Road Rescue to Build $4 Million Plant in South Carolina

    Double-Digit Growth in Custom Ambulance Sales Fuels Need for Expansion

    CHARLOTTE, Mich., Aug. 20 Road Rescue, Inc. announced
plans today to build a $4 million manufacturing plant in Marion, S.C. that
will allow the ambulance manufacturer to increase capacity and expand its
vehicle offerings.
    The St. Paul, Minnesota-based manufacturer, a subsidiary of Spartan
Motors, Inc. , said it expects its new factory will create 120
jobs over the next five years.
    "This new facility will not only increase capacity and improve quality, it
will complete our product line to dealers with the right cost base," said
Chuck Drake, president of Road Rescue.  "The South Carolina location allows us
to expand our geographical presence, and gives us distribution capabilities in
one of the fastest growing markets in the United States.
    "We are committed to the Minnesota market, but find ourselves unable to
expand at our current location, which is already running at full capacity.
The new facility will give us the room we need to grow, allow us to shorten
our delivery cycle and expand our distribution reach."
    Road Rescue plans to expand an existing facility in Marion, which is
located near Myrtle Beach.  The Company will begin work on the 100,000-square-
foot plant in September 2001, with a target move-in date of January 2002.
    "By selecting Marion for its new facility, Road Rescue will have all the
elements it needs to reach the next level of achievement," said South Carolina
Governor Jim Hodges.  "We are delighted the Company chose South Carolina, and
look forward to building a positive relationship with Road Rescue that will
last for years to come."
    When completed, the new plant will have more than 90,000 square feet of
manufacturing space where the Company will build custom Type II ambulances,
which are van style ambulances and account for about 28 percent of the market.
Road Rescue currently has 30 percent market share of Type I and III premium
market.  Production of these vehicles will remain at the St. Paul
headquarters.
    "The company has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years, so
this expansion represents the next logical step for Road Rescue," Drake said.
"We plan to use the solid base we have among Type III customers to launch into
the custom end of the Type II market, and will franchise off our successful
platforms."
    Road Rescue looked at several sites before settling on South Carolina,
which has worked aggressively over the past several years to bring new
manufacturing jobs to the state.
    "When we were evaluating locations, we had four main criteria: proximity
to our supplier base, cost and ease of implementation, return on invested
capital and geographical market opportunity," said John Sztykiel, president
and chief operating officer of Spartan Motors.  "Marion met all four of these
criteria.  We do not expect this capital expenditure will affect our debt-
reduction timeline at Spartan, given the operational improvements we continue
to make and the sales growth at Road Rescue and our other Emergency Vehicle
Team subsidiaries."
    The Company worked closely with the South Carolina Department of Commerce
in order to finalize plans for the new factory.
    "South Carolina's positive business climate will assist Road Rescue in
maintaining close contact to its supplier base while opening new opportunities
in surrounding markets," said Secretary of Commerce Charles S. Way.  "Road
Rescue will soon understand why thousands of other quality industries also
chose a South Carolina address."
    Established in 1976, St. Paul, Minn.-based Road Rescue, Inc.
(http://www.roadrescue.com ) designs and manufactures custom ambulances.  Road
Rescue, which is owned by Spartan Motors Inc., produces five ambulance models,
has 20 dealers in the United States and Canada, and employs more than 150
people.
    Spartan Motors, Inc. (http://www.spartanmotors.com ) is a leading developer and
manufacturer of custom chassis for fire trucks, ambulances, recreational
vehicles, and other specialty vehicles.  In addition to Road Rescue, the
Company also owns fire and rescue vehicle manufacturers Luverne Fire Apparatus
and Quality Manufacturing.

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