The Manitowoc Company, Inc. was founded in 1902 and, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, markets, and supports mobile telescopic cranes, tower cranes, lattice-boom crawler cranes, and boom trucks under the Grove, Manitowoc, National Crane, Potain, Shuttlelift and Manitowoc Crane Care brand names. History Manitowoc Company, Inc. was founded by Charles West and Elias Gunnell in the lakeshore community of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in 1902. It was known as a shipbuilding and ship-repair company under the name Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company. The company grew and diversified, entering the lattice-boom crane business in the mid-1920s and branching into commercial refrigeration equipment shortly after World War II. During World War II, the Department of the Navy contracted Manitowoc to build a total of 28 submarines, plus the canceled USS Chicolar (SS-464). Before they built the submarines for the Department of the Navy, the company built car ferries. In November 2002, the company acquired the Grove Crane company for approximately $271 million. In March 2016, Manitowoc completed the tax-free spin-off of its food service equipment operations, placing itself as a standalone crane company. Lifting Solutions Manitowoc produces several lines of cranes to serve the construction, energy, and numerous other industries. The company produces high-capacity lattice-boom crawler cranes, tower cranes, and mobile telescopic cranes for heavy construction, commercial construction, residential construction, energy-related uses, wind farm, infrastructure, duty-cycle, crane-rental applications, among others. It is also a producer of boom trucks. The company has a thriving after-sales business as well, providing service, parts, renovation and training. Main Brands: Manitowoc cranes — Crawler cranes Grove cranes — rough-terrain, truck-mounted, all-terrain, Grove YardBoss, industrial cranes and Shuttlelift carry deck cranes. Grove began producing cranes in 1947 in Shady Grove, Pa. Potain cranes — Tower cranes and self-erecting tower cranes. Founded in La Clayette, France in 1928. National Crane — Telescoping boom trucks (articulating line was discontinued at the end of 2008). Founded in Waverly, Nebraska, in 1963 and all production of National Crane Boom Trucks moved to Shady Grove, Pennsylvania, after the acquisition by Manitowoc. Manitowoc Crane Care — Customer service branch established in 2000. Crane Care operates in 15 countries at 22 locations. Food Service division Manitowoc Foodservice was a sub-division of the Manitowoc Company, producing ice machines and refrigeration equipment for businesses. The company acquired SerVend International, a manufacturer of ice and beverage systems equipment for the foodservice industry, in October 1997. In 2008, the company acquired