22.12.2016

Manitex sales jump and management changes

Manitex chief operating officer Andrew Rooke has moved to a new role as chief executive of ASV the Joint venture with Terex in which Manitex owns 51 percent. Rooke has been with Manitex since 2006.
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Andrew Rooke

Manitex group chief executive David Langevin will assume his responsibilities, in addition to his own. The company has also published a second half trading update that indicates an improved outlook for 2017.

Manitex says that its eight week rolling quote activity, has been as high as 70 percent ahead of the same period last year. The company’s backlog for ‘straight mast cranes’ by which it means boom trucks - has doubled since the third quarter much of which can be invoiced in the quarter.

Vice president sales Steve Keifer said: “As was noted in our third quarter earnings call, we have seen improvements in certain of our markets that have resulted in higher quoting activity and increased bookings for our boom trucks in the second half of this year at Manitex. We are particularly encouraged to see growth in orders from dealers who are replenishing decreased inventory levels as they respond to improving market activity."

David Langevin added: "The downturn we have weathered has given us an opportunity to focus on optimising our business portfolio and make us a stronger competitor, with opportunities to expand our margins, improve our balance sheet, and accelerate our path to sustainable shareholder value creation. We are cautiously optimistic about the trend of increased opportunities in the marketplace that have the potential to drive improved financial results as we head into 2017."