The award selection is subject to final contract and funding negotiations between the DOE and Blue Bird, which could take up to 120 days to conclude.
The DOE funding is part of the U.S. administration’s nearly $2 billion investment to convert long-standing automotive facilities to manufacturing electric vehicles and components, retain and expand good-paying manufacturing jobs, and bolster domestic supply chains.
The $80 million grant to Blue Bird is part of the Domestic Automotive Manufacturing Conversion Grants program administered by the DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC). The grant represents 50 percent of the total $160 million investment required to complete the conversion project. Blue Bird is one of 11 selectees, including Cummins, Blue Bird’s supply chain partner for electric vehicle powertrains.
The financial award will help Blue Bird convert a prior manufacturing site for diesel-powered motorhomes in Fort Valley, Ga., into an approximately 600,000 square foot, state-of-the-art electric vehicle manufacturing facility.
Blue Bird started manufacturing high-end, Wanderlodge-branded motorhomes at the site in 1963 based on its large, Type-D school bus designs. The company ceased operations at the Wanderlodge site in 2019. The conversion will assist Blue Bird in increasing the production of Type-D electric school buses to meet the rising demand for clean student transportation nationwide. In addition, the converted facility will add more than 400 new, good-paying manufacturing jobs.
“There is nothing harder to a manufacturing community than to lose jobs to foreign competition and a changing industry,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Even as our competitors invest heavily in electric vehicles, these grants ensure that our automotive industry stays competitive—and does it in the communities and with the workforce that have supported the auto industry for generations.”
“We are delighted that the U.S. Department of Energy supports our plant conversion project above the many applications that were submitted,” said Phil Horlock, CEO of Blue Bird Corporation. “The grant will enable Blue Bird to reinvest in middle Georgia, building on a site that previously manufactured high-end motorhomes. It will also enable Blue Bird to expand its workforce and invest in a community that is integral to Blue Bird’s history and continued success. We are looking forward to fully participating in the next phase of the negotiation process with the DOE.”
Blue Bird is the only U.S.-owned and operated school bus manufacturer in the United States. The company is recognized as the leader in electric school buses with nearly 2,000 zero-emission vehicles on the road today. The shift to clean student transportation helps the company sustain approximately 2,000 good-paying jobs.
About Blue Bird Corporation:
Blue Bird (NASDAQ: BLBD) is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. School buses carry the most precious cargo in the world – 25 million children twice a day – making them the most trusted mode of student transportation. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 20,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses in operation today. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions.
For more information please visit www.blue-bird.com.