Spartan Motors CEO: Jobs at Smeal plants are safe

By FireRescue1 Staff

CHARLOTTE, Mich. — The CEO of Spartan Motors is putting Smeal Fire Apparatus employees’ minds at ease after promising their jobs are safe after announcing its acquisition of the company.

Omaha.com reported that CEO Daryl Adams said Smeal’s 400 employees and four manufacturing locations will help return profits to its emergency equipment division.

“We need them to stick with us,” Adams said. “To us, people are really people. They’re not just a number. We need them to be part of this turnaround.”

The Smeal name will remain on its equipment, but Adams said there’s going to be change.

“For example, Smeal makes better aerial firefighting trucks and Spartan makes better tanker trucks,” he said.

No decisions have been made yet about high-level positions, but Adams said he wants to keep the “operational leaders” who make the plants run.

Spartan agreed to purchase Smeal for $36.3 million. The deal is scheduled to close in January.