Spartan Chassis Recognizes OEMs for Success in 2013

CHARLOTTE, Mich., Feb. 20, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spartan Chassis, a business unit of Spartan Motors, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPAR), today recognized several of its original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the dealers for their achievements, most of which involve sales success in 2013. In total, 22 dealers that sell the apparatus manufactured by Spartan Chassis' OEM customers received formal acknowledgment during its Sales Training Conference in Lansing, Mich.

For the fourth-straight year, Metro Fire Apparatus Specialists, Inc. received the Top Sales Award, and Profire Emergency Equipment was recognized as the winner of the Excellence in Customer Service Award for the second-consecutive year.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Metro Fire has over 25 years of experience with Spartan Chassis. Metro Fire prides itself on its diligence and commitment to safety, customization, and innovation. Craig Russell started Metro Fire Apparatus Specialists, Inc. in 1986 to help combat the outsourcing of warranty and repair work in the Lone Star state. Since then, Russell and Metro Fire have collaborated with Spartan Chassis in the development of multiple products.

"Metro Fire Apparatus Specialists, Inc. continues to show strong sales figures year-after-year," said Michael Bowman, Director of Sales, Emergency Response Chassis. "Without dealers like Metro Fire committed to the overall success of our OEM customers, our jobs at Spartan Chassis would certainly be much more difficult. The knowledge and commitment to customer service that Metro Fire demonstrates day after day certainly has played a key role in their success. "

Year-after-year, Metro Fire is one of the high performance dealers selling finished apparatus built on Spartan Chassis OEMs. With over 50 employees, Metro Fire is dedicated to the continued long-term success of the Spartan Chassis OEMs. A single-source fire apparatus distributor, Metro Fire is the sole TX DOT Authorized License Franchise Dealer for Spartan Chassis OEMs in the state of Texas.

Led by President John Witt; Profire, a division of Safetek Emergency Vehicles, maintains a large inventory across its three locations – Abbotsford, British Columbia; Leduc, Alberta and Mississauga, Ontario. With 16 service bays, Profire prides itself on supporting its customers in protecting property and saving lives by providing a comprehensive set of solutions to the emergency services community.

"Profire Emergency Equipment did an exceptional job with customer satisfaction this year. Profire's ability to service several of Canada's provinces is certainly critical in the expansive Canadian market. Profire can service multiple units at any of its three service locations, as well as with its six mobile service units. We consistently hear of Profire's ability to exceed the customer's needs with its prompt, dedicated and high quality service," Bowman said.

With over 40 employees, Profire provides parts, service and equipment to customers throughout Canada. In addition, at its headquarters in Abbotsford, Profire offers additional customer-valued capabilities such as fabrication, warranty administration and pump testing.

In addition to the top awards handed out yearly, Spartan Chassis also recognized several OEMs for exceptional sales in 2013.

About Spartan Chassis, Inc.

Spartan Chassis, Inc. is a world-class leader in the engineering, manufacturing and marketing of chassis and aftermarket parts for emergency-response, recreational vehicle (RV), defense and specialty vehicles. End users recognize and request the Spartan Chassis brand, which consistently delivers superior performance, exceptional safety ratings and innovations which distinguish us from the competition. Visit Spartan Chassis at www.spartanchassis.com.

About Spartan Motors

Spartan Motors, Inc. designs, engineers and manufactures specialty chassis, specialty vehicles, truck bodies and aftermarket parts for the recreational vehicle, emergency response, government services, defense, and delivery and service markets. The company's brand names - Spartan™, Spartan ERV™ and Utilimaster® - are known for quality, performance, service and first-to-market innovation. The company employs approximately 1,700 associates at facilities in Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Indiana, Florida and Texas. Spartan reported sales of $426 million in 2011 and is focused on becoming a global leader in the design, engineering and manufacture of specialty vehicles and chassis. 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 strength, future plans, objectives, and the performance of our products. 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; 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.