By Frank Witsil
Detroit Free Press
CHARLOTTE, Mich. — Spartan Motors is buying Smeal Fire Apparatus for $36.3 million, the Charlotte, Mich.-based specialty chassis and vehicle design company announced today.
The deal will help Spartan, a publicly traded company, boost its geographical reach and its emergency response vehicle business, specifically fire trucks.
Spartan has supplied fire truck chassis to Smeal for 30 years.
“We look forward to adding Smeal’s industry-leading product portfolio and manufacturing expertise to Spartan’s, while expanding on a decades-long successful partnership,” said Daryl Adams, Spartan’s president and CEO. “It also expands the geographic reach of our dealers, benefits all of our customers by expanding our product offerings, and brings an additional portfolio of leading technology and expertise to the market.”
The acquisition is expected to close in January, and was financed with a line of credit.
Smeal, which is expected to generate about $100 million in revenues this year, was founded in 1955 in Snyder, Neb., with factories in Neligh, Neb., Delavan, Wis., and Ephrata, Pa. It employs about 400 people.
Spartan — which did not offer any specifics on whether jobs would be cut through the acqusition — anticipates Smeal will add about $70 million in annual revenue.
The combined company will have 47 dealers in 44 states and 10 Canadian provinces.
Spartan, which reported sales of $550 million in 2015, employs about 1,800 and, in addition to Michigan, also operates in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kansas, South Dakota, Saltillo, Mexico; and Lima, Peru.
“Spartan Motors is the perfect fit for Smeal,” Rod Cerny, Smeal’s chairman, said. “As part of a larger, profitable and well-capitalized public company, we will have the working capital necessary to ensure continued investment in product development and make sure the Smeal brand is able to deliver the exceptional products and service our dealers, departments, and municipality customers have come to expect.”
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