NEWS RELEASE

                                                                        CONTACT:
                                                       Robert L. Montgomery, Jr.
                            Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
                                                   Columbus McKinnon Corporation
                                                                    716-689-5405

        COLUMBUS MCKINNON CORPORATION COMPLETES SALE OF LISTER DIVISION,
  BLAINE WA MAKER OF LARGE SPECIALTY CHAIN, TO WASHINGTON CHAIN & SUPPLY, INC.

     AMHERST, NY, March 2, 2004-- Columbus McKinnon Corporation (Nasdaq:  CMCO),
a leading  designer  and  manufacturer  of  material  handling  products,  today
announced the sale of the net assets of its Lister division to Washington  Chain
& Supply, a Seattle,  WA manufacturer and distributor of commercial and military
marine mooring hardware, for $2.5 million in cash. The proceeds of the sale will
be applied to debt reduction.

For the 12 months  ended  December 28, 2003,  Lister  contributed  sales of $4.4
million to  Columbus  McKinnon's  consolidated  net sales of $442.2  million and
operating income of $0.6 million. Columbus McKinnon will record a pre-tax charge
of $1.6 million as a loss on the sale of the Lister  division in its fiscal 2004
fourth quarter which will end on March 31, 2004.

Timothy T. Tevens,  Columbus  McKinnon  President  and Chief  Executive  Officer
commented,  "As a  manufacturer  of large chain  primarily  geared to  specialty
marine applications,  Lister was not an essential strategic fit with the rest of
our chain product line which has broad use in most industrial markets.  Lister's
revenues represented less than seven percent of our sales of chain products, and
the sale of this division does not affect Columbus McKinnon's market position as
a  leading  North  American  manufacturer  of chain  and  forgings.  The  Lister
transaction is the second completed sale of several less synergistic  businesses
Columbus McKinnon is currently considering for divestiture."

Lister is  located in  Blaine,  Washington.  The new  owners  will  operate  the
facility  as Lister  Chain and Forge,  Inc.  and its 22  employees  will  become
employees of the new company,  which will continue to operate in its Blaine,  WA
plant.

Fleet M&A  Advisors  acted as  financial  advisor to  Columbus  McKinnon  on the
divestiture.

Columbus McKinnon is a leading  worldwide  designer and manufacturer 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.

         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 general economic and business conditions,
         conditions  affecting  the  industries  served by the  Company  and its
         subsidiaries,   conditions   affecting  the  Company's   customers  and
         suppliers, competitor responses to the Company's products and services,
         the overall  market  acceptance  of such  products  and  services,  the
         Company's  ability to amend its debt  covenants  with its lenders,  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.

                                       ###