CHARLOTTE, Mich., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Spartan
Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAR) ("Spartan" or the "Company"), a global
leader in specialty chassis and vehicle design, manufacturing and
assembly, today announced a series of actions to enhance the depth
and bench strength of its senior leadership team, while creating a
more streamlined reporting structure.
Tom Ninneman has been promoted to
Chief Operating Officer of Spartan Motors. Ninneman most
recently served as Spartan's President of Fleet Vehicles &
Services (FVS) for the past year and previously served as the Chief
Operating Officer of Smeal Fire Apparatus Co., which was acquired
in 2017. Ninneman brings over 25 years of business and
leadership experience, including 10 years in custom vehicle
manufacturing across the fire and emergency response, specialty
vehicle, and military markets. The presidents of Fleet
Vehicles & Services, Emergency Response (ER), and Specialty
Chassis & Vehicles (SCV) business segments will report to
Ninneman.
"We saw a need to bring greater operational expertise, structure
and responsiveness to our senior management team to better prepare
us to meet our 2020 goals and the actions we announced today are
meant to accomplish that. We are convinced that Tom brings
the exact skill set and experience we need to lead our operations,
and are proud to name him our Chief Operating Officer," said
Daryl Adams, President and Chief
Executive Officer. "Tom's strong leadership in FVS over the past
year, combined with his prior experience at Smeal and Oshkosh,
makes him the ideal person to head up operational leadership across
our organization, bringing increased agility to our senior
leadership team. With the addition of a COO, we will also see
enhanced alignment on operational improvements across the business
while allowing our entire team to sharpen their strategic focus for
the long term."
The Company also announced that Chad
Heminover has been named President, Fleet Vehicles &
Services (FVS), which includes the Utilimaster® and Spartan Upfit
Services go-to-market brands. Heminover most recently served
as Vice President of Operations and Business Development of FVS and
was previously the Business Unit President for Taylor Corporation,
one of the largest print and communications services providers,
where he implemented a number of business turnarounds, which
resulted in enhanced efficiency and significant improvement in
profitability. Over his extensive career, Heminover managed major
supplier and customer relationships, as well as mergers and
acquisitions, new product development and the implementation of
programs to enhance employee development and retention.
"Chad is the right person to lead our FVS segment, as he brings
an energetic and innovative approach to developing long-term
strategic vision while managing the operational details of the
day-to-day business," added Adams. "As we look to enhance the speed
of delivery on our 2020 goals, we believe it's important to empower
the next generation of leadership to build on the foundation we've
set over the past two years. Our ultimate focus remains on
profitable growth for Spartan, and we must continue to foster the
dynamic leaders, like Chad, who will ultimately drive that
growth."
As a final component of the senior management transition,
Spartan announced that John Slawson,
President of Spartan Emergency Response, has resigned his position
to pursue other interests. Tom
Ninneman, Chief Operating Officer, will serve as the interim
President of the ER business unit as the Company completes its
search for a replacement.
"We thank John for his support in returning the Emergency
Response segment to profitability in 2017, and we wish him well in
his future endeavors," added Adams. "Tom Ninneman brings a wealth of emergency
response experience, having previously served as COO of Smeal, and
he has my confidence in successfully leading these concurrent roles
until we name a permanent replacement for ER President."
Adams concluded, "We are pleased with these appointments, which
illustrate the bench strength of our management team and adds to
our confidence in our ability to achieve our 2020
goals."
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 2,300
associates, and operates facilities in Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Wisconsin, Nebraska, South
Dakota; Saltillo, Mexico;
and Lima, Peru. Spartan reported
sales of $707 million in 2017. Visit
Spartan Motors at www.spartanmotors.com.
This release contains several forward-looking statements that
are not historical facts, including statements concerning our
business, strategic position, financial projections, financial
strength, future plans, objectives, and the performance of our
products and operations. These statements can be identified
by words such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "potential,"
"future," "may," "will," "should," and similar expressions
regarding future expectations. These forward-looking
statements involve various known and unknown risks, uncertainties,
and assumptions that are difficult to predict with regard to
timing, extent, and likelihood. Therefore, actual performance
and results may materially differ from what may be expressed or
forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could
contribute to these differences include operational and other
complications that may arise affecting the implementation of our
plans and business objectives; continued pressures caused by
economic conditions and the pace and extent of the economic
recovery; challenges that may arise in connection with the
integration of new businesses or assets we acquire or the
disposition of assets; restructuring of our operations, and/or our
expansion into new geographic markets; issues unique to government
contracting, such as competitive bidding processes, qualification
requirements, and delays or changes in funding; disruptions within
our dealer network; changes in our relationships with major
customers, suppliers, or other business partners, including Isuzu;
changes in the demand or supply of products within our markets or
raw materials needed to manufacture those products; and changes in
laws and regulations affecting our business. Other factors
that could affect outcomes are set forth in our Annual Report on
Form 10-K and other filings we make with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC), which are available at www.sec.gov or
our website. All forward-looking statements in this release
are qualified by this paragraph. Investors should not place
undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of
actual results. We undertake no obligation to publicly update
or revise any forward-looking statements in this release, whether
as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise.
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SOURCE Spartan Motors, Inc.