Brings four Shyft brands together in fast-growing Nashville area to serve Southeastern U.S. market

Serves as regional distribution center for newest Royal XP Service Body launched at NTEA Work Truck Week

Includes upfit, mounting, fabrication, undercoat and painting services

NOVI, Mich., March 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Shyft Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHYF), the North American leader in specialty vehicle manufacturing, assembly, and upfit for the commercial, retail, and service specialty vehicle markets, today announced a new service body operation in Lebanon, Tennessee, just east of Nashville. This new operation will serve truck dealers, distributors and fleet customers in surrounding states, including new chassis pools for expanded dealer sales and support.

The new, purpose-built 70,000-square-foot facility will serve as a sales branch as well as operations for upfit, mounting, fabrication, undercoat and paint services to Shyft's service body and accessory brands including Royal Truck Body, DuraMag, Magnum and police car upfit and light accessories from Strobes-R-Us.

"Outstanding synergies from our two service body brands located on opposite coasts along with accessory brands that provide truck headache racks and lighting packages have resulted in strong sales growth," said Daryl Adams, President and CEO, The Shyft Group. "Bringing them together to provide a one-stop work truck solution in the Nashville market, one of the fastest growing U.S. economies in a state that reaches 50 percent of the country's population within a 650-mile radius, will only further accelerate that growth."

Royal Truck Body's new steel XP Service Body to be distributed out of Nashville is precision engineered to eliminate water, salt and chemical traps and features a proprietary high-endurance coating system for a glossy and durable finish to seal out weather and wear. This unique coating formulation features a high-edge epoxy primer designed to provide an extra degree of corrosion resistance appropriate for heavy duty on- and off-highway equipment. The ultra-durable, scratch-resistant polyester topcoat also provides maximum gloss retention under sustained UV exposure.

Unlike the competition that tests their coatings using a constant salt spray, the new XP coating system has been validated through third-party cyclical corrosion testing that reflects the equivalent of five years of real-world usage in corrosion-prone environments. In addition, the XP body has successfully run durability testing on a proprietary impact-inducing shaker test rig and on the punishing proving grounds of a leading commercial testing facility equivalent to 250,000 miles loaded at full gross vehicle weight (GVW).

"We know that protecting the investment made in service vehicles is critical to our customers and salt on roads in the winter can be one of the biggest impediments," said Steve Guillaume, President, Specialty vehicles, The Shyft Group. "In side-by-side comparisons, the XP Service Body's high-endurance proprietary coating visually outperforms the competition in simulated real-world cyclical salt tests. This anti-corrosion strength combined with advanced UV and scratch resistance makes this coating a game changer for fleet protection."

This new XP Service Body comes fully loaded with an extensive complement of standard features including open top storage, internal hinges, factory-keyed locks as well as popular options such as ladder racks and an internal master lock security system. The XP Service Body is now available in 8- and 9-foot configurations with an 11-foot model coming later this year at Royal and DuraMag branches, including Nashville, as well as select dealers and distributors.

The DuraMag full portfolio of all aluminum premium service and truck bodies will also be offered and are built to endure with less maintenance, lighter weight for higher payloads, and reduced wear and tear. Magnum headache racks helps protect passengers, payload, and the pickup itself — and includes our new Commander Headache Rack with a Strobes-R-Us Work Ready Lighting Package.

"Our ability to provide the ultimate service body in aluminum or steel and customized with industry leading features, racks and accessory lighting to meet the needs of the crews using the work trucks day in and out is a strong advantage in the market," said Guillaume. "We are excited to bring this complete offering to Tennessee and the entire Southeastern region of the U.S."

About The Shyft Group

The Shyft Group is the North American leader in specialty vehicle manufacturing, assembly, and upfit for the commercial, retail, and service specialty vehicle markets. Our customers include first-to-last mile delivery companies across vocations, federal, state, and local government entities; the trades; and utility and infrastructure segments. The Shyft Group is organized into two core business units: Shyft Fleet Vehicles & Services and Shyft Specialty Vehicles. Today, its family of brands include Blue Arc EV Solutions, Utilimaster, Royal Truck Body, DuraMag and Magnum, Strobes-R-Us, Spartan RV Chassis, Red Diamond Aftermarket Solutions, and Builtmore Contract Manufacturing. The Shyft Group and its go-to-market brands are well known in their respective industries for quality, durability, and first-to-market innovation. The Company employs approximately 4,200 employees and contractors across campuses, and operates facilities in Michigan, Indiana, Maine, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Florida, Missouri, California, Arizona, Tennessee, Texas, and Saltillo, Mexico. The Company reported sales of $1.0 billion in 2022. Learn more about The Shyft Group at TheShyftGroup.com.

CONTACTS

Media:
Carrie Wright
Chief Marketing & Communications Officer
The Shyft Group
Carrie.Wright@theshyftgroup.com
313.495.2904

Scott Worden
Senior Director
Lambert & Co.
sworden@lambert.com
248.825.9343

Investors:
Randy Wilson
VP, Investor Relations and Group Treasurer
The Shyft Group
Randy.Wilson@theshyftgroup.com
947.622.4873

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at