ASC Construction Equipment Announces New Facilities and Staff as Customer Support and Growth Strategy Surge Forward

CHARLOTTE, NC--Sept. 30, 2005--ASC Construction Equipment USA, Inc., a leading provider of Volvo construction equipment in the Southeast, announces new locations, plans for additional facilities and other accomplishments to expand customer support coverage.

In December 2004, ASC Construction Equipment acquired the assets of L B Smith heavy equipment dealerships in the Southeast market of the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, eastern Tennessee and the panhandle of Florida. Over the past nine months, the company, as planned, has successfully increased by 33 percent the number of employees, from 225 to 300 in key areas of customer support, service technicians, sales and other critical areas. The customer focus of ASC employees, combined with quality Volvo products, has contributed to significant growth in customers and business to date.

Today, ASC is pleased to announce two additional branch locations that will take the total number of branch locations to 14 in 2005. One of the new branches is for customers in the Greenville, SC market. The company is renovating and improving an existing 6,500 square foot facility adjacent to Interstate 85 on Oak Road, and is scheduled to open doors there December 3, 2005. The second branch announcement is for customers in the Huntsville, AL market. The company is renovating and expanding to 15,000 square feet a facility located at 3131 Jordan Lane N.W., Huntsville, AL, which is also scheduled to open on December 3, 2005. The company has begun the recruiting process to staff these new locations.

Additionally, throughout this year, ASC has completed significant makeovers and improvements of branch facilities in Charlotte, NC, Raleigh, NC, and Savannah, GA. Renovation work is continuing at the facility in Columbia, SC and is scheduled for completion in mid November. Remaining branch locations will be renovated throughout 2006. These makeovers have been designed for ASC employees to welcome customers and convey the quality values of ASC and Volvo. The renovations serve as visible evidence of the significant investments ASC has made and continues to make in the customer support area.

"The investments, hiring, expansions and renovations to date, along with additional planned investments are a clear reflection of our mission to provide products and services with a high level of customer satisfaction," said Ron C. Huibers, Chairman and CEO of ASC Construction Equipment. "The market can expect - and our customers can anticipate - even more aggressive expansion as we grow within our territory in order to increase customer contact."

Some further key ASC accomplishments over the past nine months:

-- Additional 32 new service trucks, a $3-million investment.

-- Training of service technicians approaching 5 percent of hours.

-- Substantial increase in parts inventory, featuring more than 30,000 line items of spare parts.

-- Additional 25 new service technicians hired.

-- Upgraded computer system.

Huibers said that investment plans for 2006 include continued hiring, further improvement in spare parts availability, expanded training and additional branch locations, which include construction of two new branch facilities in Atlanta, GA. He concluded that the ASC investments in people, processes and assets to date, along with those planned, are being made to further expand customer support coverage in order to attain a consistent and sustainable high level of customer satisfaction.

ASC Corporate Office

ASC Construction Equipment USA, Inc.

9115 Harris Corners Parkway, Suite 450

Charlotte, NC 28269

Main Office 1 (704) 494 8100

Visit www.ascusa.net

Pictures available on request.

ASC Vision, Mission and Core Values available at website.