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November 15, 2008

Nova Bus remains on target

By DAN HEATH

PLATTSBURGH — Nova Bus remains on target to begin production in March and roll out its first transit bus next fall.

Speaking at the Plattsburgh Noon Rotary Club, Plant Manager James Tooley said, "By September, we hope to be producing two buses a day on a single shift."

Plans call for about 200 employees by the end of 2009 and more than 300 within a couple of years. Production in 2009 will include transit buses for British Columbia's BC Transit and TransLink, which will be used to transport visitors to the venues of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

In 2010, Nova Bus will start producing buses for other contracts. Tooley said that will likely include some of its hybrid and articulated buses. That could lead to a second shift each day, which also would produce two buses a shift.

The 136,000-square-foot transit bus assembly plant is being built in the north end of the Banker Road Industrial Park, next door to UPS. The construction is being done by Syracuse-based V.I.P. Structures.

Nova Bus expects to take possession of the building in January. It plans to install equipment in January and February and open the office area in March.

Tooley said one company vendor, Spencer/ARL New York, has signed a lease and will do warehousing for Nova Bus. That company could have 30 to 40 employees by the end of 2009.

Other vendors are expected to locate in the Plattsburgh area, Tooley said.

"There are many that are talking about locating here," he said.

Nova Bus turned its attention to the U.S. market because the company sees little growth potential in Canada, where it already has 45 percent of the market. To compete in the U.S. market, Nova Bus needs to be able to meet Buy America Act requirements for 60 percent U.S.-origin content and final assembly to be done in the United States.

Transit authorities that can meet those provisions can get up to 80 percent of their purchase price covered by the federal government. Tooley said that is the same reason Bombardier Transportation built a final assembly plant in Plattsburgh.

Tooley said the area has been able to supply the needed workforce for Bombardier and should be able to do so for Nova Bus. He is excited Clinton Community College decided to restart its electronics technology program for the January 2009 semester.

The plant's design includes a U-shaped manufacturing line. The work at each station takes four hours, then the bus moves to the next station.

Almost all of the work will be done by hand, not robotics, Tooley said.

The hybrid buses operate on electricity from start to 15 miles per hour, a combination of electricity and fuel from 15 to about 55 miles per hour and all fuel above 55. The new hybrids reduce emissions by almost 90 percent, Tooley said.

The 60-foot articulated buses feature an accordion-like center section and have a capacity of 115 passengers, which includes seats for 55. It is used on high-volume routes.

Nova Bus's ITS Mobility feature is a GPS system that allows the transit line to monitor where every vehicle in the fleet is at any given moment. It also allows consumers to visit the line's Web site to see when the next bus is due at a location, what type of bus it is and even view later pickup times.

The railcar and bus manufacturing industries are both cyclical, Tooley said.

"We (Nova Bus) are seeing a marked increase in interest due to higher gas prices."

E-mail Dan Heath at: dheath@pressrepublican.com

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