PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Andrea Weitzenfeld
Winsby, Inc. 847-316-9800

CHAIRMAN AWARD WINNER
Linder earns Komatsu's most prestigious honor for seventh consecutive year

Plant City, FL -- Strong support from Florida customers and the hard work and dedication of over 200 employees helped Linder Industrial Machinery Company earn Komatsu America International Company's highest honor - the Chairman's Award - for the seventh consecutive year.

Linder was one of five Komatsu distributors to receive the prestigious award as part of the equipment manufacturer's 1999 Excellence Program during a January 26 ceremony at the Associated Equipment Distributors convention in Chicago. Linder is one of only two Komatsu distributors in the country to win the award seven straight times. "We worked very hard to achieve this status and we continue to work hard to maintain it," said Jeff Cox, President of Linder.

Excellence in business
Winners of the Chairman Award have to demonstrate excellence in all aspects of their business, including parts, service, sales, finance, marketing and management.

"The Excellence Program was founded in 1993 as a means to provide our distributors with some guidance to continually grow and develop their business," said Al Read of Komatsu. "Since that time, the program has provided distributors the opportunity to take a closer look at how they're running their business, and what they can do to improve internal processes that could lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction."

According to Cox, Linder's customer-focused goals blend well with the Komatsu Excellence Program. "We try to accommodate the customer in every way," he said. "If a customer wants to do business, we'll find a way to do business that's right for him."

Cox has set some long-term goals for Linder that include continued growth of market share. "This will give us a long-term, positive position in the marketplace," he said.

Linder also earned 1999 Merit Awards for "Outstanding Performance in Retail Finance," "Highest Service Performance," "Highest Parts Performance" and "Outstanding Achievement - Utility Sales & Marketing."

One behalf of Linder, Cox would like to congratulate the entire Linder team for their award-winning efforts in 1999.