AEM’s CE Sector Board of Directors met in-person on Aug. 4 in Boston, Massachusetts, to discuss its priorities for 2022 and 2023. The agenda also featured updates from AEM staff regarding the association’s service areas, including safety & product leadership, regulatory, 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 second meeting of 2022. With Pat Weiler joining the AEM Board of Directors, Roy welcomed Pete Large, senior vice president, Trimble, to the CE Sector Board.
Roy presented the consent agenda and highlighted several notable items from reports including: including membership goals and milestones, the launch of the Sustainability toolkit, the expanded data available in the Business Intelligence (BI) dashboard, and the success of the Below Ground Worker Safety Demonstration Day.
Future of Building
The Board began with an open forum to discuss the Future of Building whitepaper. Staff shared the tremendous results and feedback received from the paper, along with upcoming opportunities to highlight the trends with industry end user audiences at upcoming events. Directors were also given the opportunity to share their thoughts and discussed how they were leveraging the trends identified in the whitepaper with their customers and dealers.
2022-2023 Priorities
AEM Vice President Construction and Utility Sector John Somers provided an update on the CE Sector Board priorities for 2022 and 2023:
- Sustainability Initiatives
- Workforce Solutions
- Customer Expectations
- Regulatory Awareness and Engagement
AEM continues their efforts in both the sustainability and regulatory space, which includes a wealth of resources available to members in the Sustainability toolkit and proactive regulatory engagement and outreach. Directors were presented with opportunities to engage with workforce through technician and skills trainings, as well as reminded of the available workforce best practices. AEM is continuing to coordinate with ISO working groups on technical standards development and implementation, while also continuing to educate customers and the industry on the benefits of technology.
Safety & Product Leadership
AEM Director of Global Standards and Compliance Jason Malcore provided an overview of the proposed organizational changes within the Safety & Product Leadership department, including committee structure and communication strategy. To not only streamline communication but also ensure staff and committee participants’ time is used efficiently, subcommittees will continue to meet and work only as necessary to address specific product tasks while all general updates, including compliance and regulatory issues, standards work, and topical discussion will be discussed in larger parent committees organized by industry scope.
Engine Emissions
David Nicoll, Industrial Power Systems product manager at Caterpillar, and Chair of AEM’s Engine Emissions Strategy Task Force (EESTF), provided an update from the task force, which continues to take a strategic look at engine emissions related to off-highway equipment. The EESFT continues to engage with California Air Resources Board (CARB) on behalf of the AEM membership, participating in workshops and meetings and providing comments in response to proposed rulemaking.
The EESTF will continue their work developing a position paper on engine emissions reduction to proactively inform industry stakeholders, as well as policy makers of challenges and opportunities unique to off-road vehicles.
Advocacy
AEM Senior Director of Government Relations Kate Fox Wood provided an update on AEM’s federal advocacy efforts, including the recent passage of the CHIPS and Science Act. AEM continues to engage in the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), updating the IIJA resources page as funding opportunities are announced and this bipartisan legislation comes to life.
AEM Director of State Government and Industry Relations Stephanie See provided an update on AEM’s state advocacy efforts, including Right to Repair, gas tax, and dealer legislation. Staff continues to work closely with legislators, chambers, and business associations to build relationships in key states.
Trade Shows
AEM Senior Vice President Exhibitions and Marketing Nicole Hallada provided an update on World of Asphalt and AGG1. World of Asphalt 2022 was an overwhelming success with a record high number of attendees from the asphalt and aggregate industry, while also receiving its highest satisfaction results to date. AGG1, which has been co-located with World of Asphalt since 2009, will continue to be managed by AEM for 2024 and 2025 to ensure a seamless experience for exhibitors and attendees.
AEM Vice President of Exhibitions and Event Services Dana Wuesthoff provided an update on CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023, which continues to see strong exhibitor sales. New digital opportunities are available for exhibitors to amplify and leverage their show presence while also providing search-optimized content that is continually relevant for the construction audience on a 365 basis.
Joint Sector
The Board also joined AEM’s Ag Sector Board and members of the AEM's Board of Directors for a Joint Sectors session. During the session, Directors were given an overview of AEM’s sustainability and supply chain initiatives, proactive regulatory efforts, and joint sector approach to autonomous machines, as well as an update on other industry leadership groups.
The next meeting of the CE Sector Board is scheduled for Nov. 17 in Napa, California at AEM’s Annual Conference. For more information about the CE Sector Board, contact John Somers at jsomers@aem.org.
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