To our Valued Dealers & Customers

RICO is proud to use Dun & Bradstreet as a source of financial information and industry bench marking.

It's important that my management team has an unbiased opinion on how RICO's financial strength compares to our competitors. D&B's Comprehensive Reports allow us to do this by providing pages and pages of information such as credit scores, financial stress models and performance ratios.

I strongly suggest using D&B financial reports as part of any supplier evaluations. The D&B Comprehensive Report is a meticulously researched and continuously updated report that provides an informative, in-depth evaluation of a company's financial stability. The Comprehensive Report offers the greatest level of detail and can often be purchased for approximately $110. The cost of this report is a small price to pay for peace of mind when you're spending upwards of $100,000 on material handling equipment and down payments are typically involved.

As reference, RICO proudly provides our Duns Number along with the Duns Number of our competitors. Comprehensive Reports may be ordered directly through D&B's website at www.dnb.com by referencing the companies Duns Number.

COMPANY NAME	DUNS NUMBER
RICO Manufacturing	15-417-1169
American Specialty Equipment, Inc. (a.k.a. Gregory Industrial Trucks)	92-653-2813
Hoist Liftruck Manufacturing	87-819-6922
Elwell Parker (d.b.a. Hoist Liftruck)	87-819-6922
Schreck (d.b.a. Hoist Liftruck)	87-819-6922
Sroka Advance Vehicles	14-797-3895

I am extremely proud of our financial status. In the history of our company, we have never had to borrow money. We've never even operated with a bank line of credit. Our buildings, machines and equipment are always paid for in cash. Everything we have is paid-in-full at the time of purchase. This is almost unheard of in the capital intense manufacturing sector. More importantly, this means that the price of borrowing money and debt service is not passed onto our customers.

RICO believes that financial stability will play an increasingly important factor for customers when contemplating the purchase of an application designed lift truck. Our industry has seen several companies shut down by their banks in recent years. We've seen these assets acquired, and re-acquired. Unfortunately, each time that happens, product knowledge and fair replacement part pricing for existing products becomes more difficult to find.

With all the recent 'Enron' type scandals, customers are paying closer attention to the people they do business with. There are several reports out suggesting that financial stress of a company directly relates to the quality of its products.

By taking a few minutes and researching our financial strength you will find that RICO's financial stability and credit scores truly separate us from our competitors and will ensure equipment support for years to come.

Respectfully,

Dave Mueller
President