ORISKANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York will give $2 million in state aid to help Orion Bus Industries expand its upstate New York manufacturing plant, Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Wednesday.
The money will be used to renovate the factory, acquire new machinery and equipment and pay for expenses related to the company's health insurance costs for new employees, said Andreas Strecker, president of DaimlerChrysler Commercial Buses of North America, which owns Orion.
Spitzer said $945,000 in aid would come from the Empire State Development Corp., while another $750,000 would come from the state's Office for Small Cities. The state labor department will provide $350,000 for employee training, the governor said.
Strecker said the assistance will help Orion retain its 500 jobs in Oriskany and create nearly 60 new jobs.
Additionally, DaimlerChrysler was selected by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for a $500,000 contract to develop an updated version of its successful diesel-electric hybrid transit bus powertrain, Spitzer said.
Orion is a leading manufacturer of transit buses. In the past five years, it has built more than 1,000 buses for the New York City metropolitan area.