PLATTSBURGH -- Gov. David Paterson was in Plattsburgh Wednesday to formally welcome Nova Bus at the site of its planned $25 million bus-assembly plant.
"I'm pleased to announce today that after looking at a number of Northeast states, they picked the best one and are relocating their bus-manufacturing facility right here in Plattsburgh," he said.
The company plans to take possession of the plant on Jan. 5, 2009, start production at the end of March and deliver its first Plattsburgh-built bus in December. It will initially employ 150 to 175 colleagues, a figure that is expected to reach 300 at full capacity and possibly reach 435 if business leads the company to expand.
Paterson said the announcement continues the region's long tradition of successfully responding to adversity, which dates back to 1814's Battle of Plattsburgh and runs through the closure of Plattsburgh Air Force Base in 1995. He and his team see endless opportunities for economic revitalization of the area, based on the proximity to the border and Montreal. That is seen in the $700 million included in the state budget for upstate economic revitalization, Paterson said.
"So many Canadian companies are looking to expand to the United States. That is why Nova Bus is here today," he said.
The state will provide a $1.3 million JOBS NOW capital grant through the Empire State Development Corp., and $1.65 million could come from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the New York Office of Small Cities.
Nova Bus President and CEO Gilles Dion said the new assembly plant marks a milestone in company history.
"We're convinced it's a wise decision to invest in Plattsburgh," he said.
Nova Bus Chief Project Engineer Francis St-Cyr said production jobs are likely to fall in the $12 to $18 per hour range. He said the company hopes to hire most of its colleagues (employees) from the surrounding area.
"Our second choice would be to hire from other states in the U.S. Only as a last resort would we bring in people from Canada or another country," he said.
The location in The Development Corp.'s Banker Road Industrial Park in the Town of Plattsburgh allows the company to meet Federal Transit Administration Buy America requirements, similar to the reason Bombardier assembles rail cars in the City of Plattsburgh.
"We appreciate the judgment of Nova Bus and their leadership in locating here in Plattsburgh. In return, we pledge our community's sustained efforts to make Nova Bus welcome and their enterprise successful," she said.
She said the Development Corp.'s Board of Directors had the foresight to make the Banker Road Industrial Park a shovel-ready site and allocated its financial resources to create the park on behalf of the community. She thanked the Plattsburgh Town Council and the Town Planning Board for their support in development of the park, and Paterson for using the project as the reason for his first gubernatorial visit to Clinton County.
"But please, don't be a stranger. Keep coming back. We're on a roll," Kurtz said.
Nova Bus is based in Saint-Eustache, Quebec. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Volvo Bus Corp., the second largest motorcoach and transit bus manufacturing group in the world.
The 136,000-square-foot building will be located on the east side of Banker Road and north of the UPS facility, which by comparison is about 40,800 square feet.
Crossborder Development Corp. President Mark Barie said his partner, Vice President Matthew Boire, took the initial call from Nova Bus and successfully worked the lead.
"We are pleased that after discussing five to six sites, the one they liked was in Plattsburgh," he said. "This was a business deal, but also a deal that warmed our hearts. It's always nice to make a commission, but it's even nicer when you help create 300 to 400 jobs in the North Country."
Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas, who is on vacation, welcomed Nova Bus to Plattsburgh in a news release.
"This is a world-class company that has recognized the power of Plattsburgh's connectivity with Montreal and will now become another central player in our emergence as a North American hub for transportation equipment manufacturing and service," he said.
Douglas said the chamber has been working with Nova Bus since last summer on its workforce strategy and is already working with them to put that strategy in action.
Town Supervisor Bernie Bassett, who is also on vacation, issued a news release stating it is exciting to again see a site in the North Country and town chosen for investment and development.
"The decision to bring Nova Bus to this community will prove to be a wise one. I believe that the relationship between this community and the bus company will be a long and successful one," he said.
Nova Bus still has to receive approval of a detailed preliminary plan and a State Environmental Quality Review from the Town of Plattsburgh Planning Board, which it is expected to seek at the next meeting on Tuesday, May 13.
dheath@pressrepublican.com
More information about Nova Bus is available at www.novabus.com.
