Item 1.  BUSINESS

GENERAL

The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (referred to as the company, MTW, Manitowoc, we, our, and us) was founded in 1902. We are a multi-industry, capital goods manufacturer operating in two principal markets: Cranes and Related Products (Crane) and Foodservice Equipment (Foodservice). Crane is recognized as one of the world’s leading providers of engineered lifting equipment for the global construction industry, including lattice-boom cranes, tower cranes, mobile telescopic cranes, and boom trucks. Foodservice is one of the world’s leading innovators and manufacturers of commercial foodservice equipment serving the ice, beverage, refrigeration, food-preparation, and cooking needs of restaurants, convenience stores, hotels, healthcare, and institutional applications. We have over a 110-year tradition of providing high-quality, customer-focused products and support services to our markets.  For the year ended December 31, 2012 , we had net sales of approximately $3.9 billion .

Our Crane business is a global provider of engineered lift solutions, offering one of the broadest product lines of lifting equipment in our industry.  We design, manufacture, market, and support a comprehensive line of lattice-boom crawler cranes, mobile telescopic cranes, tower cranes, and boom trucks.  Our Crane products are principally marketed under the Manitowoc, Grove, Potain, National, Shuttlelift, and Crane Care brand names and are used in a wide variety of applications, including energy and utilities, petrochemical and industrial projects, infrastructure developments such as road, bridge and airport construction, and commercial and high-rise residential construction.

Our Foodservice business is among the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of commercial foodservice equipment.  Our Foodservice capabilities span refrigeration, ice-making, cooking, holding, food-preparation, and beverage-dispensing technologies, and allow us to be able to equip entire commercial kitchens and serve the world’s growing demand for food prepared away from home.  Our Foodservice products are marketed under the Manitowoc, Garland, U.S. Range, Convotherm, Cleveland, Lincoln, Merrychef, Frymaster, Delfield, Kolpak, Kysor Panel, Servend, Multiplex, and Manitowoc Beverage System brand names.

During the fourth quarter of 2012, the company decided to divest its warewashing equipment business, which operated under the brand name Jackson, and classified this business as discontinued operations in the company's financial statements. Jackson designs, manufactures and sells warewashing equipment, offering a full range of undercounter dishwashers, door-type dishwashers, conveyor, pot washing, and flight-type dishwashers. On January 28, 2013, the company sold the Jackson warewashing equipment business to Hoshizaki USA Holdings, Inc. for approximately $38.5 million. Net proceeds were used to reduce ratably the then-outstanding balances of Term Loan A and B.

On December 15, 2010, the company reached a definitive agreement to divest of its Kysor/Warren and Kysor/Warren de Mexico businesses to Lennox International for approximately $145 million.  The transaction subsequently closed on January 14, 2011 and the net proceeds were used to pay down outstanding debt.  The results of these operations have been classified as discontinued operations.

In order to secure clearance for the acquisition of Enodis plc (“Enodis”) from various regulatory authorities including the European Commission and the United States Department of Justice, the company agreed to sell substantially all of Enodis’ global ice machine operations following completion of the transaction.  In May 2009, the company completed the sale of the Enodis global ice machine operations to Braveheart Acquisition, Inc., an affiliate of Warburg Pincus Private Equity X, L.P., for $160 million.  The businesses sold were operated under the Scotsman, Ice-O-Matic, Simag, Barline, Icematic, and Oref brand names.  The company also agreed to sell certain non-ice businesses of Enodis located in Italy that are operated under the Tecnomac and Icematic brand names.  Prior to disposal, the antitrust clearances required that the ice businesses were treated as standalone operations, in competition with the company.  The results of these operations have been classified as discontinued operations.

In December 2008, the company completed the sale of its Marine segment to Fincantieri Marine Group Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani SpA. The sale price in the all-cash deal was approximately $120 million.  The results of these operations have been classified as discontinued operations.

In October 2008, we completed our acquisition of Enodis, a global leader in the design and manufacture of innovative equipment for the commercial foodservice industry.  The $2.7 billion acquisition, inclusive of the purchase of outstanding shares and rights to shares, acquired debt, the settlement of hedges related to the acquisition and transaction fees, is the largest acquisition for the company and positioned Manitowoc among the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of commercial foodservice equipment.

Our principal executive offices are located at 2400 South 44th Street, Manitowoc, Wisconsin 54220.

BUSINESS STRATEGY

We are committed to our tradition of providing high-quality, customer-focused products and services and building our market-leadership positions in our two core businesses. Major elements of our business strategy are as follows:

Emphasize new product development and innovation

We intend to continue to invest capital to develop new products and enhance our existing products with improved cost-effective functionality in response to changing customer requirements. In our Crane segment we have implemented a rigorous Integrated Product Development ("IPD") process that we expect will generate 14 new or updated products in the next two years. We believe these projects will keep us at the forefront of technology and innovation in each of our product lines. Such recent innovations include the introduction of our 2,500 U.S. ton capacity crawler crane, our new patented variable positioning counterweight technology, our innovative winch technology on our tower cranes, and our mega-track suspension systems on our all-terrain cranes.

Similarly in our Foodservice segment, innovative new products include customer-specific models of the Frymaster Protector Fryer which facilitate the use of healthier, zero-trans-fat oil by reducing the amount of oil required to produce consumer-favorite items; new categories of blended ice machines which produce portion-controlled coffee, fruit, yogurt and other flavored "smoothie" drinks in demand by consumers who crave fresh, healthy meal alternatives; and new Indigo line of ice machines, which allow owners to program ice production and monitor key functions, including ice clarity, machine maintenance and energy/water usage, while inhibiting bacterial growth with its unique LuminIce™ feature. We continue to develop resource-saving and reduced environmental footprint products with reduced energy and water consumption, built from materials that are more easily recycled, and shipped in packaging with more recycled content.

For the second consecutive year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and Energy Star recognized our Foodservice segment in 2012 as an Energy Star Sustaining Excellence award winner for its contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by manufacturing energy-efficient products and helping to educate consumers about those products.

Focus on capital, operating efficiency and our company values

We manage our businesses using various qualitative and quantitative measures of success, including an overarching commitment to the framework of economic value-added (EVA ^® ), which drives us to deploy capital in areas with the greatest expected after-tax returns in excess of the cost of capital employed. We will continue to manage our business with rigorous financial and operating discipline aimed at continuously improving value for our shareholders, customers, employees and communities. Operational excellence is one of our seven strategic imperatives and is very important to maintaining and growing our market positions in both segments. The principles of lean manufacturing and Six Sigma are ingrained in a continuous improvement culture in both the Crane and Foodservice segments.

Just as with people, businesses have to decide what it is they stand for and believe in if they are to grow and be successful. At Manitowoc, our beliefs are best summarized in three core values: Integrity, Commitment to Stakeholders, and Passion for Excellence. We rely on these values every day, throughout the company, to set clear expectations, guide decisions and actions, and measure progress. They help us not only build our personal success, but the successes of our teams, business units, and company as a whole.

Optimize global footprint

Over the long-term we plan to continue to optimize our manufacturing, distribution and service networks in existing and select geographic markets. Where appropriate, we will continue to pursue joint ventures and licensing agreements to leverage the operating experience, technical expertise and local market knowledge of our strategic partners.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION ABOUT BUSINESS SEGMENTS

The following is financial information about the Crane and Foodservice segments for the years ended December 31, 2012 , 2011 and 2010 .  The financial information for 2011 and 2010 has been revised to correct errors identified that relate to prior periods.  See Note 1, “Company and Basis of Presentation” for further discussion.  The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K, except that certain expenses are not allocated to the segments.  These unallocated expenses are corporate overhead, amortization expense of intangible assets with definite lives, goodwill impairment, intangible asset impairment, restructuring expense, integration expense and other non-operating expenses.  The company evaluates segment performance based upon profit and loss before the aforementioned expenses.  Amounts are shown in millions of dollars.

Cranes and Related Products

Our Crane segment designs, manufactures and distributes a diversified line of crawler-mounted lattice-boom cranes, which we sell under the Manitowoc brand name. Our Crane segment also designs and manufactures a diversified line of top-slewing and self-erecting tower cranes, which we sell under the Potain brand name. We design and manufacture mobile telescopic cranes, which we sell under the Grove and Shuttlelift brand names, and a comprehensive line of hydraulically powered telescopic boom trucks, which we sell under the National Crane brand name. We also provide crane product parts and services, and crane rebuilding, remanufacturing, and training services, which are delivered under the Manitowoc Crane Care brand name. In some cases our products are manufactured for us or distributed for us under strategic alliances. Our crane products are used in a wide variety of applications throughout the world, including energy production / distribution and utilities, petrochemical and industrial projects, infrastructure development such as road, bridge and airport construction, and commercial low-rise and high-rise residential construction. Many of our customers purchase one or more cranes together with several attachments to permit use of the crane in a broader range of lifting applications and other operations. Our largest crane model combined with available options has a lifting capacity up to 2,500 U.S. tons. We believe our primary near-term growth drivers are the relative strength in the energy, infrastructure, construction and petro-chemical-related end markets.

Lattice-boom cranes. Under the Manitowoc brand name we design, manufacture and distribute lattice-boom crawler cranes. Lattice-boom cranes consist of a lattice-boom, which is a fabricated, high-strength steel structure that has four chords and tubular lacings, mounted on a base which is either crawler or truck mounted. Lattice-boom cranes weigh less and provide higher lifting capacities than a telescopic boom of similar length. The lattice-boom 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 currently offer models of lattice-boom cranes with lifting capacities up to 2,500 U.S. tons, which are used to lift material and equipment in a wide variety of applications and end markets, including heavy construction, bridge and highway, duty cycle and infrastructure and energy related projects. These cranes are also used by the value-added crane rental industry, which serves all of the above end markets.

Lattice-boom crawler cranes may be classified according to their lift capacity-low capacity and high capacity. Low-capacity crawler cranes with 150-U.S. ton capacity or less are often utilized for general construction and duty-cycle applications. High-capacity crawler cranes with greater than 150-U.S. ton capacity are used to lift materials in a wide variety of applications and are often used in heavy construction, energy-related, stadium construction, petrochemical work, and dockside applications. We offer ten low-capacity models and nine high-capacity models.

We also offer our lattice-boom crawler crane customers various attachments that provide our cranes with greater capacity in terms of height, movement and lifting. Our principal attachments are: MAX-ER™ attachments, luffing jibs, and RINGER™ attachments. The MAX-ER™ is a trailing counterweight, heavy-lift attachment that dramatically improves the reach, capacity and lift dynamics of the basic crane to which it is mounted. It can be transferred between cranes of the same model for maximum economy and occupies less space than competitive heavy-lift systems. A luffing jib is a fabricated structure similar to, but smaller than, a lattice-boom. Mounted at the tip of a lattice-boom, a luffing jib easily adjusts its angle of operation permitting one crane with a luffing jib to make lifts at additional locations on the project site. It can be transferred between cranes of the same model to maximize utilization. A RINGER™ attachment is a high-capacity lift attachment that distributes load reactions over a large area to minimize ground-bearing pressure. It can also be more economical than transporting and setting up a larger crane.

Tower cranes . Under the Potain brand name, we design and manufacture tower cranes utilized primarily in the energy, building and construction industries. 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. Tower cranes include a stationary vertical mast and a horizontal jib with a counterweight, which is placed near the vertical mast. A cable runs through a trolley which is mounted on the jib, enabling the load to move along the jib. The jib rotates 360 degrees, thus increasing the crane's work area. Unless using a remote control device, operators occupy a cabin, located where the jib and mast meet, which provides superior visibility above the worksite. We offer a complete line of tower crane products, including top slewing, luffing jib, topless, self-erecting, and special cranes for dams, harbors and other large building projects. Top-slewing cranes are the most traditional form of tower cranes. Self-erecting 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.

Top-slewing tower cranes have a tower and multi-sectioned horizontal jib. These cranes rotate from the top of their mast and can increase in height with the project. Top-slewing cranes are transported in separate pieces and assembled at the construction site in one to three days depending on the height. We offer 21 models of top-slewing tower cranes with maximum jib lengths of 80 meters and lifting capabilities ranging between 5 and 80 meter-tons. These cranes are generally sold to medium to large energy, building and construction groups, as well as to rental companies.

Topless tower cranes are a type of top-slewing crane and, unlike all others, have no cathead or jib tie-bars on the top of the mast. The cranes are utilized primarily when overhead height is constrained or in situations where several cranes are installed close together. We currently offer 15 models of topless tower cranes with maximum jib lengths of 75 meters and lifting capabilities ranging between 2.5 and 20 meter-tons.

Luffing jib tower cranes, which are a type of top-slewing crane, have an angled rather than horizontal jib. Unlike other tower cranes which have a trolley that controls the lateral movement of the load, luffing jib cranes move their load by changing the angle of the jib. The cranes are utilized primarily in urban areas where space is constrained or in situations where several cranes are installed close together. We currently offer nine models of luffing jib tower cranes with maximum jib lengths of 60 meters and lifting capabilities ranging between 8 and 32 meter-tons.

Self-erecting tower cranes are mounted on axles or transported on a trailer. The lower segment of the range (Igo cranes up to Igo50) unfolds in four sections, two for the mast and two for the jib. The smallest of our models unfolds in less than eight minutes; larger models erect in a few hours. Self-erecting cranes rotate from the bottom of their mast. We offer 24 models of self-erecting cranes with maximum jib lengths of 50 meters and lifting capacities ranging between 1 and 8 meter-tons which are utilized primarily in low to medium rise construction and residential applications.

Mobile telescopic cranes . Under the Grove brand name we design and manufacture 36 models of mobile telescopic cranes utilized primarily in industrial, commercial and construction applications, as well as in maintenance applications to lift and move material at job sites. Mobile telescopic cranes consist of a telescopic boom mounted on a wheeled carrier. Mobile telescopic cranes are similar to lattice-boom cranes in that they are designed to lift heavy loads using a mobile carrier as a platform, enabling the crane to move on and around a job site without typically having to re-erect the crane for each particular job. Additionally, many mobile telescopic cranes have the ability to drive between sites, and some are permitted on public roadways. We currently offer the following four types of mobile telescopic cranes capable of reaching tip heights of up to 427 feet with lifting capacities up to 550 U.S. tons: rough-terrain, all-terrain, truck-mounted, and industrial.

Rough-terrain cranes are designed to lift materials and equipment on rough or uneven terrain. These cranes cannot be driven on public roadways, and, accordingly, must be transported by truck to a work site. We produce, under the Grove brand name, nine models of rough-terrain cranes capable of tip heights of up to 312 feet and maximum load capacities of up to 150 U.S. tons.

All-terrain cranes are versatile cranes designed to lift materials and equipment on rough or uneven terrain and yet are highly maneuverable and capable of highway speeds. We produce, under the Grove brand name, 14 models of all-terrain cranes capable of tip heights of up to 449 feet and maximum load capacities of up to 550 U.S. tons.

Truck-mounted cranes are designed to provide simple set-up and long reach high capacity booms and are capable of traveling from site to site at highway speeds. These cranes are suitable for urban and suburban uses. We produce, under the Grove brand name, five models of truck mounted cranes capable of tip heights of up to 237 feet and maximum load capacities of up to 90 U.S. tons.

Industrial cranes are designed primarily for plant maintenance, storage yard and material handling jobs. We manufacture, under the Grove and Shuttlelift brand names, seven models of industrial cranes. We produce industrial cranes with up to 25 U.S. ton capacity and tip heights of up to 86 feet.

High reach telescopic hydraulic cranes. The GTK 1100 is a high-reach telescopic hydraulic crane that can lift a 105 U.S. ton load up to 367 feet, only requires about six hours to erect and is based on a combination of mobile crane and tower crane technology.

Boom trucks. We offer our hydraulic boom truck products under the National Crane product line. A boom truck is a hydraulically powered telescopic crane mounted on a conventional truck chassis. Telescopic boom trucks are used primarily for lifting material on a job site. We currently offer, under the National Crane brand name, 18 models of telescoping boom trucks. The largest capacity cranes of this type are capable of reaching maximum heights of 205 feet and have lifting capacity up to 55 U.S. tons.

Backlog . The year-end backlog of crane products includes accepted orders that have been placed on a production schedule that we expect to be shipped and billed during the next year. Manitowoc’s backlog of unfilled orders for the Crane segment at December 31, 2012 , 2011 and 2010 was $755.8 million, $760.5 million and $571.7 million, respectively.

Foodservice Equipment

Our Foodservice Equipment business designs, manufactures and sells primary cooking and warming equipment; ice machines and storage bins; refrigerator and freezer equipment; beverage dispensers and related products; and serving and storage equipment. Our suite of products is used by commercial and institutional foodservice operators such as full service restaurants, quick-service restaurant (QSR) chains, hotels, caterers, supermarkets, convenience stores, business and industry, hospitals, schools and other institutions. We have a presence throughout the world's most significant markets in the following product groups:

Primary cooking and warming equipment. We design, manufacture and sell a broad array of ranges, griddles, grills, combination ovens, convection ovens, conveyor ovens, induction cookers, broilers, tilt fry pans/kettles/skillets, braising pans, cheese melters/salamanders, cook stations, table top and counter top cooking/frying systems, fryers, steam jacketed kettles, and steamers. We sell traditional oven, combi oven, convection oven, conveyor oven, accelerated cooking oven, range and grill products under the Convotherm, Garland, Lincoln, Merrychef, U.S. Range, and other brand names. Fryers and frying systems are marketed under the Frymaster and Dean brand names, while steam equipment is manufactured and sold under the Cleveland brand. In addition to cooking, we provide a range of warming, holding, and serving equipment under the Delfield, Fabristeel, Frymaster, Merco, and other brand names.

Ice-cube machines, ice flaker machines, nugget ice machines, ice dispensers and storage bins. We design, manufacture and sell ice machines under the Manitowoc brand name, serving the foodservice, convenience store, healthcare, restaurant, lodging and other markets. Our ice machines make ice in cube, nugget and flake form, and range in daily production capacities. The ice-cube machines are either self-contained units, which make and store ice, or modular units, which make, but do not store ice.

Refrigerator and freezer equipment. We design, manufacture and sell commercial upright and undercounter refrigerators and freezers, blast freezers, blast chillers and cook-chill systems under the Delfield, McCall, Koolaire and other brand names. We manufacture under the brand names Kolpak, Kysor Panel Systems and Harford-Duracool modular and fully assembled walk-in refrigerators, coolers and freezers and prefabricated cooler and freezer panels for use in the construction of refrigerated storage rooms and environmental systems. We also design and manufacture customized refrigeration systems under the RDI brand name.

Beverage dispensers and related products. We produce beverage dispensers, blended ice machines, ice/beverage dispensers, beer coolers, post-mix dispensing valves, backroom equipment and support system components and related equipment for use by QSR chains, convenience stores, bottling operations, movie theaters, and the soft-drink industry. Our beverage and related products are sold under the Servend, Multiplex, TruPour, Manitowoc Beverage Systems and McCann's brand names.

Serving and storage equipment. We design, manufacture and sell a range of cafeteria/buffet equipment stations, bins, boxes, warming cabinets, display and deli cases, insulated and refrigerated salad/food bars, and warmers. Our equipment stations, cases, food bars and food serving lines are marketed under the Delfield, Viscount and other brand names.

The end-customer base for the Foodservice Equipment segment is comprised of a wide variety of foodservice providers, including, but not limited to, large multinational and regional chain restaurants, convenience stores and retail stores; chain and independent casual and family dining restaurants; independent restaurants and caterers; lodging, resort, leisure and convention facilities; health care facilities; schools and universities; large business and industrial customers; and many other foodservice outlets. We cater to some of the largest and most widely recognized multinational and regional businesses in the foodservice and hospitality industries. We do not typically have long-term contracts with our customers; however, large chains frequently authorize specific foodservice equipment manufacturers as approved vendors for particular products, and thereafter, sales are made locally or regionally to end customers via kitchen equipment suppliers, dealers or distributors. Many large QSR chains refurbish or open a large number of outlets, or implement menu changes requiring investment in new equipment, over a short period of time. When this occurs, these customers often choose a small number of manufacturers whose approved products may or must be purchased by restaurant operators. We work closely with our customers to develop the products they need and to become the approved vendors for these products.

Our end-customers often need equipment upgrades that enable them to improve productivity and food safety, reduce labor costs, respond to enhanced hygiene, environmental and menu requirements or reduce energy consumption. These changes often require customized cooking and cooling and freezing equipment. In addition, many restaurants, especially QSRs, seek to differentiate their products by changing their menu and format. We believe that product development is important to our success because a supplier's ability to provide customized or innovative foodservice equipment is a primary factor when customers are making their purchasing decisions. Recognizing the importance of providing innovative products to our customers, we invest significant time and resources into new product research and development.

The Manitowoc Education and Technology Centers ("ETC") in New Port Richey, Florida and Hangzhou, China contain computer-assisted design platforms, a model shop for on-site development of prototypes, a laboratory for product testing and various display areas for new products. Our test kitchen, flexible demonstration areas and culinary team enable us to demonstrate a wide range of equipment in realistic operating environments, and also support a wide range of menu ideation, food development and sensory testing with our customers and food partners. We also use the ETC to provide training for our customers, marketing representatives, service providers, industry consultants, dealers and distributors.

Backlog . The backlog for unfilled orders for our Foodservice segment at December 31, 2012 , 2011 and 2010 was not significant because orders are generally filled shortly after receiving the customer order.

Raw Materials and Supplies

The primary raw materials that we use are structural and rolled steel, aluminum, and copper, which are purchased from various domestic and international sources. We also purchase engines and electrical equipment and other semi- and fully-processed materials. Our policy is to maintain, wherever possible, alternate sources of supply for our important materials and parts. We maintain inventories of steel and other purchased material. We have been successful in our goal to maintain alternative sources of raw materials and supplies, and therefore are not dependent on a single source for any particular raw material or supply.

Patents, Trademarks, and Licenses

We hold numerous patents pertaining to our Crane and Foodservice products, and have presently pending applications for additional patents in the United States and foreign countries. In addition, we have various registered and unregistered trademarks and licenses that are of material importance to our business and we believe our ownership of this intellectual property is adequately protected in customary fashions under applicable laws.  No single patent, trademark or license is critical to our overall business.

Seasonality

Typically, the second and third quarters represent our best quarters for our consolidated financial results. More recently, the traditional seasonality for our Crane and Foodservice segments has been slightly muted due to more diversified product and

geographic end markets, as well as the impact that the global economic recession and downturn in our end markets has had on our revenue.  In our Crane segment, the northern hemisphere summer represents the main construction season.  Customers require new machines, parts, and service during that season.  Since the summer brings warmer weather, there is also an increase in the use and replacement of ice machines, as well as new construction and remodeling within the foodservice industry.  As a result, distributors build inventories during the second quarter to prepare for increased demand.

Competition

We sell all of our products in highly competitive industries. We compete in each of our industries based on product design, quality of products and aftermarket support services, product performance, maintenance costs, energy and resource saving, other contributions to sustainability and price. Some of our competitors may have greater financial, marketing, manufacturing or distribution resources than we do. We believe that we benefit from the following competitive advantages: a strong brand name, a reputation for quality products and aftermarket support services, an established network of global distributors and customer relationships, broad product line offerings in the markets we serve, and a commitment to engineering design and product innovation. However, we cannot be certain that our products and services will continue to compete successfully or that we will be able to retain our customer base or improve or maintain our profit margins on sales to our customers. The following table sets forth our primary competitors in each of our business segments: 

 

Engineering, Research and Development

We believe our extensive engineering, research and development capabilities have been key drivers of our success. We engage in research and development activities at dedicated locations within both of our segments. We have a staff of in-house engineers and technicians on three continents, supplemented with external engineering resources, who are responsible for improving existing products and developing new products. We incurred research and development costs of $87.7 million in 2012 , $80.6 million in 2011 and $72.2 million in 2010 .

Our team of engineers focuses on developing innovative, high performance, low maintenance products that are intended to create significant brand loyalty among customers. Design engineers work closely with our manufacturing and marketing staff, enabling us to identify changing end-user requirements, implement new technologies and effectively introduce product innovations. Close, carefully managed relationships with dealers, distributors and end users help us identify their needs, not only for products, but for the service and support 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.

Employee Relations

As of December 31, 2012 , we employed approximately 13,500 people and had labor agreements with 13 union locals in North America. A large majority of our European employees belong to European trade unions. We have three trade unions in China and one trade union in India.  During 2010, we had two union contracts that expired and were successfully renegotiated. During 2011, four of our union contracts expired at various times.  Three of the contracts that expired in 2011 were successfully renegotiated without incident, while the International Association of Machinists (IAM) contract with Manitowoc Crane Corporation expired in October 2011 and resulted in a 66-day work stoppage.  The company’s contingency plans ensured that customer needs were met during the work stoppage.  A new contract with the IAM was ratified in January 2012 and expires in January 2016.  During 2012, we successfully negotiated three labor contracts without incident.

Available Information

We make available, free of charge at our internet site (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). Our SEC reports can be accessed through the investor relations section of our website. Although some documents available on our website are filed with the SEC, the information generally found on our website is not part of this or any other report we file with or furnish to the SEC.

The public may read and copy any materials that we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room located at 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains electronic versions of our reports on its website at www.sec.gov.

Geographic Areas

Net sales from continuing operations and long-lived asset information by geographic area as of and for the years ended December 31 are included below.  Long-lived assets are defined as property, plant and equipment, net, goodwill, other intangible assets, net and other non-current assets, excluding deferred tax assets.