Create a free Manufacturing.net account to continue

China Buying Fire Engines From Oshkosh Trucks

Trucks will be stationed at the Beijing Capital International Airport in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP) — As part of the preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics, China will purchase six fire engines from Oshkosh Truck Corp. under a trade agreement announced Tuesday by Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle.
 
The governor planned to sign the agreement during his trade mission to China and Japan, which starts Friday. The trucks will be stationed at Beijing Capital International Airport, which is the busiest in China and second-busiest in Asia.
 
Oshkosh Truck is a leading manufacturer and marketer of specialty vehicles and truck bodies for defense, concrete placement, garbage hauling, and fire and emergency.
 
China was Wisconsin's third largest export market in 2006, buying $870 million worth of products from the state. That includes $338 million in machinery, $121 million in electrical machinery and $12 million in paper products.
 
Many of the products China needs are made in Wisconsin, making the country a good match for a trade partnership, Doyle said. There will be trade and economic development opportunities for Wisconsin businesses, industries and workers for years to come, he said.
 
Doyle and other Wisconsin business and government leaders plan to meet distributors, potential customers, and key business and government officials in China and Japan during the trade mission that ends Sept. 18.
 
However, at least one state Republican lawmaker has called on Doyle to cancel the trip and focus on getting a state budget passed. Doyle presented his budget plan in February, but the Legislature has yet to agree on a compromise, and the budget is now more than two months late.
More in Automotive