This century-old maker of buses picks Georgia for a $300 million factory

Blue Bird, the Georgia-based school bus manufacturer, plans a $300 million expansion in Peach County, where the company said it will create 375 jobs over the next few years.

The company said it will convert a facility that formerly produced diesel-powered motorhomes in Fort Valley, about 100 miles south of downtown Atlanta, into a 1 million-square-foot bus factory, according to a Wednesday news release from Gov. Brian Kemp’s office.

The new facility will produce Type-C buses, the heavy truck-based workhorses familiar to many Georgia students and parents, with models featuring diesel, electric, gasoline and propane power trains.

“Georgia is where Blue Bird was born, and it has been our home for nearly 100 years. Every bus that rolls out of our plant carries the pride of the people across Middle Georgia who build it,” Blue Bird President and CEO John Wyskiel, said in the release.

Blue Bird, founded in 1927, said it employs more than 1,900 people in Georgia. The company said roles at the new plant will include manufacturing, operations and technician jobs.

Georgia Quick Start, the state’s jobs training program, will provide assistance to Blue Bird. Additional information about incentives were not immediately released, with a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Economic Development describing the expansion as an “active” project.

In the release, Kemp hailed Blue Bird as “an incredible part of Georgia’s story, and now that story will continue to be written for years to come.”

“We are proud when our long-time partners can grow and adapt to changing markets right here in the Peach State, and this expansion is the latest example that our pro-business environment is fostering sustained success for our business partners,” Kemp said.

In August, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce named the Blue Bird Vision Electric school bus the winner of its 2026 Coolest Thing Made in Georgia competition.

Earlier this year, Blue Bird fully acquired Micro Bird, a shuttle bus joint venture it previously co-owned with Girardin Group. Blue Bird also recently announced the acquisition of a Michigan factory and an expanded partnership with Ford Motor Co. involving the Detroit giant’s next-generation stripped commercial chassis.

In its fiscal third quarter that ended in late June, Blue Bird reported net income of $185.3 million, a figure including gains attributed to the Micro Bird acquisition, compared with $36.5 million in the same period a year ago.

Net sales were $517.2 million in fiscal third quarter, up from $398 million in the comparable period last year.