Electric bus manufacturer Proterra of Burlingame announced on Tuesday that it has raised $140 million from investors, which will be partly used to start manufacturing and hiring at its City of Industry plant.

The company is looking to ramp up manufacturing after unveiling what it claims is a heavy-duty, long range battery system for buses. The system can provide a bus with a 350-mile nominal range, or enough to complete a typical transit route on a single charge. With its latest funding, the firm also aims to increase production in its East Coast facility, located in Greenville, S.C., by 300 percent.

Proterra last year leased a 157,000-square-foot facility in City of Industry. The company has been spurred to expand manufacturing locally to satisfy the maintenance needs of local customers, including Foothill Transit and the San Joaquin Regional Transit District. The plant is expected to initially hire 70 employees.

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