Purchase is incremental to initial order of 68 units

March 12, 2009 - Appleton, WI – Pierce Manufacturing, an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) company, today announced an order from the U.S. Army for 21 HEMTT-based Water Tender (HEWATT) apparatus. The purchase is valued at $10.5 million and is in addition to previous orders received for 68 of the vehicles. The first Pierce® HEWATT vehicles will be delivered beginning in June 2010, and will be used by Army, National Guard and Army Reserve firefighting units throughout the U.S.

“Pierce is proud to provide our brave soldiers with the essential firefighting vehicles they need to perform under the most challenging conditions,” said Wilson Jones, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president, Fire & Emergency. “This new order for 21 HEWATTs is a strong vote of confidence in the vehicles, and we’re delighted that the U.S. Army has chosen the Pierce water tender.”

The HEWATT is designed as a multi-purpose water tender to provide structural as well as airfield crash/rescue support alongside the Pierce Tactical Fire Fighting Truck (TFFT), ordered previously by the U.S. Army. The HEWATT water tender can provide supplementary fire suppression capabilities to support the TFFT. The HEWATT can operate under extreme conditions in a broad range of terrains, from paved roads to cross-country. 

Based on the Oshkosh® HEMTT military transporter chassis, the HEWATT features an 8 x 8 all-wheel-drive axle configuration that can climb a 60-percent grade at full GVW. The apparatus delivers a maximum speed of 62 mph and has a fording clearance of 36 inches. The firefighting package includes a 2,500-gallon integrated water tank, 500-gpm single-stage pump, 50-gallon foam cell, a 250-gpm front bumper mounted turret/monitor and 200-feet of 1-inch hose.

Photo Caption: The Pierce® HEWATT provides structural as well as airfield crash/rescue support.

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.