Volvo Construction Equipment sells LB Smith New York dealership

Volvo Construction Equipment sells LB Smith New York dealership Volvo Construction Equipment, Volvo CE, has sold its LB Smith dealership in New York State to Vantage Equipment, LLC, Syracuse, New York. The appointment of Vantage Equipment as an authorized Volvo CE dealer is effective August 27, 2004. The new dealership will serve its market area from current LB Smith branch facilities in Buffalo, Latham (Albany), and Syracuse. The New York City metropolitan area is not included in the sale and will continue to be served by Malvese Equipment Company, Inc., Hicksville, New York. Volvo CE purchased the assets associated with the Volvo construction equipment distribution business of LB Smith, its distributor for a majority of the East Coast, in May 2003. Volvo CE has, since that acquisition, continued the operations of the former dealer at existing locations under the name LB Smith to ensure that Volvo customers continue to receive the highest possible standards of product support and service. The sale of the New York territory is part of Volvo CE's on-going divestment of its LB Smith territories. Vantage Equipment Company, LLC Vantage Equipment is headquartered at 5985 Court St. Road, Syracuse, New York. John Hession, the company's chief executive officer and dealer principal, has been associated with the construction equipment industry for 26 years. He was most recently the chief executive officer and part owner of Syracuse Supply Company, the former Caterpillar dealer in upstate New York. Todd Kaley, with nearly 20 years of sales and sales management in the construction equipment industry, is vice president of sales. "We're very excited with the opportunity to continue to serve the construction industry in New York State with the finest equipment on the market today. I know customers may have had some questions about LB Smith's future ownership and we want to assure them that Vantage Equipment is committed to giving them outstanding product support. We are fortunate to be joined at Vantage by the former LB Smith staff members in New York who will work with us to grow the company and provide unmatched customer satisfaction," said John Hession. August 30, 2004 For further information, please contact: Beatrice Cardon Volvo Construction Equipment Hunderenveld 10 1082 Brussels, Belgium Tel.: +322 482 5021 Fax: +322 675 1777 e-mail: beatrice.cardon@volvo.com Volvo Construction Equipment is a major international company developing, manufacturing and marketing equipment for construction and related industries. Its products, leaders in many world markets, include a comprehensive range of wheel loaders, hydraulic excavators, articulated haulers, motor graders and compact equipment. Volvo Construction Equipment is part of the Volvo Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses and construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and services. The Group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/08/30/20040830BIT20560/wkr0001.pdf