First Licensee to Make Spartan(R) Brand Furniture for Fire Stations, Consumers
CHARLOTTE, Mich., April 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Spartan Motors, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SPAR) today announced the launch of a brand licensing program aimed
at extending the well-recognized Spartan(R) brand and creating new marketing
and revenue opportunities.
The Charlotte, Mich.-based manufacturer of custom motorhome chassis, fire
truck chassis and emergency-rescue vehicles said its Brand Licensing Program
will first focus on licensing to leading suppliers to the emergency rescue
market or other industries where manufacturers want to sell an authentic fire
truck brand. Spartan will further extend its brand by offering licensed
products for the recreational vehicle (RV) market and by exploring
opportunities capable of crossing over into the consumer market. A pioneer in
the custom fire truck market, Spartan has its products in thousands of fire
departments in all 50 states and has been making vehicles for the emergency
rescue market since 1975.
“The Spartan brand is synonymous with quality products and service, and we
want to share this heritage with licensees of our brand, while simultaneously
building the visibility of the Spartan name,” said Spartan Motors CEO John
Sztykiel. “As a well-recognized brand with a nationwide dealer network and
customer base, we offer licensees instant market access and credibility. At
the same time, we want to offer our customers a wide variety of premium
products that bear the Spartan name and stamp of approval.”
Spartan said it has signed a licensing agreement with its first
manufacturer, Fort Worth, Texas-based Bippity, Inc. Bippity makes and markets
solid-wood furniture for fire stations, as well as other contract customers
such as colleges and universities, healthcare and senior centers and camps.
Bippity products include bedroom, lounge and dining room furniture, as well as
a variety of home furnishings. The market for fire station furnishings
encompasses more than 27,000 fire districts nationwide.
“We are pleased to put the Spartan brand on our furniture and have custom
designed our products — like Spartan’s custom-built chassis — to the
specific needs of firefighters,” said Lisa Thornton, president of Bippity.
“We have great products and look forward to helping Spartan extend its brand
from the shop floor into the fire house.”
Spartan said the initial focus of its Brand Licensing Program will be on
its core industries — emergency rescue and RV — though it plans to explore
opportunities to take the Spartan brand to the consumer market as more people
look for authentic American brands. Spartan said the licensing agreement with
Bippity is a good example of its industry/consumer strategy. Bippity also
makes private label furniture for retail furniture customers, primarily in the
children’s market, and is developing a Spartan fire truck-themed bunk bed and
bedroom set for the consumer market.
“Spartan is to fire trucks what Harley-Davidson is to motorcycles or
Disney is to family entertainment. We believe — like Disney(R) and Harley(R)
— that we have the opportunity to extend the Spartan brand to a variety of
products, which will enhance the value of the Spartan brand and generate
revenue as well,” Sztykiel said.
About Spartan Motors:
Spartan Motors, Inc. (theshyftgroup.com ) designs, engineers and
manufactures custom chassis and vehicles for the recreational vehicle, fire
truck, ambulance and emergency-rescue markets. The company’s brand names —
Spartan(TM), Crimson Fire(TM), Crimson Fire Aerials(TM), and Road Rescue(TM)
— are known in their market niches for quality, value, service and being the
first to market with innovative products. Spartan Motors employs
approximately 700 at facilities in Michigan, Alabama, Pennsylvania, South
Carolina, and South Dakota and is publicly traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market
under the ticker symbol SPAR.
The statements contained in this news release include certain predictions
and projections that may be considered “forward-looking statements” under the
securities laws. These forward-looking statements are identifiable by words
or phrases indicating that the Company or management “expects,” “believes” or
is “confident” that a particular result “may” or “should” occur, that a
particular item “bodes well,” that the Company “looks forward” to a particular
result, or similar statements. These statements involve many risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including
but not limited to economic, competitive, governmental and technological
factors affecting the Company’s operations, markets, products, services and
prices. Accounting estimates are inherently forward-looking. Additional
information about these and other factors that may adversely affect these
forward-looking statements are contained in the Company’s reports and filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect
developments or information obtained after the date of this news release.
SOURCE Spartan Motors, Inc.