Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) today welcomed Defense Secretary Robert
Gates to tour its MRAP All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV)
production facility in Oshkosh. Secretary Gates also met with and
addressed employees who are manufacturing the new vehicles that protect
the U.S. Warfighters and allow troops to take the fight to remote areas
of the rugged Afghan terrain.
"Thousands of M-ATVs will soon be on their way to Afghanistan,” Defense
Secretary Gates told employees. "With every vehicle you complete, you
are saving American lives and giving our troops the tools they need to
accomplish their mission and come home safely.”
The M-ATV was developed out of a need from the U.S. Armed Services in
Afghanistan for a vehicle that retained the protection of legacy MRAPs
while providing improved mobility to traverse the country’s mountainous
terrain and unimproved road network. During the facility tour, Gates
observed M-ATV and other tactical wheeled vehicle production, before
speaking to employees. Afterwards he participated in a test drive at the
Company’s Test & Development facility.
Having exceeded M-ATV delivery requirements for four consecutive months,
Oshkosh’s production output will ramp up to 1,000 vehicles per month in
December. Since receiving its first delivery order on June 30, the
company’s efficient manufacturing operations have resulted in the first
vehicles arriving in Afghanistan in October, only three months after
award.
"We are honored to welcome Defense Secretary Gates to our facilities to
see first-hand the unyielding support for the Department of Defense from
Oshkosh Corporation and our highly-skilled, dedicated employees,” said
Robert G. Bohn, Oshkosh Corporation chairman and chief executive
officer. "In addition to meeting on-time delivery for our other
commercial and defense customer orders, we continue to rapidly produce
M-ATVs at increasing levels for operations in Afghanistan. We also are
fully supporting the M-ATV program beyond the production line, from the
delivery of spare-parts kits to in-theater support.”
Existing Oshkosh Defense manufacturing facilities have available
production capacity for all current and pending military vehicle
programs, including M-ATV and the U.S. Army’s Family of Medium Tactical
Vehicles (FMTV),
as well as any surges in production.
Photo Caption: U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visits
Oshkosh Corporation to thank employees for their hard work on the new
M-ATV. Pictured are: front, from left: Jake Jones, plant manager,
Oshkosh Defense, and Secretary Gates; middle, from left: U.S. Sen. Herb
Kohl of Wisconsin and Ashton Carter, U.S. under secretary of defense for
acquisition, technology and logistics; back, from left: Robert G. Bohn,
Oshkosh Corporation chairman and chief executive officer, U.S. Rep. Tom
Petri of Wisconsin, and Oshkosh assembler Robert Anderson.
About Oshkosh Defense
Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, is an
industry-leading global designer and manufacturer of tactical military
trucks and armored wheeled vehicles, delivering a full product line of
conventional and hybrid vehicles, advanced armor options, proprietary
suspensions and vehicles with payloads that can exceed 70 tons. Oshkosh
Defense provides a global service and supply network including full
life-cycle support and remanufacturing, and its vehicles are recognized
the world over for superior performance, reliability and protection. For
more information, visit www.oshkoshdefense.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 Corp.
manufactures, distributes and services products under the brands of
Oshkosh®, JLG®, Pierce®, McNeilus®,
Medtec®, Jerr-Dan®, Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles,
Frontline™, SMIT™, 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.
®, ™ 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 risks related to the required increase
in the rate of production for the M-ATV contract and the amount, if any,
of additional orders for M-ATVs that the Company may receive; the
cyclical nature of the Company’s access equipment, commercial and fire &
emergency markets, especially during a global recession and credit
crisis; the duration of the global recession, which could lead to
additional impairment charges related to many of the Company’s
intangible assets; the expected level and timing of U.S. Department of
Defense procurement of products and services and funding thereof,
including the outcome of the formal protests of the Family of Medium
Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) award to the Company; risks related to
reductions in government expenditures and the uncertainty of government
contracts; the consequences of financial leverage associated with the
JLG acquisition, which could limit the Company’s ability to pursue
various opportunities; risks related to the collectability of
receivables during a recession, particularly for those businesses with
exposure to construction markets; risks related to production delays as
a result of the economy’s impact on the Company’s suppliers; the
potential for commodity costs to rise sharply, including in a future
economic recovery; risks associated with international operations and
sales, including foreign currency fluctuations; and the potential for
increased costs relating to compliance with changes in laws and
regulations. 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.
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