08.06.2004

JLG to be Global Leader in Telehandlers by 2009

JLG hosted a group of financial analysts at its McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania headquarters today, during which presentations were made covering plans and objectives going forward five years.

During the presentations the company revealed a number of its key strategies and objectives, including a target to achieve total revenues of two billion dollars by 2009. JLG are set to pass the billion-dollar mark for the first time in its history for this financial year, which ends in July.

Plans for the Telehandler range, a product that did not exist for JLG five years ago, are equally aggressive, the company is currently market leader in North America, thanks to its Gradall, Lull and Skytrack acquisitions, and number three worldwide. JLG’s share of the European Telehandler market, the worlds largest, is currently less than one percent but the company plans to change that with the aim to achieve 10 percent within five years. This should then put it ahead of JCB and Manitou the current number one and two worldwide. As part of its market share increase JLG expects to take the number two slot (from the French company Manitou) within the next two years.

The company also plans to take a share of the European excavator market with its range of Gradall based telescopic models, but also recognized that this was not a core product and that they would be prepared to sell this product range if approached with a decent offer.

Other revelations include the plan to enter the trailer mounted aerial lift market with the launch of two articulated telescopic models at the end of this year.

On Pricing issues, President and CEO Bill Lasky while commenting on the fact that “The stick has come back to us” after being in the rental companies hands for several years, would not be drawn on any price increase plans for 2005, saying that “JLG was already the high price player, but still offered the best value” He had no intention of JLG being seen as using the price and terms stick just because they could and compared this to some of the heavy handed approaches of certain steel suppliers in the current sellers market for that product.

On the European market JLG stated that they had taken some write offs with five or six rental companies in Europe and were still managing one or two through a work out process, but did not see any further failures.