Metro Magazine, October 27, 2008

Motor Coach Industries (MCI) recently delivered seven new coaches to Bloomer, Wis.-based Blackhawk Express and Boston-based Cavalier Coach Trailways.

Blackhawk’s coaches – three J4500s, including two Anniversary Editions, and two D4005s – bring the company’s all-MCI fleet to 15 coaches. The new 40-foot D4005s, which Blackhawk plans to use for a variety of services, such as its recent fall color tour of New England, are equipped with Cummins engines and ZF Astronic transmissions.

Meanwhile, Cavalier’s new D4505s are also equipped with Cummins engines and Allison transmissions and use Ultra Low Sulfur fuel to reduce emissions. The Boston-based operator has several contracts providing shuttle services between campuses for several colleges and schools in the area.

View this article at Metro-Magazine.com.