Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you. The question-and-answer session will be conducted electronically. (Operator Instructions). And we'll first hear from Frank Magdlen of The Robins Group.
Frank Magdlen - The Robins Group
Good morning.
John Sztykiel
Good morning, Frank.
Frank Magdlen - The Robins Group
Congratulations on good financial management with the strength in the balance sheet, Jim.
James Knapp
Thank you.
Frank Magdlen - The Robins Group
Can you help us out a little bit, or John and what's going with the EV team, and when do you break into profitability there? Is it now a volume issue or is it still not getting the efficiency you want with the volume you're putting through?
John Sztykiel
Jim, I'll let Jim answer first, Frank. And then I'll jump in. Because I won't say that the ... honestly we've got a little bit of a different perspective as to how we view their progress, based upon how you ask the question. So, Jim?
James Knapp
Frank, I think we've made a lot of progress this year. We have, as John mentioned, we had a very small loss in the fourth quarter of this year. Two of the units were profitable in the fourth quarter. One unit, which is Aerials, needs to have more volume truly be able to leverage the operating assets they have in the business and the operating expenses they have in the business.
So, I think they are making progress. I do believe they will be profitable in 2009. As John mentioned, Road Rescue has now come under the management of Spartan Chassis. Even though Road Rescue made significant progress during 2008, we think that there is an opportunity obliviously to make even more progress under Spartan Chassis in 2009, and I do believe they will be profitable in 2009.
John Sztykiel
And Frank, this is John Sztykiel. As Jim mentioned, the group that wasn't profitable in Q4 was Crimson Fire Aerials, both Road Rescue and Crimson Fire were profitable in Q4 of this year. And the other point which Jim mentioned which I think is important to note, is that the company and it's not just at Road Rescue but if one took a look at the, what I would call, inner discipline or inter-business unit best practices, we now have more multiple best practices working within all the business units to improve the operations than what we did at this point last year.
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