Blue Bird to Invest $300M in Fort Valley Manufacturing Expansion

Blue Bird Corp., a maker of school buses and alternative-fuel student transportation vehicles, plans to spend an estimated $300 million expanding its manufacturing operations in Fort Valley, Georgia, a city about 27 miles southwest of Macon. The company will repurpose a former factory that built diesel motorhomes at 401 Wanderlodge Way, converting it into a new plant of about 1 million square feet. The site will build Type C conventional school buses across all powertrains, including diesel, gasoline, propane and electric models. Blue Bird projects 375 new jobs over the next three years. Construction is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2027. Local and state partners supporting the project include the Development Authority of Peach County, Georgia Quick Start, and the Global Commerce team at the Georgia Department of Economic Development. For developers and investors, the deal highlights how large industrial reuse projects in secondary Southeast markets can move forward by converting existing heavy-manufacturing buildings, so zoning review, incentive packages and construction scheduling for a 2027 start should be planned early.