Tadano America puts a Ritchie Bros. veteran in charge of boom truck and knuckle boom sales
A year after Tadano absorbed Manitex International, the Manitex Inc business has a dedicated vice president of sales. Scott Walter joins from Ritchie Bros., where he ran strategic OEM accounts for 16 years.
Filling a gap in the integration plan
Tadano has appointed Scott Walter as vice president of sales for its Manitex Inc business, a role created as the American boom truck and knuckle boom operation is folded further into Tadano America. Tadano Ltd. completed its acquisition of Manitex International in January 2025; the first year of that integration concentrated on manufacturing, processes and support infrastructure rather than on the commercial side.
“From the very beginning, we saw the Manitex Inc investment as key to meeting Tadano’s vision of becoming the leader in lifting equipment. Since last January, we’ve dedicated much time and effort in enhancing our product, services and support infrastructure for customers. With this addition to the team we are now adding an increased focus on sales.”
— Dean Barley, president and CEO, Tadano America Corporation, Manitex Inc and Tadano Mantis Corporation
Who reports to whom
Walter takes over a sales leadership team that Tadano has been assembling around product lines rather than territories. Jeff Long, director of sales for boom trucks, bucket trucks and sign cranes, and Anthony Hampton, director of sales for knuckle boom cranes, both now report to Walter. The split is intended to keep specialist knowledge close to each product family while giving distributors a single point of escalation.
Walter brings close to 30 years in sales and more than 20 in management. He spent the last 16 of them at Ritchie Bros. as vice president of strategic accounts for the OEM sector, running the auction house’s team of strategic account managers dealing with equipment manufacturers — a vantage point that covers residual values, fleet turnover and distributor behaviour as much as new-unit selling.
The view from the new desk
“Working with the Manitex Inc team, Tadano has leveraged its experience to simplify the business, equipment distributors and customers with innovative tools to ensure success, and strengthened customer support by creating a laser focus on each of the key product lines. I’m excited to get to work and do my part to build on this success.”
— Scott Walter, vice president of sales, Manitex Inc
The appointment came alongside a parallel hire on the aerial work platform side, part of a wider effort to staff up the businesses Tadano has acquired in North America. Tadano has since confirmed that US-produced Manitex products will be sold under the Tadano brand as part of its OneTadano harmonisation.
Source: Tadano — Photos: Tadano