Spartan Motors Receives Summit Chassis Orders From RV Maker Forest River New Customer Continues Strong Activity in Motorhomes

CHARLOTTE, Mich., April 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Spartan Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPAR) , a leading manufacturer of custom chassis, today announced an agreement to supply its newly introduced Summit series motorhome chassis to Forest River, Inc. Spartan Motors said the Goshen, Ind.-based manufacturer represents its third new RV customer in the last three months.

Charlotte, Mich.-based Spartan Motors expects to begin shipping Summit chassis to Forest River in the second half of 1999 for the RV maker's Windsong Class A motorhome product. Spartan Motors will be the exclusive supplier of rear-engine diesel chassis to Forest River.

"The addition of Forest River, both as a new RV customer and a new user of our Summit chassis, validates our efforts and investments to raise the bar on quality, customer service and innovation," said John Sztykiel, Spartan Motors president and chief operating officer. "We are pleased to be partnering with a rapid up-and-comer like Forest River, and look forward to growing with them over the long-term."

Forest River is among the top five recreational vehicle makers in the country, providing a full line of towable, fifth-wheel and motorized RVs for customers throughout North America. The addition of the Summit chassis adds a diesel pusher option to Forest River's lineup of gasoline-powered motorhome products.

"Forest River is aggressively targeting the Class A diesel pusher motorhome market, and we expect the combination of Spartan's high performance chassis with our innovative coach designs, floor plans and features to be an immediate hit with customers," said Forest River CEO Peter Liegl.

Motorhomes and most notably the premium Class A segment continue to lead strong overall growth in the recreational vehicle market. Rear-engine diesel motorhomes, like those manufactured by Spartan Motors, are the fastest growing segment within the Class A market, growing their share more than 20% in 1998 according to RVIA (Recreational Vehicle Industry Association) statistics.

Sztykiel concluded: "The RV industry continues to be a tremendous growth opportunity for Spartan Motors and our OEM customers as population demographics and stable economic trends weigh in our favor over the near and long-term. Spartan is well positioned with the right products and, importantly, the commitments from our component suppliers to fully capitalize on this demand."

Goshen, Ind.-based Forest River, Inc. is a full-line manufacturer of recreational vehicles. The Company's RV products are sold through a nationwide network of more than 600 dealers.

Spartan Motors, Inc. (http://www.spartanmotors.com/) is the leading manufacturer of diesel-powered, custom-built chassis for the Class A motorhome market. The Company also manufactures chassis for fire trucks, transit buses, school buses and other specialty vehicles. Spartan owns three companies that manufacture emergency vehicles -- Luverne Fire Apparatus, Quality Manufacturing and Road Rescue -- and a stake in school bus manufacturer Carpenter Industries, Inc.

The statements contained in this news release include certain predictions and projections that may be considered forward-looking statements by the securities laws. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors affecting the Company's operations, markets, products, services and prices, and actual results may differ materially.

Source: Spartan Motors, Inc.

Contact: John Gaedert of Spartan Motors, Inc., 517-543-6400; or Jeff
Lambert or Brian Edwards of Lambert, Edwards & Associates, Inc., 616-233-0500,
or email, LamEdPR@aol.com

Website: http://www.spartanmotors.com/