Oshkosh Defense, Spartanburg welcome USPS clearing hurdle for postal fleet project

The U.S. Postal Service said Wednesday it has cleared the final regulatory hurdle to move forward with its plan to acquire its fleet of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, scheduled to bring 1,000 jobs to Spartanburg County by Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Defense.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said concerns raised Feb. 2 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that only 10% of the fleet will be electric have been addressed in the final environmental impact statement, according to a USPS press release.

The decision published in the Federal Register allows the Postal Service to proceed with placing the first order that will include at least 5,000 electric vehicles, along with an undetermined number of gas-powered vehicles, Postal Service spokesperson Kim Frum said Wednesday.

"USPS concludes there is no legal or other basis to delay the NGDV (Next Generation Delivery Vehicles) program," the Postal Service stated Wednesday.

Spartanburg ready for Oshkosh project

Spartanburg County Councilman David Britt said the announcement clears the way for the project to move forward in Spartanburg.

"This is the way business and government is supposed to work – in a partnership versus an adversarial relationship," Britt said Wednesday. "In my review of the documents, it means put the pedal to the metal Oshkosh Defense and Spartanburg, South Carolina. We have a job to do and we will do it with exceptional first-class workmanship.

"Postmaster Louis DeJoy nailed it in his comments, 'this process needs to keep moving forward,' and we have proven in the past couple weeks we will make sure that happens here in Spartanburg with our new partner, Oshkosh Defense," Britt added.

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Oshkosh Defense spokeswoman Alexandra Little said her company is ready to move forward with the project.

"We are excited to fulfill the needs of the NGDV program and we look forward to getting these highly capable vehicles into the hands of mail carriers," Oshkosh Defense spokeswoman Alexandra Little said Wednesday. "These NGDVs will be critical to our nation’s infrastructure for years to come."

Low-emission USPS fleet

DeJoy previously said the USPS intends to make 70% of its fleet electrified within a decade. He said vehicles in the new fleet that are gas-powered will still produce fewer emissions than the existing fleet.

"While the current NGDV plan calls for a fleet mix to be at least 10 percent (battery-electric vehicles), the Postal Service ... recognizes a 100% mix of battery electric vehicles would deliver even greater emission benefits," the USPS stated Wednesday. "The program is designed to increase the mix of battery electric vehicles as financial resources become available."

Last February, the Postal Service awarded a multi-billion-dollar contract to Oshkosh Defense to produce its Next Generation Delivery Vehicle fleet of up to 165,000 vehicles.

Four months later in June, Oshkosh Defense selected Spartanburg for the project. The company plans to invest $155 million and create more than 1,000 jobs at the former Rite-Aid distribution center at Flatwood Industrial Park. Production is scheduled to start in summer 2023, although site preparation is expected to begin sooner.

Wisconsin wants project

Since then, there has been mounting pressure from U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and the union in Oshkosh to move the project from Spartanburg back to Wisconsin, home of Oshkosh Defense for more than 100 years.

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"Oshkosh Defense has a history of manufacturing vehicles in Wisconsin with experienced and skilled union labor, so I don’t like the fact that they decided to move production of the postal trucks to South Carolina in what appears to be a newly acquired facility with inexperienced, likely non-union hires, " Baldwin stated.

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Led by Britt, several elected officials including Gov. Henry McMaster have fought back, urging Oshkosh Defense to stick with its decision to build the fleet in Spartanburg.

Citing BMW, Volvo and dozens of auto suppliers, they said South Carolina's workforce has a long history of automotive manufacturing.

Sticking with Spartanburg

Last week, Oshkosh Defense President John Bryant said nothing has been said to change his company's decision.

He said preparations at the Flatwood Industrial Park site "are well underway to ensure Oshkosh will meet contractual deadlines for deliveries to the Postal Service in 2023."

Baldwin was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Contact Bob Montgomery at bob.montgomery@shj.com. Please support our coverage of Spartanburg County with a digital subscription. Take advantage of our unbeatable President's Day sale: $22 for 2 years of a digital subscription!

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: USPS clears hurdle for Oshkosh postal fleet project in Spartanburg