OSHKOSH, Wis. (Dec. 01, 2010) — Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK), announced today that Ron Ziebell, the head of international programs for the Defense division will be retiring after a successful 40-year tenure with the organization. Taking his place will be Serge Buchakjian, who recently joined the organization to lead its International business unit.
“It’s difficult to fully express our gratitude to Ron,” said Andy Hove, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president, Oshkosh Defense. “Oshkosh has benefitted immensely from his years of dedicated service and the integral role he played in the strategic growth of our international business. Ron has graciously committed to stay with the company through the new year to help with the transition as Serge takes over international leadership. Serge has a truly unique set of skills to bring to our international business. With a career that has stretched across the U.S., Europe and the Middle East, Serge’s experiences make him the ideal leader for this growing segment.”
Buchakjian comes to Oshkosh Defense after spending the last 14 years as Honeywell International Inc.’s vice president of international business development, responsible for all aspects of international growth for the company’s defense and aerospace portfolio. Prior to that, he worked with defense technology manufacturers in the U.S. and Europe. Buchakjian has a master’s of business administration from Northeastern University and a bachelor of business degree from Haigaizian University. He has also completed executive programs at Harvard, Oxford and Northwestern Universities, and is Six Sigma Green Belt and Black Belt trained/certified. Buchakjian will be based at the company’s Washington, D.C. office, where he will lead the development, production and sustainment for all international programs.
Oshkosh Defense has produced more than 3200 vehicles for nine countries around the world through government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to meet the logistical and operational needs of allies around the world. The company has operations in more than 20 countries outside of the United States, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan and Brazil.
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 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 Corporation 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, visit 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 the impact on revenues and margins of the projected decrease in M-ATV production rates; the cyclical nature of the Company’s access equipment, commercial and fire & emergency markets, especially during periods of global economic weakness and tight credit markets; the Company’s ability to produce vehicles under the FMTV contract at targeted margins; the duration of the ongoing global economic weakness, which could lead to additional impairment charges related to many of the Company’s intangible assets and/or a slower recovery in the Company’s cyclical businesses than equity market expectations; the expected level and timing of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) procurement of products and services and funding thereof; risks related to reductions in government expenditures in light of U.S. defense budget pressures and an uncertain DoD tactical wheeled vehicle strategy; the potential for the U.S. government to competitively bid the Company’s Army and Marine Corps contracts; the consequences of financial leverage associated with the JLG acquisition, which could limit the Company’s ability to pursue various opportunities; the potential for commodity and other raw material costs to rise sharply, particularly in a future economic recovery; risks related to the collectability of receivables, particularly for those businesses with exposure to construction markets; the cost of any warranty campaigns related to the Company’s products; risks related to costs and charges as a result of facilities consolidation and alignment; risks related to production delays arising from supplier quality or production issues; risks associated with international operations and sales, including foreign currency fluctuations and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; risks related to work stoppages and other labor matters; the potential for disruptions or cost overruns in the Company’s global enterprise system implementation; the potential for increased costs relating to compliance with changes in laws and regulations; and risks related to disruptions in the Company’s distribution networks. 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.
