250 Jobs In Deal For Bendy Buses
Newcastle Herald
Tuesday December 23, 2008
BUS manufacturer Volgren Australia says it plans to build an $18 million bus plant at Tomago, after winning a contract to produce 150 State Government buses, which is expected to create about 250 Hunter jobs.
NSW Transport Minister David Campbell will announce today that Volvo and Melbourne-based Volgren have been awarded a $112 million contract to supply the 150 articulated or "bendy" buses to the State Transit Authority.The Volvo chassis for the buses will be imported from Europe, and the bodies built and fitted in the Hunter at a new Volgren plant.Volgren Australia managing director Peter Dale said Volgren had the subcontract with Volvo, and would begin recruiting in the Hunter soon after Christmas.He said the tender would generate about 150 direct jobs, with at least 250 jobs in total expected to be created in the region.Minister for the Hunter Jodi McKay said the announcement was "a boost for the Hunter economy".Mr Dale said the company had leased an interim warehouse in Islington, where staff would be trained and would work on a private bus contract from March while the plant was built at the Hunter Industrial Park.A development application for the Tomago plant was lodged with Port Stephens Council yesterday.Mr Dale said the plant would be worth about $18 million including the cost of the land and equipment. Construction was expected to be completed by October.The design work for the model would be done in the company's Melbourne site, but all production work would be completed in Tomago."We've had a fair look around for the site and chose Newcastle because of the need for a skilled workforce," Mr Dale said.The 150 56-seater buses were announced early this year, then fast-tracked in the November mini-budget.Although the buses will be built locally, they will be used in Sydney. The first are expected in service late next year, with all to be on the road by mid-2011.
© 2008 Newcastle Herald