Spartan Motors Inc., a manufacturer of specialty chassis vehicles in Charlotte, southwest of Lansing, will build a new manufacturing facility to support production of Isuzu North America Corp.’s new F-Series commercial truck.
Daryl Adams, president and CEO of Spartan Motors, says the company will build an 85,000-square-foot facility in Charlotte dedicated solely to the production of Isuzu vehicles.
“Over the last 18 months, we have implemented a number of changes in different areas of the company which are driving increased revenue and business performance,” Adams says. “However, when an existing customer such as Isuzu makes a multi-year commitment to Spartan, we feel that is the best validation that we are focused on the right things and making progress in the right areas. We look forward to further expansion of our manufacturing footprint and bringing additional new jobs to Michigan.”
Adams says Spartan Motors first started producing Isuzu trucks in 2011, building the gasoline-powered N-Series trucks. A year ago, he says the 20,000th N-Series gas truck rolled off of Spartan’s assembly line.
The F-Series trucks will be available in nine models, featuring an optimized wheelbase for greater load capacity and body-mounting capability.
Spartan Motors includes brand names such as Spartan Motors, Spartan Specialty Vehicles, Spartan Emergency Response, Spartan Parts and Accessories, and Utilimaster.
The company has 1,700 employees working at facilities in Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Indiana. Spartan reported sales of $550 million in 2015.
