Collins Industries Shareholders Approve Steel Partners Merger Transaction

HUTCHINSON, Kan., Oct. 30, 2006 -- Collins Industries, Inc. announced today that its shareholders have approved the merger agreement with Steel Partners II, L.P., a private investment partnership based in New York. Steel Partners is purchasing Collins in affiliation with American Industrial Partners, an operationally focused private equity firm.

The merger agreement was approved by holders of 75.3% of the outstanding shares of Collins common stock at the special meeting of shareholders held earlier today. As previously announced, under the terms of the merger agreement, Collins shareholders will receive $12.50 in cash for each share of Collins common stock they hold. The total value of the transaction, including assumed debt and expenses, is approximately $110 million.

With the required regulatory and shareholder approvals now secured, the transaction is expected to be completed as early as October 31, 2006.

About Collins Industries, Inc.

Collins Industries, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of ambulances (including medical attack vehicles, rescue vehicles and fire emergency vehicles), North America's largest producer of Type "A" small school buses, the nation's second largest manufacturer of terminal trucks and a leader in the road construction and industrial sweeper markets. Since 1971, the Company has grown to approximately 1000 employees in six plants comprising over one million combined square feet of manufacturing space. The Company sells its products throughout the United States and abroad.