April 2008 Letter from the President

Spring is just around the corner, and I’m sure everyone is ready for the nice weather to start. It’s been a while since our last newsletter, but with the good weather coming and the winter-doldrums soon a thing of the past, this seems the perfect time to give you all an update on where Owen Equipment is going, and where we’ve been, since we last reached out to you all in writing.

2008 Marks our 50th year in business! We’ve come a long way in those 50 years and, as with all businesses there have been good and bad times – for the last two years, I can tell you progress has all been good. The year 2007 marked our highest ever new equipment sales volume; as a matter of fact, Owen Equipment was the third-largest Elgin and Vactor dealer in the United States! Of course, we have you our customers to thank for that and we appreciate the confidence you’ve placed in the Owen Equipment team as well as the Vactor & Elgin products.

Though we’ve achieved notable success in the past year, and we constantly strive to be the PREMIER Company you deserve, we remain diligent in our efforts for continual improvement. We know that you deserve the best in service and support and with that said, I am happy to make some announcements about the Owen Equipment team:

On January 1st, Dave Armstrong joined our team as the Washington Division Manager. Never before has the Company had a full-time resource to direct our Kent location’s sales, service and rental operations. I am confident that Dave’s customer-focused approach and 20 years of management experience will prove to be a major benefit to our Washington customer-base while he leads an already great team to even further improvement.

If you work in the Tri-County area of Seattle, I’m sure you’ll soon meet another addition to the Owen Equipment team: Brandan Wagner. After an exhaustive search for the right fit into our customer-centered dedication to service, Brandan joined our team on January 1st as outside sales representative for light products and supplies. He’s hitting the ground running with a lot of enthusiasm for this Industry – I’m certain he’s the right person to ensure you get the right products, on time every time!

Way back in September, Vicki Blomquist joined the Kent team at the counter parts desk. Vicki came to us with thirteen years of experience in the automotive parts industry; you’ll find that she’s come a very long way in mastering the parts books for Vactor and Elgin as well as the other equipment lines we carry.

More recently, Jackie Barron joined our team in Portland on February 11th to work in the accounting, payroll and employee benefits areas of Owen Equipment. Jackie has already proven to have an eye for detail and this can only be good for our customers and our valued employees. Her addition to the team relieves many of the daily duties of our Business and Marketing Manager, Kitty Scott. Now, Kitty will dedicate her focus on customer awareness programs such as our e-newsletter, trade show involvement, industry associations, sales specials and product offerings geared toward your budgets and buying cycles.

On February 20th, Greg Read came on board as the Portland Service Manager. Greg brings over 15 years of experience in the delivery, service and maintenance of environmental equipment. We’re certain that he will be instrumental in this new phase of our growth plan that will focus on Portland’s service department for customer satisfaction. The performance of your equipment is key to your success; Greg’s dedication to your satisfaction and his proven ability to efficiently manage a service team is sure to be a key to our success.

We’ve now exceeded $2,500,000 worth of NEW rental fleet and our entire Elgin and Vactor fleet is 2007 or newer. You can count on us when your rental needs arise to deliver the very best rental machine available - no need to be concerned that you’re renting someone else’s trade-in! Having come from a rental oriented background, it is my personal goal to make Owen Equipment your BEST resource for rental equipment in all of the lines we carry. We offer long term rentals, short term rentals and rental purchase options that we can tailor to your specific need. Being a locally owned company we can make decisions the very same day and can do things other companies cannot. If you have a special need call us and let’s see if we fit a program that will work for you!

Led by service managers Kyle Clem (in Kent) and Greg Read (in Portland), we have a full staff of factory-trained technicians in both locations to keep your equipment in top running condition. We’ve also just added brand-new and well-equipped service vehicles to each of our locations that will accommodate many of your on-site service requirements.

Since 2006 (when my partner and I bought the company) we have cleared our parts inventory of over $250,000 worth of obsolete and low-demand parts. Over that time, we re-invested our capital in the parts department to have on-hand the most highly demanded parts; and by the end of 2008 we will have built our parts inventories to over $500,000.00 of the parts that you need – WHEN you need them. On the replacement brush side, we are proud to be the largest supplier in the Pacific Northwest with a highly experienced staff to get you the right replacement brooms for all of your sweeping equipment. With the largest stock of replacement brushes in the Northwest, you can count on us as your one-call resource.

One thing in life & business that is consistent is change and we at Owen are excited about our progress and our new team members. We appreciate every opportunity you give us to serve your needs; we’ve partnered with the industry’s leading manufacturers and we are proud to back those products up with unmatched service. Our goal remains the same since June of 2006 – that goal is to “Exceed your Expectations, Every Time.” If our team fails in that goal, I can assure you that I will personally follow up anytime I know about it. And, as always, I welcome your calls with suggestions for improvements of any aspect of the service we provide – please call me anytime at (503) 704-2151.

Thank you again for your continued support. Our Team at Owen Equipment would like to wish you a very healthy and prosperous 2008!