Spartan Expands Contract Assembly for Isuzu with New F-Series Truck

[kscarbel2]

Trailer/Body Builders  /  March 26, 2016

Spartan Motors and Isuzu North America have signed a new agreement under which Spartan will assemble Class-6 Isuzu F-Series medium trucks in America from CKD (completely knocked down) kits.

Spartan (http://www.spartanmotors.com/) is known as a custom chassis, emergency vehicle and fire apparatus manufacturer. The company also owns the Utilimaster brand of walk-in vans and commercial bodies.

On April 19, at Spartan's headquarters in Charlotte, Michigan, the company and Isuzu will hold a groundbreaking ceremony to recognize this new contract.

Spartan has assembled Class 3-5 Isuzu N-Series (http://www.isuzucv.com/en/nseries/index) light trucks since 2011.

In May 2011, Spartan announced the start of production of Isuzu gasoline-powered N-Series trucks. Since then, the 20,000th N-Series gas truck rolled off of Spartan's assembly line in April 2015.

The new F-Series (http://www.isuzucv.com/en/fseries/index) medium truck production marks an expansion of Isuzu's product offering into Class 6 on-highway commercial trucks.

Though available in a wide range of models, only the FTR will be sold in the US market (http://www.isuzu.com.au/truck-range/f-series/ / http://www.isuzu.co.jp/world/product/f_series/lineup.html).

Spartan has invested heavily in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility which has a flexible production line that can be easily reconfigured to accommodate the assembly of multiple product lines. This approach allows Spartan to quickly scale up production to meet its customers' expedited delivery needs or scale down to accommodate changing business cycles.

To support production of the new Isuzu vehicle, a new plant will be added to the Spartan portfolio and Charlotte campus.  Spartan worked closely with both the city of Charlotte and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to create and formalize plans for this new plant. The facility will be 85,000 square-feet and will be dedicated solely to production of Isuzu products.

In addition to producing Isuzu-badged F-Series trucks, Spartan will also produce the upcoming Chevrolet-badged version of the Isuzu N-Series (http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/40483-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-vu-gm-to-source-medium-duty-trucks-from-isuzu/#comment-293445). The six Class 3-5 N-Series based Chevrolet models are designated 3500, 3500HD, 4500, 4500HD, 5500, and 5500HD. A General Motors’ sourced 6.0L V-8 gasoline engine and 6-speed automatic transmission, or Isuzu-sourced 3.0L and 5.2L turbodiesel engines, will be available, depending on the model.

 

[kscarbel2]

Spartan Motors breaks ground for new Isuzu F-Series plant

12 News  /  April 19, 2016

Spartan Motors held a groundbreaking ceremony today at its Charlotte, Michigan headquarters for its new $5.5 million 85,000-square-foot truck assembly plant that will manufacture Isuzu's new F-Series trucks.

Isuzu North America recently expanded its relationship with Spartan by selecting the Company to produce the new line of Isuzu trucks. The F-Series trucks will extend Isuzu's product offering into Class 6 on-highway commercial trucks. Spartan has assembled Isuzu N-Series light trucks since 2011.

"Today's groundbreaking ceremony represents a significant milestone for Spartan, as we expand our manufacturing footprint and bring new jobs to Michigan," said Daryl Adams, President and Chief Executive Officer, Spartan Motors. "Measurable growth in our relationships with existing clients, such as Isuzu, further confirms our multi-year strategic plan is driving improved performance and will continue to pay dividends for Spartan over the long-term."

Adams added, "We also want to thank our State and local officials for their collaboration and continued support of Spartan's growth initiatives."

The new plant will be part of Spartan's Charlotte manufacturing campus, and it will be dedicated solely to the production of Isuzu vehicles. This new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will have a flexible production line that can be easily reconfigured to accommodate the assembly of multiple product lines. Further, the production of the F-Series trucks by Spartan at this new plant will bring new jobs to the Michigan workforce.