independent dealers experience in operating their businesses due to economic conditions or other factors or as a result of an alleged failure by us or an independent dealer to comply with the terms of our dealer agreement. We do not believe our business is dependent on any single dealer, the loss of which would have a sustained material adverse effect upon our business. However, disruption of dealer coverage within a specific state or other geographic market could cause difficulties in marketing, selling or servicing our products and have an adverse effect on our net sales, financial condition, results of operations and/or cash flows. In 2024, we transitioned our non-fleet refuse and recycling collection vehicle business from factory direct sales to a dealer network. There is no assurance that the dealers will be successful in selling refuse and recycling collection vehicles. If the transition of our refuse and recycling collection vehicle business is not as successful as we anticipate, it could have an adverse effect on our net sales, financial condition, results of operations and/or cash flows. In addition, our ability to terminate our relationship with a dealer is limited due to state dealer laws, which generally provide that a manufacturer may not terminate or refuse to renew a dealer agreement unless it has first provided the dealer with required notices. Under many state laws, dealers may protest termination notices or petition for relief from termination actions. Responding to these protests and petitions may cause us to incur costs and, in some instances, could lead to litigation resulting in lost opportunities with other dealers or lost sales opportunities, which may have an adverse effect on our net sales, financial condition, results of operations and/or cash flows. Competition and Strategy Risks We face significant competition in the markets we serve. The markets in which we operate are highly competitive. We compete worldwide with a number of other manufacturers that produce and sell similar products. Certain of our competitors have greater financial, marketing, manufacturing, distribution and governmental affairs resources than we do, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage. We also face pricing pressure from international competitors that attempt to gain domestic market share through importing and selling products at below market prices, particularly in the Access segment. If competition in our industries intensifies or if competitors lower their prices for competing products, we may lose sales or be required to lower the prices we charge for our products. We cannot provide any assurance that our products will continue to compete effectively with the products of competitors or that we will be able to retain our customer base or improve or maintain our profit margins on sales to our customers. We may not realize all of the anticipated benefits of our acquisitions. We are continuously evaluating potential acquisitions to support our business strategy. As part of this evaluation process, we perform due diligence to identify potential risks associated with the potential transaction. We also make assumptions regarding future performance of the acquired business. We cannot provide any assurance we will be able to successfully achieve the benefits of any business acquisition due to a variety of risks, including the following: • Our ability to identify acquisition targets and consummate transactions; • Our failure to achieve the acquisition’s expected future financial performance or realize assumed efficiencies or assumed cost reductions; • There may be a mismatch in workplace cultures between us and the acquired business; • We may experience delays or unexpected difficulties in integrating the acquired business; • We may incur unforeseen expenses or liabilities or may be subject to other unanticipated regulatory or government actions related to the acquired business; and • We may incur higher transaction costs than expected.
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