Actuant Scheduled to Ring New York Stock Exchange Closing Bell to Mark Five Year Milestone; Stock Rose More Than Six Fold After Spin-Off.

MILWAUKEE -- Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU) will ring the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, August 3, marking the fifth anniversary of its creation in a spin off in 2000.

Actuant was created on July 31, 2000, when Applied Power Inc. spun off its electronics business into a new company called APW Ltd. The industrial business segment of Applied Power was renamed Actuant Corporation. Despite significant debt and many other obstacles, the company staged a remarkable turnaround. Over the five years, Actuant's stock price has grown from $7.50 (split adjusted) to yesterday's closing price of $46.95 or an annual compounded rate of 44%. The equity market capitalization increased from $127 million to over $1.2 billion, while employment expanded from 2,400 to more than 5,800.

Says CEO Bob Arzbaecher, "Actuant's first five years demonstrate a remarkable transformation. At the spin off, our sales were $482 million. Today, our sales run rate exceeds $1 billion. We have evolved from a highly leveraged company to a company with strong cash flow and leadership positions in diverse markets."

Says Arzbaecher, "The five-year milestone gives us an opportunity to highlight our successful business model. Actuant grew sales organically and complemented this growth with a number of strategic acquisitions. We used our LEAD (Lean Enterprise Across Disciplines) Process to improve margins and reduce working capital. The combination of these created free cash flow, which was used to reduce debt and fund acquisitions. This business model would not have been successful without the leadership and commitment of Actuant's employees. They have rallied around the creation of Actuant with enthusiasm and have stepped up to the challenges of being an industrial growth company.

"While we take great pride in our accomplishments over the last five years, we are excited about the future. We have businesses in industrial tools, electrical tools and supplies and highly engineered systems focused on actuation. We have an excellent leadership team focused on internal growth strategies for each of these and believe acquisitions will complement these strategies."

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, variation in demand from customers, the impact of geopolitical activity on the economy, continued market acceptance of the Company's new product introductions, the successful integration of acquisitions and related restructuring, operating margin risk due to competitive pricing and operating efficiencies, supply chain risk, material and labor cost increases, foreign currency fluctuations and interest rate risk. See the Company's registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for further information regarding risk factors.

About Actuant

Actuant, headquartered in Glendale, Wisconsin, is a diversified industrial company with operations in more than 25 countries. The Actuant businesses are market leaders in highly engineered position and motion control systems and branded hydraulic and electrical tools and supplies. Formerly known as Applied Power, Actuant was created in 2000 after the spin-off of Applied Power's electronics business segment into a separate public company called APW Ltd. Since 2000, Actuant has grown its sales from $482 million to $1 billion and its market capitalization from $127 million to over $1.2 billion. The company employs 5,800 workers worldwide. Actuant Corporation trades on the NYSE under the symbol ATU.

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