Manitowoc Company CEO steps down

The Manitowoc Company has announced that Glen Tellock has resigned as the company’s chairman, president and CEO.

Company officials said Wednesday, Oct. 28, that current board member Kenneth W. Krueger will fill those roles on an interim basis.

In announcing the move to shareholders, the company did not disclose the reason for Tellock’s departure.

The departure comes as the company continues the process of splitting its Foodservice and Cranes divisions into separate companies, which is expected to wrap up in early 2016.

This week, the company also disclosed that it's begun aggressive actions to cut costs in both divisions, which includes closing Foodservice facilities in Ohio and California and cutting jobs in its Cranes division.

The company’s board of directors is searching for a CEO to lead Manitowoc Cranes. Hubertus Muehlhaeuser is now serving as CEO of Manitowoc Foodservice.

“On behalf of the board of directors, I want to thank Glen for his efforts and contributions to Manitowoc over the last 24 years. We wish him well in his future endeavors,” said Roy Armes, the company’s lead independent director, in a news release.

Officials said the company remains the industry leader in both divisions, despite challenging macro-economic conditions and “operational issues” over the past 18 months.

“The board of directors, however, believe this is the right time for new leadership at the company,” Armes said in the release. “Ken’s deep knowledge of Manitowoc’s businesses, coupled with his robust financial and operational expertise, make him an excellent choice to lead the company’s efforts as we execute a search for our next chief executive officer.”

In his interim role, Krueger will focus on improving the company’s financial performance and carrying out the company split, officials said.

Krueger has been on the company’s board since 2004 and most recently served as chief operating officer at Bucyrus International before retiring in 2009.

Also on Wednesday, the company reported third-quarter sales of $863.5 million, a 12.5 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2014. About 40 percent of this decline was the result of unfavorable foreign currency impacts.

The company also reported net income of $4.8 million in the third quarter, versus $73.1 million a year ago.

The company has also announced it’s started a restructuring plan in its Foodservice and Cranes divisions to focus resources on areas that deliver the highest returns.

This includes product line simplification, boosting productivity and facility efficiency, as well as closing Foodservice facilities in Cleveland and in Irwindale, California.

In the Cranes division, the company will reduce payroll and take on other initiatives to cut costs at its manufacturing facilities.

Reach Josh Lintereur at 920-453-5147, jlintereur@gannett.com and on Twitter @joshlintereur.