$19 million coming to Maine Military Authority in Mass. transit bus contract

LIMESTONE, Maine — Equipment refurbisher Maine Military Authority is in line to receive a $19 million contract to repair buses owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority — a deal that will give the company traction in a new market. The contract will also seal one of two major deals state officials have pushed for the company to receive.
U.S. Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins, along with Gov. Paul LePage, announced in separate statements Thursday that the MBTA contract will allow the Loring-based company to hold on to vital jobs, after being forced to lay off approximately 140 workers, due to the loss of contracts with the National Guard Bureau.
Timothy McCabe, director of business development for MMA, said Thursday that there is one small step left in the process before the contract is finalized and official.
“It’s really a formality,” he said. “We are 99 percent sure we have it.”
MMA, a business that got its start overhauling military vehicles, has been awarded the contract to refurbish 32 buses used by the MBTA. The MBTA board of directors unanimously approved a contract with MMA for the mid-life overhaul of the Neoplan buses. Gov. LePage also claims that the contract could increase to $24 million with optional and additional tasks.
McCabe said rehabilitating the dual diesel-electric buses will increase the vehicles’ 12-year life expectancy by another six years. The company will work with the original manufacturer of the buses’ electric engines, SKODA Electric, to complete the work.
The quasi-state agency has refurbished military vehicles at the former Loring Air Force Base since it began in 1997. In 2012,  MMA launched its School Bus Refurbishment Program at the Loring Commerce Centre. Since then, the company has successfully developed an end-of-life rebuild program for shuttle buses and a mid-life overhaul for mass transit buses. The company has recently moved to buses as military budgets have steadily declined, and officials are hoping to reach further into the new target market for bus refurbishment through the program started back in January.
Hugh Corbett, MMA’s executive director, has said the company provides an alternative to the traditional bus rotation of most mass transit authorities, in which they buy, use and eventually sell vehicles for scrap.
“We can service the whole Northeast,” Corbett said. “There is no other large-scale refurbishment agency like us in New England.”
The deal with MBTA is one of two veteran officials at the Loring Development Authority hoped they would receive. The second would involve railcar manufacturing work with the Chinese company Norinco. A delegation including LePage and LDA President and CEO Carl Flora, who are both currently visiting Beijing to meet with Norinco officials.
McCabe said the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority contract would help secure the 60 existing jobs at the Loring facility and “hopefully allow us to add even more jobs.”
“Our process is extremely thorough and painstaking. These buses will be rehabilitated with the same dedication and workmanship as we have for all the military vehicles we have produced for our National Guard soldiers,” said McCabe.
The Neoplan buses are “dual mode,” meaning they can be powered by a diesel engine or a traditional electric-powered trolley, depending on the route.
Congressman Mike Michaud recently put out a statement congratulating not only MMA, but the entire Limestone community, on accomplishing a deal that he feels will greatly aid in the community’s prospering, as a whole.
“This is a tremendous victory for the Maine Military Authority and the greater Limestone community. MMA has a long and proud history of delivering exceptional, high-quality work. They have provided a tremendous service to our National Guard — the craftsmanship of their work is battle-tested and speaks for itself. I am excited about the implications this contract holds for the workforce at MMA and in Limestone, and for the opportunities it no doubt creates for future work, both with the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority and beyond.”