EPHRATA, Pa., May 17, 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 its acceptance of a grant and tax credit award
package which initially totals $678,000 from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for its Ephrata plant expansion and long-term job
growth initiatives. The award comes following its
$214 million United States Postal
Service (USPS) contract win to build more than 2,000 cargo body
vehicles for parcel delivery. The Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, through the
Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) extended
the Pennsylvania First Program grant, in addition to Job Creation
Tax Credits, and Manufacturing Tax Credits to Spartan,
demonstrating its commitment to partner with the Company and in so
doing, to further Pennsylvania's
position as an economic leader through business development and job
creation.
"On the heels of our USPS truck body win, we needed to make a
determination on where to manufacture those vehicles. Rather
than build or buy a new facility elsewhere, we made the decision to
re-invest in and revitalize our Ephrata location, placing the Utilimaster
truck body plant here," said Daryl
Adams, President and Chief Executive Officer, Spartan
Motors.
Utilimaster, a go-to-market brand of Spartan Motors' Fleet
Vehicles & Services business unit, has been engineering,
manufacturing, and assembling purpose-built parcel and last mile
delivery vehicles for more than 40 years. Last October,
Spartan announced the USPS award as the single largest revenue
contract in its history. The USPS cargo body order consists
of a combination of 18-foot and 24-foot Cab Over Engine and Cab
Behind Engine Utilimaster truck body configurations. The
initial order of 2,000 truck bodies will be built and delivered
over the span of two years, beginning this month, with an option
for additional quantities to be delivered over a third contract
year. The win and resulting plant expansion is expected to
create nearly 200 new full-time jobs over three years.
Based on the significant economic impact of the Ephrata facility reinvestment, the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
extended the Pennsylvania First Program (PFP) grant, in the amount
of $300,000, to be used toward the
project. Alongside the PFP grant, it has provided Job
Creation Tax Credits (JCTC) of $378k,
based on the premium wages Spartan workers will earn.
Additionally, Manufacturing Tax Credits (MTC) have been offered for
the creation of these long-term full-time jobs.
"We're committed to this location, our workforce, and to better
serving our customers by having a larger presence on the Eastern
seaboard. Programs like the PFP and the corresponding tax
credits offered by Governor Wolf and the DCED made that expansion
easier," Adams concluded.
As with any Spartan manufacturing facility, the Ephrata truck body manufacturing facility has
been constructed and fixtured with the future in mind.
Flexible manufacturing layouts allow for changes in customer orders
and future build accommodations, so that changes to line
configurations and corresponding product builds and assembly are
thought of at the outset.
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.
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SOURCE Spartan Motors, Inc.