RVBusiness, March/April 2020

REV Group Buys Emergency Response Segment from Spartan Motors which Pledges Commitment to Chassis Unit 14 RVBusiness M A R C H A P R I L 2 0 2 0 TOPof theNews In a Feb 3 announcement REV Group Inc Milwaukee Wisc acquired the Emergency Response ER segment from Spartan Motors Inc Charlotte Mich According to a release REV Group whose REV Recreation Group subsidiary is based in Decatur Ind paid approximately 55 million in cash at closing for the ER segment which had posted revenue of approximately 2533 million for the 12 months ended Sept 30 2019 As part of the transaction REV purchased the rights to the Spartan brand name Accordingly Spartan Motors company will be changing its corporate name in the coming months subject to shareholder approval REV has licensed the Spartan name and the Spartan diamond logo back to the company for use in its RV chassis business The divestiture of the ER business unit will give us the speed and flexibility needed to further focus on accelerating growth and profitability in our commercial fleet delivery and specialty vehicles markets where we see the biggest opportunity to generate higher returns said Daryl Adams Spartan president and CEO At the same time company officials sought to reassure the RV industry that Spartan Motors would remain steadfast in its commitment to its chassis segment specifically its production of Class A diesel motorhome chassis Steve Guillaume president of Spartan Specialty Vehicles and Spartan Chassis told RVBusiness Spartan will continue to go to market as Spartan Chassis and will continue to utilize the Spartan diamond logo that brand customers have come to know and trust for the past 35 years Our commitment to providing the best product and ownership experience for our motorhome customers remains a core objective for our Specialty Vehicles division Our motorhome chassis business was not part of the sale to REV Our Specialty Chassis and Vehicles team and corresponding facilities remain dedicated to our customers and this industry segment Guillaume said The transaction was announced about a month after REV Groups divisions and suppliers had convened in early January in Florida for the 2020 REV Group Summit REV Chief Marketing Officer Tony Besasie told RVBusiness that in net sales last year approximately 40 of REVs business was in the fire and ambulance category with 30 each in recreation and commercial all of which were represented on the floor of the REV Group Summit Beyond the vehicle exhibits at the private event the Summit featured breakout sessions a keynote speaker and a focus on innovation in sales and marketing Top of the mind agenda items for REV corporate for the coming year meanwhile involved working through a digital transformation and implementing Salesforce customer relationship management CRM software We were engaging dealers talking about this digital transformation and talking about Salesforce automation Besasie noted RVB Level 2 teaches diagnosis and troubleshooting Levels 3 and 4 offer vendor training and proficiency in all RV systems The three recent Georgia graduates supported Hemmelers assessment that feedback from students has been positive It was a lot to take in but it was good said Morris who came from a background in construction welding and metal work before landing in the RV industry at Open Roads a year ago This opens up a lot of opportunities That certification goes a long way for anything Morris plans to take what hes learned so far and put it hands on back at the dealership Steele said he came to RVTI to hone my skills Ive been doing this for about three years now at Open Roads so I kind of have a good feel for the industry but I wanted to learn more about it the terminology A nice thing about the school he said was that it helps you figure out a lot of common generic problems It teaches you how to diagnose those things Asked for his take away from the classes Willoughby said I think more of a basic understanding A lot of times in the shop you just learn stuff by hearsay You dont learn the basics of why it was done that way Willoughby who has been working at Open Roads for five months said RVTI students gain the ability to understand why a certain procedure is handled a certain way and why things go wrong All three newly minted Level 2 techs plan to work toward Level 3 and Level 4 certifications See related coverage on page 50 RVB RVTI from page 12