AEM’s CE Sector Board of Directors met in-person on March 15 in Washington, D.C, to discuss its priorities for 2022 and 2023. The agenda also featured updates from AEM staff regarding the association’s service areas, including advocacy, market share statistics and trade shows.
CE Sector Board Chair Stephen Roy, senior vice president of Sales Americas, Volvo Construction Equipment, called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone to the first meeting of 2022, which included five new Directors:
- Erica Baird, Cummins Inc.
- Jason Daly, John Deere Construction & Forestry Division
- Jim Glazer, Elliott Equipment Company
- Leandro Lecheta, CNH Industrial America LLC
- Simon Meester, Terex AWP Genie
Roy presented the consent agenda and highlighted several notable items from reports including: the successful completion of the Cranes Statistics Committee data migration, the added member value of a new economic partnership with GlobalData in the AEM BI Dashboard, an overview of the engine emissions strategy to monitor emission and powertrain regulations, as well as an update on the Below Ground Worker Safety Demonstration Day, tentatively scheduled for June 2, 2022.
2022-2023 Priorities
The Board began with an open forum to discuss priorities for 2022 and 2023:
- Sustainability initiatives
- Workforce solutions
- Customer expectation
- Regulatory awareness and engagement
They discussed tactics and objectives for each of these priorities, identifying actions that they can accomplish and point to as a measure of success. Focus groups will be identified to further refine objectives and tactics, as well as how to measure success throughout the next several months.
Market Share Statistics
AEM Vice President of Business Intelligence Larry Buzecky provided an overview of the draft Consolidated Construction Equipment Index. While it was determined that this version of the report will not be published, the Board discussed other practical alternatives to capitalize on the opportunity and need to share data from the CE Sector.
AEM Vice President of Construction & Utility Sector John Somers discussed AEM’s continued efforts to develop an optional program to expand the understanding of equipment utilization data, which would highlight reliable trends for advocacy efforts and provide additional member value.
Trade Shows
AEM Vice President of Exhibitions and Event Services Dana Wuesthoff provided an update from the Exhibitions Strategic Task Force, which is focused on improving the customer journey, better leveraging data and performance analytics, creating more digital offerings, exploring potential hybrid models, as well as creating new commercial models. Enhanced real-time data offerings will be available for exhibitors during CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023, alongside a digital/hybrid content model to engage a broader attendee audience while protecting the value of the physical event.
Wuesthoff also provided an update on World of Asphalt 2022, sharing the momentum and excitement for the upcoming show, which will bring the asphalt and pavement industries back together March 29-31 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Advocacy
AEM Director of State Government & Industry Relations Stephanie See provided an update on AEM’s state advocacy efforts, including Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) implementation, gas tax, workforce development, dealer legislation and tax reform. Staff continues to work closely with legislators, chambers and business associations to build relationships in key states.
AEM Senior Director of Government Relations Kate Fox Wood provided an update on the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) at the federal level. AEM recently launched the IIJA resources page, which will be updated as funding opportunities are announced and this bipartisan legislation comes to life.
AEM Senior Advisor of Global Public Policy Alex Russ provided an update on AEM’s international advocacy efforts, including the National Trade Corridors Fund to improve the flow of goods at ports of entry in Canada, the European Parliament Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN Committee) hearing on supply chain resilience, the USICA/COMPETES Act to fund domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing, and the Ocean Shipping Reform Act to improve availability of containers and alleviate some of the supply chain pressure.
The Board also discussed right to repair and the impact that legislation at both the state and federal levels, as well as in Canada, will have on the CE Sector.
Leadership Groups and Reengagement
AEM Senior Vice President of Industry Sectors & Product Leadership Curt Blades provided an overview of organizational changes within AEM, which have allowed for additional engagement and coordination between sectors and services, including Joint Sectors initiatives and technical groups within Safety & Product Leadership.
AEM Senior Director of Construction Sara Feuling provided an overview of leadership groups and opportunities for engagement within underserved product segments, including aggregates, concrete and cranes, focusing on leadership and industry issues, as well as value-add member services.
Feuling also provided an update from the CE Technology Leadership Group which is further refining its priorities, objectives and tactics, including the collection and sharing of industry stories and case studies to promote the benefits of the use of technology in construction. These benefits can be used to educate lawmakers to advance policy priorities, support lobbying efforts, and ultimately help drive adoption among end users.
Somers discussed an opportunity for AEM to provide end-user reassurance of compliance with interoperability standards. Testing of standards would reduce barriers and increase adoption of technology across all brands of equipment.
Joint Sector
The Board also joined AEM’s Ag Sector Board and members of the AEM's Board of Directors for a Joint Sector session.
During the session, Directors were given an overview of AEM's regulatory efforts, an update from the Futures Council and a summary of AEM’s recently conducted supply chain survey. In addition, New York Times reporter Jonathan Martin stopped by to provide his thoughts on the upcoming election cycle and other political happenings of note in Washington, D.C.
The next meetings of and CE and Ag Sector Boards are scheduled for August 4-5 in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information about the CE Sector Board, contact John Somers at jsomers@aem.org.
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