MANITOWOC CO INC

General

The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (“Manitowoc,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or "our”) was founded in 1902 and has over a 120-year tradition of providing high-quality, customer-focused products and aftermarket support services to its markets. Manitowoc is one of the world's leading providers of engineered lifting solutions. Manitowoc, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, markets, distributes, and supports comprehensive product lines of mobile hydraulic cranes, lattice-boom crawler cranes, boom trucks, and tower cranes under the Aspen Equipment, Grove, Manitowoc, MGX Equipment Services, National Crane, Potain, and Shuttlelift brand names.

Reporting Segments

The Company has three reportable segments, the Americas segment, the Europe and Africa (“EURAF”) segment and the Middle East and Asia Pacific (“MEAP”) segment. The Americas reporting segment includes the North America and South America continents. The EURAF reporting segment includes the Europe and Africa continents, excluding the Middle East region. The MEAP reporting segment includes the Asia and Australia continents and the Middle East region. The segments were identified using the “management approach,” which designates the internal organization that is used by management for making operating decisions and assessing performance. Refer to Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and Note 18, “Segments,” for additional information on our reporting segments.

The Manitowoc Way

Manitowoc plays an integral role in building the physical communities and structures for current and future generations. Our Mission is integral to this vision, aspiring to deliver the highest level of customer confidence and trust in the lifting industry. Our Core Values are the guiding principles for our employees to ensure that we meet our Vision and Mission. These Core Values are:

(1)

Do what is right: We work in a safe and environmentally responsible way, we respect others, we behave in an ethical way and we deliver quality work.

(2)

Work as a team: We help each other to meet customer needs, we put the team first, we collaborate and support team members and we foster open, two-way communication.

(3)

Deliver results: We do what we say we will do, we focus on continuous improvement and innovation and we strive to exceed customer expectations.

(4)

Act as a role model: We celebrate successes and learn from failures, we approach every day with a can-do-attitude and we have fun.

Encompassing these Core Values, The Manitowoc Way is our business system for executing our Vision and Mission. The Manitowoc Way includes our continuous improvement process, focused on delivering value to our customers, shareholders and employees. This includes lean tools such as the Toyota Production System to eliminate waste from processes, reduce lead times, increase safety within our facilities, improve the quality of our products and drive our sustainability. The Manitowoc Way also encompasses our Voice of the Customer process which has allowed us to introduce innovative, customer-focused products to the market.

The Manitowoc Way has played a critical role in our success to build a sustainable, stand-alone crane company. As we execute our growth strategies, The Manitowoc Way will remain our guiding force for building processes that enhance our new product development; sales strategies; service and rental operations; and acquisition integration.

Aspirations, Business Strategy and Initiatives

In 2023, we updated our long-term aspirations as follows:

•

Increase our net sales target from $2.5 billion to $3.0 billion.

•

Increase our non-new machine sales target from $675 million to $1 billion.

•

Increase our adjusted EBITDA margin target from 10% to 12%.

•

Deliver adjusted return on invested capital ("Adjusted ROIC") of 15%.

Supporting our long-term aspirations is our CRANES+50 strategy which is to grow our non-new machine sales to $1 billion. The bedrock of our CRANES+50 strategy are our four breakthrough initiatives: 1) Grow our tower crane rental and aftermarket business in Europe; 2) Grow our Belt and Road tower crane business with a focus on the Middle East; 3) Expand our aftermarket activities in North America; and 4) Leverage our all-terrain crane new product development to grow aftermarket.

Grow our tower crane rental and aftermarket business in Europe: Since 2021, we have grown our European tower rental fleet original equipment cost by $27.7 million. The Company continues to enhance the portfolio of aftermarket services performed in Europe, such as sale of parts and whole goods accessories, on-site repairs, technical support, erection and decommissioning services, crane remanufacturing, training services and digital solutions. In addition, the Company continues to expand the rental fleet in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Grow our Belt and Road tower crane business with a focus on the Middle East: We have invested in research and development to design and manufacture innovative topless tower cranes for the Belt and Road, namely the Middle East market, experiencing significant growth. Since 2021, eight new models have been launched. Utilizing the principles of The Manitowoc Way, the engineering team reduced the new product development cycle from 18-24 months to 12-14 months while ensuring strict adherence to quality. The shorter product development cycle enables us to quickly seize market opportunities and gain market share.

Expand our aftermarket activities in North America: In 2021, we acquired the assets of two companies, Aspen Equipment Company (“Aspen”) and the crane business of H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (now MGX Equipment Services, LLC, or “MGX”), which expanded our ability to provide new machine sales, used machine sales, aftermarket parts, remanufacturing and service support to a variety of end market customers. In 2022, we completed the acquisition of certain assets of the crane rental fleet of Honnen Equipment Company (“Honnen”), which expanded our rental portfolio and direct-to-customer footprint in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. Additionally, in 2023, we added key territories including Missouri and South Carolina. The acquisition of the assets of these businesses and additional territories advances our strategy to expand our aftermarket activities within North America. We currently offer 18 full-service branch locations in 15 states with over 150 field service technicians that provide industry-leading technical competencies and exceptional customer support.

Leverage our all-terrain crane new product development to grow aftermarket: We have invested in research and development to design and manufacture innovative all-terrain cranes. Since 2021, we have launched nine new or refreshed all-terrain cranes which include enhancements such as longer boom lengths, increased load capacity, reduced weight, improved roadability, new cab designs, and the Grove CONNECT telematics system. Offering an innovative and wide breadth of cranes to customers enables us to be more competitive in the market.

Products and Aftermarket Services

Our crane products are used in a wide variety of applications throughout the world, including energy production/distribution and utility, petrochemical and industrial, infrastructure, such as road, bridge and airport construction, as well as commercial and residential construction. We design, manufacture and distribute a diversified line of crawler-mounted lattice-boom cranes, sold under the Manitowoc brand name, an expansive line of top-slewing and self-erecting tower cranes, sold under the Potain brand name, and a diversified line of mobile hydraulic cranes, sold under the Grove, Shuttlelift and National Crane brand names. We also provide an expansive array of aftermarket services and continue to invest in our rental fleet to further expand our aftermarket services to customers. We sell our entire product offering to most regions of the world and offer our full line of services primarily in the United States and Europe. Moreover, we report under a geographic reporting structure to better align with the location of our customers and the unique market dynamics of each geographic region. We primarily distribute our products through a global network of independent distributors and/or rental companies. Additionally, we distribute our products through our wholly owned distribution network under the brand name of MGX and Aspen in certain areas of the United States. Our main products and services are:

Products.

Lattice-boom crawler cranes. Under the Manitowoc brand name, we design, manufacture, market and sell lattice-boom crawler cranes. Lattice-boom crawler cranes weigh less and provide higher lifting capacities than a mobile telescopic crane of similar boom length. The lattice-boom crawler cranes are the only category of crane that can pick and move simultaneously with a full-rated load. The lattice-boom sections, together with the crane base, are transported to and erected at a project site. We offer our lattice-boom crawler crane customers various attachments that provide our cranes with greater capacity in terms of height, movement and lifting. These cranes are used to lift material and equipment in a wide variety of applications, including heavy construction, bridge and highway, infrastructure and energy-related projects. These cranes are also used by the crane rental industry, which serves all the aforementioned end markets. Lattice boom crawler cranes are produced in the U.S.

Tower cranes. Under the Potain brand name, we design, manufacture, market, rent and sell tower cranes primarily used in the commercial and residential construction end markets. Tower cranes offer the ability to lift and distribute material at the point of use, more quickly and accurately than other types of lifting machinery, without utilizing substantial square footage on the ground. We offer a complete line of tower crane products, including top slewing, luffing jib, topless, self-erecting and special cranes for large building projects.

Top-slewing tower cranes are the most traditional category of tower cranes and have a tower and a multi-sectioned horizontal jib. These cranes rotate from the top of their mast and can increase in height with the project. These cranes are generally sold to medium to large building and construction groups, as well as to rental companies. There are three styles of top-slewing tower cranes: hammerhead/cathead; topless; and luffing jib. These cranes are produced in France, Portugal, India and China.

Self-erecting tower cranes are bottom-slewing cranes which have a counterweight located at the bottom of the mast and are able to be erected, used and dismantled on job sites without assist cranes. Self-erecting tower cranes are mounted on axles or transported on a trailer. The lower segment of the range unfolds in four sections, two for the mast and two for the jib. Self-erecting cranes rotate from the bottom of their mast and are utilized primarily in low to medium rise construction and residential applications. The Company's self-erecting tower cranes are produced in France, Italy and Portugal.

Mobile hydraulic cranes. Under the Grove, Shuttlelift and National Crane brand names, we design, manufacture, market, rent and sell mobile hydraulic cranes utilized in industrial, commercial, construction and maintenance applications. Mobile hydraulic cranes consist of a telescopic boom mounted on a carrier with the ability to easily move in or between job sites, with some permitted on public roadways. We currently offer the following six types of mobile hydraulic cranes: rough-terrain, all-terrain, truck-mounted, telescopic crawler, industrial and boom truck.

Rough-terrain cranes are designed to lift materials and equipment on rough or uneven terrain, and their versatility allows them to carry out many different lifts within the boundaries of given sites. These cranes cannot be driven on public roadways, and, accordingly, must be transported by truck to a job site. Rough-terrain cranes are produced in the U.S. and Italy and sold under the Grove brand name.

All-terrain cranes are versatile cranes designed to perform a wide range of lifts on rough or uneven terrain. These cranes are highly maneuverable and roadable at highway speeds. All-terrain cranes are produced in Germany and sold under the Grove brand name.

Truck-mounted cranes provide simple set-up, long reach, high-capacity booms and are roadable at highway speeds. These cranes are produced in the U.S and sold under the Grove brand name.

Telescopic crawler cranes consist of a telescopic boom superstructure mounted on a crawler crane chassis. These cranes are purchased as complete units from a strategic manufacturing partner and sold under the Grove brand name.

Industrial cranes are designed primarily for plant maintenance, storage yard and material handling applications. These cranes allow for lifting and carrying loads on a smooth, flat surface. These cranes are produced in the U.S. and sold under the Grove and Shuttlelift brand names.

Hydraulic boom trucks are hydraulically powered telescopic cranes mounted on a conventional truck chassis. Hydraulic boom trucks are used primarily for lifting material on a job site. These cranes are produced in the U.S. under the National Crane brand name.

Services.

Aftermarket services.

We provide expansive aftermarket services such as sale of parts and accessories, field service work, routine maintenance services, technical support, erection and decommissioning services, crane and major component remanufacturing, training services and telematics. Additionally, we continue to invest in our rental fleet in the United States and Europe to provide additional options and flexibility to our customers. In 2023, we invested in a rental fleet in the United Kingdom to serve growing demand. Our aftermarket services are offered through our crane product brand names, Manitowoc, Potain, Grove, Shuttlelift and National Crane, as well as through our wholly owned distributors, MGX and Aspen.

Parts and accessories. Parts and accessories are stocked at our parts distribution centers around the world and sold through our distribution networks to ensure parts availability to our customers. Our distribution locations also stock operational critical and frequently used parts to increase parts fulfillment velocity and reduce customer downtime.

On-site repairs. Our certified technicians can provide troubleshooting, remote diagnostic, maintenance service and repairs for our crane products. Our technicians provide customers with efficient and high-quality repairs to ensure the crane products can operate to the original crane product specification and performance. Our wholly owned distributors in North America, MGX and Aspen, have over 150 technicians which provide on-site repair services to our customers in the region. Additionally, we have over 150 technicians which provide on-site repair services to our customers in Europe.

Technical support. We have product-based technical support teams that provide advanced troubleshooting, major repair procedures, incident reporting and repair consultation services. Our technical support team has extensive subject matter expertise and works closely with our engineering and manufacturing teams to provide prompt and expert advice to our customers.

Erection and decommissioning services. Our qualified crane service technicians from our company-owned and independent distributors assist customers in safely erecting and decommissioning cranes on job sites.

Crane and major component remanufacturing. Under the brand name EnCORE, our remanufacturing services offer cost-effective ways for our customers to restore a crane to its original specifications and performance. As part of this service, complete machines or major components are disassembled, cleaned, repaired, or replaced to meet manufacturer’s specifications, using genuine parts. All controls and safety devices are updated to current regulatory standards. Finally, the machine or component is thoroughly inspected and tested. Additionally, EnCORE remanufactured cranes benefit from up to a one-year manufacturer's warranty, including applicable software and hardware updates, and genuine parts installed with our technical expertise.

Training. Our Manitowoc Training Center offers extensive technical training on all our crane products which are conducted at our training facilities or on-site for our distribution service technicians and some customers.

Telematics. Manitowoc’s Potain Connect and Grove Connect telematics solutions provide subscription-based real-time access to service information on cranes through remote troubleshooting, enhancing service support and improving speed to assist in resolving product issues. Key benefits include minimizing downtime on cranes and ability to monetize aftermarket revenue.

Manufacturing Process

Manitowoc operates eleven manufacturing facilities (including remanufacturing facilities) across the world that utilize a variety of processes. In general, the manufacturing process involves the fabrication and machining of raw materials, primarily steel, which are then manufactured into sub-assemblies. Sub-assemblies are then assembled with purchased components into a complete crane. In our manufacturing operations, we maintain advanced manufacturing, quality assurance and testing equipment and utilize extensive process automation. We have invested in Product Verification Centers at our major manufacturing facilities to support new product development, testing and qualification of sub-systems and final product designs.

Competition

We sell our products in highly competitive end markets. We compete in each of our end markets based on product design, quality of products, aftermarket support services, product performance, maintenance costs, energy and resource savings and other contributions to sustainability and price. Given the expense that can be caused by operational disruption, our customers generally view quality and reliability as critical factors in their purchasing decision. We believe that we benefit from the following competitive advantages which create customer loyalty: strong brand names with competitive resale values, a reputation for quality and reliable products and aftermarket support and solution services, an established network of global distributors and customer relationships, broad product line offerings in the markets we serve, a commitment to customer-focused engineering design and product innovation and in-house service and distribution. The following table sets forth our primary competitors:

Major Customers

We did not have any customers that individually comprised more than 10% of our consolidated net sales in the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, or 2021.

Raw Material and Component Sources and Availability

We globally source raw materials and components such as semi- and fully-finished processed materials from suppliers. Our primary raw materials are structural and rolled steel and our purchased semi- and fully-finished processed materials are primarily steel structures, hydraulic components and powertrains. We utilize a global sourcing strategy by maintaining alternate sources of supply for our critical materials and parts around the globe, wherever possible. This sourcing strategy mitigates the risk of being dependent on a single supplier and that raw materials and components are available in the regions we operate. For the majority of our critical suppliers, we have long-term agreements.

Patents, Trademarks and Licenses

We utilize patent rights to protect our intellectual property and our position as a leading provider of engineered lifting solutions. We hold numerous patents globally pertaining to our products in addition to having pending applications for additional patents. Further, we have various registered and unregistered trademarks, copyrights and licenses. We believe our patents, trademarks and copyrights are adequately protected in customary fashions under applicable laws and we actively enforce our patents, trademarks and copyrights.

Engineering, Research and Development

We believe our extensive engineering, research and development capabilities are key drivers of our success in creating innovative and quality products. Our dedicated locations for research and development activities are staffed by in-house engineers and technicians on three continents, supplemented with external engineering resources, who are responsible for enhancing our existing products and developing new products.

Our team of engineers focus on developing high performance, low maintenance, innovative products intended to create significant brand loyalty among customers. Design engineers work closely with our customers and our manufacturing and marketing staffs, enabling us to identify real-time changing end-user requirements, implement new technologies and effectively introduce product innovations. Closely managed relationships with dealers, distributors and end users help us identify their needs, not only for products, but for the service and support level that are critical to their profitable operations. As part of our ongoing commitment to provide superior products, we intend to continue our efforts to design products that meet evolving customer demands and reduce the period from product conception to product introduction.

Seasonality

Due to seasonal conditions in the northern hemisphere impacting customer buying behaviors, particularly in the construction industry, net sales in the first quarter of the year are generally the lowest.

Human Capital Management

Employment

As of December 31, 2023, we employed approximately 4,800 people worldwide, of which approximately 1,700 were employed in the Americas segment, approximately 2,600 were employed in the EURAF segment and approximately 500 were employed in the MEAP segment. A large majority of our European employees belong to various European trade unions. Additionally, we have one trade union in China and one trade union in India. In North America, a small number of our employees belong to one of two trade unions.

Health and Safety

The health and safety of our employees is our number one priority and our Company goal is to be a zero-injury workplace. We are committed to maintaining an injury-free workplace through the daily implementation of our Safety Management Systems (“SMS”), focusing on safe working behavior and emphasizing that all injuries are preventable. To track the health and safety performance across our global manufacturing locations we utilize a mixture of lagging and leading indicators. The two lagging indicators are Recordable Injury Rate (“RIR”) and Loss Time Injury Frequency Rate (“LTIFR”) which are both calculated in line with the United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards. In 2023, our year end RIR was 1.01 compared to the industry average of 4.8 and our LTIFR was 0.79 compared to the industry average of 1.3. Industry standards are per the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. In addition to our focus on lagging indicators, we have developed pro-active programs to track our leading indicators which include reporting of “near misses” and daily hazard observations through our “SLAM” (Stop-Look-Assess-Manage) and “Interactive Observation” Programs. In 2023, we recorded 76,351 SLAMs and 16,990 Interactive Observations which drove improvements to both our RIR and LTIFR by helping our workforce to identify hazards and implement pro-active mitigation measures to avoid injury or loss. More information about our health and safety is in our latest Corporate Sustainability Report (“CSR”) which can be found on our Company website. The information provided in our CSR or on our website is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is not incorporated by reference as part of this report.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”)

At Manitowoc, we remain fully committed to building a culture of inclusion and expanding the diversity of our workforce. We strive to create a diverse and inclusive workplace where all of our team members can perform to their full potential. As stewards of our diversity and inclusion initiatives, our leadership team takes a proactive approach to build and develop a diverse pipeline of talent. We place particular emphasis on developing our people and building a deep and diverse talent pool to ensure sustained success over the long-term. In addition, we work with various outside organizations focused on equitable hiring practices for underrepresented populations. More information about our DEI initiatives can be found in our latest CSR which can be found on our company website.

Training and Talent Development

We invest in our workforce by offering programs to develop and grow throughout an employee’s careers. Programs designed to help our employees effectively perform their duties include training courses in environmental health and safety, welding apprenticeships, sales skills development, Lean manufacturing methodologies, The Manitowoc Way and corporate compliance (Ethics & Code of Conduct, DEI, Anti-Bribery and Workplace Harassment, among others). The Company also provides tuition reimbursement and routinely invests in seminars, conferences and other training or continuing education for employees. Additionally, the CEO and EVP, Human Resources conduct bi-annual global succession planning meetings with senior leadership and the Board of Directors to review the Company’s top talent. To support the ongoing development of the Company’s top talent, we have implemented several programs such as the Manitowoc Mentorship Program, the Supervisor Leadership Program, Customer Support Leadership Program and ongoing individual development programs designed to build the leadership capabilities of our existing and future leaders. More information about our training and development can be found in our latest CSR which can be found on our company website.

Available Information

We make available, free of charge, at our website (www.manitowoc.com), our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, our proxy statements and any amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The information on our website is not part of this or any other report we file with or furnish to the SEC.

The SEC also maintains electronic versions of our reports on its website at www.sec.gov.