CHARLOTTE, Mich., May 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Spartan Fleet
Vehicles & Services ("Spartan" or "Spartan FVS"), a business
unit of Spartan Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAR), announced today an
expanded order from a leading American-based delivery services
company to include 800 of Spartan's fuel-efficient Utilimaster
Reach® walk-in vans. The vehicles will be built at Spartan's
Charlotte, Mich. facility over the
course of the next eight months. Additionally, a separate global
logistics leader ordered 72 of the same vehicle this past week.
Last year, the American courier placed a substantial Reach
order, then added on another 800 units this year due to early,
positive response to the Reach's design, and the company's need to
meet the ever-changing "last mile" parcel delivery landscape that
is directly impacted by the growing e-commerce retail trade. Last
week, a business unit of the world's leading postal and logistics
company placed a modest, yet telling order for the same
vehicle.
Spartan first introduced the Reach, an innovative,
fuel-efficient walk-in van in March of 2011. It utilizes a
state-of-the-art Isuzu 4JJI-TC 3.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder
diesel engine paired with an aerodynamic Utilimaster body design to
provide up to 35 percent better fuel economy than traditional
walk-in vans, without compromising interior cargo capacity.
"We're in the business of problem solving for our customers, and
we believe the Reach is a great example of our strategic approach
to design," said Daryl Adams, Chief
Executive Officer of Spartan Motors. "It's inspired by more than 40
years of custom fleet vehicle engineering, and it offers a rare
combination of cargo capacity, low cost of ownership, reduced
footprint, and improved fuel economy. For two leading parcel
delivery organizations to demonstrate their confidence in this
vehicle to this degree says a lot about our understanding of
today's Last Mile Delivery fleet requirements and our ability to
forecast tomorrow's change."
Available in lengths of 12 feet or 14 feet, the Reach provides
540 or 630 cubic feet of storage and up to 27 inches more headroom
than a conventional cargo van. Additionally, it provides 10 inches
more aisle width than traditional European vans.
"We have the capacity, the knowledge, and skillset on-campus
today to ramp up production so we can respond to the growing demand
for fuel-efficient fleets effortlessly," said Adams. "The
efficiency of last mile delivery grows in importance with every new
e-commerce order, and we're uniquely positioned to meet the needs
of the modernized fleet."
For more information on Spartan's Fleet Vehicles & Services
or its Utilimaster Reach, please visit
www.spartanmotors.com/fleet-vehicles.
About Spartan Motors
Spartan Motors, Inc. is a leading designer, engineer,
manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialty vehicles,
specialty chassis, vehicle bodies and parts for the fleet and
delivery, recreational vehicle (RV), emergency response, defense
forces and contract assembly (light/medium duty truck) markets. The
Company's brand names — Spartan Motors, Spartan Specialty Vehicles,
Spartan Emergency Response, Spartan Parts and Accessories; Smeal®
and its family of brands, including Ladder Tower™ and UST®; and
Utilimaster®, a Spartan Motors Company — are known for quality,
durability, performance, customer service and first-to-market
innovation. The Company employs approximately 2,200 associates and
operates facilities in Michigan,
Indiana, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Wisconsin, Nebraska, South
Dakota; Saltillo, Mexico;
and Lima, Peru. Spartan reported
sales of $591 million in 2016. Visit
Spartan Motors at www.spartanmotors.com.
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SOURCE Spartan Motors, Inc.