SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The first set of cabs and chassis for GreenPower Motor Company’s production facility in South Charleston was delivered on Wednesday and in a unique way.
State and local officials drove the nine cabs from South Charleston City Hall to the GreenPower facility on Industrial Way to mark the delivery. It’s less than two months before the company plans to begin production of the all-electric school buses.
Mark Nestlen, spokesperson for GreenPower Motor Company told MetroNews Wednesday that partnership and relationships brought the Canadian company to Kanawha County. He said every day since the January announcement of the company choosing South Charleston, state and local leaders have proved they made the right decision.
“When GreenPower looked to move here, what was important to us was the relationship that we would have with the state, city and county officials. We were welcomed on day one with open arms into the state by the county officials and city officials,” Nestlen said.
We are outside of @CityofSCWV’s City Hall and READY TO ROLL to our new #WestVirginia manufacturing facility! $GP $GPV pic.twitter.com/e7MtnghwxF
— GreenPower Motor Company (@GreenPowerBus) July 13, 2022
In January, GreenPower signed an agreement with the state to lease/purchase a 9.5-acre manufacturing facility, including an 80,000-square-foot building, where the company will produce the school buses.
Amber Parrish, Human Resources Manager for GreenPower told MetroNews that the company is continuing to hire for open positions in South Charleston and plans to hire between 30 and 50 in the first wave of manufacturing.
She added the company hopes to have around 100 workers by the end of this year, 200 workers by the end of next year and 900 employees during full production. Nestlen defined full production as producing between 40 and 50 school buses per month.
Parrish said GreenPower is looking for motivated West Virginians who have basics in manufacturing.
“Somebody that can learn, excited about electric vehicles, fits our culture, and is an overall great employee,” she said.
GreenPower has partnered with BridgeValley Community and Technical College to provide workforce development and training opportunities for potential employees.
Driving the cabs to the facility included House Veterans Affairs Vice Chairman Delegate Christopher Toney, R-Raleigh, House Education Committee Vice Chairman Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, Delegate Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, State Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch, State Secretary of Transportation Jimmy Wriston, West Virginia Economic Development Officials, South Charleston Mayor Frank Mullens, and Kanawha County Commissioner Ben Salango.
My niece, Harper, and I were so excited to welcome @GreenPowerBus to South Charleston to manufacture electric school buses. This facility will create hundreds of new jobs and have an annual economic impact of nearly $500 million. pic.twitter.com/OilPFwsjQc
— Ben Salango (@BenSalango) July 13, 2022