News

CHARLOTTE, Mich., Dec. 2, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spartan Motors, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPAR) (“Spartan” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that its Aftermarket Parts and Assemblies (APA) operating group was recently honored by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) as one of the government’s top suppliers for 2012. For the fourth-straight year, Spartan was honored by the DLA with a Gold Award, a recognition given annually.

“It is exciting to once again be recognized for delivering exceptional performance to the U.S. government,” said Art Ickes, President of the Specialty Vehicles business unit, Spartan Motors. “This award is a reflection of our ability to supply not only high quality product, but also our ability to meet exacting delivery agreement specifications week after week. To achieve the highest level of recognition reflects the unsurpassed commitment of the Spartan workforce. APA has been a consistently high performing group in that they have exceeded their financial goals for 13-consecutive months.”

The Company was one of 38 recipients of the Gold Award. A total of 5,295 suppliers were evaluated in 2012. This past year Spartan completed over 1,700 shipments to the government and recorded a perfect score of 100.

The recognition reaffirms Spartan has supplied a quality product the U.S. government can trust and be confident in using year after year. Suppliers like Spartan that qualify as Automated Best Value System (ABVS) gold award winners have met the stringent quality and delivery requirements of the DLA. The ABVS, a computerized system, collects vendor’s past performance data and translate it into a numeric score, ranging from zero to 100.

Spartan continues to meet or exceed all expectations from the U.S. government with its products. This past spring, the Company was recertified to ISO 9001:2008 standards for the design and assembly of Military Defense Products, Aftermarket Parts and Assemblies (APA) and Fabrication with zero findings. ISO registration is often a required quality standard for contracts, so this registration enhances Spartan’s already highly competitive position in defense-related opportunities.

About Spartan Motors

Spartan Motors, Inc., designs, engineers and manufactures specialty chassis, specialty vehicles, truck bodies and aftermarket parts for the recreational vehicle, emergency response, government services and defense, delivery and service markets. The company’s brand names – Spartan™, Spartan ERV™ and Utilimaster® – are known for quality, performance, service and first-to-market innovation. The company employs approximately 1,700 associates at facilities in Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Indiana, Florida and Texas. Spartan reported sales of $470.6 million in 2012 and is focused on becoming a global leader in the design, engineering and manufacture of specialty vehicles and chassis. Visit Spartan Motors at theshyftgroup.com.

This release contains several forward-looking statements that are not historical facts, including statements concerning our business, strategic position, financial strength, future plans, objectives, and the performance of our products. These statements can be identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “potential,” “future,” “may,” “will,” “should,” and similar expressions regarding future expectations. These forward-looking statements involve various known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict with regard to timing, extent, and likelihood. Therefore, actual performance and results may materially differ from what may be expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could contribute to these differences include operational and other complications that may arise affecting the implementation of our plans and business objectives; continued pressures caused by economic conditions and the pace and extent of the economic recovery; challenges that may arise in connection with the integration of new businesses or assets we acquire or the disposition of assets; issues unique to government contracting, such as competitive bidding processes, qualification requirements, and delays or changes in funding; disruptions within our dealer network; changes in our relationships with major customers, suppliers, or other business partners, including Isuzu; changes in the demand or supply of products within our markets or raw materials needed to manufacture those products; and changes in laws and regulations affecting our business. Other factors that could affect outcomes are set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which are available at www.sec.gov or our website. All forward-looking statements in this release are qualified by this paragraph. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

CONTACT: Russell T. Chick
         Corporate Director of Marketing
         Spartan Motors, Inc.
         517.997.3852

Spartan Motors, Inc.