I still wonder how long Spartan can exist building emergency vehicles. They've consistently lost money in that division, they bought Smeal simply because the amount owed for chassis payments from them was so great that 1.) They leveraged that amount against a buying price to help make the deal work and 2.) If they lost Smeal they wouldn't have a SINGLE larger builder putting a body on their chassis but themselves. I'll bet REV was chomping at the bit for that acquisition.
I'm not going to lie, we're in the process of getting another engine - and I really doubt that Spartan as we know it will exist over the life of another rig. Having their product under or totally that new rig makes me nervous. The 180 day program they were running (maybe still) is a huge tell to me that they're no where near capacity for production. One big builder is quoting over a year, I know others were at 330 days.
They claim that for the first time in six years they're profitable in that division, but I'd be curious how the accounting works once the dust settles from acquiring Smeal. Spartan claims they have a 12% market share for pumpers, 25% for aerials, and 18% of chassis market share. They also claim they're number three in the fire apparatus market for chassis and body builders. You can find this here: http://spartanmotors.gcs-web.com/static-...58abfa99e5
Sure wish HME could bring their chassis up to a standard that competes, as their stainless bodies are gorgeous. My money is either all of the dealers going to them are being promised something big, or there's just nothing left to sell.
I'm not going to lie, we're in the process of getting another engine - and I really doubt that Spartan as we know it will exist over the life of another rig. Having their product under or totally that new rig makes me nervous. The 180 day program they were running (maybe still) is a huge tell to me that they're no where near capacity for production. One big builder is quoting over a year, I know others were at 330 days.
They claim that for the first time in six years they're profitable in that division, but I'd be curious how the accounting works once the dust settles from acquiring Smeal. Spartan claims they have a 12% market share for pumpers, 25% for aerials, and 18% of chassis market share. They also claim they're number three in the fire apparatus market for chassis and body builders. You can find this here: http://spartanmotors.gcs-web.com/static-...58abfa99e5
Sure wish HME could bring their chassis up to a standard that competes, as their stainless bodies are gorgeous. My money is either all of the dealers going to them are being promised something big, or there's just nothing left to sell.
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