Big plans are under way. "We have a lot coming in 2012 and early 2013," said Shannon Van Dyke, vice-president for finance with the Gehl Co. "In September, we're launching the King Kong of our skid-loader line. The V400 will be the largest skid loader that will be on the market, taking the spot from Bobcat."

Unlike the rest of the Gehl line, the V400 Skid Loader runs on a Cummins engine. It will be available to dealers in September, and is expected to ship in January.

Globally, Manitou is looking to new markets to make up for the slow sales of the European and American construction sectors. The company opened a Brazilian subsidiary in January of 2012 for South American sales. "We're seeing a lot of activity in Brazil,  and we're getting into new European markets," said Miller. "That's what Manitou has done to help us, getting us into many areas we weren't in before."

"We came into this year with very low dealer inventory levels, so we're in a bit of a better situation than some of our competitors are, as our dealers are not flooded with inventory," said Van Dyke. "So our dealers can be a little more flexible."

Like many equipment makers in a recession, Manitou is looking to the rental market to make up slow sales. "Our integration with the rental market has been really strong, so far this year we have three pretty large rental accounts," says Van Dyke. "Because the housing industry is still pretty weak, a lot of contractors are still renting equipment rather than purchasing."

Despite the rough acquisition and the current fallout from the Euro debt crisis, Manitou's Giroux remains optimistic. "We added compact equipment only a few year back—the new kid on the block—and after a few difficult years we are actually gaining share," said Giroux. "We intend to be a challenger to the Bobcats and Caterpillars of the world."