Veri-Tek International Corp, the parent company of Manitex Litfking, has seen its sales grow 163% from USD 40.7 million to USD106.9 million for the year ended 31 December 2007.

Part of the reason for the revenue increase is an accounting factor since the 2007 result includes sales from both Manitex and Manitex Liftking, while Manitex Liftking's contribution is only reflected in one month of the prior year's tally, Veri-Tek says.

For 2007, the company made USD8.5 million in earnings, compared to USD2.2 million for the same period in 2006.

David Langevin, Veri-Tek CEO, says the company's financial performance improved markedly as the company has refocused its business exclusively on manufacturing specialised lifting equipment, strengthened its balance sheet and streamlined its operations.

"In 2007, we achieved healthy market share gains for our products, expanded our sales by over 30% year over year, and we did so profitably," Langevin says.

"Our goal in 2008 will be to continue to expand our market share in our primary North American markets and expand our reach through international distribution partnerships to penetrate key international markets," he adds.

In 2007, Veri-Tek acquired the Noble forklift product line that it is now integrating with its Liftking rough-terrain forklifts. Liftking was acquired in 2006.