Spartan Motors acquires California truck manufacturer

Spartan Motors acquires California truck manufacturer
Spartan Motors has acquired the assets of General Truck Body, a maker of truck bodies, refrigerated trucks, stake body trucks and other vehicles.

 

CHARLOTTE — Spartan Motors Inc. is expanding its manufacturing operations into the West Coast with the purchase of a Los Angeles-area commercial truck body maker.

In the deal to expand its production capability and product offerings, Charlotte-based Spartan Motors (Nasdaq: SPAR) acquired the assets of General Truck Body Inc., which will join the company’s Fleet Vehicles and Services business unit and operate under the Utilimaster brand, according to a statement.

A maker of specialty, commercial, emergency and recreational vehicles, Spartan Motors plans to operate General Trucks Montebello, Calif. production facility to manufacture and assemble custom aluminum and composite-side truck bodies, refrigerated trucks and stake body trucks. As well, the company plans to produce moving vans, last-mile delivery vehicles and other work-specific models at the plant.

“This facility effectively provides Spartan and Utilimaster with a West Coast truck body operation that expands our footprint to better serve current and prospective customers in the region,” Spartan Motors President and CEO Daryl Adams said in a statement. “We’ve bolstered our East Coast presence over the past several months, and this West Coast facility means we can now competitively sell and service commercial and retail vehicles across the entire U.S.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Spartan Motors expects the deal to be accretive to earnings on an annual basis in 2020.

The company generated $816 million in sales last year and employs 2,300 people. It has operations in nine states, plus Mexico and Peru.