Manitowoc focuses on services amid volatile sales

Crane and truck manufacturer Manitowoc is looking to shift its focus from product to services as tariffs and a volatile market pressure the company to develop a more consistent, higher-margin business model. 

Milwaukee-based Manitowoc aims to move to a more customer-oriented business emphasizing aftermarket sales, which are expected to drive growth, President and CEO Aaron Ravenscroft said today at the 2025 Midwest IDEAS Conference in Chicago. 

“We can’t control what the cycle is,” he said. “I feel like I’ve spent nine years trying to predict when it’s going to turn, and I’ve been wrong every time. But the one thing we can control is in terms of how we grow our business and execute our business.  

“Transforming ourselves from being this product company into something that’s customer-oriented and service-focused has already driven great gains for us.” — Aaron Ravenscroft, president and chief executive, Manitowoc Co.

Strategizing for $1B in annual sales 

Manitowoc aspires to increase its annual aftermarket sales to $1 billion, with its 2025 goal to hit $675 million, according to the company’s Aug. 8 earnings presentation. In 2024, it increased its aftermarket revenue to $629 million from $376 million in 2020, Ravenscroft said.  

Manitowoc plans to fuel its aftermarket growth by adding and upgrading locations, increasing service technician capacity, boosting used- and rebuilt-equipment sales, and continuously introducing new products and accessories, Ravenscroft said.  

In addition, the company plans to lean on a mix of organic growth, M&A and market expansion to boost annual total revenue to its long-term aspirational goal of $3 billion from $2.2 billion in 2024. 

“This is really critical to our overall strategy, because the gross margins are 35%, so it’s a big change in terms of our mix, but also way less simple,” he said. There’s “much more stickiness to the customer, and our ability to constantly get growth and bring more value to our customers.” 

OEM aftermarket growth trending 

Manitowoc joins other OEMs targeting aftermarket and service revenue as key growth drivers.  

Fellow OEMs Caterpillar and Ford are also focusing on these areas of opportunity. Caterpillar aims for its machinery, energy and transportation services sales to reach $28 billion by 2026, up from $24 billion in 2024, according to the company’s 2024 annual report.  

Ford Pro, Ford’s commercial vehicle division, set a target for 20% of its earnings before interest and taxes to come from aftermarket activity for 2026, up from 17% during the second quarter.  

Navigating tariffs 

Equipment manufacturers such as Manitowoc face mounting uncertainty with the addition of over 400 steel derivative tariffs that took effect Aug. 19, with more measures expected in September and November, Ravenscroft said.  

While tariffs could benefit U.S.-made manufacturers by limiting imports, they also pose risks for manufacturers of equipment imported from Europe. This leaves Manitowoc to continually reassess its guidance for the year, especially given the volatility in the crane cycle, he added. 

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