For decades, he built vehicles that did not only circulate on Greek roads, but reached European, Asian and African markets.
Today the mass production of vehicles in Greece may look like something distant, but a few decades ago the picture was completely different., with important industrial units operating in the country and employing thousands of workers.
In the second half of the twentieth century, Greece hosted remarkable projects, developed productive infrastructure and cultivated ambitions in the automotive industry, which today remain inactive and largely forgotten.
One of the companies that took care to represent our country in this sector is VIAMAX, founded in 1955 by Michael K. Phostiropoulos, originally as bus body manufacturer and since 1960 completed buses and coaches, such as R495, F580 and O303 with Mercedes-Benz diesel engines.
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Since 1957, the central facilities of Viamax were housed on the Avenue. Athens in Peristeri, in an area of 29,761 square meters with structured surfaces of main and auxiliary spaces o oover 46,000 square meters, just four kilometers from the center of Athens.It employed about 2,500 workers, who were literally closed off at Athens Avenue (then Kavala) and created a traffic heart attack throughout Attica.
Urban bus construction Viamax
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Within just a few years, the company managed to evolve into standard for Greek data, and one of the biggest blood donors in the national economy.
As mentioned even today on the company's official website, the development and success of Viamax was by no means accidental, on the contrary, because it had gained market confidence due to the sophisticated design, the reliability and quality of the vehicles with its signature.
VIAMAX set new standards on the Greek market on technical training of the workforce, investment in research and development and strict quality control procedures.
The company's buses They didn't just flood the Greek streetsBut they arrived in Asia, Africa, and Switzerland.
The BIAMAX It stopped production in 1984. The fee titles fell after Greece entered the European Economic Community, as there was no longer a reason to operate independent production units within the Common Market.
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A glorious ending also had its legendary building on the Avenue. Athens, where There is a big sign that writes «Available», without yet being found buyer. An end, however, that cannot erase the glorious past of BIAMAX.
Watch video from the factory:
