Spartan Motors Teams With Winnebago Industries Emphasizes Optimism Toward Motorhome Market Potential

CHARLOTTE, Mich., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Spartan Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPAR) , a leading manufacturer of custom chassis, today announced an agreement to supply chassis to Forest City, Iowa-based Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WGO) for the recreational vehicle maker's Ultimate Freedom Class A model motorhomes.

Charlotte, Mich.-based Spartan Motors said the agreement to supply its Mountain Master brand chassis to Winnebago Industries is its first order in four years from this leading RV maker.

"We are extremely pleased to be joining forces with Winnebago Industries and their innovative product team," said John Sztykiel, Spartan Motors president and chief operating officer. "This partnership has been a measured and comprehensive process to ensure the end result will be high performance, high quality, customer driven products. We look forward to supplying Winnebago Industries and building on this relationship over time."

Winnebago brand motorhomes were the top selling Class A brand in 1998, according to Grand Rapids, Mich.-based research firm Statistical Surveys, Inc. Winnebago's Class A models currently include the Brave, Adventurer and Chieftain models, which are sold through the company's network of full-service dealers throughout the U.S.

"Winnebago Industries has the right products for today's RV consumer, and we are confident that Spartan Motors will be a good partner to help us maximize the market potential," Winnebago Industries Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Bruce Hertzke said. "The Winnebago brand is the established leader in the Class A motorhome market, which continues to be one of the fastest-growing segments of the industry. We expect to continue to build on our success and stay firmly planted at the top of this market."

Jim Jaskoviak, Winnebago Industries vice president of sales and marketing, added: "We are optimistic that Winnebago's product development, design and production expertise, coupled with the performance of the Spartan chassis, will generate increased demand among the ever-growing pool of RV consumers."

According to demographic statistics, 17 million more people than the historical average will retire over the next three years; 78 million more over the next 15 years. The wealth created this decade by the financial markets, coupled with strong consumer confidence, low fuel prices and stable interest rates are also driving optimism for the future of the RV market. Spartan Motors said evidence of this trend can be seen in the strong buying activity in the RV market through the first half of 1999, and the recent commitment by members of the industry's leading trade association, RVIA, to spend $38 million over the next three years on promotional and advertising programs to support the RV lifestyle.

Roger Burrows, Spartan Motors vice president of sales and marketing, commented: "Spartan is putting more effort and resources toward the RV market to ensure we capitalize on the tremendous growth opportunity this industry presents. Yet our primary focus remains on delivering superior quality and customer service to our OEM and end-user customers. Spartan's renewed relationship with Winnebago Industries is a direct result of this focus."

Winnebago Industries, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of motorhomes, self- contained recreation vehicles used primarily in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. Other products manufactured by the Company consist principally of a variety of component products for other manufacturers. The Company builds quality products with state-of-the-art computer-aided design and manufacturing systems on automotive-styled assembly lines. These products conform to what the Company believes to be the most rigorous testing in the recreation vehicle industry. The Company's common stock is traded on the New York, Chicago and Pacific Stock Exchanges under the symbol WGO. Options for the Company's common stock are traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Winnebago Industries is online at http://www.winnebagoind.com/

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, 517-543-6400; or
Jeff Lambert or Brian Edwards of Lambert, Edwards & Associates, 616-233-0500,
or mail@lambert-edwards.com

Website: http://www.winnebagoind.com/

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