Link-Belt to provide support for Hitachi crawler cranes

Lexington, KY (Aug 6, 2002) --  John Claflin, VP of sales, marketing and product support announced that Link-Belt Construction Equipment Co. will assume parts and service support for all existing Hitachi crawler cranes in North America, effective immediately.

This action is a result of the July 1st announcement of the 50/50 joint venture between Sumitomo Heavy Industries (SHI) Ltd. and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. Link-Belt is a standalone U.S. subsidiary of SHI serving North America.