ALBANY, NY – New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that Unicell, a company that makes bodies for commercial trucks and vans, will invest $3.46 million to expand its Buffalo, N.Y., facilities to enable body assembly for an electric truck. 

With a $175,000 investment package from Empire State Development (ESD), Unicell will increase its manufacturing capacity as part of a green initiative.

"We're very grateful for the help from New York state with this work," Unicell President Roger Martin said. "We're determined to maintain and grow our workforce here in Buffalo, and we're very pleased to be part of developing truck technology that does not depend on fossil fuels."

In addition to the $175,000 committed by ESD through its Economic Development Fund (EDF) program, Unicell will also accrue benefits of $728,000 through the New York State Empire Zone Program.

In 2009, Unicell was awarded a contract with Navistar Inc. to manufacture a body that will be assembled onto an electric truck as part of a green initiative. Navistar was able to embark on this project after securing a $39 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant.