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 with its 2008 SPARC Award for outstanding supplier performance.

The SPARC award, an acronym for “Supplier Performance Action Review Committee,” is based on a Spartan Chassis supplier’s 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 to cover Spartan Chassis’ growing fire truck business, providing 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 the Delfleet line of finishes.

“We offer many custom colors for fire trucks around the country,” said Beard. “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.

“Spartan Motors is a key player in the fire and emergency segment,” Sarnacki said. “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.”

For more information about PPG Refinish products, call (800) 647-6050  or visit www.ppgcommercialcoatings.com.