Utilimaster, a subsidiary of Spartan Motors, Inc., has announced it has received a fleet order for 670 of its Reach commercial van.

"The Reach is a high performance commercial van that delivers value to our customers by providing long-term durability and superior fuel efficiency," said John Forbes, president of Utilimaster. "This order is another significant validation of the Reach, and we are optimistic this momentum will continue."

Maintenance and safety were a major focus of the engineering team at Utilimaster, according to the company. Collision damage, in many cases, can be repaired in less than 30 minutes due to the quick-mount lower body cladding. Safety features include highly visible steps with slip-resistant carbide treads and three points of contact at all entries. The Reach also delivers unmatched maneuverability and is up to six times quieter than competitive products.

Over the life the vehicle, the Reach van with its four-cylinder, 3.0L Isuzu diesel engine has demonstrated a 35-percent fuel efficiency improvement over competitive products in the fleet, according to the company. Replacing a walk-in van driven 20,000 miles per year with the Reach can save 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 11 tons every year.

Production of the order will begin in Q2 2014, with an order completion of later this calendar year.