Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly

The U.S. subsidiary of New Flyer Industries Inc., Transit Holdings Inc., acquired Middlebury-based ARBOC Specialty Vehicles, for $95 million.
ARBOC makes low-floor, body-on-chassis buses of 21 feet to 35 feet in length, which are used for transit, paratransit and shuttle services and exceed U.S. fuel economy standards and Buy America requirements. A Transit Holdings statement said they undergo safety testing beyond industry norms.

The company sold more than 2,500 of the vehicles, or about 70 percent of total sold in the United States and Canada during the last five years.

By the year’s end, ARBOC expects to have delivered close to 360 buses for about $36.3 million during 2017, as well as $1.5 million in parts. With a backlog of more than 320 orders for next year, it expects to deliver 500 buses in 2018.

“ARBOC will benefit from NFI Group’s strong balance sheet, broader bus market credibility, expertise in bus design and manufacturing and strategic sourcing to support its growth,” Wayne Joseph, New Flyer’s Transit Bus business president, said in a statement. “We anticipate exciting collaboration to scale this business and anticipate synergies such as research and development and part fabrication, which have not yet been fully quantified.”

ARBOC employs about 100 from a base facility of 112,000 square feet in Middlebury and its management team will remain in place under the continued leadership of Don Roberts, its president and CEO.

Article Source: KPC Media Group, Inc.