WINNIPEG,
Aug. 2, 2013 /CNW/ - (TSX:NFI;
TSX:NFI.DB.U) New Flyer Industries Inc. ("New Flyer" or the
"Company"), the leading manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses in
the United States and Canada, announced today that King County Metro
Transit ("Metro Transit") of Seattle,
Washington has awarded New Flyer a five year contract to
build up to 530 Xcelsior™ heavy-duty electric-trolley transit buses
(or 710 equivalent units or "EUs") in both 40' and 60'
configurations.
The contract contains a firm order for 196 EUs
and options for up to 514 EUs. A quantity of 240 options for
40' Xcelsior™ electric-trolley buses and 93 options for 60'
Xcelsior™ electric-trolley buses are intended to be exercised by
the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency ("SFMTA" or
"MUNI") who were actively involved in the procurement.
The electric-trolley buses will be based upon
New Flyer's best-in-class Xcelsior™ platform and will utilize
overhead lines to power the electric propulsion system equipment
supplied by Vossloh Kiepe. For over a century, Vossloh Kiepe
has supplied innovative electrical systems used on both road and
rail vehicles. These vehicles will operate in both urban and
suburban public transportation service networks with a special
emphasis on economic efficiency and ecology. The buses will utilize
active regenerative braking that puts power back into the energy
system and they will be able to operate off-wire on battery power
for distances up to five miles.
"Electric trolleys have a lot of fans, and I'm
one of them," said King County Executive Dow Constantine, who says
the new vehicles were needed to replace older trolleys that have
reached the end of their useful life. "They're quiet, they run
clean, they're part of our transit heritage, and studies confirm
they're the best for moving riders in our very hilly and dense
urban environment."
"We're privileged to be awarded this contract by
Metro Transit including the opportunity to deliver buses to MUNI,"
said Paul Soubry, New Flyer's
President and Chief Executive Officer. "New Flyer brought to the
competition our highly successful next generation Xcelsior™ bus and
over 30 years of experience with electric-trolley buses."
Metro Transit operates a fleet of nearly 1,500
buses in Seattle and each year
carries an estimated 115 million riders. New Flyer has been a big
part of that, having built nearly 1,000 buses for Metro Transit
since 1999 in a variety of lengths and propulsion systems.
These new trolley buses will replace some of their older fleet
built by other bus manufacturers and will mark the first time that
New Flyer has built electric-trolley buses for Metro Transit.
The notice to proceed has been received and the
710 EUs will now be added to the New Flyer total backlog. The 40'
pilot bus is scheduled to be delivered in May 2014 with production deliveries to commence
in December 2014. The 60' pilot
bus is scheduled to be delivered in October
2014 with production deliveries to commence in June 2015. All buses, including the propulsion
system equipment, will be Buy America compliant and manufactured in
North America.
About New Flyer
New Flyer with its recently acquired NABI subsidiary is the leading
manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses in the United States and Canada. The Company is the industry and
technology leader offering the broadest product line including
drive systems powered by: clean diesel, diesel-electric hybrid,
natural gas, electric-trolley and all-electric vehicles. All buses
are supported by an industry-leading comprehensive warranty and
support program, and service network. New Flyer and NABI also
operate the transit industry's most sophisticated aftermarket parts
organization, sourcing parts from hundreds of different suppliers
and providing support for all types of heavy-duty transit
buses.
Together New Flyer and NABI employ over 3,000
team members with manufacturing, fabrication, parts distribution
and service centers in both Canada
and the United States.
Further information is available on New Flyer's
web site at www.newflyer.com. The common shares and convertible
unsecured subordinated debentures of the Company are traded on the
Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols NFI and NFI.DB.U,
respectively.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating
to expected future events and financial and operating results of
the Company that involve risks and uncertainties. Although the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release are
based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions,
investors cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent
with these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be
material. Actual results may differ materially from management
expectations as projected in such forward-looking statements for a
variety of reasons, including market and general economic
conditions and economic conditions of and funding availability for
customers to purchase buses and to purchase parts or services,
customers may not exercise options to purchase additional buses,
the ability of customers to terminate contracts for convenience and
the other risks and uncertainties discussed in the materials filed
with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available
on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Due to the potential impact of these
factors, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless
required by applicable law.
SOURCE New Flyer Industries Inc.