Blue Bird Corporation is pouring an estimated $300 million into a new manufacturing facility in Fort Valley, a project the school bus maker says will create 375 new jobs over the next three years. The plant will convert a former diesel-powered motorhome manufacturing site into a 1-million-square-foot operation dedicated to building school buses, with construction expected to start in the first quarter of 2027.
A Massive New Footprint In Peach County
The investment was detailed in reporting from CBS News Atlanta, which outlined the scope of the planned Fort Valley expansion. According to 41NBC, the new facility will span 1 million square feet and rise from a site that previously built diesel-powered motorhomes before Blue Bird repurposes it for bus production.
The station reports the plant will turn out Type C school buses in diesel, gasoline, propane and electric configurations, broadening the range of power options rolling off the Fort Valley line. That stands alongside Blue Bird's existing main plant in the city, which the company says produces both Type C and Type D buses, according to Blue Bird Corporation.
Hundreds Of New Jobs, A Workforce Already In The Thousands
Blue Bird is already a major employer in the state, supporting more than 1,900 employees across Georgia, per a report from Industrial Equipment News. The same outlet reports the company will be hiring for manufacturing, operations and technician roles as the new facility comes online, with construction targeted for the first quarter of 2027.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said the expansion builds on Blue Bird's long history in the state and reflects what he described as a pro-business environment in Georgia, the governor's office said. Blue Bird president and CEO John Wyskiel struck a similar note, saying the company was founded in the state and has called it home for nearly a century. “Georgia is where Blue Bird was born, and it has been our home for nearly 100 years,” Wyskiel said, according to Industrial Equipment News's report. The company has been based in Georgia since 1927, the outlet notes.
Part Of A Bigger Push Into Electric And Alternative-Fuel Buses
The new Fort Valley project follows a separate, earlier push by Blue Bird into electric vehicle manufacturing. Back in 2024, the company was selected to receive an $80 million federal grant to convert a prior manufacturing site in Fort Valley into what it called a state-of-the-art electric school bus production site, as reported by The Macon Telegraph. That earlier project was described as roughly 600,000 square feet and expected to bring more than 400 new manufacturing jobs to Middle Georgia — figures that differ from the current $300 million project's 1-million-square-foot footprint and 375 projected jobs, and it is not established whether the two efforts describe the same facility.
Blue Bird has framed its electric bus expansion as a response to growing nationwide demand. The company said increasing production of Type-D electric school buses would help meet rising demand for clean student transportation nationwide, per its own statement cited by Blue Bird Corporation. Separately, Environment+Energy Leader reported the company has nearly 2,000 zero-emission vehicles currently in operation, while WGXA reported the 2024 federal grant was intended to help Blue Bird meet growing demand for electric school buses and improve transportation access for Georgia students.
A Growing Supplier Network Across Middle Georgia
Blue Bird's expansion has also rippled out to suppliers in the region. IMMI and Blue Bird celebrated the grand opening of a joint manufacturing facility in Macon on Oct. 2, according to School Bus Fleet. That 75,000-square-foot Macon plant produces school bus seats for Blue Bird and is expected to create approximately 80 manufacturing jobs, the outlet reported, and IMMI has said it expects to add more jobs in Macon as demand increases for its SafeGuard lap-shoulder-belt seats.
Other suppliers have followed a similar pattern. The C. E. White Co. announced a 24,000-square-foot satellite assembly plant in Fort Valley's South Peach Industrial Park to support Blue Bird Body, initially hiring 10 employees, according to the Development Authority of Peach County. Together with the new $300 million Fort Valley plant, these moves reflect a steadily expanding school-bus manufacturing network taking shape across Middle Georgia.
