Manitex Receives $8 Million in Orders

Manitex International, Inc., Bridgeview, Ill., has received new orders valued at $8.0 million for shipment during the second and third quarters of 2010.  Approximately $5.0 million is for the company's boom truck cranes and $3.0 million is for the specialized military forklift products.

"The new crane orders are split among three of the top growth areas that we've been pursuing, namely international distribution, independent rental fleets, and the energy support sector,” said  Scott Rolston, senior vice president, sales and marketing. “Darwish Bin Ahmed & Sons, our recently appointed dealer within the UAE, placed several orders for a variety of cranes, including our large 40-ton crane, to support the strong customer demand for Manitex product in the region. In the independent rental fleet sector we received orders from one of our larger dealers to meet improving end user demand in the regions he serves. Finally, orders we received from the oil and gas industry, which is one of the specialized niches that we sell into, suggests improvement in activity for companies focusing on energy extraction and distribution.”

Ralston said that the energy-related orders include several trailer-mounted cranes to be supplied to a major oilfield service company. The order, he said, “represents another new product development for Manitex and a significant new customer.” The new $3.0 million order for specialized forklifts are repeat orders from the U.S.military, These forklifts are due for shipment at the end of the third quarter of 2010.

"The level of military activity globally continues to be strong and our specialized forklifts are targeted to satisfy their particular operating requirements,” said Mark Aldrovandi, responsible for Manitex Liftking's international and military forklift sector. “We are hopeful that our ongoing efforts to support the military and other international organizations with this product will result in further orders in due course."