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Welcome to the New Economy
Case Donates Skid Steer to Northwest Iowa Community College
Contractors and Customers Tell Their Ford Truck Stories
Volvo Group’s Powertrain Organization Celebrates 50 Years with Commemorative Booklet
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Welcome to the New Economy
 Expect a Long and Slow Recovery for the U.S. Construction Markets
The construction industry is one of the most volatile sectors in the U.S. economy, and as such, benefits greatly from economic expansions and suffers greatly in economic downturns. The most recent economic cycle has been particularly devastating for the construction industry. Since the end of 2008, construction spending in the United States has declined by more than a quarter, or by almost $300 billion, with the loss in this sector alone accounting for a 2 percent decline in the size of the U.S. economy. 2012 will see signs of improvement, but not a whole lot, according to a variety of construction outlooks released in December from the likes of FMI (construction consultants), the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).
The broad picture is not dramatically different from last year. Analysis of construction trends indicates 2012 will be a year of gradual progress as advances in private construction are partially offset by ongoing declines in publicly financed construction. According to ABC, nonresidential construction spending is expected to grow 2.4 percent in 2012 following a 2.4 percent decrease in 2011. The pace of recovery in the nation’s nonresidential construction industry remains soft, and 2012 is positioned to be a year of slow gain. The first half of 2012 may be particularly challenging, a reflection of the soft patch in economic activity experienced during much of the first half of 2011.
“Certain segments are better poised for growth than others. Leading the way in recent months has been construction related to the nation’s power industry, which we project to have expanded by 11.4 percent during the course of 2011,” said ABC’s Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The driving force for the United States appears to be in energy, and the growth of this economic segment has been evident in a number of states, including Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Pennsylvania. We expect power construction to continue to lead the way with a projected 9 percent increase in spending in 2012.”
FMI’s U.S. construction market overview also projected opportunities and growth for the country’s economic health. FMI is the largest provider of management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry, and its 2012 U.S. Markets Construction Overview offers insights into some of the engineering and construction industry’s most complex business challenges. A few highlights include:
The move to a greater use of P3 (public-private partnerships) project funding will be slow, but will begin to gain traction in the United States in 2012.
Demographics continue to drive demand for health care, education and improving infrastructure.
Spending for government construction is expected to decline as budget battles continue to rage in Washington, D.C., and spill over into every state in the nation.
Sustainable or green construction will drive demand for LEED-certified buildings.
Innovation is driving efficiencies in multi-trade prefabrication and modularization construction.
As the baby boomers age out of the workforce, many firms will face succession and transition challenges.
Construction equipment manufacturers also saw challenges, with AEM predicting the U.S. construction machinery industry would grow 10.8 percent in 2012, 9.9 percent in 2013 and 8.1 percent in 2014, but that’s down from 2011. For 2011, overall business in the U.S. was expected to grow 18.6 percent compared to last year (at press time). We’ll keep utility construction readers updated on all of these issues as the year continues. For more information, visit fminet.com, abc.org or aem.org.
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Case Donates Skid Steer to Northwest Iowa Community College
 The next generation of utility contractors needs those pivotal educational experiences to build excitement for the construction industry. A fond memory of working on a skid steer might be an experience that inspires a young mind to become a professional contractor. That’s at least what Case Construction Equipment thought when it recently donated a cutaway training model of a Case skid steer loader to the Heavy Equipment Operation and Maintenance program at Northwest Iowa Community College (NWICC) in Sheldon, Iowa. Roger Solberg, Heavy Equipment Operations and Maintenance Instructor at NWICC, said the program’s 25 students will begin using the machine during the upcoming semester’s studies, including breaking down, re-assembling and re-installing the engine.
“We’ll have a new shop next year, and we’re setting up a special area just for the Case machine,” Solberg said. Case had been using the machine for training at its Tomahawk Customer Center in Tomahawk, Wis. Solberg arranged the donation during a three-day visit in 2011 with his students to the Tomahawk facility.
“We appreciate the support Case provides to our program. We’re especially grateful to Russ Wadzinski, the General Manager at Tomahawk, who offered us the skid steer cutaway,” Solberg said. “Russ and his team gave us good advice and ideas to incorporate into our facilities and classes. Case provides a great example to our students of how the industry can help prepare the next generation of equipment operators and mechanics.”
The Case skid steer is the latest addition to the 30-piece equipment fleet used in the NWICC heavy equipment program. Solberg, who has directed the program for 12 years, said students learn to operate and maintain construction, agricultural and on-highway equipment, and each graduate of the 18-month program also passes the commercial driver’s license test.
“We have a strong record of placing our graduates with big contractors, dealerships and companies with large truck fleets,” Solberg said. “It’s one of the most comprehensive programs available, and we draw students from all over the country, not just Iowa.”
Solberg, himself a graduate of the NWICC heavy equipment program, also credited Dean Shaw of Titan Machinery in Sioux City, Iowa, with nurturing the relationship between NWICC and Case. Titan is a Case dealer with locations in seven Midwest and Plains states.
“We’re happy to do whatever we can to help the NWICC program,” Shaw said. “Roger and his staff are helping keep the industry on track for the future.”
Contractors and Customers Tell Their Ford Truck Stories
 Machines are more than just tools. Construction equipment is a culture, full of gear heads who love to fix, operate and talk about their skid steers, excavators and everything in between. The truck industry is the same way. The Ford F-Series Super Duty trucks are a good example of a trusted and venerated brand that tradesmen love to talk about, and a new online experience at ford.com/trucks/superduty/weownwork is helping truck and Ford lovers communicate their experiences. Complete with videos and interactive elements, the “We Own Work” website clearly illustrates how Super Duty is one of the most popular trucks in 21 industries.
“For more workers, Ford Super Duty is the most important tool they depend on to get the rest of their tools to the jobsite. There’s no other truck out there accomplishing as much in working conditions as F-Series Super Duty is,” said Brian Rathsburg, Super Duty Marketing Manager. “Super Duty trucks are well known for their proven toughness and capability, and that’s why they are such a leading force in all sorts of industries. They have it all — durability, reliability, performance and fuel economy.”
On the website, visitors can view videos that share stories of workers who use Super Duty trucks to accomplish work on real jobsites across the United States. Hosted by Dirty Jobs’ host Mike Rowe, the videos show the workers and trucks in action. The site also features interesting statistics showing how Super Duty leads in a variety of fields. Some of these include:
74 percent of metal mining workers use Super Duty trucks.
75 percent of road maintenance workers use Super Duty trucks.
60 percent of utility workers use Super Duty trucks.
Once users have gone through the videos, they have the option to share their own experiences of how they use their Super Duty. Some of the best stories may be chosen to be filmed for additional Rowe videos on the site. Based on a template that resembles a baseball trading card, visitors can even create their own card to reflect the tough job their Super Duty helps them complete. Cards contain information like mileage, industry, region and tough facts about their trucks and their jobs. Users also can upload an image of the truck they use. Once finished, they can embed the card in the website, share it on Twitter or Facebook or print it. The cards can be sorted by industry, year, region and toughness so the online community can scroll through the trucks to vote for the one they deem the toughest. The cards with the most votes for toughness will appear closest to the top.
Volvo Group’s Powertrain Organization Celebrates 50 Years with Commemorative Booklet
 Celebrating half a century of great work, Volvo Group honored its powertrain organization in Hagerstown, Md., with a unique milestone — a commemorative booklet capturing 50 years of developing and producing engines, transmissions and related power components for Volvo Group brands. Now the U.S.-based Construction Writers Association (CWA) is giving the group an award, recognizing the booklet with one of its top marketing communications honors, stating the booklet “went beyond technical proficiency to create something attractive, memorable and effective.”
The 50-year commemorative booklet also earned a 2011 Summit Marketing Effectiveness Award, presented by the Summit International Awards, for its ability “to change, influence or reinforce a target audience’s knowledge, attitudes or beliefs.” Less than 9 percent of this year’s 604 entries earned a marketing effectiveness award.
“The booklet has been very well-received by employees and retirees alike,” said Belinda Vinson, leader of the 50th Anniversary Team. “We are thrilled by this recognition. It is a testament to the hard work of everyone involved.”
The 42-page booklet, developed in conjunction with London, Ontario, communications firm Marketing Strategies & Solutions, was initially released at the launch of the official anniversary celebrations on May 5, 2011. It traces the evolution of modern diesel power technology while highlighting the individual and collective achievements of the people and close-knit community of Hagerstown. A downloadable version of the Volvo “Hagerstown” booklet is available online at marketingstrategiesandsolutions.com/hagerstown.
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