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Pallet C e nt ral • No vem be r-D e cem be r 2 0 24 43 Viking Engineering & Development www.vikingeng.com 763-571-2400 What Core Values Drive You And Your Company, And How Do These Values Influence Your Day-To- Day Operations And Long-Term Strategies? At Viking, our core values—Next Level Mindset, Deliver Results, Customer Focus, Authenticity, and Big V inking—shape everything we do, driving us to constantly challenge ourselves and elevate our performance. e Next Level Mindset pushes us to embrace innovation and continuous improvement, empowering every team member to hone their skills and grow both personally and professionally. Deliver Results instills a culture of accountability, ensuring that we follow through on our commitments and exceed expectations, not only for ourselves but for our customers. Our deep Customer Focus guides us to listen, understand, and deliver tailored solutions that truly solve problems and create value. Under Authenticity, we build lasting relationships by being transparent and genuine. Lastly, Big V inking encourages us to think boldly and strategically, pushing the boundaries of what's possible so we don't just serve today's needs but pioneer solutions that will shape the future of the industry. Together, these values form the foundation of our day-to- day operations and long-term strategies. It's how we bring Viking, our teams, and our customers to the NEXT LEVEL. What Current Market Trends Do You Find Most Exciting Or Concerning, And How Is Your Company Adapting To Them? Automation and Production Ef f iciency. Automation continues to grow throughout the pallet industry as manufacturers seek to reduce labor costs, increase throughput, and make a consistent product. Helping pallet manufacturers achieve this goal is why Viking started. Now, with a near 50-year reputation of delivering high- quality machines like the Voyager, Turbo 505, and Champion QC306, we continue to invest in innovations to enhance our current machine lineup and future solutions that reduce setup times, increase production speeds, and minimize downtime. Labor Shortages And High Employee Turnover Rates. Labor is scarce in virtually all manufacturing sectors with employee turnover rates increasing. Viking continues to work on simplifying machine operation and improving ergonomics to reduce the strain on operators. Additionally, by having operator screens in multiple languages and some pictogram prompts, the available labor pool is expanded to non-English-reading workers. Viking also continues to invest in training and support programs such as Viking University to help customers retain employees by making machine operation easier to learn. By making the machine more user-friendly, the time to full production ramp is shorter and less labor intensive. Digitalization, Industr y 4.0, and IoT. Real-time data collection, predictive maintenance, and smart factory systems are gaining traction in the pallet industry. Viking's Smart Data application launched in 2018. is program gave pallet manufacturers access to real-time production and machine status information from an internet-connected device. Viking is currently in Phase 2 development of this program which will improve system diagnostic monitoring and provide preventive maintenance suggestions. Could You Share A Recent Success Story Or Case Study Where Your Company Made A Significant Difference For A Client Or Within The Industry? Viking prides itself on delivering high-quality pallet nailing machines and unparalleled customer service, no matter the challenges involved. is year, in addition to our domestic installs, we've installed 11 international machines in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia, demonstrating our commitment to global customer success. Each installation was tailored to meet each country's regulatory and operational needs, international program standards, and diverse technical specifications, including customized language settings of the operator system. Overcoming intense travel schedules, the Viking team stood strong, showing our commitment to helping our global partners thrive in a rapidly evolving industry. Whether it's through elevating our customer's pallet production with new equipment or ensuring their access to ongoing technical support, Viking continues to bridge geographical boundaries, delivering the results our customers need to stay competitive—no matter where they are in the world.

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