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Jul 11, 2005 9:58 AM

Mickey Truck Bodies has entered into a sales and marketing partnership with Carrocerias Altamirano, a leading body and over-the-road trailer manufacturer in Mexico to sell Mickey beverage bodies in Mexico.

Altamirano, headquartered in Mexico City, will assemble body “kits” from Mickey for sale and distribution to the beverage industry throughout Mexico.

“It’s a family owned and operated business that is over 50 years old, and the three brothers that run the business have a very hands-on management style,” says Dean Sink, Mickey President. “They are a solid company with good business ethics and they are always looking for new ways to grow their business. In many ways they are a company just like Mickey.”

The opportunity for beverage distribution equipment is expansive, particularly for the modern-day all-aluminum beverage body that has become so prolific in the United States.

“The Mexican market is quite possibly a larger potential market in beverage than the U S because they are still using distribution methods that we were using 25 years ago,” Sink says. “They haven’t gone to a 53-foot trailer with a liftgate on the rear. There are more convenience stores and street vendors in Mexico that have to deliver the product right to the vendors, so there is a large demand and need for side loader distribution equipment in Mexico. Obviously we need to be a big part of the transition in Mexico just we as were at the center of it in the United States going back 25 years ago.”

The Mickey bodies that will be marketed to the Mexican beverage operators “are a basically the same as those built for the U.S. market, but with a little heavier design. The heavier design will make the trucks suited for the road system in Mexico and the heavier weights that Mexico permits.

Altamirano is headed by three brothers – Pedro Altamirano, general director; Gonzalo Altamirano, vice-president of sales; and Victor Altamirano, vice-president of manufacturing.

Mickey has taken “a much more aggressive leadership role” in developing the beverage distribution business in Mexico, starting with the appointment of Pedro Machado as global sales manager in January 2005.