3/10/2009

News Releases

Advancing teams announced for AEM's "Construction Challenge"

Sponsorships available for national finals of student career-promotion competition

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) announces the regional winners in its Construction Challenge teen competition. (See end of release.) More than 2,000 students from around the United States, and in Toronto, Canada, competed in 15 simultaneous qualifying rallies to secure their spot in the challenge finals.

The Construction Challenge finals will be held May 20-23, 2009 during the Destination ImagiNation Global Finals in Knoxville, Tennessee. Sponsorships are available to help cover the costs of student teams' participation.

AEM partners with Destination ImagiNation to produce the Challenge, which is a creative problem solving program that introduces students to the skills they could be using on the job site in the coming years as federal and state governments seek to fund badly needed infrastructure projects.

Now in its second year, the Construction Challenge offers an opportunity for students, teachers, parents and community leaders to learn more about available construction careers and how critical off-road equipment is to creating and maintaining the high quality of life enjoyed in North America and Europe, as well as by increasing numbers in the developing world.

The AEM competition is designed to engage teens through a hands-on, educational experience and to introduce them to careers as engineers, equipment technicians, and manufacturing professionals.

More than 300 student teams competed in the regional rallies, held in early February, for a spot in the finals. Qualifying regional rallies were held in Atlanta (GA), Boston (MA), Chicago (IL), Cincinnati (OH), Dallas (TX), Denver (CO), Kansas City (MO), Milwaukee (WI), Minneapolis (MN), Enid (OK), Philadelphia (PA), Phoenix (AZ), Sacramento (CA), Seattle (WA), and Toronto (ON).'

Even before the renewed focus on rebuilding infrastructure, the construction industry was concerned about meeting demand for trained workers as a large portion of its current workforce enters retirement.

"The success of the stimulus package, the rebuilding of our infrastructure and the training of millions of workers will be directly related to the success of future generations of Americans," said' Dennis Slater, president of AEM.' “The Construction Challenge is one way our industry is helping prepare and invest in that future. We also hope everyone has a little fun and gets inspired along the way.”

For information on Construction Challenge sponsorships, contact Stacy Wessel at AEM (414-298-4114, swessel@aem.org).

For more details on the Challenge, go online at www.constructionchallenge.org.

Editor's Note: A list of the winning teams, including location, follows.

AEM 2009 Construction Challenge – Regional Winners Going to Championship Finals
Regional Rally Site/ Type School	Team Sponsors	School-Team Name	School City	State
Atlanta
Middle	Sandvik Mining and Construction	Carson Middle School	Greensboro	GA
HighSchool	Volvo Construction Equipment	Martin Luther King Magnet HS	Nashville	TN
Boston
Middle	Liebherr Mining Equipment Co.	Hastings Middle School	Fairhaven	MA
High School	Terex Corporation	Monadnock Regional HS	Swanzey	NH
High School	At-Large	Southeastern	S. Easton	MA
High School	At-Large	Stoughton HS	Stoughton	MA
Chicago
Middle	Metso Minerals	Perspectives IIT/Math & Science	Chicago	IL
High School	WackerNeuson Corporation	Bartlett High School	Bartlett	IL
High School	At-Large	New Trier High School	Winnetka	IL
High School	At-Large	Prairie Ridge High School	Crystal Lake	IL
Cincinnati
Middle	Astec Industries	Tecumseh Middle	New Carlisle	OH
High School	LBX Company - Link Belt Excavators	Whitmer HS	Toledo	OH
High School	At-Large	Centerville HS	Centerville	OH
High School	At-Large	Lorain Co JVS	Oberlin	OH
High School	At-Large	Miami Valley Career Technology Center	Clayton	OH
High School	At-Large	Western Boone Jr Sr HS	Thorntown	IN
Dallas
Middle	Mahindra	Wylie Middle School	Abilene	TX
High School	Kobleco Cranes North America, Inc.	Dallas Area	Dallas	TX
High School	At-Large	Cleburne HS	Cleburne	TX
High School	At-Large	Wylie HS	Abilene	TX
Denver
Middle	John Deere Construction & Forestry Company	OTMS-Overland Trail Middle School	Brighton	CO
High School	Stone Construction Equipment, Inc.	Manhattan Christian	Belgrade	MT
Kansas City
Middle	American Rental Association	St. Therese Catholic School	Kansas City	MO
Middle	At-Large	St. Therese Catholic School	Kansas City	MO
Middle	At-Large	Antioch Middle School	Gladstone	MO
High School	Case Construction Equipment	Lawrence High School	Lawrence	KS
High School	At-Large	Unity High School	Mendon	IL
Milwaukee
Middle	Astec Industries	KTEC Cats	Kenosha	WI
High School	Metso Minerals	Hartford Union HS	Hartford	WI
High School	At-Large	Hamilton HS	Milwaukee	WI
High School	At-Large	Little Chute HS Average Joes	Little Chute	WI
Minneapolis
Middle	Manitowoc	Roseville Area Middle School	Little Canada	MN
High School	Trimble	Northern Cass School	Hunter	ND
High School	At-Large	Cloquet Senior High School	Cloquet	MN
Oklahoma
Middle	AED	Ponca City West Middle School	Ponca City	OK
High School	Ditch Witch	Perry HS	Perry	OK
Philadelphia
Middle	Volvo Construction Equipment	Neil A. Armstrong MS	Fairless Hills	PA
High School	Liebherr Construction Equipment Co.	New Horizons Regional Ed Center	Hampton	VA
High School	At-Large	Berks Career and Tech. Center	Oley	PA
Phoenix
Middle	New Holland/Kobelco Construction	Desert Wind	Maricopa	AZ
High School	JCB	Gilbert High School	Gilbert	AZ
High School	At-Large	Desert Ridge	Mesa	AZ
High School	At-Large	Academy of Building Industries	Fort Mohave	AZ
Sacramento
Middle	Kobleco Cranes North America, Inc.	School of Engineering & Sciences	Sacramento	CA
High School	Multiquip Inc.	Granite Hills High School	Cajon	CA
High School	At-Large	School of Engineering & Sciences	Sacramento	CA
High School	At-Large	School of Engineering & Sciences	Sacramento	CA
Seattle
Middle	Atlas Copco Construction Tools LLC	Frontier Junior High	Graham	WA
High School	Cygnus Business Media	Meridian HS	Bellingham	WA
High School	At Large	White Swan HS	White Swan	WA
High School	At Large	Puget Sound Skills Center	Burien	WA
Toronto
Middle	AEM	Fisherville "Better than You"	Toronto	ON
High School	International Truck	Father John Redmond "Hard Hat Troopers"	Toronto	ON
High School	At Large	Lakeshore CI "Hammerheads"	Toronto	ON

 

« News Release list

Media Staff Contact

Pat Monroe
414-298-4123

Public Policy

AEM regularly communicates industry views to congressional leaders.

View Communications with Congress

Trade Shows

AEM has an ownership role in and/or manages major industry expositions to extend the value of membership.

View All Trade Shows

AEM Hall of Fame

The AEM Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding industry leaders for their contributions which have helped the off-road equipment industry contribute to improved quality of life and economic productivity worldwide.

Learn More

Twitter

Follow AEM on Twitter
AEM is on Twitter as @aemadvisor. Follow us for AEM and industry news updates, public policy developments and more.

Follow Us