By: Deborah Johnson Wood
American Seating
recently received its first orders for hundreds of bus seats, and
according to one company official it's just the beginning. Those orders
will eventually mean dozens, perhaps hundreds, of new jobs for the
Grand Rapids-based manufacturer.
The city of Santa Monica, Calif. Big Blue Bus transit system ordered 16 new hybrid buses, six of them funded by federal stimulus money. In turn, bus manufacturer ElDorado National ordered the seats from American Seating.
"Every 100 buses ordered will create
eight to 16 fulltime-equivalent American Seating positions for a year,"
says David McLaughlin, VP and general sales manager. "The stimulus
package earmarked $8 billion for public transportation, which has to be
obligated between now and March 2010. There is going to be a pretty
healthy stimulation of the bus building atmosphere in America. It could
be about 1,000 buses, is my guess."
McLaughlin says transit ridership in
North America has experienced double digit increases due to green
initiatives, an upsurge in urban living, and families downsizing to one
car. In addition, some major transit authorities replace buses every 10
to 12 years, which means years of manufacturing to fill the orders.
"We're looking be very strong over the next 10 to 12 years, and it's a good place to be," McLaughlin says.
Big Blue Bus wants American Seating's Insight Seat,
the widest bus seat in the world. American Seating developed the seat
in response to a customer survey citing a need for more comfort and
improved aesthetics.
"We thought seating needed to last
forever and be maintenance free," McLaughlin adds. "We developed the
Insight and started manufacturing in fall 2006. A mere two and a half
years later it's between 35 percent and 40 percent of our business."
Source: David McLaughlin, American Seating; Molly Klimas, Intent Public Relations
Related Articles
American Seating’s environmental initiatives promote sustainable leadership, clean waterways
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.