BYD Grows West Coast and Pacific Northwest Coach & Bus Team with Appointment of Two New Sales Associates
BYD has announced the expansion of its West Coast and Pacific Northwest Coach & Bus team with the addition of two new associates. Robert “Bobby” Bafus will cover Washington, Oregon, and Idaho; and Scott Smith, the Northern California territory, north of Los Angeles County. Both will report to Justin Scalzi, BYD’s West Coast Director of Business Development for its Coach & Bus practice.
“California, Washington, Oregon and Idaho are proactive, natural adopters of electric transit vehicles, and as such, we’ve added Bobby and Scott to help us keep ahead of the region’s growing needs,” Scalzi said. “They will help both public agencies and private entities from the planning stages through delivery, operation and maintenance of electric bus fleets.”
Scalzi is responsible for BYD’s Northern California, Pacific Northwest region, which includes Alaska and Hawaii. BYD regional clients include Oregon’s Lane Transit District; Washington’s Link Transit; and Fresno Rural Transit, Kern Transit, Marin Transit, Monterey-Salinas Transit, and Napa Valley all in California.
Bringing both bus and rail vehicle experience, from initial work orders through production and delivery, Bafus has successfully provided customer service and commissioning. He served as a project manager for BYD Coach & Bus in Lancaster, California, since mid-2018. Bafus worked with the BYD production and engineering departments to help track and monitor electric-battery bus orders for clients, before assuming his new sales associate post. Prior to joining BYD, he worked as a senior technical specialist for EDF Renewables, one of the largest renewable energy developers, working closely with customers on major contracts.
Bafus also worked as the Commissioning Lead Inspector for a global engineering firm. In his role as consultant to Los Angeles Metro on its P3010 new Light Rail Vehicle project, he maintained the project schedule, oversaw compliance of testing schedules, and tracked information for reliability demonstration tests on the fleet to replace the original 1990 Blue Line vehicles as well as serve all of Metro’s rail lines. For one of North America’s largest light rail car manufacturers, KINKISHARYO, Bafus served as a Commissioning Lead, working with production, inspection, testing, quality assurance, and leading commissioning efforts with clients to verify successful turnover and revenue service support. He earned an Associates of Science degree in Wind Energy Technology from Walla Walla Community College, Washington.
A veteran of the United States Navy where he served as an Aviation Electrician, Smith has used his technical and managerial skills to consistently deliver a high-level of trusted client service, and complete large-scale projects for various end-user technology businesses. He has conducted customer need assessments and evaluations; lead quality tests and inspections and maintained Internal Quality Control Plans; monitored and enhanced productivity; and identified and resolved a variety of technical and operational issues, all to help meet and exceed client requirements. Among his positions, Smith has served as a Systems Analyst for General Dynamics, Project Manager for M.A.I. Systems, Inc., and started his own software development company, Virtual Business Systems, specializing in GIS applications. His entrepreneurial background highlights his skill at steam lining processes and systems for customer satisfaction, and includes running his own information service business, which he successfully sold to a competitor; as well as various real estate ventures. Smith earned a Bachelor’s degree in Management Science from California State University, Fullerton.
“BYD continues to set the curve for delivering the innovative and fast-advancing technology of battery-electric buses,” said Bobby Hill, Vice President of BYD Coach & Bus. “And decisions like the December 2018 California Air Resources Board (CARB) Innovative Clean Transit regulation, which requires state public agencies to transition to 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2040, will continue to keep zero-emissions buses moving forward.”
With an investment of more than $250 million in North America, BYD continues its commitment to critical zero-emission initiatives with these key appointments as well as planning new service center hubs across the U.S. The firm is the only electric vehicle manufacturer in the U.S. to have an all-union workforce at its Lancaster, California, manufacturing plant.
