Spartan Chassis Inc., a subsidiary of Spartan Motors Inc., announced that it has executed a supply agreement with bus manufacturer Lion Bus Inc. of Saint-Jerome, Canada. Under the agreement, Spartan Chassis will supply conventional front-engine diesel chassis for use on Type C school buses in the United States and Canada.
“This program and our relationship with Lion Bus are the result of our organic growth strategy and support our plan to continue the diversification of our revenue stream across multiple segments within the specialty vehicle market,” says John Sztykiel, Spartan Motors president and chief executive officer. “Spartan’s customer-focused approach, along with our speed and agility, allowed us to significantly accelerate this project from development through launch. We look forward to working closely with Lion Bus and supporting their products in the school bus industry.”
Chassis will be manufactured at the Spartan Chassis facility in Charlotte, Mich., then shipped to the Lion Bus plant near Montreal for body installation and completion. The buses will be sold directly to dealers, school districts and school bus contractors in the United States and Canada.
“Due to increasing safety regulations and the many financial challenges facing school districts and private contractors, we had to come up with an innovative product development strategy,” says Marc Bedard, president of Lion Bus. “We placed a premium on durability and lower maintenance costs, and delivered a value proposition that stands apart from anything on the market today. We have produced innovative solutions to very specific problem areas by utilizing materials and designs which stand up to the unique duty cycles found in the school bus market.
