PLATTSBURGH — U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said he was impressed by Plattsburgh’s Micro Bird facility operations Tuesday.
“It’s station by station and very skillfully laid out who puts what and does what, and the fact that each one (station) is just 74 minutes is really brilliant,” Schumer said after completing a tour of the facility.
Schumer (D-New York) was joined by several local officials, including President of Micro Bird Steve Girardin, North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas, Assemblyman Michael Cashman, Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor Chuck Kostyk, Clinton County Administrator Christine Peters, Clinton County Industrial Development Agency Executive Director Molly Ryan and General Manager of Alstom Plattsburgh Jeff Lambert.
Schumer’s visit to the Banker Road plant was his first since Micro Bird — the largest manufacturer of school buses in North America — purchased the facility from Nova Bus’ owners, the Volvo Group, late last year after the company announced in 2023 it would be closing its doors.
Micro Bird’s purchase of the facility was seen by many local officials as the ideal fit to replace Nova Bus, also a manufacturer of buses, as it was able to save hundreds from losing their jobs with similar work.
Schumer’s visit came nearly a year to the day it was announced Micro Bird would buy the Nova Bus facility, which he said was helped along by his early intervention.
“When I heard the devastating news that Nova Bus would be closing its doors, I began to work with Gov. Hochul and Garry Douglas to find a new owner,” he said.
“Originally … Nova didn’t want to sell the plant because they didn’t want competitors. That was mean. It gave them an advantage, but it was mean. So I called Volvo’s top leadership — and they need me for many different things — and said, ‘Find a new owner.’
“I wouldn’t relent because we knew how much this factory has meant to Plattsburgh over the years, and we found Micro Bird.”
Since the purchase took place, Micro Bird has invested $35 million to revamp the facility into its own, and an official grand opening was held in September.
“Because of this investment, America’s buses will be stamped with ‘Made in Upstate New York,’ courtesy of the world class Plattsburgh workforce,” Schumer said.
Micro Bird currently employs nearly 300 people.
Schumer also said Micro Bird hopes to increase that number to 350 in the coming years as the manufacturer looks to expand production from its paratransit and shorter buses to include the larger, low- or no-emission vehicles “as they do in Quebec” next year.
To aid Micro Bird’s expansion plans, the Senate Minority Leader said he will fight to boost future funding for the U.S. Transportation’s Low- or No-Emission Vehicle Grant Program that would, in turn, benefit the manufacturer.
“We have a budget coming up. As minority leader, I have a lot of say in that budget, and this is one of my priorities. As Congress begins to work on our transportation funding, we need to be fighting to boost the program that helps great American manufacturers like Micro Bird, and this is one of our best tools: the Low- or No-Emissions Vehicle Grant Program,” he said.
“The grant program is a win-win. It helps local communities and schools that can’t afford to buy new buses, and that money has to go to American manufacturers right here. Micro Bird, one of the best in the game, is sure to benefit.”
Schumer said when he was Senate Majority Leader, he helped author over $5 billion for the program, but it needs more soon.
“That’s a lot, but that’s going to expire soon. I think about $3 billion has been spent and $2 billion is left, so we always want to have a big inventory, a big backlog and so, we need to make sure that there’s robust funding for the future, and we need to put more money into this program,” he said.
“We want those buses to be made right here in Plattsburgh, New York, so I’m going to fight tooth and nail for as much transportation money as possible.”