08:13 GMT, November 13, 2009 OSHKOSH, Wis. | Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) today welcomed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to tour its MRAP All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) production facility in Oshkosh. Secretary Gates also met with and addressed employees who are manufacturing the new vehicles that protect the U.S. Warfighters and allow troops to take the fight to remote areas of the rugged Afghan terrain.

“Thousands of M-ATVs will soon be on their way to Afghanistan,” Defense Secretary Gates told employees. “With every vehicle you complete, you are saving American lives and giving our troops the tools they need to accomplish their mission and come home safely.”

The M-ATV was developed out of a need from the U.S. Armed Services in Afghanistan for a vehicle that retained the protection of legacy MRAPs while providing improved mobility to traverse the country’s mountainous terrain and unimproved road network. During the facility tour, Gates observed M-ATV and other tactical wheeled vehicle production, before speaking to employees. Afterwards he participated in a test drive at the Company’s Test & Development facility.

Having exceeded M-ATV delivery requirements for four consecutive months, Oshkosh’s production output will ramp up to 1,000 vehicles per month in December. Since receiving its first delivery order on June 30, the company’s efficient manufacturing operations have resulted in the first vehicles arriving in Afghanistan in October, only three months after award.

“We are honored to welcome Defense Secretary Gates to our facilities to see first-hand the unyielding support for the Department of Defense from Oshkosh Corporation and our highly-skilled, dedicated employees,” said Robert G. Bohn, Oshkosh Corporation chairman and chief executive officer. “In addition to meeting on-time delivery for our other commercial and defense customer orders, we continue to rapidly produce M-ATVs at increasing levels for operations in Afghanistan. We also are fully supporting the M-ATV program beyond the production line, from the delivery of spare-parts kits to in-theater support.”

Existing Oshkosh Defense manufacturing facilities have available production capacity for all current and pending military vehicle programs, including M-ATV and the U.S. Army’s Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV), as well as any surges in production.

Photo Caption: U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visits Oshkosh Corporation to thank employees for their hard work on the new M-ATV. Pictured are: front, from left: Jake Jones, plant manager, Oshkosh Defense, and Secretary Gates; middle, from left: U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin and Ashton Carter, U.S. under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics; back, from left: Robert G. Bohn, Oshkosh Corporation chairman and chief executive officer, U.S. Rep. Tom Petri of Wisconsin, and Oshkosh assembler Robert Anderson.


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