Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Oshkosh Corporation Defense Division to Expand Its Technical Operations in Michigan



Defense News: OSHKOSH, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK - News) announced today plans for its Defense Division to expand technical operations in Michigan and move into a new leased state-of-the-art technical facility in Warren, Mich., replacing its existing Warren office. The announcement was made at a press conference with the Governor of Michigan and the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) Board which announced funding for Oshkosh and other companies. The MEGA Board has approved a state tax credit of $6.4 million spanning 12 years for Oshkosh.

Oshkosh Defense will move current operations from its existing leased Warren office into the new facility and plans to hire up to 190 new employees locally. This new facility will provide advanced system technical support and systems engineering for the Defense division’s work on the U.S. Army medium and heavy truck fleets. Oshkosh Corporation anticipates a capital investment in the new site of approximately $6.5 million over a five-year period.

The facility will support Oshkosh Defense’s work on the five-year Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) rebuy contract, which the Army reaffirmed on Feb. 12 and its work on the Army’s Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles (FHTV), including the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT), Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET) and Palletized Load System (PLS).

“Expanding in Warren is the right choice for Oshkosh Defense because it continues to help us more efficiently interface with TACOM, our military customer, who has offices in the Detroit area in support of our work on military programs,” said Robert G. Bohn, Oshkosh Corporation chairman and chief executive officer. “Complete integration of our advanced engineering, logistics, program management and configuration management in one location in Warren will be a natural fit as we initiate service on additional defense contracts. We’ve received the local government support we need to facilitate moving forward with this expansion and are excited by the capabilities within the local workforce.”

“We’re delighted Oshkosh Corporation has decided to expand its defense operations in Michigan with a new, state-of-the-art technical facility,” said Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. “Oshkosh Corporation is an excellent partner in helping us diversify Michigan’s economy and create new high-tech, good paying jobs. The new Warren facility will help Oshkosh Defense service its government defense contracts and benefit the men and women in our armed forces.”

The Warren facility will be located in close proximity to TACOM in the Detroit metropolitan area to provide TACOM program and product managers with increased access and involvement in Oshkosh Defense’s execution and performance of their programs. This facility will be used primarily for military programs, but could offer additional services going forward.

About Oshkosh Defense

Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, is an industry-leading global designer and manufacturer of tactical military trucks and armored wheeled vehicles, delivering a full product line of conventional and hybrid vehicles, advanced armor options, proprietary suspensions and vehicles with payloads that can exceed 70 tons. Oshkosh Defense provides a global service and supply network including full life-cycle support and remanufacturing, and its vehicles are recognized the world over for superior performance, reliability and protection. For more information, visit www.oshkoshdefense.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®, Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles, Frontline™, SMIT™, 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, log on to 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 risks related to sustaining the required rate of production for the M-ATV contract and the amount, if any, of additional orders for M-ATVs that the Company may receive; the cyclical nature of the Company’s access equipment, commercial and fire & emergency markets, especially during a global recession and tight credit markets; the duration of the global recession, which could lead to additional 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, the potential for the government to competitively bid the Company’s Army and Marine contracts and the uncertainty of government contracts generally; the consequences of financial leverage associated with the JLG acquisition, which could limit the Company’s ability to pursue various opportunities; risks related to the collectability of receivables during a recession, particularly for those businesses with exposure to construction markets; risks related to production delays as a result of the economy’s impact on the Company’s suppliers; the potential for commodity costs to rise sharply, including in a future economic recovery; risks associated with international operations and sales, including foreign currency fluctuations; 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. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update information contained in this press 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.

Contact:

Oshkosh Corporation
Financial:
Patrick Davidson
Vice President, Investor Relations
920.966.5939
or
Media:
Ann Stawski
Vice President, Marketing Communications
920.966.5959

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