Actuant Announces Dewald Acquisition.

Business Editors

MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 1, 2001

Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU) announced today that it has acquired Dewald Manufacturing ("Dewald"), based in Mishawaka, Indiana. The transaction, structured as an asset purchase with the assumption of certain operating liabilities, closed late yesterday. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Dewald is engaged in the designing and manufacturing of various RV related systems for the North American recreational vehicle ("RV") market. Dewald operates a manufacturing facility in the greater South Bend, Indiana area, and employs approximately 130 employees. Dewald's annual revenues are approximately $20 million.

Robert C. Arzbaecher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Actuant, commented, "Dewald is an excellent acquisition for Actuant given its fit with our Power Gear business, which also serves the recreational vehicle market. We previously stated that any acquisition made by Actuant would be small and bolt-on in nature, and of a company already participating in one of our served markets. This transaction fits all such criteria perfectly, and further solidifies our position in the RV leveling and slide-out market.

"Dewald has an excellent reputation as a supplier to the RV market, and generates over 80% of its revenue in the towable (trailer) portion of that market. Further, the majority of its revenue is derived from the sale of hydraulic slide-out systems, and will complement the electric slide-out systems offered by Power Gear. Dewald's presence in Indiana, close to many RV manufacturing locations, complements our facilities in Wisconsin and Oregon. Additionally, Dewald's customer base has very little overlap with Power Gear's and allows Actuant to diversify its RV business across a larger customer base."

Arzbaecher continued, "The acquisition of Dewald is expected be accretive to earnings per share this fiscal year. While the domestic RV market is undergoing challenging times as a result of economic conditions, Dewald has grown its revenue during this period of weakness through the combination of new product introductions and a customer base that is taking market share from other RV manufacturers."

Actuant will be holding a conference call at 11:00am EST today, Thursday, March 1, to discuss this announcement. To participate in the call, please dial Vialog at 877-679-9054 or if calling internationally, dial 952-556-2807. The call will also available at www.vcall.com.

Actuant, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a diversified industrial company with sales approximating $500 million and operations in 19 countries. The Actuant businesses are market leaders in highly engineered position and motion control systems and branded hydraulic and electrical tools. Products are offered under such established brand names as Enerpac, Gardner Bender, Mox-Med, Milwaukee Cylinder, Nielsen Sessions, Power-Packer, and Power Gear.

For further information on Actuant and its business units, visit the Company's website at www.actuant.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain of the above comments represent forward-looking statements made pursuant to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Management cautions that these statements are based on current estimates of future performance and are highly dependent upon a variety of factors, which could cause actual results to differ from these estimates. Actuant's results are also subject to general economic conditions, continued acceptance of Actuant's existing products and new product introductions, competitive product and pricing pressures, foreign currency risk, and interest rate risk. See our Form 10-K for further information on risk factors.