Organic Transit, manufacturer of the ELFpedal/electric vehicle, is moving to a larger facility in Durham and opening a West Coast manufacturing center in San Jose. Organic Transit has outgrown the old retail furniture store where it began in 2011 in downtown Durham. The new location, located just a few blocks away near Durham’s Central Park District, is 7,500 square feet, much more appropriate than the present location. The company will use sustainable design in the building renovation and implement a higher-volume manufacturing process.
The company builds the ELF, a pedal and solar electric powered vehicle.”We love the old building, and it was perfect for getting us into business,” said Rob Cotter, Organic Transit Founder and CEO, “But like Henry Ford realized 100 years ago, we need more room for a proper assembly line to increase our productivity.” “We will utilize recycled and upcycled materials in our build out. And the building is being prepared with skylights, LED lighting, edible gardens, green walls and bee hives.”
Organic Transit is also opening a San Jose manufacturing facility in partnership with Good Karma Bikes, a non-profit that trains homeless individuals to become bicycle mechanics. Cotter said the San Jose location will also be a base to make local deliveries of vehicles and act as a regional maintenance facility.