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January 17, 2015 • Vol. IXX • No. 2 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910
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Inside
AED Urges Congress to Spur Growth On Jan. 7, Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) President and CEO Brian P. McGuire delivered a strong message to Capitol Hill urging swift, bipartisan action to spur economic growth and job creation in a letter outlining the association’s policy agenda for the 114th Congress.
MB to Bring ‘Crushing’ Demo to Vegas...22
The lanes will be about 12 ft. (3.7 m) wide, with shoulders on both sides — 4 ft. (1.2 m) on the left and 10 ft. (3 m) on the right. A storm sewer will run beneath the trench.
Service, Staff Contribute to Sany’s Gr owth...46
Joint-Venture Halfway Through on Columbus Trench Project By Irwin Rapoport CEG CORRESPONDENT
More Th an 2,25 0 Attend Rit chie Au ctio n... 88
To help alleviate traffic in Columbus, Ohio, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has awarded a $75 million contract to a joint-venture (JV) bringing together The Ruhlin Company ($31.7 million) and George J. Igel & Co. Inc. ($43.3 million) to construct a trench express lane on U.S. Route 23. The project, which began in Sept. 2013, will see the JV construct a 25 ft. (7.6 m) deep by
“Restoring stability to federal transportation programs before construction season commences will help sustain and create millions of jobs in the equipment industry, the construction sector and the broader economy.”
3,028 ft. (923 m) long by 40 ft. (12 m) wide trench that will carry two northbound express lanes to bypass the traffic lights at Campus View and Flint Road and bring vehicles out near North Woods Boulevard. This is the first highway project in central Ohio to include a trench. The work, to be completed in Sept. 2016, is needed to deal with the congestion and safety issues created by an increase in population and development in Delaware County, which is
The association recommends a series of key actions to make it easier for construction equipment distributors to succeed by reducing costs of doing business and expanding product markets, including the association’s top priority — provid-
see ODOT page 32
see AED page 70
Brian P. McGuire AED
Table of Contents ........4 Paving Section ......51-61 Business Calendar ......70 Auction, Profiles Section ................................77-95 Advertisers Index ......93
Industry Jobs Expand in 224 Metro Areas Construction employment expanded in 224 metro areas, declined in 64 and was stagnant in 51 between November 2013 and November 2014, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials
said contractors in many parts of the country were benefitting from growing demand, yet labor shortages threaten to undermine the sector’s recovery. “It is good news that construction employment is now rising in two-thirds of the nation’s metro areas,” said Ken Simonson, chief
economist of the association. “But now that the unemployment rate for construction workers has fallen to a seven-year low, it has become a major challenge to find qualified workers in many fields.” Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas, added the largest number of construction jobs in the past
year (16,200 jobs, 9 percent), followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (11,000 jobs, 10 percent), Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill. (9,100 jobs, 7 percent) and Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. (8,900 jobs, 12 percent). The largest percentage gains occurred see AGC page 70