In 1998, Carpenter was acquired by one of its largest chassis suppliers, Spartan Motors of Charlotte, Michigan. Spartan Motors was a chassis supplier known for high-margin, low-volume markets; some examples include chassis for fire apparatus and luxury motorhomes (Spartan was a supplier for certain models of the Blue Bird Wanderlodge, for example). During the economic times around the millennium, lower initial capital costs for school buses seemed to trump their longevity. When it was time for purchasing decisions, financially pressed districts and contractors tended to select cheaper products with short life cycles. This was much the same dilemma faced by Wayne Wheeled Vehicles parent company Harsco-BMY, where a lesser quantity of higher quality products (at a correspondingly higher price) had also been the plant's historical output.