1973 headquarters bristol in usa products walk in vans truck bodies cargo management services parent spartan motors website http www.spartanmotors.com fleet vehicles utilimaster corporation is an american company that makes producer of walk in vans citation needed also known as step vans parcel delivery vans pdvs and truck bodies . it was founded in 1973 in wakarusa indiana . previously owned by holiday rambler and then harley davidson it was bought by senior management along with an investment group led by kirkland messina for 65 million in 1996 . currently iso 9001 and qs 9000 certified . on november 19 2009 spartan motors announced it will be acquiring utilimaster for 45 million in an all cash transaction . 1 spartan motors inc. designs engineers and manufactures specialty chassis and vehicles for the recreational vehicle fire truck ambulance emergency rescue and defense specialty markets . the company s brand names include spartan crimson fire crimson fire aerials and road rescue . the company employs approximately 1 000 workers at facilities in michigan pennsylvania south carolina south dakota and texas . spartan reported sales of 844.4 million in 2008 . the road rescue division was sold to allied specialty vehicles in 2010 by spartan . 2 union city body company a former competitor from union city indiana was bought by utilimaster corp. for an undisclosed amount on november 16 2005 . union city body had bought the general motors chassis and commercial truck business in 1998 . 3 utilimaster s customers include fedex united states postal service ups canada post purolator airborne budget penske ryder trs frito lay keebler krispy kreme ibc canadian linen and uniform service cintas ameripride verizon apria health care and home depot . 4 in 2011 isuzu and utilimaster announced plans for utilimaster to assemble the isuzu reach in their wakarusa in plant . it is a commercial van offering over 35 percent better fuel efficiency . 5 on february 14 2012 utilimaster announced it will move from wakarusa indiana to nearby bristol indiana . contents 1 products 1.1 walk in vans 1.2 truck bodies 1.3 technology 2 references 3 external links products edit walk in vans edit also known as step vans is the first of many products utilimaster corporation led the market with . many large delivery fleets prefer the walk in design because of the productivity & safety benefits . the driver and quickly enter and exit from the curbside safer than exiting in to traffic as a result of the cab door design . traditional commercial vehicles are built with swing out driver & passenger doors that require additional time to open close and do now easily allow the operator to carry goods while operating the door . the utilimaster vehicle provides superior delivery efficiencies as a result of the ability for the driver to enter and exit the vehicle with packages in hand versus entry and exit through a sedan door . the full height cab and cargo area allows drivers to utilize the vehicle as a mobile office . operators can enter and exit the cargo area without bending over cargo van or leaving the vehicle to enter through the rear dock truck . in many fleet operations utilimaster vans provide a service life in excess of twenty years . vehicles can be customized to include a variety of modular interior packages refrigerated service mobile maintenance shelving and bins laundry bread or ladder racks . truck bodies edit the final truck type that is produced by utilimaster . these are also finished cabs that are larger vehicles that simply have a box attached to the back before painting . these tend to be large diesel trucks used by budget and old dominion that are capable of hauling more or larger products than the other trucks produced . access to the cargo area in these trucks is always possible through a rear door and sometimes through a side access door if available . however there is rarely if ever access available through the cab to the cargo area . these boxes are also generally produced with wood flooring and wood slats on the interior walls . technology edit technology options include back up cameras a front end detection system an obstacle detection system geotab s telematics system and a sonar back up detector wikimedia commons has media related to utilimaster vehicles . references edit http www.prnewswire.com news releases spartan motors announces agreement to acquire utilimaster corporation 70457722.html http www.roadrescue.com news.php id 1 http www.apnewsarchive.com 1998 gm to sell chassis business id f548aea1904a182b3371c848ea51119e http www.utilimaster.com products.aspx id 41 http www.insideindianabusiness.com newsitem.asp id 46554 external links edit utilimaster corporation spartan motors retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title utilimaster corporation & oldid 734596527 categories motor vehicle companiesmotor vehicle manufacturers based in indianaautomotive companies of the united statesmanufacturing companies 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