Crane sales from the Manitowoc stable continue to rise – growing nearly threefold in just two years.
The Manitowoc Company, parent to Manitowoc Cranes, West-Manitowoc and Manitex, has reported group sales for 1998 of $695m (1997: $546m) and net earnings of $51.4m (1997: $36.4m). Cranes contributed $330m in sales and $48.1m in operating profit.
Only two years previously, in 1996, Manitowoc had crane sales of just $115m, earning $22.6m. In 1997 crane sales were $260m and earnings were £34.9m.
“Our crane business had a great year in 1998,” said Manitowoc president and chief executive officer Terry Growcock. “We ended the fourth quarter with a strong backlog of $144m, despite a nearly 30% increase in shipments over the fourth quarter of 1997.
“Order flow remains good and we expect a particularly solid domestic market for heavy lift cranes and boom trucks for the foreseeable future.” “In addition,” Growcock continued, “passage of the new federal highway construction legislation (TEA-21), combined with orders from construction contractors, point to continued strength in this market.” Hereiterated Manitowoc’s commitment to introduce new crane platforms and attachments every year to stimulate demand in the high-capacity crawler segment. This year sees the launch of the 777T truck crane and the 1,000 US ton model 21000.
Growcock said that his goal was to grow the turnover of The Manitowoc Company, which also includes food-service products (such as ice machines and beverage dispensers) and shipbuilding, to $1.3bn by 2002.
