Utilimaster to close Wakarusa plant; consolidate operations in Bristol

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February 14, 2012

Anonymous THE GOSHEN NEWS The Goshen News Tue Feb 14, 2012, 01:41 PM EST

WAKARUSA — The Utilimaster vehicle manufacturing plant in Wakarusa will be closed and moved to Bristol, according to Spartan Motors Inc, which owns Utilimaster.

Company officials stated in a press release the move will begin this spring and be finished by year’s end.

Utilimaster manufactures delivery vans, including an electric-powered step van.

The new factory building is at 605 Earthway Drive, Bristol and is 425,000-square-feet, the company said. The existing factory is located on a complex, which has 16 buildings, far in excess of what Utilimaster needs, according to the company.

Company officials said its property will shrink from 106 acres to 26 acres and its manufacturing space will be reduced from 760,00 to 425,000. The move will save the company $4 million annually, according to Spartan Motors.

There will also be energy and time savings from the move, including an 80 percent reduction of material handling movement.

“The competitive nature of the delivery and service market requires that we continuously assess and improve our operations,” said Tom Gorman, chief operating officer of Spartan Motors. “The relocation to the Bristol plant will create a safer manufacturing environment for our associates and a platform from which we can accelerate our ongoing quality improvement efforts, in order to grow the delivery and service business in the future. While Utilimaster continues to perform well, we are taking these steps to ensure the business remains competitive in the long term. The dramatic reduction of non-value added operations represents an opportunity to reduce costs, and we’re focused on ensuring this strategy delivers the right results.”

The company is not expecting to be able to sell its Wakarusa property this year and is expecting to take a $4 million to $6 million loss in the first quarter of 2012 because of the unsold property.

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Utilimaster to close Wakarusa plant; consolidate operations in Bristol

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