Spartan Motors Bolsters Emergency Response Division with Key Leadership Appointments

New Senior Leadership Team structure advances Company's strategic plan

News provided by

Feb 05, 2019, 08:30 ET

CHARLOTTE, Mich., Feb. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Spartan Emergency Response ("Spartan" or "Spartan ER"), a business unit of Spartan Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAR), today announced new leadership team appointments that round out a restructured Spartan ER leadership team committed to sustained growth and profitability. The Company has made a strategic investment in the areas of Global Sales, Product Management, and Aftermarket Product Support.

In addition to Spartan's announcement of Todd Fierro as President of Spartan Emergency Response earlier this month, Diego Salazar has been named Vice President of Global Sales, Spartan Emergency Response; Kurt Beyer has been appointed to the role of Vice President, Aftermarket Product Support (announced in October); and Scott Weishaar has been made Executive Director, Product Management, Spartan Emergency Response.

"We've made significant progress in our effort to advance safety technology and improve our sales mix to better serve our fire department and OEM customers," said Daryl Adams, President and Chief Executive Officer of Spartan Motors. "We've now added horsepower in the form of an experienced, dedicated ER leadership team. This investment reflects our commitment to speed toward a return to growth for this business unit."

Diego Salazar has been appointed to the role of Vice President of Global Sales from an interim VP role where he revamped Spartan's commercial strategy while improving distribution channel communications. He joined Spartan in 2013 as Director of Latin American Sales, after a distinguished career in both global and regional Sales, Business Development, Strategy Consulting, and Government Affairs. Salazar has been active in his local fire departments since 1990, having served as a first responder and EMT with the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services, as well as in Chile. Salazar is responsible for revenue improvement, new business sales, and customer retention.

Kurt Beyer brings more than twenty years of aftermarket experience to Spartan, including multiple senior leadership positions at a global manufacturing, supply chain, and aftermarket company serving health care, aerospace and industrial sectors. Additionally, Beyer spent 15 years with a fire apparatus manufacture where he held both facility and operational leadership positions, responsible for P&L management. He is charged with improving the organization's focus on the entire aftermarket continuum to better service our customers across business units and product verticals.

Scott Weishaar comes to Spartan with 30 years of experience in product management, business development, sales, and marketing. Most recently, Scott led business development for a leading metal-finishing and systems provider, and he has more than a decade of emergency response experience; including time spent in the role of Vice President of Marketing & Product Sales Management for a leading apparatus manufacturer. Weishaar's primary responsibility is to ensure Spartan Emergency Response goes to market with the right products, in the right regions, and that it responds to customer demands with safe and durable product that is manufactured efficiently and profitably.

"We have momentum in the form of proprietary engineering, advanced manufacturing capabilities, category-leading safety technologies, and a highly talented skilled workforce," continued Adams. "Now, we have the leadership team in place that will lead us to the future we envision for our Emergency Response business unit."

About Spartan Motors
Spartan Motors, Inc. is a leading designer, engineer, manufacturer, and marketer of a broad range of specialty vehicles, specialty chassis, vehicle bodies, and parts for the fleet and delivery, recreational vehicle (RV), emergency response, defense forces, and contract assembly (light/medium duty truck) markets. The Company's brand names — Spartan Motors, Spartan Specialty Vehicles, Spartan Emergency Response, Spartan Parts and Accessories, Smeal, and its family of brands, including Ladder Tower™ and UST®; Strobes-R_Us; and Utilimaster®, a Spartan Motors Company — are known for quality, durability, performance, customer service, and first-to-market innovation. The Company employs approximately 2,300 associates, and operates facilities in Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota; Saltillo, Mexico; and Lima, Peru. Spartan reported sales of $707 million in 2017. Visit Spartan Motors at www.spartanmotors.com.