Order is the first for Pierce’s newest custom chassis
Appleton, Wis. — Pierce Manufacturing Inc., North America’s leading fire and rescue apparatus manufacturer, has received its first order for six new Pierce® Velocity™ chassis from Eugene Fire & EMS in Eugene, Ore. The order includes five pumpers and one 100-foot aerial platform, to be delivered beginning in mid-2007.
 |
“We ordered the Velocity chassis after seeing it unveiled in a live Web cast,” said Scott Bishop, Eugene Fire & EMS District Chief. “We liked what we saw and set up a meeting with Hughes Fire Equipment, our Pierce dealer, to learn more about the safety features and improvements.”
“The Velocity chassis was unveiled in mid-September, and since then fire fighters have told us this new chassis is just what they wanted and needed – practical and comfortable,” said John Randjelovic, president of Pierce. “The Eugene order for six chassis confirms the efforts of our market research along with the work of our design and engineering teams to manufacture the ideal chassis that fire fighters requested.”
- The Velocity chassis was designed with input from firefighters around the country, and it includes five significant areas of improvement that are evident throughout the cab and chassis:
Increased interior space with more head, leg, shoulder and hip room for firefighters. - Easy-access storage and clutter control areas to keep the cab organized and efficient.
- Enhanced safety and visibility features such as frontal air bags*, forward mounted mirrors, a one-piece windshield, and three wiper blades for greater clearance
- The new PS6™ custom-designed seat, with built-in side roll protection, air suspension, self-adjusting ride height, double-length seat belts and dual retractors.
- Ease-of-maintenance features, including a fast access front tilt hood for easier routine maintenance and an engine tunnel access for engine and transmission fluid level checks.
The Velocity chassis is available with engines up to 525 hp, Allison EVS transmission, dual 540- amp alternators, TAK-4® independent front suspension, 45-degree cramp angle, 147.8" flat cab, seating for up to 10, front air bags (spring 2007), and the Side Roll Protection system.
Hughes Fire Equipment, Inc. of Springfield, Ore. is the local Pierce dealer.
* Frontal airbags available Spring 2007
Pierce Manufacturing Inc., a subsidiary of Oshkosh Truck Corporation [NYSE: OSK], 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 the Side Roll Protection™ System to fire apparatus. To learn more about Pierce, visit www.piercemfg.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that the company believes are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding the company’s future financial position, business strategy, targets, projected sales, costs, earnings, capital spending and debt levels, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, words such as “expects,” “intends,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” or “believes” and similar expressions 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, that 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 markets, the company’s ability to successfully integrate the JLG acquisition, the consequences of financial leverage associated with the JLG acquisition, risks related to reductions in government expenditures, the uncertainty of government contracts and the company’s ability to turnaround its Geesink Norba Group business. Additional information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.