New Flyer of America delivers immediate safety improvements through the 3M international Customer Project

ST. CLOUD, MN, May 14, 2018 /CNW/ - (TSX: NFI) New Flyer of America Inc. and New Flyer Industries Canada ULC (collectively "New Flyer"), subsidiaries of NFI Group Inc., formerly called New Flyer Industries Inc. ("NFI Group"), the largest transit bus and motor coach manufacturer and parts distributor in North America, today celebrated the successful completion of the 3M Customer Project, as one of only two globally-approved projects.

New Flyer was selected as one of two global host locations for the project in 2017. The customer project is part of 3M's Catalyst program to develop its high potential leaders from around the globe. The science and technology company sent six members to New Flyer's world-class manufacturing facility in St. Cloud, Minnesota, to work with the onsite manufacturing team on a New Flyer project. The real-world challenge builds leadership skills and global experience for the 3M Catalyst team, while creating value and lending global perspective to host organizations. New Flyer elected to focus the Catalyst Customer Project on identifying safety improvement opportunities.

"We were proud to be selected as one of two organizations around the world to host a 3M Catalyst team," said Wayne Joseph, President, New Flyer of America. "It is an honor to work with a global science and safety leader such as 3M, and to further advance safety in our manufacturing space. We have no greater responsibility than the safety of our team members."

The project commenced December 2017 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and concluded March 2018 in St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA, where the 3M Catalyst team (comprised of members from Korea, China, Australia, France, the Middle East and the U.S.) converged to collaborate with New Flyer leaders and share best practices from the 3MAlexandria facility.

"This approach is a different way we learn about and address our customers' needs," said Mojdeh Poul, President, 3MCanada. "Inventing products to help our customers solve their issues is just one way we create value for them. This customer-first approach positions us as a partner with subject-matter expertise and a shared interest in our customers' success. We're not focused on making an immediate sale, and that's fine."

"The goal for New Flyer was to reduce recorded safety incidents from 2.2 per 200,000 person hours to 1.1 per 200,000 person hours in the St Cloud plant," said Eric Jensen, Plant Manager of the New Flyer St. Cloud facility. "3M provided recommendations for improving safety culture and we are working our way through a list of foundational elements. This includes communication, incident investigation, accountability, job hazard assessment and training – 32 items total. I am pleased to share that our current lost time rate is .56, which is under the goal we set with 3M."

About NFI Group

NFI Group and its subsidiaries comprise the largest bus and motor coach manufacturer and parts distributor in North America, with 32 fabrication, manufacturing, distribution, and service centers located across Canada and the United States and employing nearly 6,000 team members.

NFI Group provides a comprehensive suite of mass transportation solutions under several brands: New Flyer^® (heavy-duty transit buses), ARBOC^® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty buses), MCI^® (motor coaches), and NFI Parts™ (bus and coach parts, support, and service). NFI Group's vehicles incorporate the widest range of drive systems available ranging from clean diesel, natural gas, diesel-electric hybrid, trolley-electric, battery-electric, and fuel cell-electric.

• New Flyer is North America's heavy-duty transit bus leader and offers the most advanced product line under the Xcelsior^® and Xcelsior CHARGE™ brands. New Flyer actively supports over 44,000 heavy-duty transit buses (New Flyer, NABI, and Orion) currently in service, of which 7,300 are powered by electric motors and battery propulsion and 1,600 are zero-emission.
  
  
• ARBOC is North America's low-floor, body-on-chassis ("cutaway") bus leader serving transit, paratransit, and shuttle applications. With more than 3,000 buses in service, ARBOC leads the low-floor cutaway bus market providing unsurpassed passenger accessibility and comfort over traditional high-floor cutaway vehicles. ARBOC also offers a medium-duty bus for transit and shuttle applications.
  
  
• Motor Coach Industries is North America's motor coach leader offering the J-Series, the industry's best-selling intercity coach for 11 consecutive years, and the D-Series, the industry's best-selling motor coach line in North American history. MCI actively supports over 28,000 coaches currently in service.
  
  
• NFI Parts is North America's most comprehensive parts organization, providing replacement parts, technical publications, training, service, and support for NFI Group's bus and motor coach product lines.

Further information is available at www.newflyer.com, www.arbocsv.com, and www.mcicoach.com. The common shares of NFI Group are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI.

SOURCE New Flyer of America Inc.