Proterra To Create Over 1,000 Cleantech Jobs in South Carolina with Pioneering Clean Transportation Manufacturing and R&D Center
Clean-transit start-up Proterra selected Greenville, South Carolina, for its new manufacturing and R&D center that will employ over 1,000 local residents. Proterra will partner with world-renowned Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) to drive its vision for a clean-transit future.
Greenville, SC (PRWEB) February 4, 2010
Colorado-based Proterra Inc (http://www. proterraonline. com), the world leader in drive and energy storage systems for buses and trucks, today announced that it will locate its new manufacturing and innovation center in Greenville, South Carolina, where the company will hire over one thousand employees to design and manufacture its line of clean transportation solutions. Proterra’s plant will be located within the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) (http://www. cuicar. com/) campus, enabling Proterra to form a close partnership with CU-ICAR to accelerate technology innovation and commercialization of its groundbreaking all-electric and battery-dominant hybrid drive solutions.
Proterra’s Greenville manufacturing and research and development center will open in 2011, and be housed in a newly constructed 250,000 square foot building on the CU-ICAR campus. The new facility is in addition to Proterra’s headquarters in Golden, Colorado. The plant will be home to the manufacturing and development initiatives of the company’s clean commercial transportation solutions, which include all-electric and battery-dominant hybrid transit, school and commercial buses, parcel delivery vehicles and other class 4-8 trucks. The company plans to hire over 1,000 local employees in the next four years.
“Proterra's decision to put down roots in South Carolina represents not only a significant investment and new job opportunities, but also another step toward expanding our state's role in the growing market of next generation clean technologies,” said South Carolina Governor Sanford. “I’d offer the state's appreciation to Sec. Taylor and his team at Commerce along with all our economic development partners at the state and local levels for their combined efforts to make our state that much more competitive in this global economy.”
Founded in 2004, Proterra’s vision is to create affordable, high-performance commercial vehicle solutions to address the critical global issue of unhealthy and polluting carbon emissions caused by diesel buses and trucks as well as to reduce US dependence on foreign oil. Proterra’s revolutionary zero-emission BE-35 fast charge battery electric transit bus, recently tested at the Federal Transit Administration’s Altoona, PA Testing Center, achieved 21 miles per gallon (diesel equivalent) fully loaded, an approximately 500 percent improvement over conventional diesel buses. Proterra’s first vehicle, a battery dominant fuel cell hybrid transit bus funded by the FTA, is in service in Columbia, South Carolina, and the company has demonstration projects running with the Department of Defense’s Ft. Lewis base, the City of Burbank and other transit agencies to be revealed in the upcoming weeks.
“As the home of our first battery-dominant fuel cell bus, South Carolina is a fitting place for us to set up the foundation of the next stage of our research and development,” said Jeff Granato, CEO, Proterra. “We couldn’t be more excited to bring on local employees to help make our vision for clean transportation a reality, and to partner with the incredible team at CU-ICAR on research and development. We are grateful to South Carolina’s Congressional, state, county and city delegations for the tireless efforts and enthusiasm making the decision to move to the state so easy, and look forward to a long, successful partnership with South Carolina.”
Proterra’s Greenville facility will begin with a groundbreaking in the spring of 2010, and be operational in 2011. Hiring for the facility will focus on manufacturing, supply chain, product management and operations roles. For more information on the plant, please email: Greenville(at)proterra(dot)com.
About Proterra
Answering the international call for efficient, cost-effective and environmentally responsible transit solutions, clean commercial transit leader Proterra has been designing and manufacturing the world's most efficient commercial vehicle technologies since 2004. With hybrid and battery-electric buses that are built from the ground-up in Colorado, Proterra has patented clean transit technology serving the commercial sector with solutions for city transit buses to class 4-8 trucks. Headquartered in Golden, Colorado, Proterra is opening a new manufacturing and innovation center in South Carolina in 2011. To learn more about Proterra, please visit: http://www. proterra. com (http://www. proterra. com)
# # #
