2 Indiana bus assembly plants to close, costing 190 jobs

NAPPANEE, Ind. (AP) — A British bus maker plans to close two bus assembly plants in northern Indiana early next year, costing nearly 200 workers their jobs.

Alexander Dennis Inc.'s parent, NFI Group Inc., announced that it would close a factory in Nappanee that has 168 workers, and another in Peru with 24 workers, between February and May, The Elkhart Truth reported.

Company officials informed the mayors of both cities as well as the Indiana Department of Workforce Development in early December of the upcoming closures, which will cost a total of 192 worker their jobs.

Alexander Dennis is a British bus maker with plants in multiple countries. It took control of the Nappanee plant in 2017 after operating it as a joint venture with ABC Companies, and invested $1.5 million while adding another assembly line to make two models of Enviro500 double-deck buses.

Alexander Dennis was sold two years later to NFI Group, which announced in July that it would close its Alexander Dennis manufacturing locations in North America, which include the two Indiana plants and one in Ontario, Canada.

Double-deck bus manufacturing will be moved to existing NFI Group locations, according to the company, which cited cost savings as the reason for closing the plants.

“As it is never easy to close locations and impact individuals’ careers, this important decision was not taken lightly," NFI President Paul Soubry said in the company’s announcement.

Nappanee is located about 148 miles (238 kilometers) north of Indianapolis, while Peru is about 79 miles (127 kilometers) north of the Hoosier capital.