A publicly traded Michigan company agreed Tuesday to purchase Smeal Fire Apparatus of Snyder, Nebraska, for $36.3 million, a transaction that could affect 400 Smeal employees in Nebraska, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Spartan Motors of Charlotte, Michigan, said the purchase is due to close in January, subject to standard closing conditions.
Spartan has about 1,800 employees at 13 facilities and has supplied fire truck chassis to Smeal for about 30 years, said Samara Hamilton, marketing director for Spartan.
Hamilton said Spartan will look at "synergies" that would result from the purchase to determine what would happen to Smeal's manufacturing locations and employees.
She said combining the companies is expected to increase the overall business so there would be more production and the need for more employees overall.
Smeal's manufacturing locations are in Snyder and Neligh, Nebraska; Delavan, Wisconsin; and Ephrata, Pennsylvania.
Smeal Fire Apparatus Co., founded in 1963 by the late Donald Smeal, is owned by 50 Smeal family stakeholders. Smeal and his wife, Ardath, raised nine children.
The company buys about $30 million worth of chassis annually from Spartan and would add about $70 million to Spartan's annual revenue, Spartan said in a press release. The sale terms include forgiveness of money Smeal owes to Spartan for recent purchases.
In the press release, Smeal Chairman Rod Cerny said Spartan is "the perfect fit for Smeal, our customers, our employees and our operational leadership team, as we combine with a proven ally and industry leader to help solidify our future and preserve the legacy of the Smeal organization."