U.S. Postal Service awards $214 million contract to Spartan Motors

U.S. Postal Service awards $214 million contract to Spartan Motors
During an annual analyst and investor presentation last week, Spartan Motors Inc. CEO Daryl Adams, at center, said the Charlotte-based heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer had been awarded a $214 million contract to make cargo delivery vans for the U.S. Postal Service.

CHARLOTTE — Spartan Motors Inc. has been awarded a contract valued at more than $214 million to produce cargo delivery vans for the U.S. Postal Service.

Executives from Charlotte-based Spartan Motors (Nasdaq: SPAR) announced the deal during an analyst and investor presentation Oct. 12. Spartan Motors expects to produce the Postal Service vehicles in 2018 and 2019, according to a filing with federal securities regulators.

The cargo vans will be designed into two types — cab over engine and cab behind engine — and with 18-foot and 24-foot cargo body sizes, according to a document from the Federal Budget Office.

During the presentation to investors, Spartan Motors’ President and CEO Daryl Adams said the company targets $1 billion in sales by 2020, up roughly $500 million since 2014. The manufacturer reported annual sales of $591 million last year.

“We saw the potential to nearly double revenues and have set an aspirational, yet achievable goal with our long-term growth strategy,” Adams stated in a statement. “We’ve never provided this level of detail as a company, and these objectives represent the visibility we now have as an organization after establishing a solid foundation for continued growth.”

The company manufactures heavy-duty fleet, specialty and emergency response vehicles at 26 plants across the U.S. Executives did not respond to requests for comment at the time this report was published.

The Postal Service previously selected Spartan Motors as one of six heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers to build a prototype of its next generation delivery vehicle. In February, MiBiz reported that Spartan Motors opted out of the prototype program, saying instead that it would partner with another manufacturer involved in the project to produce interior and cargo components.