Exhibit 99.1

Applied Power Inc. Announces Strategic Divestitures

WAUKESHA, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2000--Applied Power Inc. (NYSE: APW -
news) announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell Barry
Wright Corporation. This follows the announcement last week of the sale of the
Air Cargo Equipment business. These transactions are for cash with total
proceeds of approximately $170 million.

The transactions are expected to close within the next eight weeks.

The proceeds from these divestitures will be immediately used to reduce the debt
of Applied Power Inc. As a result, APW Ltd., which will be spun-off this summer
as previously announced, will have a stronger balance sheet and will be better
positioned to continue to invest in the high-growth electronics manufacturing
services market. Once completed, these divestitures will reduce the annual sales
of Applied Power's Industrial segment by approximately $140 million. The
continuing Applied Power Industrial business will be more strategically focused
as a result of these transactions. As previously announced, Applied Power's
Industrial segment will operate as Actuant Corporation following the spin-off.

The Barry Wright Corporation, comprised of the Barry Controls Aerospace and
Barry Controls Defense and Industrial divisions, and its UK subsidiary Barry
Controls Ltd., will be sold to Hutchinson S.A., a subsidiary of the
TotalFinaElf Group. Barry Wright specializes in vibration isolation products
serving a diverse mix of end markets, including aerospace, industrial and
defense.

The Air Cargo Equipment business will be sold to Telefax Incorporated (NYSE: TFX
- - news). Air Cargo is a manufacturer and marketer of air cargo containers, in-
plane loading systems, barrier nets, panels and hardware.

About Applied Power Inc.

Applied Power Inc., headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin, is a global company
comprised of two business segments. Electronics supplies electronic enclosures,
power supplies, thermal systems, backplanes, and cabling either as products or
integrated as a system supplied along with new product design, supply chain
management, assembly and test services. Industrial is composed of standard and
customized OEM products sold to a wide array of end users through distribution
or directly into a variety of niche markets.

     For further information contact:
     Applied Power Inc.
     Susan Hrobar, Vice President
     262-523-7600
     www.apwl.com

Certain of the above comments represent forward-looking statements made pursuant
to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Management cautions that these projections are based on current estimates of
future performance and are highly dependent upon a variety of factors, which
could cause actual results to differ from these estimates. Applied Power's
results are also subject to continued market acceptance of the Company's new
product introductions, the successful integration of recent acquisitions,
operating margin risk due to competitive pricing, foreign currency fluctuations
and interest rate risk.

Contact:

Applied Power Inc.
Susan Hrobar, 262/523-7775