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Pierce Manufacturing announced that it has delivered the first-ever Pierce® Ascendant® 107-foot tractor-drawn aerial tiller to the Tuscaloosa Fire & Rescue department in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The apparatus is the first aerial tiller of any type in the department’s 139-year history.

APPLETON, Wis. (May 2, 2017) – Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) company, today announced that it has delivered the first-ever Pierce® Ascendant® 107-foot tractor-drawn aerial tiller to the Tuscaloosa Fire & Rescue department in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The apparatus is the first aerial tiller of any type in the department’s 139-year history. The vehicle was delivered to the department immediately following its debut at last week’s Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) exhibition in Indianapolis, Ind. Earlier this year, Tuscaloosa Fire & Rescue took delivery of two Pierce pumpers; it has two more Pierce pumpers on order.

“The selection of the all-new Pierce Ascendant 107-foot aerial tiller by Tuscaloosa Fire & Rescue is a real vote of confidence in our products and the excellent sales and support services provided by our local dealer, Emergency Equipment Professionals; we could not be more proud,” said Matt McLeish, senior vice president of sales and marketing of the Fire & Emergency segment and Pierce Manufacturing. “As cities and towns become more congested, we continue to experience steady growth in tractor-drawn ladder vehicles. With the Pierce Ascendant 107-foot tiller now available, we expect this trend to continue and even accelerate.”

“The Pierce Ascendant tractor drawn ladder is going to greatly enhance our already solid truck company operations,” said Fire Chief Alan Martin, a 43-year veteran of the fire service, and Tuscaloosa Fire & Rescue fire chief since 2002. “In our area, the roadways and intersections seem to be getting narrower, and the commercial and residential buildings are situated closer to the streets. With the Ascendant 107-foot tiller, it’ll be easier to get into tight places, yet still provide the reach we need. This is the one truck that will do all of that for us.”

This Pierce Ascendant tiller apparatus for Tuscaloosa is built on a Pierce Arrow XT™ chassis and features a 500 hp engine, a 4-door cab and seating for six firefighters. The tiller trailer includes TAK-4® independent suspension for a smoother ride and enhanced control. The vehicle has 570 cubic feet of storage compartments, and carries a full complement of ground ladders, rescue tools and equipment. The 107-foot aerial ladder features a weight-optimized design structure that places weight and mass only where required. The aerial delivers a full 107-foot vertical reach and a 100-foot horizontal reach with a below-grade operation of -10º. Its vertical reach is an amazing seven feet greater than a typical tractor drawn aerial.

Tuscaloosa is the fifth largest city in Alabama, and is located on the Black Warrior River in the west central section of the state. Tuscaloosa Fire & Rescue features 12 engine companies, 11 stations and 250 paid personnel. The department’s protection area includes the University of Alabama as well as a Mercedes-Benz manufacturing plant. “For seven weekends a year, during football season, we’re the second largest city in the state,” said Martin. “The stadium seats around 106,000 and there’s another 25-30,000 gathered outside the gates. It presents some significant challenges for us, but we wouldn’t have it any other way!”

The Pierce Ascendant Class of Aerials has expanded to include a tandem rear axle aerial ladder, a tractor-drawn aerial tiller, and both a single rear axle and tandem rear axle aerial platform configuration. The Pierce Ascendant 107-foot single rear axle aerial ladder, first introduced in 2015, is the most popular new aerial apparatus in the company’s history.

Local Pierce dealer, Emergency Equipment Professionals (EEP), provides comprehensive sales and support services. With more than 40 employees, EEP features three full-service locations – in Pelham, Ala., Richland, Miss., and Horn Lake, Miss. – as well as mobile service capabilities throughout the states of Alabama and Mississippi. For more information, visit: www.emergencyequipment.us.

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Topics: Innovation, Apparatus Orders


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, mini pumpers, 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

At Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK), we make innovative, mission-critical equipment to help everyday heroes advance communities around the world. Headquartered in Wisconsin, Oshkosh Corporation employs approximately 17,000 team members worldwide, all united behind a common purpose: to make a difference in people’s lives. Oshkosh products can be found in more than 150 countries under the brands of JLG®, Hinowa, Power Towers, Pierce®, MAXIMETAL, Oshkosh® Defense, McNeilus®, IMT®, Jerr-Dan®, Frontline™ Communications, Oshkosh® Airport Products, Oshkosh® AeroTech™ and Pratt Miller. For more information, visit oshkoshcorp.com.

®, ™ All brand names referred to in this news release are trademarks of Oshkosh Corporation or its subsidiary companies.

Forward Looking Statements

This news 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 news 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 Company's ability to successfully integrate the AeroTech acquisition and to realize the anticipated benefits associated with the same; the risks associated with international operations and sales, including compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act;  the Company’s ability to comply with complex laws and regulations applicable to U.S. government contractors; cybersecurity risks and costs of defending against, mitigating and responding to data security threats and breaches impacting the Company; the Company’s ability to successfully identify, complete and integrate other acquisitions and to realize the anticipated benefits associated with the same; and risks related to the Company’s ability to successfully execute on its strategic road map and meet its long-term financial goals. 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 news release. The Company assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update information contained in this news release. Investors should be aware that the Company may not update such information until the Company’s next quarterly earnings conference call, if at all.

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