Robbinsville – An announcement by Mayor Shaun Adams earlier this month that a company that retrofits electric vehicles will be opening a manufacturing plant in Robbinsville “was premature,” the company’s chief executive told The Graham Star.
Bison EV Chairman and CEO Hank Venter said Robbinsville is “definitely in the running” among several locations – including two in South Carolina, where state incentives have attracted several significant manufacturing plants.
Venter said Adams’ announcement that Bison EV would be moving into the old Stanley Furniture Company plant off Snowbird Road was not authorized by the company.
Mayor Adams confirmed the snag.
“Based on past conversations, I perceived that the Bison EV was going forward with the process of coming to Robbinsville,” Adams told The Graham Star, “but apparently I misinterpreted what was said, because Mr. Venter told me Thursday that Bison EV is still actively looking at other properties at other locations and has not made a decision. So the town, county and the State of North Carolina still need to work hard to get Bison EV to come to Robbinsville.”
Adams had announced during the regular monthly meeting of the Robbinsville Board of Aldermen that Bison EV selected Robbinsville for the new plant.
“I’m happy to announce that Bison EV is starting the process of moving into the plant,” Adams said during the May 4 Board of Aldermen meeting.
He said it could mean several hundred jobs and is “one of the best things to happen to this town in a long time.”
Venter, however, said his company is looking for the best incentive package before it makes its decision.
While he said Graham County offers natural beauty and quality of life for factory workers, other factors must be weighed — specifically an incentive package and he said South Carolina is “light years ahead” of North Carolina.
Local and state officials have been pitching the old Stanley Furniture Company plant in Robbinsville as a possible location for a retrofit plant since April, when Bison EV representatives met with town, county and state officials in Robbinsville to discuss details about the proposal, including any tax breaks and grants that would make the plan feasible.
Graham County commissioners and Adams sent letters in support of the project.
“The success of your vision would create a much needed economic benefit for our Tier 1 North Carolina county,” commissioners said in their letter.
Graham County is a Tier 1 county, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce, meaning the county is among the state’s 40 most economically distressed. “The Graham County Board of Commissioners is committed to do everything that we can possible do to promote economic growth.”
Following last week’s setback, Mayor Adams said efforts to recruit Bison EV will continue.
“I have been working diligently to get them to come here and will continue to work to get them here,” Adams said.
Bison EV
Bison EV is an Old Fort-based company that converts gas- and diesel-fueled vehicles into electric. Bison EV describes itself as the first high-volume electric drive retrofit company in the world.
The company estimates as many as 1,000 jobs could be created in Graham County, although local officials think the number may be overly optimistic and may overwhelm both the available labor pool and available housing.
Company officials anticipate a growing market for its products, estimating a half million diesel school buses that could stand to benefit. A retrofitted electric school bus would cost under $100,000, compared to new electric school bus at a cost of around $300,000.
The federal government has committed $5 billion to the purchase of electric school buses and there is no large-scale competition in the retrofit market.
The company claims that an electric school bus saves up to $170,000 in maintenance and fuel costs over a 10-year period with better reliability, less maintenance, quieter ride, and zero exhaust.
The company retrofits all sizes of buses and claims a range of around 120 miles per charge, depending on battery configuration and driving conditions.
It provides training for maintenance and drivers and a 10-year warranty.
According to its timeline, Bison EV is searching for a manufacturing facility and hoped to have one secured and work beginning by March, with its first products rolling off the line by May and full production of two vehicle models by the end of the year. It plans to have 12 vehicle models by the end of year five. It estimates first year gross revenue of $332 million, rising to $4.8 billion by year five.
Stanley plant
Stanley Furniture Company closed its manufacturing plant on Snowbird Road in 2014, affecting about 400 jobs in a county that – at the time – had a population of just over 8,700. It is probably no coincidence that Graham County’s population has dropped to 8,030 as of the 2020 census. Oak Valley Hardwood set up shop in the old Stanley Furniture plant in April 2015 – employing at most 35 people, but closed in May 2019, and the building has remained vacant since then.
The facility is listed for sale at $4.7 million. It encompasses a 37.47-acre parcel with just over 588,000 square feet of contiguous building space. It was built in 1958 for lumber and furniture and zoned for commercial/industrial.
The listing agent said the building is sound, with a good roof and multiple drive-in doors and docks, 23,660 square feet of lumber kiln space, 312,000 square feet of warehouse space, 16 loading docks, one freight elevator and a separate log grading building. A sprinkler system and dust removal system are in place, but need “modest” repair, according to a sales brochure.