Earlier this month, Spartan Motors Inc. struck a $36 million deal with fire truck manufacturer Smeal Fire Apparatus Co. The deal marks a turnaround for the company’s emergency response business, which has struggled financially in the past, according to President and CEO Daryl Adams. For the first time since 2008, Charlotte-based Spartan Motors is on track to be profitable for all four quarters in 2016 and Adams believes the Smeal acquisition will better position the company in the coming year. Moreover, Adams noted that Spartan Motors’ fleet/delivery and specialty chassis divisions remain open to acquisitions if the right opportunities emerge.
"The progress our emergency response business has made over the last 12 months and the progress the other divisions have made pulled ahead to where we thought we’d be profitable with the ER business to a run rate of 2017. The acquisition is going to accelerate that. It will be accretive immediately and that also has to be part of the equation when you do M&A. What you’re acquiring needs to better the base company. … We still have two other divisions and I think things are moving quickly in all of our industries. We want to be opportunistic and keep our eyes wide open and see what’s out there. From a leadership standpoint, our goal isn’t that we go out and acquire a bunch of companies and get big. Our goal is to make sure with the turnaround plan that we become profitable, remain profitable and grow with solid returns to our shareholders year over year. That’s the ultimate goal." - Daryl Adams, President and CEO, Spartan Motors Inc.
