At the “Day of the Firefighter” Event Attended by the Governor and Other Local Dignitaries
São Paulo, Brazil (July 2015) – Spartan Emergency Response (“Spartan”), a business unit of Spartan Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAR), participated in the Dia do Bombeiro Brasileiro (Day of the Brazilian Firefighter) event at which the Fire Department of the State of São Paulo presented 21 new Spartan custom pumpers to the Governor, Mr. Geraldo Alckmin and the people of São Paulo. This commemorative event provides the citizens of Brazil a platform on which to acknowledge the bravery, sacrifices made and unwavering protection provided by their firefighters. During this year’s event, the Governor’s undeniable commitment to public safety reached new heights, as the decision to fund the purchase of multiple Spartan custom fire trucks brings increased performance, safety and value to São Paulo’s fire houses. This funding was made possible through a public tender awarded to Spartan Emergency Response.
Spartan Emergency Response first announced São Paulo’s pumper order on September 16, 2014 and custom builds began shortly thereafter. The apparatus were then inspected by the São Paulo Fire Department on April 23, 2015 at Spartan’s Charlotte, Michigan manufacturing campus, where all the apparatus were built. The complete order of 21 custom pumpers were delivered to São Paulo prior to the “Day of the Firefighter”, which took place on June 28, 2015.
“Spartan Emergency Response and its employees are proud to partner with the State of São Paulo and its Fire Department to provide the 44 Million citizens of São Paulo higher caliber equipment,” said Dan Slater, Division President, Spartan Emergency Response. “Our ability to design, manufacture and deliver NFPA compliant apparatus, which are configured to meet the local requirements in different countries such as Chile, Peru and now Brazil, is just one of the components driving the Spartan value equation and our growing success in the Latin American region.”
Taking into account the region’s particulars—including water scarcity and low water pressure in some parts of the state—was top-of-mind for Spartan, from the beginning of the project. Spartan engineers worked closely with the São Paulo Fire Department to fully understand the challenges specific to their state and responded with innovations in kind. Spartan’s cutting edge foam-based fire suppression capabilities that mitigate the reliance on water and arm the firefighters of São Paulo with the ability to quickly and effectively suppress fires, no matter where they are in the state, was deemed mission critical, as the design phase progressed. In the end, the São Paulo Fire Department received a fleet of fire apparatus that were tailored to their region’s requirements, and amplified their ability to respond efficiently and safely to citizens in need.
While customized to include additional state-of-the-art features such as One Touch Compressed Air Foam Systems (CAFS) with smart engage and rapid fill, the pumpers delivered to the São Paulo Fire Department are based on the Spartan Legend Series body and the aluminum 94” cab and chassis. The Legend Series is differentiated by a modular body design, which provides the customer the flexibility to configure a variety of solutions specific to their needs. The modular system enables timely assembly and faster in-hand dates for the customer, without sacrificing quality. The Spartan cab/chassis configuration provides market-leading technologies including the Spartan Advanced Protection System (APS). First-to-market APS features include:
1. Side Impact Protection: outboard sensors allow for faster deployment of airbags and protect occupants from side impact collisions, rollovers and occupant ejection. The Spartan system protects cab occupants from side impacts, unlike their competitors, whose side airbags only deploy in the case of a rollover.
2. Advanced Seat Belts: intelligent seat belt system pulls the occupant into the seat in the event of an impact, or rollover and include pyrotechnic pretensioners. Load limiters release some of the webbing to control the occupant’s deceleration into the airbag system. These new seatbelts help control the strain on each occupant while reducing pressure on the chest and torso, reducing seatbelt related injuries.
3. Outboard Sensors: state-of-the-art sensors protect occupants from multi-angle impacts and create a “zone of safety” inside the cab. Sensors communicates back to the restraint control module and indicating which airbag to deploy and under what conditions.
4. Driver Knee Airbags: driver knee airbags lock the lower body in place so the upper body can be slowed by the seat belts and caught by the steering wheel airbag. This protects the driver against contact injuries resulting from hitting the instrument panel or other interior points of contact.
5. Full Side Curtain Airbags: full side curtain airbags protect occupants from a side impact or a rollover event and are 3Xs to 7Xs larger than the competitors’ systems.
6. Steering Wheel Mounted Driver Airbag: In the event of a front impact collision, the upper body is slowed by the seat belt and caught by the steering wheel airbag.
7. Officer Knee Airbag: officers’ knee airbag absorbs much of the forward momentum, locking the lower body in place while the upper body is slowed by the seat belts protecting the passenger from deceleration injuries.
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“It’s a great thing seeing Spartan’s global business development strategy reaching across the Latin American marketplace. It’s even better knowing that our technology and commitment to safety innovation is accessible enough to make a difference in so many peoples’ lives,” said Diego Salazar, Director of International Business.
About Spartan Emergency Response
Drawing on more than 130 years of excellence in fire truck manufacturing, Spartan Emergency Response is a world-class leader in the design, engineering and flexible production of the most powerful and reliable emergency response apparatus, cabs and chassis on the market. Spartan Emergency Response manufactures a full line of pumpers, tankers, rescues, aerials, quick-attack/urban interface vehicles and other emergency-rescue vehicles on both custom and commercial chassis from its facilities in Michigan, Pennsylvania and South Dakota. For more information, visit www.spartaner.com.
About Spartan Motors
Spartan Motors, Inc. designs, engineers and manufactures specialty chassis, specialty vehicles, truck bodies and aftermarket parts for the recreational vehicle (RV), emergency response, government services, defense, and delivery and service markets. The Company’s brand names – Spartan™, Spartan Chassis™, Spartan ER™, 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 and Florida. Spartan reported sales of $507million in 2014 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.