HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Collins Industries has announced the closure of the Mid Bus Inc. production facility in Bluffton, Ohio. Company officials plan to move the Mid Bus production to their main facility in South Hutchinson, Kan., by Nov. 9, 2007.

"With underutilized manufacturing capacity in our Kansas plant, coupled with recent manufacturing initiatives, we concluded that we could absorb excess volume and alleviate costly duplication of resources through moving the Mid Bus product line to Collins Bus Corp. in South Hutchinson, Kan.," stated Randall Swift, president and CEO of Collins Industries Inc.

Company officials met with affected employees in the Bluffton, Ohio, plant to announce the impending closure and to explain the intention of giving affected employees first consideration for any employment opportunities for which they are qualified at Collins Bus Corp.

"Over the last nine months, we have made a substantial investment in our Kansas operation, which will allow us to increase our production capacity at the Collins Bus Corp. facility to over 4,000 units annually. We believe these types of changes will allow us to not only sustain our leading position in the Type-A market, but expand our market share and customer base in the coming years," stated Kent Tyler, president of Collins Bus Corp.