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| Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet Watching paint dry has gotten rather technical at the Maine Military Authority in Limestone — and a whole lot quicker. As part of the $10 million investment in efficiency and quality made to the Loring facilities and its upgraded equipment, two painters can produce eight Humvees per day, completely dry and ready to roll. Executive Director of MMA Tim Corbett and Bob Jandreau inspect the paint job on a recently painted Humvee yesterday morning. |
State legislature allocates funding for about 30 school buses to be refurbished at Loring facility
By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — Maine Military Authority employees have worked hard to earn the company’s nationwide reputation for refurbishing Humvees at a fraction of their competitors cost and at the highest level of quality, but a new pilot program recently approved by the state legislature is another step forward for MMA in diversifying that single-product branding.
As MMA Executive Director Tim Corbett has been saying for years, “We do a lot more than Humvees,” and 30 big yellow school buses from around the state will soon be cozying up with the Humvees at Loring to be renovated and sometimes rebuilt in conjunction with the pilot program.
MMA Director of Business Development Timothy McCabe explained that the new pilot program aims to help school departments manage their bus fleets and extend their already stretched budgets, as refurbishing a vehicle will easily extend a bus’ life by seven to 10 years for less than half the cost of buying a new one.
“The price tag for us to refurbish a bus is about $30,000, and the price of a brand new bus is about $85,000; this refurbishment process is made for [school departments] to be able to stretch their budget dollars,” McCabe explained on Friday.
When school districts need to purchase new buses, they submit an application to the state for reimbursement (or governmentally called ‘State Shared Percentage’); MMA’s refurbished buses weren’t eligible for those funds, but the state legislature recently approved roughly $400,000 that will allow schools to receive 30- to 70-percent reimbursement for refurbishing their aging buses.
“With the State Share Percentage factored in, districts can potentially refurbish three buses for the price of purchasing one new bus,” McCabe said.
As the $400,000 was appropriated for the current fiscal year, refurbishment contracts need to be signed off on before the end of June.
“Right now it’s first-come, first served,” Corbett said on Tuesday, adding that he’s heard from interested school districts statewide.
“[The school bus program] could certainly provide added work hours and add to stability,” MMA’s executive director said.
Maine weather being what it is, bus bodies often break down long before their mechanical systems.
“The [bus] program is built around body and frame corrosion mitigation,” McCabe explained. The program extends the use of vehicles currently in their mid-life, which is indicated by the condition of the bus — not age, make or model.
MMA has sent inspection teams all over the state looking for buses eligible for the program; as of Friday, they’d inspected roughly 60 buses with a 50 percent program-acceptance rate.
The famed refurbishment company first proved the effectiveness of their bus program roughly a year ago, footing the bill to refurbish a couple of school buses for the Oakland-based Regional School Unit 18.
The result was not only a very happy school district, but an intrigued Education Commissioner as well; Stephen Bowen toured the Loring facilities a year ago in conjunction with MMA’s first refurbished buses, and discussed the program’s potential; Bowen told the Aroostook Republican shortly after his MMA visit that he was impressed with the program.
Off to an impressive start, the program only looks to get better; Loring Operations Manager Robert Jandreau said that it currently takes MMA employees about three weeks to refurbish a bus. Keeping with MMA’s high standard and their motto of “quicker, faster, cheaper,” Jandreau is looking to get that three-week turnaround down to an even two.
MMA recently overhauled a former Howitzer storage area, turning it into a top-of-the-line paint and body facility that’s ahead of the curve in both technology and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) standards; the facility and equipment updates came with a $10,000,000 price tag.
“[The school bus program] utilizes the new facility perfectly,” McCabe said.
The overhaul has made drastic improvements in MMA’s already famed quality, cost effectiveness and turnaround.
Their new electrostatic paint chamber, for instance, means that metal vehicle parts (like hood tie-downs, as Corbett explained) can be painted using half the amount of product, as paint particles are drawn specifically to the tie downs like a magnet.
From 80-foot blasting chambers that remove old paint and rust to drying chambers that can set the iconic yellow paint on a school bus in roughly 40 minutes, the body and paint shop improvements will be utilized by every vehicle that drives through MMA’s doors.
Before the improvements were made, two MMA employees could paint approximately four Humvees a day; now they can paint eight.
While MMA employees will quickly turn out high quality, low cost vehicles as they’ve always done, Corbett undoubtedly will continue making it known that MMA excels at much more than top-notch humvees. His sights are set on all the other equipment he’d like to see drive through their body and paint shop — like fire trucks, backhoes and other large equipment.
Additional information about MMA’s school bus program can be obtained by visiting www.mainemilitaryauthority.com.
