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® February 10 2018 Vol. XX • No. 3
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“The Nation’s Nation’sBest BestRead ReadConstruction Construction Newspaper… Founded Newspaper… Founded 1957.”1957.” 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com
Inside
State of the Union’s Infrastructure Giles Lambertson CEG CORRESPONDENT
National Guard Seeks $20M for Airport Expansion…12
World of Concrete Sees Solid Showing…16
MITA Welcomes Guests to Annual Conference…18
During a State of the Union speech Jan. 30, President Trump formally began his administration’s push to build and rebuild the nation’s infrastructure — that is, to make our roads and other civil engineered structures “great again.” Easier said than done. The president is calling for expenditure of $1.5 trillion on infrastructure like highways, bridges, waterway structures, airport tarmac, and rail and seaport terminals. These are the engineered structures that move people, commodities and manufactured goods. Upgrading infrastructure is an always popular idea because it holds real promise of alleviating urban congestion and spurring commerce from coast to coast. Projects across the country could get a big boost if Congress acts on the president’s plan.
Three Challenges Yet any undertaking of this magnitude immediately faces three challenges. The immediate challenge in 2018 is for Congress to come together to pass enabling legislation.
Attachment & Parts Section ......................................35-37 Recycling Section ........51-67 Truck & Trailer Section ........ ......................................77-85
Auction Section ............90-93 Advertisers Index ..............94
Bridging the political divide is a daunting task in the best of times. Sad to say, these are not such times. So bringing lawmakers together on even something as pragmatic and nonideological as smoother roadways and safer bridges may be difficult for the Trump team. The last time a president proposed a bigsee INFRASTRUCTURE page 50
Benck: First Female AED Chair
Table of Contents ................4
Business Calendar ............86
That’s square one for President Trump and his congressional allies and, in some respects, is the most difficult task facing them. Democratic critics of President Trump at this point seem genetically opposed to anything he wants. Such gamesmanship is not unheard of on Capitol Hill, of course, but this is an historic moment of hyper-partisanship.
On Jan. 18, Diane Benck, owner and vice president of general operations of West Side Tractor Sales and RCE Equipment Solutions, was signed in as the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) 2018 Chairwoman.
On Jan. 18, Diane Benck, owner and vice president of general operations of West Side Tractor Sales and RCE Equipment Solutions, was signed in as the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) 2018 Chairwoman. This honor is particularly monumental as Benck is the first female chairwoman in the 100-year history of Associated Equipment Distributors. She also is the first John Deere dealer in this role. The inauguration ceremony
was held during AED’s 2018 Summit and Condex in Las Vegas. This annual meeting attracts more than 2,000 participants from the equipment industry. AED is an international trade association representing companies involved in the distribution, rental and support of equipment used in construction, mining, forestry, power generation, agriculture and industrial applications. With more than 500 distributor
members, including dealers from Cat, Vermeer, John Deere, etc. — AED focuses on public policy advocacy, industry education and training, and analysis on markets, economics and business trends that impact the industry. “I think it’s kind of comical that I’m the first female chair because I didn’t ever intend to break down walls or shatter glass ceilings,” said Benck. “In time, I realized I had an overwhelming drive to be part of the family business, which see AED page 68