March 19, 2009 - Appleton, WI. – Pierce Manufacturing, an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) company, today introduced its new Pierce Master Technician Program as a component of the company’s aftermarket “Service Brigade” initiative. The Pierce Master Technician Program is a comprehensive certification program that allows its dealer service technicians to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise on servicing Pierce apparatus and ultimately be recognized as a Pierce Master Technician.
“Our primary objective in introducing the Service Brigade and Pierce Master Service Technician program is to enhance the ownership experience for our customers by providing them with the best and most-well trained service techs in the fire industry,” said Wilson Jones, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president, Fire & Emergency. “Pierce and our dealer network continue to invest significant resources to support the lifetime value of Pierce fire apparatus.”
The program consists of maintenance classes in:
· Chassis Electrical Systems,
· Command Zone™ II Advanced Electronics,
· Aerial Apparatus Systems,
· Husky Foam and Compressed Air Foam System,
· TAK-4® Independent Suspension and Side Roll Protection and
· Frontal Airbag Protection Systems.
To achieve Pierce Master Technician status, a service technician must, upon completing each class, take and pass an exam pertaining to that particular subject. A final cumulative exam will be administered once students have successfully completed all classes.
“Today’s fire and emergency apparatus are highly-sophisticated vehicles. Proper maintenance and service is essential to ensure that Pierce vehicles continue to serve firefighters and help protect the communities they serve,” said Tom Walley, Pierce Manufacturing vice president of aftermarket and customer support. “This program enables service technicians to obtain relevant training for exclusive technologies that may not be covered by traditional ASE/EVT programs.”
Technicians who achieve Master Level will be recognized at Pierce’s Annual Service Meeting and featured on the company’s website. To maintain their Master Technician status, technicians must continue to: complete new classes on an ongoing basis; attend mandatory new product classes; and complete an online refresher course every third year.
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Pierce’s North American dealer network is comprised of independent companies supporting the United States and Canada. This comprehensive network features a combined force of 200 mobile and regional service centers staffed with more than 600 dedicated service professionals to provide 24//7 support to Pierce customers.
Photo Caption: Service technician classes are a key component of Pierce Master Technician program.
About Pierce Manufacturing
Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation [NYSE: OSK] company, 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 Corp. manufactures, distributes and services products under the brands of Oshkosh®, JLG®, Pierce®, McNeilus®, Medtec®, Jerr-Dan®, BAI®, Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles, Frontline™, SMIT™, Geesink™, Norba™, Kiggen™, 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 about Oshkosh Corporation visit 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 the consequences of financial leverage associated with the JLG acquisition, especially given turmoil in the credit markets and the level of the Company’s borrowing costs; the cyclical nature of the Company’s access equipment, commercial and fire & emergency markets, especially during a global recession and credit crisis; the Company’s ability to obtain cost reductions on steel and other raw materials following sharp cost increases in 2008, obtain other cost decreases or achieve product selling price increases; the duration of the global recession and its adverse impact on the Company’s share price, which could lead to 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; risks related to reductions in government expenditures and the uncertainty of government contracts; risks associated with international operations and sales, including foreign currency fluctuations; the Company’s ability to turn around its Geesink business; risks related to the collectability of receivables during a recession, especially access equipment receivables; 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.
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