in August 2022 , GreenPower has been performing final assembly and inspection on EV Star Cab & Chassis in the plant as part of its supply agreement with Workhouse Group . This announcement marks GreenPower ’ s shift in production at the South Charleston , WV , facility to all-electric school buses . GreenPowerʼs East Coast manufacturing facility has started production of its Nano BEAST , the only purpose-built , all-electric , zero-emission Type A school bus on the market , to meet the demand of its customers . The company will then transition to the production of the Type D BEAST at the facility .
“ The fact that our workers will be manufacturing the school buses being purchased by the state that their kids and grandkids will be riding on to and from school brings me great pride ,” Riley says , adding that the ride will be the most safe and healthy transportation available to them and financially beneficial to the school districts .
Operation and maintenance costs for a GreenPower all-electric school bus is believed to be 70 % to 80 % less than a conventional diesel school bus . The West Virginia Legislature has also passed a new law providing an additional 15 % to school districts under the state ’ s School Foundation Allowance for miles driven in a GreenPower all-electric school bus manufactured in West Virginia .
“ As we migrate to the production of school buses in the West Virginia facility , there will be a need to increase the number of employees from the core group that has been working here since last year ,” Riley says .
Riley noted that about 65 employees will be necessary by October and that GreenPower is on track to meet the 200-employee goal by the end of 2024 . Riley also noted that GreenPower intends to have employee training programs conducted under its partnership with BridgeValley Community & Technical College .
PCTC Named State Champion for Manufacturing
Explore the New Manufacturing is pleased to announce that Putnam County Technical Center ( PCTC ) has been named the 2023 State Champion for the Explore Manufacturing
Innovation Challenge for its project with Toyota West Virginia . The company challenged the students with a robotics project designed to improve ergonomics and increase productivity on the production line .
When asked why developing a solution is important to Toyota West Virginia , the team says , “ It was important to develop a solution that not only helps employees on the line work more efficiently , but also uses collaborative robots to reduce repetitive motions .”
Participating PCTC students included AJ Dunbar , Connor Bush , Brett Winter and Jacob Ingram , with faculty advisor , Cheryll Roberts . Students were able to draw support from the Toyota West Virginia team to help reach their goal .
“ It was great to work with the students and staff from PCTC ,” says David Rosier , Toyota West Virginia president . “ This kind of immersive , hands-on experience is an excellent way to learn more about advanced manufacturing and allows a new generation of students to be a part of the interesting work that happens on today ’ s production
floor . Through these kinds of activities , we can show how bright , clean and high-tech these jobs are and make students aware of the one-of-a-kind career opportunities they have right here in Putnam County .”
Toyota West Virginia employees David Newberry , Jacob Plasters , Penny Potocki and Ben Underwood contributed project support for the students .
“ It has been exciting to watch the PCTC and Toyota partnership this year ,” says Program Director Monica Cross , who oversees the Explore the New Manufacturing Program . “ We ask our corporate partners to help the students understand the process used to create their products and provide insight into the work culture and employee roles in the manufacturing process . Toyota Motor amplified our suggestion by providing an engineer who met weekly with the team . The result was not only a state championship but also an impactful experience for the students .” •
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