AEM’s award-winning member engagement initiative is officially back…
The AEM Manufacturing Express kicked off its month-long tour of Texas Aug. 1, visiting association member companies across the Lone Star State and encouraging equipment manufacturers to make their voices heard on the policies made at the state and federal levels.
Throughout the entirety of August, the AEM Manufacturing Express will visit 22 manufacturers at their facilities throughout the state. The visits serve as uniquely valuable opportunities to engage lawmakers, provide them with chances to tour the facilities, as well as meet workers and see the impact of pro-manufacturing policies firsthand.
“Since we announced this year’s tour, I have often been asked: ‘Why Texas? Why now?’” said AEM Senior Vice President of Government & Industry Relations Kip Eideberg, in a byline published in the AEM Industry Advisor just prior to the start of the tour.
“The simple answer is that Texas leads by example. The Lone Star State is the equipment manufacturing capital of America, supporting 345,000 jobs and adding $49.5 billion to the state's economy – more than any other state equipment manufacturing industry,” Eideberg added.
The Texas tour opened with a visit to NXG Truck Bodies’ grand opening in Mount Pleasant on Friday, Aug. 1, followed by stops at Anderson UnderBridge, Epiroc, DY Concrete Pumps, C&W DustTech, and Cummins. To close out a busy first week on the road, the AEM Manufacturing stopped by Kubota in Grapevine on Friday.
In addition to the 22 tour stops this month, AEM is offering member company employees the opportunity to take the “Manufacturing Challenge,” an interactive game that tests players’ knowledge about the innovative technologies, processes, people, and products powering equipment manufacturing across America. AEM will also continue to recruit I Make America supporters, who help AEM and its industry peers advocate for pro-manufacturing policies.
The ribbon-cutting event at NXG Truck Bodies for the company’s Mount Pleasant facility grand opening proved to be the perfect way to kick off the AEM Manufacturing Express Summer 2025 tour. Industry leaders, local officials, and community members joined together with friends and family to celebrate the new facility, which is expected to create about 100 jobs in Mount Pleasant by the end of the year. According to a post on Manufacturingexpress.org, the official website of the tour, “NXG’s brand-new 110,000 square-foot manufacturing facility specializes in building premium steel and aluminum truck bodies with precision, durability, and next-generation features. From flatbeds and haulers to contractor and crane bodies, every product reflects a commitment to excellence for hardworking professionals and the industries it serves.”
View a Flickr gallery from the Aug. 1 NXG Truck Bodies event below...
Three days later, the AEM Manufacturing Express arrived in Greenville, Texas, to visit Anderson UnderBridge, manufacturer of the Anderson Hydra Platform, a one-of-its-kind under bridge work platform built for heavy-duty inspections, utility installs, and safe access. The company welcomed AEM and the Greenville Chamber of Commerce for a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate Anderson UnderBridge’s new training center.
“When a lot of you drove here, you probably went over a lot of bridges along the way,” Anderson UnderBridge CEO Jamie Roush said in a newly published article from The Herald Banner in Greenville, Texas. “And while you may not think much about what’s under the bridge, there is a lot going on under there … and those bridges have to be inspected at least once every two years.
“There are about 6,000 bridges in the U.S. and about half of them are considered to be substandard,” Roush told the Herald Banner. “What we specialize in is getting inspectors under those bridges quickly, safely, and much more easily [than with scaffolding or similar methods].”
After a trip to Garland, Texas, to spend a day with Epiroc and showcase the company’s commitment to being at the forefront of the future of mining, the AEM Manufacturing Express made its way to Alvarado, Texas, on Wednesday for a pair of stops at DY Concrete Pumps and C&W DustTech.
Then it was off to Cummins on Thursday, where the AEM Manufacturing Express celebrated an organization that has made its name by putting sustainability and community at the forefront of its business.
“When you hear our CEO Jennifer Rumsey talk about Destination Zero, it’s apparent that our business strategy is deeply tied with our value system, and who we are as a company – and we’ve stuck to these values for decades,” said Cummins Executive Director of Technical and Environmental Systems Brian Mormino, who has been working on environmental strategy with the company for nearly 20 years.
“We want to be clear with our stakeholders on what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and invite them to look into our operation,” said Mormino. “That openness is important because of the collective nature of our goals – we can’t do it alone.”
With the first quarter of the tour in the books, the AEM Manufacturing Express is headed toward the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where it will visit Komatsu America Corporation, Watson Drill Riggs, Versalift, and Diversified Product Development this week.
About the AEM Manufacturing Express
AEM’s award-winning public engagement initiative has returned this summer to visit 22 facilities across the state of Texas throughout the month of August. Stay in the know on all things AEM Manufacturing Express by visiting manufacturingexpress.org.
