APPLETON, Wis. (November 8, 2013) – Pierce Manufacturing, an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) company, received an order for nine Pierce® Arrow XT™ custom pumpers from the DeKalb County Fire and Rescue Department in Georgia. This is the department’s first purchase of Pierce apparatus. The vehicles will be delivered beginning in early 2014.
“Through our regular competitive bid process, Pierce came in a little higher in terms of price, yet they fully met the specifications that we identified. Our Fleet Maintenance Division completed an assessment of the metro Atlanta area and found Pierce to have a lower overall cost to operate than other apparatus manufacturers,” said DeKalb County Fire Chief, Edward O’Brien. “Pierce’s 100-year history and ‘single source’ approach – matched with a certified local dealer to service and support these trucks – is hugely important. With Pierce, we’re not dealing with multiple companies.”
“The opportunity to build these Pierce custom pumpers for one of the busiest fire departments in the country is an acknowledgement of our team’s ability to engineer and deliver state-of-the-art apparatus at a lower overall cost of ownership, and then back them with the industry’s best dealer network,” said Jim Johnson, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president, Fire & Emergency. “For many years to come, these trucks will provide excellent service to the citizens and taxpayers of DeKalb County.”
Each of the nine pumpers feature a 400 hp engine, a galvanneal steel body, a 10-inch raised roof cab, and seating for five firefighters. The apparatus also feature Pierce Command Zone® advanced electronics and control system, a 1000 gpm water pump, a 500-gallon water tank, a 30-gallon foam cell, and three crosslays.
“We’re a very busy department, with some engine companies responding to 5,000 calls per year, and we need apparatus that are reliable and durable,” noted Chief O’Brien. “Our protection area includes high-rises, suburban communities, several college campuses, five hospitals, four large shopping malls and the second busiest airport in the state. We have a little bit of everything down here.”
DeKalb is the third most populous county in the state and is located in the metro Atlanta area, with close to 700,000 residents. DeKalb County Fire and Rescue Department responded to more than 98,000 calls in 2012 providing the following services: fire suppression, emergency medical, community education, fire investigation, fire inspection, hazardous material mitigation, technical rescue, dive/swift water rescue, canine search and rescue, and fire prevention.
Pierce dealer, Ten-8 Fire and Safety Equipment of Georgia, provides local service and support through its full service facilities in Forsyth, Georgia.
About Pierce Manufacturing
Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation [NYSE: OSK] company, is celebrating its 100th year in business in 2013. Pierce is the leading North American manufacturer of custom fire apparatus. Products include custom and commercial pumpers, aerials, rescue trucks, wildland trucks, minipumpers, elliptical tankers, and homeland security apparatus. In addition, Pierce designs its own foam systems and was the first company to introduce frontal airbags and the Side Roll Protection system to fire apparatus. To learn more about Pierce, visit www.piercemfg.com.
About Oshkosh Corporation
Oshkosh Corporation is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialty access equipment, commercial, fire & emergency and military vehicles and vehicle bodies. Oshkosh Corporation manufactures, distributes and services products under the brands of Oshkosh®, JLG®, Pierce®, McNeilus®, Jerr-Dan®, Frontline™, CON-E-CO®, London® and IMT®. Oshkosh products are valued worldwide in businesses where high quality, superior performance, rugged reliability and long-term value are paramount. For more information, log on to www.oshkoshcorporation.com.
®, TM All brand names referred to in this news release are trademarks of Oshkosh Corporation or its subsidiary companies.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that the Company believes to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s future financial position, business strategy, targets, projected sales, costs, earnings, capital expenditures, debt levels and cash flows, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “should,” “project” or “plan” or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include the cyclical nature of the Company’s access equipment, commercial and fire & emergency markets, especially in the current environment where there are conflicting signs regarding the global economic outlook and the ability of the U.S. government to resolve budgetary and debt issues; the expected level and timing of the DoD procurement of products and services and funding thereof; risks related to reductions in government expenditures in light of U.S. defense budget pressures, sequestration and an uncertain DoD tactical wheeled vehicle strategy, including the Company’s ability to successfully manage the cost reductions required as a result of the significant projected decrease in sales levels in the defense segment; the Company’s ability to comply with laws and regulations applicable to U.S. government contractors; the Company’s ability to increase prices to raise margins or offset higher input costs; increasing commodity and other raw material costs, particularly in a sustained economic recovery; risks related to facilities consolidation and alignment, including the amounts of related costs and charges and that anticipated cost savings may not be achieved; the duration of the ongoing global economic weakness, which could lead to additional impairment charges related to many of the Company’s intangible assets and/or a slower recovery in the Company’s cyclical businesses than Company or equity market expectations; risks related to the collectability of receivables, particularly for those businesses with exposure to construction markets; the cost of any warranty campaigns related to the Company’s products; risks related to production or shipment delays arising from quality or production issues; risks associated with international operations and sales, including foreign currency fluctuations and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; and risks related to the Company’s ability to successfully execute on its strategic road map and meet its long-term financial goals. Additional information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update information contained in this press release. Investors should be aware that the Company may not update such information until the Company’s next quarterly earnings conference call, if at all.