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Governor of Tennessee Bill Haslam
Morristown, Tenn. — Van Hool, an independent manufacturer of buses, motorcoaches, and industrial vehicles, is planning a new U.S.-based facility to open in the first quarter of 2020. At this location, Van Hool will employ 600 employees and manufacture around 400 buses and commuter coaches annually for the North American public transport market. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new site will take place at the end of this summer.
The announcement was made in Morristown in the presence of Bill Haslam, the governor of Tennessee, and Bob Rolfe, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD)
"We have over 30 years of experience in the North American market where we have been successful with buses and coaches for private companies,” said CEO Filip Van Hool. “We’ve delivered over 11,000 vehicles in North America since 1987. Based on this experience and through market research, we have learned that the public transportation market, with a total annual potential of 6,000 to 8,000 vehicles, offers opportunities for Van Hool. Because of the ‘Buy America Act,’ our family business decided to explore a new manufacturing facility in the U.S.”
CEO Filip Van Hool
The 1982 “Buy America Act” requires vehicles supplied to public authorities to be assembled in the U.S., contain 70 percent of their parts from American suppliers and 100 percent American steel.
"We are excited to announce the next step of the Van Hool group's global growth plans here in Morristown, Hamblen County, Tennessee,” explained Van Hool. “The investment of more than $47 million confirms the more than 30-year presence of Van Hool on the American market. Today we are looking forward to building a state-of-the-art bus factory in Morristown to provide the entire North American market with high-quality buses and commuter coaches for transportation agencies from 2020 onwards. The presence of highly-respected technical schools and well-trained employees, together with the support and cooperation of all the local stakeholders in Morristown, Hamblen County and Tennessee, convinced Van Hool's Executive Board to make the largest investment outside of Belgium in Van Hool’s 71-year history."
Regarding the significance of this investment for Van Hool in Koningshooikt, Belgium, where the head office of the group is located, Filip Van Hool was clear: "This significant investment in a new market for Van Hool offers opportunities for employees in Koningshooikt. We really want to offer a particularly competitive product on the public bus transportation market in America. This new type of bus will be fully designed and developed by the engineers at the design office in Koningshooikt. Moreover, in the run-up to starting production in Morristown, in the first quarter of 2020, a comprehensive training program is being developed for the new American employees who will come to Europe over the course of 2019. Our experienced employees will familiarize their new American colleagues with the high-quality norms and standards of Van Hool vehicles."
“Van Hool’s decision to establish its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Morristown and create more than 600 jobs underscores the robust pro-growth environment of job creation we’ve fostered in Tennessee,” said Gov. Haslam. “Tennessee is a leading destination for foreign direct investment and because of globally renowned businesses like Van Hool, Tennessee will lead the nation in high quality jobs opportunities.”
“Van Hool is an exceptional company and I’m pleased this third-generation, family-owned business has decided to bring 600 well-paying, family-wage jobs to East Tennessee,” added Rolfe. “Tennessee’s skilled workforce, central location and higher education programs such as the Tennessee Promise continue to attract world-class international companies like Van Hool to our state.”
Visit vanhool.be/en for more information.
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Matt Daus, Esq.
New York — Frequent Chauffeur Driven contributor and presenter, Matt Daus, Esq. has been appointed as Transportation Technology Chair for the University Transportation Research Center (UTRC), located at The City College of New York (CCNY) of the City University of New York (CUNY).
Daus, the former longest-serving New York City Taxi & Limousine Commissioner/Chair and President of the International Association of Transportation Regulators (IATR), has worked at the UTRC for the past eight years. During this time, he has authored and published substantial research in the area of transportation policy, innovation, law and regulation. He has also lectured around the world, and continues to teach courses in transportation sustainability, history, technology, regulation and policy to graduate students at CCNY's Grove School of Engineering. Daus is also a frequent contributor to Chauffeur Driven magazine.
As Transportation Technology Chair, Daus will continue to serve in his faculty and academic position at CUNY, but will immediately undertake enhanced responsibilities at the UTRC as Transportation Technology Chair. He will have the responsibility to grow and support the activities of the UTRC throughout the region and globally through collaboration on educational activities and events, research endeavors, strategic partnerships, and other initiatives involving transportation policy, technology, multi-modal integration, automation, and innovation.
“Matt has and continues to do an outstanding job of helping the UTRC spread knowledge and influence policy through his research, lectures and activities at CUNY, and at this critical time of mobility change, is well positioned to help build and expand the influence and reach of the UTRC,” commented Dr. Camille Kamga, UTRC director.
In addition to teaching and researching, Daus' expanded responsibilities will now include the following initiatives and roles:
- To chair and build the UTRC Advisory Board, and foster relationships and strategic partnerships with other academic institutions, transportation related organizations, government agencies, and the private sector to promote collaboration in research and educational initiatives involving data management and transfer.
- To focus on law, policy, and governance in the transportation technology mobility ecosystem, and to conduct research and educational endeavors in the areas of data privacy and access, insurance, labor, and employment law and other disciplines related to the advent of "Mobility-As-A-Service" (MAAS), Shared & Automated Vehicle Mobility.
- To build, manage, and maintain the UTRC transportation Data Commons, through hosting, participating in and conducting transportation related "Hack-a-Thons" and "Data Challenges" for a wide variety of purposes and goals, and to develop partnerships with academic institutions, students, non-profit think tanks, and organizations, government agencies, and the private sector to advance the scope of knowledge, innovation, and proactive policy change.
- To oversee and supervise government affairs and relations for the UTRC with respect to events, partnerships, grants, and strategic initiatives, and to enhance the public profile of the UTRC locally and internationally.
Visit ccny.cuny.edu or utrc2.org for more information.
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More than 100 attendees made the combined ABA and UMA legislative event a success
Washintgon, D.C. — The first-ever American Bus Association (ABA) and United Motorcoach Association (UMA) joint Bus and Motorcoach Industry Fly-In April 10-11 on Capitol Hill was declared a success by the two associations, their members, and the more than 100 attendees who walked the halls and spoke to government officials on behalf of the bus and motorcoach industry.
Also in attendance were the Asian American Motorcoach Association, the International Motorcoach Group, the National Association of Motorcoach Operators, and Trailways, as well as leadership from every state and regional association in the motorcoach industry.
ABA President & CEO Peter Pantuso and UMA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner released the following joint statement:
“We would like to thank the 116 members of our organizations that met with more than 150 Congressional offices to discuss the priorities and issues facing the motorcoach industry today. By bringing together the leadership, energy and strength of our organizations, we delivered a powerful message to our leaders in Congress.”
While the two organizations remain separate operational entities, they recognized the importance of presenting a unified front as they worked together to bring their individual members’ and the general industry’s concerns to D.C., with a focus on advancing shared safety and regulatory reforms, as well as preservation of the fuel tax exemption for motorcoaches.
Tetschner and Pantuso give credit for this first-time-ever combined fly-in to both volunteer leadership UMA Chair Gladys Gillis and ABA Chairman Don Devivo.
Three primary areas of regulatory reform were on the list of operators' priorities:
- Require separate and distinct impact analyses for rulemaking when it comes to trucks and buses in recognition of the fact that there are vast differences between trucking and the transportation of passengers.
- Require transit recipients to report verifiable data when certifying to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) that they encouraged private sector participation in publicly funded projects. Currently, public transit operators do little more than “check-the-box” without providing any detail.
- Enhance transparency in the FTA's intercity bus grant program by requiring state Governors expanded certification, again with greater detail.
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