ELKHART — Two local manufacturers made significant announcements Friday that will grow their businesses.

GROWING MARKET SEGMENT

Elkhart Coach has recently signed its largest contract with a private company which has helped create a few new jobs and will sustain production through the end of the year.

The shuttle bus manufacturer has received an order, worth nearly $8 million, for 189 vehicles from Emertius Senior Living, a provider of assisted living and memory care. This is the largest nonmunicipal contract Elkhart Coach has ever signed and, Tony Cundiff, general manager, pointed out that it could lead to more business for the manufacturer considering the growing number of seniors in the general population.

“We’re proud to have been selected for this important order and very pleased that it will benefit the local economy,” Cundiff stated in a press release.

Production of the 14-passenger buses will begin in mid-May, with the first unit expected to roll off the line in mid-June, and continue through December. To meet the increasing workload brought by the Emeritus and other businesses, Elkhart Coach has recently hired four additional workers. The company currently employs 63 on the factory floor and 10 in the office.

Elkhart Coach is a division of Forest River. Emertius operates 478 senior living communities in 44 states, including Brentwood at Elkhart on East Bristol Street.

A GLOBAL FOOTPRINT

In a move that will enhance its offerings to the global poultry market, CTB Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire Netherlands-based Meyn Holding B.V. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1959, Meyn has a reputation for product innovation and development, and has introduced a number of modernizations into the poultry meat processing industry. Victor A. Mancinelli, CTB president and CEO, stated in a press release that the acquisition will give his company the ability to offer global poultry companies total solutions form grow-out through the eventual processing cycle.

“Meyn is a great match for CTB,” Mancinelli continued. “Both companies are innovative in their approach and both seek to partner with poultry companies to provide intelligent, forward-thinking solutions.”

Parent company of Meyn Food Processing Technology B.V., Meyn Holding, designs and manufactures poultry processing systems and equipment for customers in more than 90 countries. As part of the acquisition agreement, Meyn will become a new business unit of CTB and its management team will also remain in their current roles.

CTB, based in Milford, designs, manufactures and markets systems and solutions for poultry, pig and egg production as well as grain industries.