ARMSTRONG, Iowa — Art's Way Manufacturing Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: ARTW), a diversified, international manufacturer and distributor of equipment serving agricultural, research, water treatment and steel cutting needs, announced today that Marc McConnell has been named chairman of the Board of Directors.

McConnell has served on the Board of Directors of Art's Way Manufacturing since 2001 and as vice chairman since 2008. In addition to his role at Art's Way, McConnell currently serves as chairman of the Board of West Town Bank & Trust of Chicago, president of Bauer Corp. of Wooster, Ohio, and as vice chairman of McConnell Holdings Inc. of Kinston, N.C., among other business interests.

He has also served as president of the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Assn. from 2013-14 and president of the American Ladder Institute from 2006-2010. McConnell is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and is a graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

Along with the succession plan previously announced, J. Ward McConnell Jr. was elected vice chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. McConnell has served as a director of the company since 1996.

Marc H. McConnell commented, "I am honored to have the Board place the trust and confidence in me to assume the role of chairman. I look forward to building upon the successes of the company as we continue to take this business to the next level. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Ward for his leadership and persistent hard work that has brought Art's Way to where it is today."

About Art's Way Manufacturing Inc.

Art's Way manufactures and distributes farm machinery niche products including animal feed processing equipment, sugar beet defoliators and harvesters, land maintenance equipment, crop shredding equipment, round hay balers, plows, hay and forage equipment, manure spreaders, reels for combines and swathers, and top and bottom drive augers, as well as pressurized tanks and vessels, modular animal confinement buildings and laboratories and specialty tools and inserts. After-market service parts are also an important part of the Company's business. The Company has four reporting segments: agricultural products; pressurized tanks and vessels; modular buildings; and tools.