Kevin Allenspach

kallenspach@stcloudtimes.com

The new buses are 30 or 35 feet long and designed for small communities or shuttle services

New Flyer has 686 employees; it has added 100 in the past year and will bring on 70 more by June

The company recently completed a $5 million factory expansion to accommodate the MiDi bus

Workers traveled to Scotland to learn how to make the bus, designed by Alexander Dennis Limited

New Flyer Industries is getting bigger in St. Cloud by going smaller.

The longtime heavy-duty bus manufacturer is in the process of rolling out a new model — the MiDi — a medium-sized, low-floor bus intended for medium-duty transit and shuttle services.

Unlike the heavy-duty buses, which can be as much as 60 feet long, the MiDi is about half that.

"It continues to add to our portfolio of products," said Kevin Wood, New Flyer's vice president of manufacturing in St. Cloud. "The MiDi bus is something we believe there's a market for. ... We're looking at shuttles or small suburban communities that don't need a heavy-duty bus."

St. Cloud is testing a MiDi, though it's not certain whether it would fit into its fleet. The city is in the process of receiving 23 heavy-duty compressed natural gas buses — all being built at New Flyer — the first of which was delivered in mid-February and the last expected by mid-June.

The MiDi — New Flyer's first collaboration with another company, Alexander Dennis Ltd. of Scotland — is targeting a new market.

"The product will fit a niche for private-market operators," said Amy Schreiner, MiDi program manager, who has been with New Flyer for 11 years. "Hotel shuttles and airport shuttles are good examples where they need a bus, but maybe not quite the size of our 40- and 60-foot models."

Adding space, people

Schreiner's office is right next to an area of the New Flyer factory that was added last year in preparation for the MiDi. The $5 million expansion included six new bays from which the buses get their final inspection before heading to their destination.

There also are two new water test booths, both with water reclamation systems to be environmentally efficient, to ensure there are no leaks in the finished product.

New Flyer has added about 100 employees in the past year, bringing the payroll to 686. The company also looks to hire 70 more people by June, when the MiDi will be in full production. To help facilitate that, New Flyer has launched a training program with help from St. Cloud Technical & Community College that will train almost all employees in basic and advanced skills needed to build the buses. The training, made possible in part by a $375,000 state grant, includes core skills training; using blueprints, air- and hand-tools; and an advanced MiDi core skills training.

New employees usually come to the company on a temporary basis through Doherty Staffing Solutions and then work toward permanent jobs.

"We'll have the best bus-makers in the world building the MiDi here in St. Cloud," said Wood, who has been at the St. Cloud facility for five years after working for a different bus company in Atlanta.

Initial deliveries will go to dealerships. In February, New Flyer announced Faribault-based ABC Cos. has the exclusive distribution rights in North America. When the first ones arrive, it will be the end of a long process. New Flyer and ADL announced their joint venture almost exactly two years ago.

New Flyer had planned its market launch for early last year. It was January before the first test buses with components from ADL began progressing down the line. To help jump-start production, some of the materials initially are being delivered to St. Cloud from vendors in the United Kingdom. In time, New Flyer plans to switch that to U.S.-based suppliers, especially so any of the buses that might be purchased with the help of federal funds will be compliant with requirements to buy materials in America.

"Giving birth to a bus is a 29-week process," Wood said. "That's from line order to when it rolls out. But of course people say, 'Don't tell me about the labor, show me the baby.' We hope by the end of this year the MiDi will represent about 12 percent of what we do. With the New Flyer and ADL name on it, we think it's going to be a popular, reliable product, so we expect that to grow. It's an opportunity for New Flyer — and an opportunity for St. Cloud."

Scottish connection

Steve Russell has a thick Scottish brogue. He came to St. Cloud several times last year and has been here since January, but it will take a lot longer than that to alter any accent.

Russell, 41, is an industrial strategy manager for ADL. His job is to go from factory to factory around the world, helping ensure ADL products are built to the highest level of quality.

"I think it's coming along well," Russell said of the way a skeleton crew of ADL employees has been advising New Flyer staff on how to build the initial buses. "Both companies are market leaders and each has a large market share. There are different ways of working, but I think we've jelled by getting the teams together."

Russell is one of eight ADL officials spending part of the spring in Central Minnesota. He said the learning process has been the same, whether teaching New Zealanders to build ADL single-deck buses or helping the Chinese manufacture double-deck versions.

"Apart from the weather, it's very similar," Russell said with a laugh.

New Flyer manufacturing, engineering, sales and marketing personnel visited ADL facilities in the United Kingdom in preparation to produce in the U.S. the best-selling bus in Britain, which ADL developed and has manufactured for many years.

One of the St. Cloud employees who spent the most time in Scotland is Craig "Bull" Ziebol, who is superintendent of welding and MiDi production for New Flyer.

"I've learned a lot and they've liked some of the things they've seen from us about how we build our heavy-duty buses," Ziebol said of working with crews from ADL.

Hurdles to clear

Ziebol said one hurdle his workers have had to clear is that the U.K.-produced buses were all built on the metric system, with fasteners and materials measured in millimeters. And, while the process has been somewhat different from what they're used to, the relationship has been good and there are plenty of similarities.

"There are only so many ways you can fasten plywood flooring in a bus," Ziebol said. "With any startup, we're dealing with some vendor issues and parts issues. We've had some hiccups that have put us behind schedule."

According to New Flyer's first-quarter declaration of orders and backlog, 39 MiDi buses had firm orders. The company has estimated the market for the buses could be as many as 1,000 annually. Even before it became available, business was looking up for New Flyer, which delivered 635 buses in the fourth quarter of 2013 comparedwith 387 in the same period a year earlier.

While the vast majority of buses New Flyer builds remain heavy-duty, on which the entire frame is carbon steel, the MiDi has a lower chassis of steel but aluminum sides and roof.

"It's a much, much lighter bus with a smaller power plant in it," Ziebol said. "There are sufficient efficiency gains."

New Flyer Plant Manager Dave Bendorf said 75 percent of all production right now is in compressed natural gas buses. The other 25 percent is clean diesel, which includes the first MiDi models. The expectation is electric power eventually will proliferate, but the energy storage technology isn't quite as developed yet. Wood said it could be there in another five years or so.

"We plan on developing alternative fuels for the MiDi as well," Wood said. "This is a very competitive business with some tough competitors. The only way you're going to get more business these days is if you take it from somebody else. But we're optimistic. New Flyer has proven it's willing to invest in St. Cloud. We're doing that because we believe in the product and the facility and the people around here."

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About the MiDi

The MiDi comes in two models, 30 and 35 feet long, and with one or two doors. It is eight feet wide and has a height of about 10 feet and can seat between 24 and 35 riders. Depending on limited engineering options, each will cost a couple of hundred thousand dollars — though the final price is set by the distributor. The bus is designed for a 12-year, 500,000-mile life.

For more about the new MiDi buses being manufactured by New Flyer in St. Cloud, visit www.newflyer.com. For more about Alexander Dennis Limited, visit www.alexander-dennis.com. For more about ABC Companies, which will distribute the bus in North America, visit www.abc-companies.com.

Follow Kevin Allenspach on Twitter @KevinAllenspach.