Spartan Motors, a specialty vehicle manufacturer for the commercial vehicle industry, recently purchased the assets of General Truck Body (GTB) and plans to begin operating a production facility at the GTB location in Montebello CA.
Going forward, the facility will be used to manufacture and assemble custom aluminum and composite-side truck bodies, refrigerated trucks, stake body trucks, curtain side and moving vans, last mile delivery vehicles and upfits, and other Work Driven Design vocational solutions across GVWR Classes 1-7, Spartan said. GTB joins Spartan’s Fleet Vehicles and Services (FVS) business unit and will go to market under the Utilimaster brand.
The purchase of General Truck Body assets expands Spartan’s truck body manufacturing operations into California while enhancing refrigerated vehicle production capabilities, and grants customers access to additional truck and van body types. Augmenting Spartan’s recent East Coast expansion, the addition of this Southern California manufacturing and assembly facility increases Spartan and Utilimaster’s product portfolio and effectively grants customers “efficient, cost-competitive build-and-ship capabilities” from coast-to-coast, the company said.
“We are proud to welcome General Truck Body employees and customers to the Spartan family,” said Daryl Adams, president and chief executive officer of Spartan Motors. “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.
“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 US. We expect the transaction to be accretive on an annualized basis in 2020.”
Spartan FVS, by way of its Utilimaster, Spartan Upfit Services, and Strobes-R-Us brands, is positioned to provide comprehensive vehicle and upfit solutions across the spectrum of vehicles in GVWR Classes 1-7, the company maintained. For customers of all sizes, across all commercial and retail vocations, specialty service segments, and last-mile delivery markets in particular, Spartan provides a single-source supply base for customer-specific vehicle solutions.
Spartan FVS and its brands are experienced in manufacturing and assembly for global fleets, regional commercial and retail vehicles, and have specialized expertise in the areas of truck and van body assembly, specialty service vehicle manufacturing and customization, and cargo van and governmental fleet upfit, Spartan claimed.
“As we welcome GTB to the Spartan and Utilimaster family, it’s my hope that Spartan’s size, stability, and commitment to long-term sustainable profitable growth will reassure customers and employees alike,” Adams said. “We are committed to the location and to providing our customers with an even broader portfolio of solutions, so that Spartan and Utilimaster can effectively become a one-stop shop for commercial and retail vehicle customers.
“GTB’s facility, product set, and its talented people help us do just that.”