NEWS RELEASE

                                                                        CONTACT:
                                                                Robert R. Friedl
                            Vice President - Finance and Chief Financial Officer
                                                   Columbus McKinnon Corporation
                                                                    716-689-5479


          COLUMBUS MCKINNON COMPLETES SALE OF COBOURG, ONTARIO BUILDING

AMHERST, N.Y., July 21, 2005 -- Columbus McKinnon Corporation (Nasdaq:  CMCO), a
leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of material handling products, today
announced  that it  completed on July 15, 2005 the sale of its building and land
in Cobourg,  Ontario.  The Company will lease back less than 30% of the facility
it currently occupies under a one-year lease agreement. The facility serves as a
sales office and  warehouse  for Columbus  McKinnon,  Limited,  a subsidiary  of
Columbus McKinnon,  which sells various material handling products  manufactured
by the Company into Canadian markets.  Net proceeds to Columbus McKinnon for the
sale of the property were  approximately  $1.6 million US, which will be applied
to pay down debt.  The favorable  effect to net income in the second  quarter of
fiscal  2006,  which  ends  on  October  2,  2005,  will  be  $0.3  million,  or
approximately $0.02 per diluted share.

Timothy T. Tevens,  President and CEO of Columbus  McKinnon  commented,  "We are
pleased to successfully close on the sale of another underutilized  property and
generate additional cash for further debt reduction."

ABOUT COLUMBUS MCKINNON

Columbus McKinnon is a leading worldwide designer,  manufacturer and marketer of
material  handling  products,   systems  and  services,  which  efficiently  and
ergonomically  move,  lift,  position or secure  material.  Key products include
hoists,  cranes,  chain and  forged  attachments.  The  Company  is  focused  on
commercial  and  industrial  applications  that  require  the safety and quality
provided  by  its  superior  design  and  engineering  know-how.   Comprehensive
information   on   Columbus   McKinnon   is   available   on  its  web  site  at
HTTP://WWW.CMWORKS.COM.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

This press release contains  "forward-looking  statements" within the meaning of
the Private Securities  Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements  include,
but are not limited  to,  statements  concerning  future  revenue and  earnings,
involve  known and unknown  risks,  uncertainties  and other  factors that could
cause the actual  results of the Company to differ  materially  from the results
expressed  or implied by such  statements,  including  the  likelihood  that the
Company will be successful in the sale of its remaining  asset held for sale and
other  factors  disclosed  in the  Company's  periodic  reports  filed  with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.  The Company assumes no obligation to update
the forward-looking information contained in this release.
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