Jun 14 2008
Spartan Chassis, Inc., a Charlotte, Mich.-based manufacturer of custom chassis and vehicles for the national emergency-rescue, recreational and specialty vehicle markets, recently honored PPG Industries’ automotive refinish business with its 2008 SPARC Award for outstanding supplier performance. The announcement was made at Spartan’s Sixth Annual Supplier Conference at the Radisson Hotel in Lansing, Mich.
Spartan Chassis determines SPARC (Supplier Performance Action Review Committee) Award winners based on suppliers’ engineering and manufacturing support, product quality and price, innovation and responsiveness. PPG was heavily involved in the construction of a new paint facility in Charlotte for Spartan Chassis’ growing fire truck business. PPG provided technical support along with product and equipment recommendations.
“I can’t say enough about the support we received from PPG,” said Dennis Beard, Spartan Chassis purchasing supervisor. “They rose to every occasion. Their responsiveness was phenomenal in allaying any concerns we had. So when it came time to nominate contenders for the SPARC Award, PPG was first to come to mind.”
PPG has had a long-term relationship with Spartan Chassis, a subsidiary of Spartan Motors, Inc., serving as the company’s primary paint supplier and providing them with Delfleet finishes. “We offer many custom colors for fire trucks around the country,” Beard said. “They’re not all red. We’ve had orders for fluorescent yellowish green and even light blue for Hawaii. PPG supplies it all.”
Greg Sarnacki, PPG commercial zone manager, accepted the award along with PPG Account Executive Jim Cole. Sarnacki said, “Spartan Motors is a key player in the fire and emergency segment. We work very hard to try and understand their business and their service needs, and we’re happy to help them in every way we can. Receiving the SPARC Award is quite an honor.”
Cole added, “Paint is often considered a commodity. It’s a nice surprise to see our efforts are recognized. We want to be of service to Spartan and to all our customers – not just sell them a can of paint.”
Spartan Chassis has three divisions: fire truck, motor homes and defense products. Suppliers serving any of the three were considered for the award.