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White House on the line

U.S. VP taps city-based New Flyer boss for guidance on green transit

By: Geoff Kirbyson

Posted: 03/19/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

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When The White House showed up on Paul Soubry's call display recently, he probably wondered if his family had ordered some ribs, chicken and coleslaw for him to pick up on the way home from work.

But the new CEO of New Flyer Industries had THE White House on the line -- you know, the one where the most powerful person on the planet lives -- not the River Heights takeout restaurant.

The Winnipeg-based bus manufacturer will host a town hall meeting featuring U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden at its St. Cloud, Minn., plant this morning as President Barack Obama's right-hand man solicits public input on how to implement the newly passed US$787-billion economic stimulus package.

The largest heavy-duty bus company in North America was selected for its innovations in powering transit buses with low-emission, alternative energy.

Another reason for holding the town hall at New Flyer is because the company is swimming upstream in a falling economy. It hired 90 people last year and plans to hire more in the near future as it tackles its three- to four-year order backlog, worth more than US$4 billion.

Soubry told Minnesota Public Radio that once the shock wore off, he thought it made sense that the Obama administration would want to highlight New Flyer's innovative work in green technology.

"The need for and the desire of the government to invest in companies and industries and technologies and infrastructure that will help restart the economy, specifically in shovel-ready projects where we can convert options into firm orders quicker, and continue to ramp up our business (is strong)," Soubry said.

He said the company has already garnered a lot of new business in the few weeks since the stimulus bill passed.

"The number of inquiries, bids, proposals, initiatives, analysis that's going on -- to look at how to convert that kind of investment into very, very quick return for job creation and retention -- is very encouraging," Soubry said.

Dave Angus, CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said this is the first time he has ever heard of a Winnipeg-based company having any direct contact from the most well-known address on Pennsylvania Avenue.

"This is a big deal. It's great for us. The brand of New Flyer being tied to this announcement by the vice-president helps gain the kind of exposure you want for a bus manufacturer," he said.

"It profiles how international a lot of our companies are. Its something we should be proud of, having New Flyer profiled so prominently in tough economic times."

Angus said the U.S. government's stimulus package could open windows for countless other firms north of the 49th parallel.

"Their focus on alternative energy is a North American opportunity. It does flow across the border. Maybe we won't see the vice-president coming up, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were a lot of opportunities for Canadian companies," he said.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 19, 2009 A3

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