The Manufacturing Week Tours hosted by the Crookston Chamber and Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority visited one of Crookston’s largest employers, New Flyer of America. Crookston is one of two bus manufacturing locations in Minnesota, the other being in St. Cloud.
According to Kenneth Brejcha, the Crookston facility is currently building 18 buses a week in varying lengths with several different engine models. “As far as the length of the buses goes, we primarily make 35-foot buses, 40-foot buses, and 60-foot articulated model,” said Brejcha. “The most popular models are our 40-foot bus. Each of our buses can come with different propulsion systems based on what our customer asks for. We range anyone from a straight diesel engine, diesel transmission axle type of configuration through hybrids that operate off an engine and battery combination. We have compressed natural gas buses. We also have what we call trolleybuses which operate off of 600-volt overhead power lines. Our most in-demand now are what we call battery buses. The battery-electric buses do not have an engine. They are strictly operated off of battery systems which we are finding to be more popular now, more in demand. We also do hydrogen fuel cell buses.”
Brejcha says currently 18 buses a week are being assembled, with the production time on each bus lasting ten or eleven days. “Right now, we are doing 18 buses a week,” said Brejcha. “We’re going to be increasing that to 19 next week. Early next year we’ll go to 20 a week and then 21 a week. Production time when the bus comes in the front door until it is sold is typically 10-11 working days.”
New Flyer is one of Crookston’s largest employers and is looking to add staff in the coming months explains Brejcha. “Right now, our direct labor is approximately 254 people with our indirect being a little over a hundred,” said Brejcha. “However, we’re anticipating production demands at the beginning of the year is going to be going up because of the type of buses were building. So, we’re looking to hire at least another 30-35, if not 40 people by the end of the year so that we’re ready for our production demands.”
Buses from Crookston are used all over the United States and New Flyer is actively supporting over 41,000 heavy-duty transit buses. Of those 7,300 are powered by electric motors and battery propulsion, and 1,600 are zero-emission.
