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The Shyft Group

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The Shyft Group
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: SHYF
Russell 2000 Component
IndustryAutomotive
FoundedSeptember 18, 1975; 49 years ago (1975-09-18)
Founders
  • Charles McManamey
  • George Sztykiel
HeadquartersNovi, Michigan, U.S.
Key people
  • Daryl M. Adams (president & CEO)
  • Jonathan Douyard (CFO)
RevenueIncrease US$756.54 million (2019)
Increase US$47.61 million (2019)
Increase US$-12.57 million (2019)
Total assetsIncrease US$450.54 million (2019)
Total equityIncrease US$172.27 million (2019)
Number of employees
2,724 (2019)
Websitetheshyftgroup.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2]

The Shyft Group (Nasdaq: SHYF), formerly also known as Spartan Motors, is an American automobile design company that designs, engineers and manufactures specialty chassis, specialty vehicles, truck bodies and aftermarket parts for the recreational vehicle (RV), government services, and delivery and service markets. The company started in 1975 as a direct result of the bankruptcy of Diamond Reo.[3] It is currently based in Charlotte, Michigan and has 2,700 employees.[1]

History

In 1974, Lansing, Michigan-based Diamond Reo Trucks was forced into bankruptcy. Diamond Reo had been the largest customer of the Form-Rite Corporation in Charlotte, Michigan, and Form-Rite was owed a considerable amount of money for plastic parts they had supplied to Reo. During the bankruptcy hearings, Form-Rite president Charles R. McManamey learned of a significant contract that Reo had just won for custom fire truck chassis. From connections made through the hearing, McManamey was able to draw together the additional talent and knowledge required to build such trucks.

During the establishment of Spartan Motors, Inc., then a wholly owned subsidiary of Form-Rite, manufacturing was set up in Form-Rite's 12,000 square foot warehouse at 426 Sumpter Rd.[4] in Charlotte. Charles McManamey was named Spartan Motors’ chairman of the board.[4] Former Reo vice president of engineering and marketing George W. Sztykiel became Spartan's president.[4] Ron Partee, former Reo manager of original equipment manufacturing, stepped in as the vice president of sales.[4] Spartan's vice president of engineering was former Reo director of engineering John Knox.[4] Kenneth C. McManamey, former Form-Rite production engineer and supervisor served as Spartan's manager of operations.[4]

Sztykiel, Partee, Knox, and Ken McManamey all donated their time to build the first chassis on speculation.[4] By January 1, 1976, the chassis was completed. Within weeks it had been sold to FMC in Tipton, Indiana[3] and Spartan had 16 custom fire truck cab & chassis orders as well as an order for a one-of-a-kind 140,000 pound GVW coal carrier.[4]

In March 1976, Spartan Motors employed 12 former Reo employees,[4] including Reo's ex-quality control manager Theodore C. Huff, former staff engineer-chassis at Reo Lawrence E. Karkau, and Gerald L. Geary who had been assistant manager of truck design at Reo. Charles McManamey's sons James and Donald also worked for Spartan Motors, as well as several other part-time workers.

The company quickly outgrew the Form-Rite warehouse, and within a few years construction was started for a new facility on Reynolds Road in Charlotte. The McManameys sold their stock in the company and in 1984 Spartan went public, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol “SPAR”.

In October 2020, Shyft Group acquired the aluminium truck-body manufacturer F3 MFG Inc. based in Waterville, Maine, with its brands DuraMag and Magnum.[5]

Active subsidiaries

Spartan RV Chassis

Spartan RV Chassis engineers, designs, manufactures, sells, and services the industry’s premier Class A diesel RV chassis for OEMs such as Entegra Coach, Newmar, Foretravel, and Jayco. Their commitment to after-sale customer support and service spans from factory service centers, to dealer authorized service centers, Spartan RV Owners Training, and aftermarket and service parts.

Utilimaster

Utilimaster was acquired in November 2009. It designs, manufacturers, and assembles purpose-built delivery and other vocational trucks.[6]

Strobes-R-Us

Strobes-R-Us was acquired in December 17, 2018. It is a distributor and installer of specialty vehicle upfits and lighting equipment.[7]

General Truck Body

General Truck Body was acquired in June 2019 and merged with Utilimaster. It manufactures and assembles refrigerated and non-refrigerated truck bodies.[8]

Royal Truck Body

Royal Truck Body was acquired on September 20, 2019. It manufactures van bodies and accessories.[9]

Former subsidiaries

Spartan Emergency Response Vehicles

Spartan Emergency Response Vehicles (Spartan ERV) is a manufacturer of custom fire engines. After several years of supplying chassis for fire trucks, Spartan acquired fire apparatus body manufacturers Luverne and Quality Manufacturing in the mid-1990s. Luverne used its early expertise in the automotive and heavy truck industries to begin building fire apparatus in 1912. Quality got its start six decades later, catering to the Southern firefighting market. In 2003, Luverne and Quality were consolidated under the names Crimson Fire and Crimson Fire Aerials. In 2011, Classic Fire of Ocala, Florida was acquired and became a new Crimson Fire manufacturing facility for fire trucks.[10] In 2012, Spartan Motors rebranded Crimson Fire as Spartan ERV, a joint venture with Gimaex.[10] In January 2017, Spartan ERV acquired fire apparatus manufacturer Smeal Fire Apparatus, including its subsidiaries Smeal, Ladder Tower Company, and US Tanker.[11] On February 3, 2020, Spartan Motors sold Spartan ERV division to the REV Group, including Spartan Custom Cabs, Smeal Fire Apparatus, Ladder Tower Company, and US Tanker.[12]

Road Rescue

Road Rescue is a manufacturer of ambulances. It was sold in 2010 to Allied Specialty Vehicles.[13]

Carpenter Industries

Carpenter Industries was a manufacturer of school buses, transit buses, and step vans. Carpenter was founded in 1919; Spartan purchased it in 1998, but closed it down in 2001.

References

  1. ^ a b "US SEC: Form 10-K The Shyft Group". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  2. ^ MIGenWeb Archives" 1998 Charlotte Shopping Guide obituaries.
  3. ^ a b [1]" New Truck Factory Grows Out Of Diamond Reo Savvy
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Charlotte Republican-Tribune March 18, 1976" Heavy Trucks Now Made In Charlotte
  5. ^ "Shyft Group Acquires Aluminum Truck Body Manufacturer". Retrieved 2020-10-01.
  6. ^ "Spartan Motors Announces Agreement to Acquire Utilimaster Corporation". 2009-11-09. Retrieved 2020-09-17.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Hamilton, Samara (2018-12-17). "Spartan Motors Acquires Strobes-R-Us". Retrieved 2019-10-29.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Hamilton, Samara (2019-06-13). "Spartan Motors Purchases Assets Of California-Based General Truck Body". Spartan Motors. Retrieved 2020-02-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ Hamilton, Samara (2019-09-19). "Spartan Motors Acquires Royal Truck Body". Spartan Motors. Retrieved 2020-02-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ a b "Spartan ERV Rescues" (PDF). Spartan ERV. Retrieved 2020-02-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ Hamilton, Samara (2016-12-13). "Spartan Motors to Acquire Fire Apparatus Maker Smeal" (PDF). spartanmotors.com. Retrieved 2018-05-16.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Hamilton, Samara (2020-02-03). "Spartan Motors Announces Business Transformation to Focus on its Delivery and Specialty Vehicle Segments, Divests Emergency Response Business Unit". Spartan Motors. Retrieved 2020-02-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-07-25. Retrieved 2013-05-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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