November 2018
CED
Construction Equipment Distribution Published by AED: Business Fuel for a More Profitable Dealership
Mastering
AED’s Summit
An Attendee’s Guide to Getting the Most Out of your Summit Experience in Orlando
n Trading Barbs After trade agreement, political questions remain in Canada
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n A Closer Look 1st Source Bank is big at heart
n Journey to the Top
Exodus Machines’ CEO discusses achieving success
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Working together to move your business forward
WELLS FARGO EQUIPMENT FINANCE RETAIL FINANCE CAPITAL ASSET ACQUISITION INVENTORY & FLEET RENTAL FINANCE MANUFACTURER SUBSIDY PROGRAMS
In the construction business, having the right equipment is essential. When equipment is needed, your customers count on you. But they also count on getting a good deal. Providing the right financing options can not only help facilitate the purchase process, but also give you and your business a competitive advantage. At Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, we start by getting to know your business — the goals, challenges, and opportunities. Building on that knowledge, we use our experience and industry expertise to help guide you to the fi nancial solutions that can help build your customer base and your business, today and over time. To learn more about how we can help you, visit wellsfargo.com/ced or call 1-866-726-4714.
© Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. All transactions are subject to credit approval. Some restrictions may apply. Wells Fargo Equipment Finance is the trade name for certain equipment leasing and finance businesses of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and its subsidiaries. Equipment financing transactions are provided in Canada by Wells Fargo Equipment Finance Company. Wells Fargo Equipment Finance Company is an affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company, a company that is not regulated in Canada as a financial institution, a bank holding company or an insurance holding company. The information contained herein is general in nature and not intended to provide you with specific advice or recommendations. Contact your attorney, accountant, tax or other professional advisor with regard to your individual situation. IHA-
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DRIVING DEALERSHIP SUCCESS
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© 2018 CDK Global, LLC / CDK Global is a registered trademark of CDK Global, LLC. 18-5611
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contents
CED Magazine | November 2018
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
18-37
vol. 84 no. 11
www.cedmag.com
FEBRUARY 4-7, 2019
Mastering AED’s Summit: An Attendee’s Guide to Getting the Most Out of your Summit Experience
Summit has always been a place for industry insiders to develop their leadership skills and catch up on the trends that are driving the market. But Summit also provides a great opportunity for OEMs and dealers to meet, greet and talk shop. Discover how to make the most of your time in Orlando be reviewing our recommended suggestions!
42
A Closer Look: 1st Source Bank, Big at Heart
16
Trading Barbs: After Trade Agreement, Political Questions Remain In Canada Canada and the United States have been seemingly deadlocked for months over details in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
1st Source Bank wants to be more than just a financial institution to members of AED.
46 Journey to the Top: Exodus Machines Kevin Boreen’s journey to the top of the heavy equipment industry wasn’t the traditional one. Rather than growing up in the industry or turning a love of working with his hands into a career, Boreen found his way through an entirely different path.
November 2018 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 3
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>> FROM THE PRESIDENT BRIAN P. McGUIRE
There’s So Much In Store for Members at AED’s 2019 Summit and CONDEX To find the most up-to-date information on Summit, or to register, visit aedsummit.com.
AED is excited for you to join us in Orlando for the 2019 Summit as we celebrate our 100th anniversary! Summit is the best opportunity for our members to come together to prepare for a successful year ahead. Whether you’ve been serving the North American equipment market for decades or are just entering the industry, it’s easy to connect with peers in one location. The 2019 Summit & Construction Dealer Expo (CONDEX) promises to deliver an even bigger return for attendees than the 2018 event. We would like to remind you that this year’s event will be pushed up one day, beginning on Monday, February 4, and ending on Thursday, February 7. Exciting improvements are planned for CONDEX; in fact, as of right now, the trade show is nearly sold out with exhibitors offering new products and services for your dealership. We are pleased to have world-class speakers joining us in Orlando as our keynote speakers and presenters. We will begin with an OEM panel on Tuesday, February 5, featuring some of the biggest names in manufacturing, including John Deere Construction & Forestry, Bobcat, Caterpillar, Liebherr and Volvo. On Wednesday, February 6, we’ll welcome Rich Karlgaard, one of the most influential and respected figures in the technology, economic and business worlds. We’ll wrap up on Wednesday night with a conversation with John Boehner, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
Our dealer education sessions will be better than ever, covering six tracks and 35 sessions over a three-day time span. This year’s tracks include rental, management, leadership, product support, sales and technology. We encourage you to bring your team to divide and conquer the sessions being offered. Your team will be better for it! Attendees will also discover great products and services on the CONDEX floor, ranging from attachments to business software to earthmoving equipment and more. Many manufacturers and service providers will also be hosting hospitality suites as a way for you to forge stronger relationships with those companies that support your dealership. This event provides an opportune time for you to take control of your business cycle for the year and meet with your providers on your own time on mutual ground. And on Monday evening, don’t miss what is sure to be a fun and important night, The AED Foundation Fundraising Gala. This year’s beach-themed gala will take place at the Orlando World Center Marriott. We will bring the atmosphere of the Florida beaches inside, while also raising money for an important cause: The AED Foundation’s goal of constructing pathways to opportunity for those in the construction equipment industry. To find the most up-to-date information on Summit, or to register, visit aedsummit.com. The AED staff and I look forward to seeing you in Orlando!
BRIAN P. McGUIRE is president and CEO of Associated Equipment Distributors. He can be reached at bmcguire@aednet.org. BRIAN P. MCGUIRE AED President & CEO
ROBERT K. HENDERSON AED Executive Vice President & COO
JASON K. BLAKE AED Senior Vice President & CFO
>> OFFICERS
>> AT-LARGE DIRECTORS
>> REGIONAL DIRECTORS
DIANE BENCK Chairwoman West Side Tractor Sales Co.
PAUL FARRELL Modern Group Ltd. GAYLE HUMPHRIES JCB of Georgia STEVE MEADOWS Berry Companies, Inc. JAMES A. NELSON Heavy Machines, Inc. MATT DI IORIO Ditch Witch Mid-States DAN STRACENER Tractor & Equipment Co.
MICHAEL LALONDE West Reg.
MICHAEL D. BRENNAN Vice Chairman Bramco, LLC RON BARLET Senior Vice President Bejac Corporation MICHAEL VAZQUEZ VP Membership MECO MIAMI Inc. DAVID PRIMROSE VP Canada Finning Ltd. JOHN C. KIMBALL VP of Finance Kimball Equipment Company WES STOWERS Past Chairman Stowers Machinery Corporation WHIT PERRYMAN Foundation Chairman Vermeer Texas-Louisiana
Westrax Machinery, Inc. MATTHEW ROLAND Midwest Reg. Roland Machinery Co. JOHN SHEARER Rocky Mountain Reg. 4 Rivers Equipment, LLC KAREN ZAJICK Northeast Reg. Norris Sales Co. DAVID PRIMROSE Western Canada Reg. Finning Ltd. COREY VANDER MOLEN South Central Reg. Vermeer MidSouth, Inc. MIKE PARIC Eastern Canada Reg. Joe Johnson Equipment Inc. November 2018 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 7
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CED
Magazine Wins 2018 Gold MarCom Award!
Sara Smith Editor in Chief
CED Magazine ssmith@aednet.org
FROM THE EDITOR
O
ver the past couple of months, CED Magazine has been hard at work revamping the design elements within the publication, and the changes have certainly paid off. I am pleased to announce that CED has recently won a Gold 2018 MarCom Award for Print Media, Publications, Industry/Trade Magazine. The largest, most prestigious creative firms in the marketing and communication field compete for MarCom recognition like, Mastercard, Lowes, BlueCross BlueShield, Hilton, Mercedes Benz etc. The MarCom Awards are an international creative competition that recognizes outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals. Entries come from corporate marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, PR firms, design shops, production companies and freelancers. The MarCom Awards are administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. The international organization consists of several thousand creative professionals. Judges are industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talents exceed a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry. Each year there are roughly 6,000 print and digital entries that are submitted from dozens of countries. Achieving this Gold Winner status is a tremendous achievement and AED will certainly display our MarCom statuette with pride! CED also received two honorable mentions for an association magazine as well as a nonprofit organization. You can find our gold winners listing here: http://enter.marcomawards.com/winners/#/gold/2018. This marks five recognizable accolades for the publication within the past year and a half. The publication won its first award, an APEX for publication excellence, in 2017, marking a major milestone in 83 years of production for the publication. CED wouldn’t be where it is today without our membership’s input. We pride ourselves on giving our members what they want to read, whether that’s business information, association news, industry insights, or fresh, original content. If you have any ideas or suggestions for areas of improvements, please reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Sara Smith, Editor in Chief 8 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | November 2018
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>> AED INSIDER
AED is actively out in the field meeting and keeping up with our members.View below to find out where AED has been traveling in the field and what is going on with you, our members!
AED Members Host Visits from Legislators
Rep. Mark Takano (CA-41) visited RDO Equipment in Riverside.
Robert and Greg Nuss welcomed Rep. Tom Emmer (MN-6) to Nuss Truck & Equipment in Sauk Rapids.
Hawthorne CAT welcomed Congressional Candidate Diane Harkey (CA-49) to their San Diego facility.
Rep. Lloyd Smucker (PA-16) visited Cleveland Brothers CAT in Ephrata.
Ditch Witch Mid-States Welcomed Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15) to Columbus. November 2018 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 9
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>> AED INSIDER
School Visits
Great Lakes Regional Manager Scott McPherson visited Alexandria Technical & Community College (MN) and met with Diesel Instructors Chris Thompson and Dustin Schilling.
Senior Director of Canadian Engagement/Midwestern Regional Manager Mike Dexter traveled to North Dakota State College of Science. Special thanks to Terry Marohl, Department Chair, for showing Mike their impressive Diesel Technology program, introducing him to the students and allowing him to sit in on their staff meeting.
The AED Foundation took part in school district U-46’s Community and Career Expo in Hoffman Estates, IL at the Sears Centre. Thousands of eighth graders were present to learn about the construction equipment industry and the future career opportunities available for them.
McPherson also visited St. Cloud Technical & Community College (MN) and met with Instructors Matt Hoepner, Timmy Shay, Larry Gordon and Chris Hadfield, Director of the Minnesota State Transportation Center for Excellence.
Dexter also visited Centennial school in Toronto, Ontario. Special thanks to Angelo Spano for taking the time to give Mike a tour of the facility and start the conversation toward becoming an AED Foundation Accredited School.
Northeastern Regional Manager Michael Murray Visited SUNY Cobleskill’s (NY) 13th Annual High School Career Day where students were able to explore career pathways in our industry.
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>> INDUSTRY NEWS
Results of the 6th Annual Trailer for a Cause Auction Benefiting MOCA Felling Trailers, Inc. conducted its sixth annual online auction of an FT-3 drop deck utility trailer to benefit a non-profit organization: Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MOCA). The winning bid of $3,400 was placed in the last minutes before the auction closed on Friday, Sept. 21. The bid winner was local Sauk Centre business owner Jon Stein, owner of Centre Dairy Equipment & Supply, Inc. Jon’s business is located a short distance from Felling’s Sauk Centre location where the trailer was on display leading up to the auction. Once Jon saw the teal trailer and the organization it would benefit his mind was set to bid on it. Jon’s wife Laurie is an Ovarian Cancer survivor. Laurie was diagnosed in November of 2017, underwent surgery and chemotherapy treatment. “It was a rough winter, but we’re doing good now,” said Jon. After placing the winning bid, Jon went home to tell Laurie the news. “I didn’t even know he
was going to bid on the trailer. He said you’ll never guess what color it is?, I said teal? I said, oh did you buy it for me and gave him a big hug,” said Laurie. Laurie recently had her 3-month check-up, and everything is continuing to look good. Leading with his heart, this is Jon’s second Trailer for a Cause that he has bid on and won. Jon was the bid winner on Felling’s inaugural Trailer for a Cause auction in 2013 that benefited Bright Pink, a non-profit organization that focuses on the prevention and early detection of breast and ovarian cancer. “A good friend of the family had breast cancer, so the pink trailer had a lot of meaning for us,” said Jon. The 2018 Trailer for a Cause FT-3 utility trailer was painted in MOCA’s signature teal color and dawned the MOCA emblem. Taskmaster Components generously donated the wheels/tires, and PPG Industries donated the custom metallic teal paint for this trailer and cause. Felling
Trailers wanted to bring awareness of and support to those individuals who take part in and benefit from the events and services provided by the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MOCA). The online auction ran for seven days, from Saturday, September 15 at 12:00 PM CST through Friday, September 21 at 12:00 PM CST ending with Stein’s winning bid of $3,400. One hundred percent of the $3,400 winning bid benefits Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance. Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MOCA) is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness, providing education and support to women and families impacted by the disease and funding the research needed to detect ovarian cancer early and treat it properly. Since MOCA was founded in 1999, the organization has grown to more than 1,000 survivors and 45,000 donors and active members.
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© BOK Financial. Services provided by BOKF, NA. Member FDIC. BOK Financial executes foreign exchange trades and receives spread revenue with respect to such transactions. Where BOK Financial does not support the local market, non-affiliated brokers will be utilized. Foreign exchange trading carries a high level of risk that may not be suitable for all investors. Leverage creates additional risk and loss exposure. Before you decide to trade foreign exchange, carefully consider your investment objective, experience level, and risk tolerance. Investments and insurance products and services offered through BOK Financial and its various affiliates and subsidiaries are not insured by the FDIC; are not deposits or other obligations of, and are not guaranteed by, any bank or bank affiliate and may be subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of principal.
November 2018 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 11
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>> INDUSTRY NEWS Alta Equipment Company Named Big Iron Dealer Of The Year Equipment World magazine recently named Alta Equipment Company the Big Iron Dealer of the Year. The award was developed by Equipment World to recognize organizations within the heavy equipment marketplace with a strong dedication to community engagement, customer education, staff training and marketing initiatives, as well as healthy performance in sales, rentals and service. The award is not strictly geared toward sales or revenue, opening it up to a wide range of distributors and rental companies. “We are very proud of our dealer Alta for receiving the first Big Iron Dealer of the Year Award and very happy to celebrate this recognition with them,” said Stephen Roy, president of Volvo CE Americas. “Alta is one of Volvo CE’s top performing dealers in North America. This award reflects Alta’s outstanding job over the last few years, fostering relationships with customers, enhancing aftermarket services and growing its business in expanding markets.” Alta’s selection was announced Tuesday, Oct. 9, at RandallReilly’s annual R-Squared construction marketing event, held this year from Oct. 8 -11 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. “We are incredibly grateful and appreciative to be named the first-ever Big Iron Dealer of the Year,” said Rob Chiles, president
of Alta Equipment – Construction Division. “We’ve always put our customer and our community first and work every day to partner with our neighborhoods and clients to help make a difference. It’s wonderful to be recognized for something that’s such an integral part of who we are and what we do. “Alta is extremely humbled to receive such a prestigious industry award,” added Chiles. “We would like to thank the selection committee at Equipment World and Volvo Construction Equipment NA, which nominated Alta for the award.” Alta was named as one of five finalists for the award, competing against other construction dealerships in Oklahoma, Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois. As the recipient of the honor, Alta will be featured on Equipment World’s Big Iron Dealer website and recognized in an upcoming print edition of the magazine.
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Heroes MAKE America Program Attracts Veterans to the Industry T
he traditional means of recruiting talent for the construction equipment industry have led to the skilled labor shortage that most AED member dealers now face. Filling the hiring needs of tomorrow’s workforce will require updated hiring practices and collaborations with newfound recruitment allies. AED is committed to bringing innovative hiring solutions to its member dealers and is demonstrating this commitment through its new agreement with the Manufacturing Institute. The AED Foundation and the Manufacturing Institute recently signed an agreement that will bring awareness to veterans about the many opportunities available in the construction equipment distribution industry. The cornerstone of this effort is the Manufacturing Institute’s recently launched Heroes MAKE America (HMA) Program. Here’s how it works:
About the HMA Program
The HMA program was created to offer industry training designed to help our nation’s service members transition into manufacturing careers. As an approved Department of Defense Skillbridge program, the HMA program is offered to service members in their last six months of military service. This is a one-of-a-kind designation as far as veterans’ programs go, as it enrolls service members before they leave active duty. This allows active military personnel to continue to receive military pay and benefits during training. During the HMA training program, service members earn a Certified Production Technician certification along with industry credentials, including Safety in Manufacturing Production, Quality Practices and Measurement, Processes and Production, and Maintenance Awareness, from the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC). Additionally, they receive an OSHA 10 certification and training in forklift operation, resume writing, personal finance and behavioral interviewing
“We are excited to team up with the Manufacturing Institute. This initiative will introduce veterans to our industry and allow dealers to tap into this pool of candidates.” Jason K. Blake Senior Vice President The AED Foundation techniques to help facilitate their transition to the private sector. Participants also hear from human resources representatives and tour local manufacturing facilities near program sites. One of the institute’s goals for the program is to offer students exposure to and placement opportunities with manufacturers from as many industry segments as possible. HMA provides a base level of training and certification that prepares students for entry into all manufacturing industries, while giving the service members a firsthand look at what modern manufacturing is all about. The HMA program is generating a pipeline of military-trained industry-credentialed candidates into our industry. “Heroes MAKE America is building a pipeline from military to manufacturing.
We are not only addressing manufacturing’s workforce crisis but, by matching returning service members with the kind of manufacturing opportunities that pair perfectly with their in-demand skills along with the certifications necessary to excel in those careers, it’s literally changing lives,” commented Carolyn Lee, executive director of the Manufacturing Institute. “We are grateful to have incredible partners like AED who are critical to expanding the program’s reach and providing these opportunities to even more of our nation’s heroes. In a way, you could say that AED is important to this programs’ success just as equipment distributors are critical to manufacturing’s success overall.”
Heroes MAKE America Association Partners Network
Scaling the program nationally to maximize the number of transitioning service members that can attend the HMA training on or near military bases will require significant investments and partnerships from the manufacturing community. Enter The AED Foundation. The Foundation has partnered with the Manufacturing Institute to engage our members to support the Heroes MAKE America Association Partners Network. Jason Blake, senior vice president of The AED Foundation, remarked, “We are excited to team up with the Manufacturing Institute. This initiative will introduce veterans to our industry and allow dealers to tap into this pool of candidates.” Joining the HMA Association Partners Network means AED members will have access to job candidate pools at all Heroes locations through the upcoming Heroes MAKE America job board, with the ability to post job opportunities, search resumes, and receive resumes and position applications from Heroes graduates across the country. By investing in the HMA program, The AED Foundation will be further developing the skilled talent the industry is in dire need of.
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The AED Foundation Dealers, and Local Colleges Team Up to
Tackle the TechNICIAN Shortage SUNY Cobleskill’s High School Day: A Case Study of Success
O
ne of the greatest challenges facing equipment dealers is the lack of qualified off-road diesel technicians to meet industry demand. In 2015, The AED Foundation commissioned the College of William and Mary to examine and reserach the technician shortage and its economic impact on equipment distributors. Their study found that equipment dealers face at least $2.4 billion in annual forgone revenue due to a lack of qualified diesel technicians. Over the last 18 months
NORTHEAST REGION
Michael Murray the construction equipment industry, buttressed by a strong economy and increased consumer confidence, has boomed. This increased demand has only exacerbated the technician shortage and increased the amount of money equipment dealers leave on the table each year. So it comes as no surprise that the No. 1 issue mentioned when I visit AED dealer members in the Northeast is the lack of technicians – specifically, what can they do to recruit more, and what are AED and The AED Foundation doing to address this problem? Here, we’ll examine what AED is doing to tackle the technician shortage – with focus on a case study of SUNY Cobleskill’s High School Day – and discuss ways that you can join the fight to solve this issue while simultaneously recruiting more technicians for your dealership. AED lobbies the federal government for policies that address the causes of the technician shortage, but our efforts are hampered by the fact that U.S. education funding is primarily a state issue. Additionally, over the past few decades, society has emphasized four-year degree programs to high
school students and stigmatized vocational schools, associate degrees, and technical certification programs. The steps to combat the technician shortage are clear: standardized curriculum is needed to ensure graduates have the skill sets to meet industry needs, university diesel programs need financial and material support, and high schools must promote technical career paths. Government has failed to meaningfully pursue these solutions, and The AED Foundation has stepped in to pick up as much slack as possible. The AED Foundation accredits diesel technology programs to ensure that curricula meet industry standards. These standards, which are updated every three years, are established by an industry task force of technical experts from AED member dealers and manufacturers and technical colleges accredited by The AED Foundation. In 2001, the Foundation accredited its first technical college, and today there are 49 accredited programs at 38 universities across the United States. As part of the school accreditation process, AED regional managers help foster a partnership between local dealers and the college. These dealers, through scholarship programs and donation of used equipment, provide material and financial support to the college’s diesel program. Once accredited, The AED Foundation continues working with the school and dealers to promote the diesel program to local high school students. In this way, The AED Foundation addresses
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at the local level the underlying causes of the technician shortage. To better understand this process, let’s look at SUNY Cobleskill. SUNY Cobleskill’s diesel technology program first received AED Foundation accreditation in 2004. The AED Foundation, John Deere, and several equipment dealers from the Northeast partnered with Cobleskill to provide the material and institutional support necessary to meet accreditation standards. This partnership remains strong to this day as John Deere has an OEM-specific diesel technician program at the school, and dealers such as Nortrax, Five Star Equipment, Milton CAT, Monroe Tractor, and Capital Tractor all serve as members of Cobleskill’s Dealer Advisory Board. This strong industry support helped SUNY Cobleskill become a top-tier diesel technology program in the Northeast. I joined AED in 2017, and as I visited dealer members in New York, a pattern quickly emerged: dealers not engaged with Cobleskill found it very difficult to hire technicians from Cobleskill. I asked Cobleskill why this was. Their response was that most dealers that engage with the school recruit students into Cobleskill’s program. By the time those students finish their first year of school, they already have jobs lined up after they graduate, with the dealerships that recruited them. Cobleskill suggested that dealers interested in getting more engaged in the recruitment process participate in SUNY Cobleskill’s Annual High School Day. On September 28, SUNY Cobleskill held its 13th Annual Agriculture and Natural Resources High School Day. About 1,000 high school students from local vocational and technology schools attended to learn about the various career paths available to students enrolled in Cobleskill’s School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, which includes their diesel technology program. Students compete for prizes in industry-relevant contests, such as the hydraulics and equipment operation contest and the small engine contest. In between events, they get to mingle with potential future employers to learn more about the career options available in each field. I invited AED dealer members who wished to get more engaged with Cobleskill to participate in this event, and the results were outstanding. About 12 dealers sent representatives to interact with students. These dealers brought a piece of equipment and/or set up a booth with informational materials on internship programs, scholarship opportunities, etc. Student engagement with dealers was high, and dealers all agreed that participating in High School Day was a great investment. To build on this success, I’ll connect dealers that participated with high schools in their area, so they can build the relationships necessary to recruit students from those schools. High School Day will be back next year, but what are your options if
you’re not from upstate New York? Your dealership can help address the technician shortage by working with your AED regional manager to identify tech colleges in your area that are good prospects for AED Foundation accreditation. It costs The AED Foundation approximately $90,000 to accredit a school, so the number of schools that can be accredited is tied directly to the strength of The AED Foundation’s annual fundraising campaign. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity funded by donations from AED members. These donations are 100 percent tax deductible, and over the past few years the fundraising campaign has raised around $400,000 annually. These contributions are put to good use – The AED Foundation accredited five programs in 2018! Your AED regional manager can provide more information regarding contributions to The AED Foundation. Having an AED Foundation-Accredited school in your area does not mean that graduates from that program will work at your dealership – some regions have hundreds of technician openings. Forty graduates per year is not always enough supply to meet the demand in your local marketplace. Recruiting local students into and AED FoundationAccredited program in your area is an important step towards meeting demand. Establish relationships with local high schools and vocational schools by offering internship programs, inviting the senior class to take a field trip to your shop to learn and watch how you service equipment, or sending a service manager to talk to classes. These activities allow you to identify and build relationships with local high school students, whom you then recruit into an AED Foundation-Accredited program. Maintain your relationship with these students while they are in school. When they graduate, they are highly likely to move back home and take a job working in your shop. True, none of this will provide you with a service technician today; but wait a few years and you will have a constant pipeline of highly qualified technicians eager to work for your dealership. November 2018 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 15
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Trading Barbs
After Trade Agreement, Political Questions Remain In Canada
By Rob LeForte his year has been a far cry from the best-laid plans set by Minister Chrystia Freeland and the governing Liberals when she was elected in 2015. Canada and the United States have been seemingly deadlocked for months over details in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The rhetoric away from the negotiating table only heated up, which led some to believe the deal was days away either from completion or from being dissolved. Luckily, the outcome was positive and a trilateral agreement will remain in place (USMCA). As Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland has occupied an almost nightly presence in national and regional media that competes with the level of exposure given to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The pressure of balancing private negotiations and public scrutiny is immense, not to mention the need to respond to other issues on the global stage. Irritants, like the looming threat of automotive tariffs and new levies on aluminum and steel, have
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amplified the tension between two countries with a wide array of interdependent industries. Not least of which is the construction sector. Which raises the question for equipment distributors: What are we fighting to save? Construction starts and major infrastructure projects are not just drivers of economic growth; they are also the by-products of a well-functioning economy. When families can build new houses, governments can build new schools, and businesses can expand their operations and footprints, more equipment is needed to support that growth. When governments respond by reducing barriers to doing business and letting more goods flow freely across borders, so much the better. However, when consumer confidence dips and belt-tightening grips boardrooms and capitol buildings, the projects that keep job sites busy start to languish. This summer, a Bloomberg News poll showed that Canadians’ expectations for economic growth were at a two-year low. That
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negative outlook was fueled by concern that Canada was being left out of negotiations while the U.S. and Mexico completed negotiations of their own bilateral deal. It has been widely reported that the negative effect of failing to reach a deal would be much worse for all economies than the tariffs levied by the U.S. and then by Canada in response, covering $16 billion in goods that are exchanged annually between the two countries. To underscore that point, in September, the heads of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, and the National Association of Manufacturers urged the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to maintain the trilateral structure of NAFTA. They got their wish, but attention will now turn to rejecting the tariff-happy approach of the executive branch that still has Canadian businesses reeling and global investors concerned about trade wars leading to an economic slowdown. During negotiations, the White House set multiple deadlines to get an agreement in principle that could be taken to Congress for approval. At the same time, Canada called the bluff of many deadlines that seemed to carry little weight. Before midnight on September 30, all three parties had a breakthrough. Canada’s negotiating strategy required that the team work closely with supportive governors in a wide range of state capitals and members of Congress in states where millions of jobs depend on trade with this country. They expect those officials in the U.S. to hold the executive branch accountable for ensuring the deal works for both sides. A protracted negotiation would have been seen as a failure by the government to negotiate effectively, but they have dodged that criticism for now. Since mid-September, Conservative opposition leader Andrew Scheer has taken to calling the past few months Justin Trudeau’s “Summer of Failure.” He pointed to the rocky negotiations as a key concern for voters in industries that are already being impacted by tariffs, and knows that if the U.S. implemented auto tariffs Canada could find itself in a recession less than a year away from the next federal election. With the new USMCA in place, there is more than a chance that steel and aluminum tariffs that have hurt businesses on both sides of the border could remain in place, dragging down growth for the benefit of some large mills in the United States that have seen profits rise. If those measures stay in place, what would not be good for the economy may lead to a clearer path to victory for the Opposition north of the border. At the same time, the Conservatives are gathering ammunition domestically to show that Trudeau and his team just don’t get it when it comes to helping businesses succeed. Earlier this year, the government purchased the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project for $4.5 billion and was immediately confronted by the fact that the National Energy Board’s approval was rejected by the Federal Court of Appeal. The court cited a lack of sufficient consultation, and the National Energy Board has pledged to have its examination and recommendation under new terms completed by February 22, 2019. While the first stumbling block for this project
looks bad for the government, any further delays will signal a major boondoggle. On top of this, the project is already causing the government to spend political capital in British Columbia, where election wins could be harder to come by and the Conservatives and NDP are focused on making gains. For Scheer and the Opposition, Canada–U.S. relations are not just tit-for-tat on trade, but also comparative. While the federal government in the U.S. passed a major tax overhaul at the end of 2017, the federal government in Canada has been reluctant to take steps to make Canadian businesses more competitive in terms of taxation. The Liberals are honoring a commitment to further reduce Canada’s small business tax rate, but overall corporate taxes will be high on the agenda of an Opposition party looking to differentiate itself. The Liberals will have to balance the opportunity to provide an indirect stimulus to the economy with paying for programs and projects they can share directly with interests that they are aligned with ideologically. The government is clearly waiting for the opposition to align itself more closely with the U.S. administration, which is a major risk given that the president is seen exceptionally negatively by the vast majority of Canadians. The Conservatives may make the case that only they can handle working collaboratively with the administration in the U.S. It remains to be seen how long either party can wait for the other to make its decisive move. The polls are showing that if the tables do not turn soon, the Conservatives will have to find traction soon on their own or take the gamble and hope economic uncertainty catches up with the government. The government knows that it has made few friends in the business communities beyond the high-tech sector. Many members of the Liberal caucus have pushed the Cabinet to emphasize ways to reduce the cost of doing business, making it easier to hire employees, and encourage easier business transitions. They know that the party’s success could hinge on being able to make the case that it can do more than ride the wave of strong growth. While Minister Freeland puts a bow on the USMCA, her colleagues Minister Jim Carr (International Trade), Minister Amarjeet Sohi (Natural Resources), and Minister FrancoisPhilippe Champagne (Infrastructure) will aim to steer through the pipeline issue while looking to cement other trading blocs and build ties with emerging economies. Since the United States pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Canada is now the secondlargest economy in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The new agreement has been fast-tracked in the House of Commons and will lead to tariff elimination when Canadian businesses export industrial equipment like air and liquid pumps; valves and pipes for boilers; compressors; construction equipment parts; lifting, handling, loading or unloading machinery; moving, grading and leveling machinery; and self-propelled bulldozers and other graders. Canadian exports of industrial goods to other partner countries stand in excess of $20 billion annually.
It remains to be seen how long either party can wait for the other to make its decisive move.
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ORLANDO, FLORIDA
FEBRUARY 4-7, 2019
M A S T E R I N G S U M M I T:
AN AT T E N D E E ’ S GUIDE TO GE TTING THE MOS T O U T O F YO U R E XPE R IE NCE IN OR LANDO It is that time of year again: time to get ready for the only conference and trade
show dedicated to the construction equipment distribution industry, AED’s
2019 Summit and Construction Dealer Expo (CONDEX). This conference is a one-stop shop for discovering business solutions for your company, dealer-
specific education sessions and networking opportunities with your peers.
This year’s Summit is of particular significance, as Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) will be celebrating our centennial anniversary.
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or the past 100 years, AED has provided a convenient venue for accomplishing important interactions with the entire construction equipment industry supply chain. Generations of industry leaders and decisionmakers have attended Summit to gauge the market and strategize about improving dealer performance, service and sales. In February, over 550 companies are expected to attend and participate in the conference, making the event both a human capital investment and a potential savings opportunity for your company. The 2019 Summit will be held in sunny Orlando, Florida, at the Orlando World Center Marriott. Take note: while the conference usually takes place on a Tuesday to Friday, this year it will take place on Monday, February 4, through Thursday, February 7, 2019. Now, four days may not seem like a lot of time to pack in the wealth of diverse activities that AED has planned. Education sessions including six different educational tracks, the
CONDEX evening drinks reception, AED’s Centennial Celebration, and The AED Foundation Fundraising Gala are only a few of the events you won’t want to miss. Hosting a hospitality suite at Summit or having a dealer meeting can also help you forge the relationships necessary to thrive in this business. Oh, and did we mention former Speaker of the House, John Boehner, will be the keynote speaker? Quite the lineup. If AED’s ambitious Summit schedule has you in a tizzy, fret not! CED Magazine has the inside scoop on how to make the most of your time in Orlando. On the following pages, you will find a synopsis of the various events and offerings at this year’s conference and CONDEX. To accompany this, CED enlisted the help of some seasoned Summit attendees to shed light on maximizing business opportunities at the conference. Without further ado, here is what you can expect from the 2019 conference, along with tips and tricks from dealership and OEM executives to help you master the 2019 Summit.
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TIPS FROM SUMMIT PROS “Be visible, attend the events and receptions, and feel free just to introduce yourself. Even if not a direct connection, there is likely someone in the group that is interested or from your geographical region that you will likely engage with.” – RON BARLET, PRESIDENT OF THE BEJAC CORPORATION “Plan ahead, know who you want to meet with – OEMs, exhibitors, other members, etc. – and reach out to them beforehand. Also, take time to understand what is in each of the education sessions so you can get the most benefit out of your time there.” – JONATHAN CAMPBELL, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF WHEELER MACHINERY CO. “Attending as many educational sessions as you can fit in, networking with fellow AED dealers and visiting CONDEX to learn about the latest products, technologies and trends the industry is offering.” – JOLENE LOGUE, PRESIDENT OF PACWEST MACHINERY “The largest value I take away every year is the professional relationships developed. It is enlightening to hear other dealers, representing other manufacturers, and how they handle challenges. It is remarkable how similar our day-to-day challenges are. Additionally, I always take away different tricks and strategies from the sessions to help improve our business… This will be an interesting Summit, as most dealers have experienced fantastic growth and have new challenges that have not been faced in a long time, specifically equipment and attachment availability, along with more difficult hiring challenges related to extremely low unemployment.” – JAMIE CARSON, GENERAL MANAGER SALES AND RENTAL OF ROAD MACHINERY
CONDEX – the CONstruction Dealer EXpo CONDEX provides attendees with two days – nine dedicated exhibit hours, plus bonus reception hours on Tuesday – to interact face-to-face with dealer ownership and management who are prepared to discuss and execute buying decisions that can improve profitability in 2019. This year’s CONDEX promises to deliver an even bigger return for attendees than the 2018 event. New improvements are planned, and the trade show is nearly sold out with exhibitors offering new products and services for your dealership. Remaining exhibitor booth rates range from $1,900 to $3,250, depending on size and AED membership. Check out next month’s edition of CED Magazine for the full 2019 CONDEX Dealer Preview. Here is what some of the Summit pros have to say about CONDEX: “We have been attending Summit for as long as I can remember. My grandpa was very involved with AED when he was with the dealership, and the involvement has continued through the following generations. There are several exhibitors in CONDEX whose products we use; sometimes we have met them through CONDEX… The exhibitors that we do use have been very beneficial to our business and have helped us capitalize on opportunities both in how we run our business as well as what we can offer to our customers.” – Jonathan Campbell, executive vice president of Wheeler Machinery
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“CONDEX has also been an educational opportunity and, really, one of the easiest ways to experience new products firsthand without adding additional time and travel away from the office. With as many changes as our industry has experienced in IT and tech-related products, CONDEX is a great place to interact with many vendors and do a bit of comparative shopping.” – Giles Poulson, president of Faris Machinery “The CONDEX floor affords you the opportunity to shop many vendors and manufacturers. I like that I can compare business software, mobile applications and technology that allows us to become more efficient and quicker to respond to our customers’ needs.” – Gayle Humphries, chief financial officer at Low Country Machinery “We have had meetings with exhibiters at CONDEX that have led to follow-up discussions about representing their products. Last year we met with JT Bates and since then have implemented their rental insurance program into our dealership.” – Jolene Logue, president of PacWest Machinery Summit Mobile App The Summit mobile app is the go-to authority for all things Summit-related. The app contains a list of CONDEX exhibitors, suite hosts and attendees, the schedule-at-aglance, and the list of professional dealer education sessions. Access all of this information and more with the handiest device you already own. The Summit mobile app is a key part of mastering Summit. To download the app, search for “2019 AED Summit” in Apple’s App Store or Google Play.
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EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS Matching the success of last year’s educational seminars, AED will be presenting attendees with over 35 different sessions on six of the topics most pertinent to OEMs and dealers: leadership, management, technology, product support, rental and sales. These educational tracks will cover industry hot topics and information needed to help you get ahead of the curve. And just because they’re informative in nature doesn’t mean these sessions will entail the dry lecturing some of us remember from our school days. If you need more proof, check out these summaries of some of the sessions being offered at the 2019 Summit:
“#DOTHEHUSTLE: Taking Your Sales to the Next Level with New Techniques” -Troy Harrison and Jesyca Hope
Taking sales performance to the next level is within the reach of anyone; all it takes is a little HUSTLE. In this session, attendees will learn a proven formula for topperforming sales. With this recipe, salespeople or business owners can re-energize their territories or companies and get off a plateau and back into a growth pattern! “Cybersecurity: Six Easy Ways to Protect Yourself, Your Company, and Your Customers” –Scott McGillivray
It seems as if hardly a day passes without a news story about hackers stealing data from a major company. While these high-profile cases get most of the attention, smaller companies and individuals are at far greater risk of losing control of their most valuable and sensitive data. This session will break down the complexity and difficulty of information security and provide useful and actionable steps everybody can take to make their digital lives more secure and protect their company’s valuable data. Session highlights include: • What is my risk of losing control of my digital assets? • Social engineering – why people are easier to hack than computers • What to do (and what you absolutely should not do) when you suspect you have been hacked • Simple steps to eliminate 99 percent of potential data loss • Q&A – bring your biggest concerns
“Tellin’ It Like It *BLEEPIN* Is: Giving Critical Feedback” –Gregory Tall
Someone on your team just made a huge mistake on the job or is simply not performing up to par. You know you need to tell them, but you don’t want to hurt their feelings or damage your relationship with them. Or maybe you’re just too blunt and are worried that you will offend them. So instead, you hope the problem miraculously goes away, or you convince yourself that you’re really going to speak up the next time something happens. This session will teach you how to be a good messenger when you need to be the bearer of bad news. Learn how to: • • • •
Deliver critical feedback conversations with confidence and clarity ·Distinguish facts from opinions and assumptions when giving feedback Provide feedback that is specific, objective and actionable Engage in difficult conversations while maintaining rapport and good relationships
AED Summit features more than 35 dealer-specific educational courses covering every department of your dealership. If your department managers and senior staff are not in attendance, then you are truly not getting the most out of Summit. Divide and conquer the sessions being offered; your team will be better for it! Be sure to check out all of our dealer education sessions online at www.aedsummit.com.“These sessions offer economic
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“These sessions offer economic updates and forecasts and keep me abreast of our current and future political environment. They lend multitudes of knowledge on how to become a more motivational manager and provide insight on your own management styles while demonstrating how to run more profitable rental, parts, and service departments.” –GAYLE HUMPHRIES, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF LOW COUNTRY MACHINERY “Through the educational sessions, we have gotten beneficial financing strategies to work in the new tax environment as well as good economic forecasts and political updates that apply directly to our industry, which is hard to find anywhere else.” – JONATHAN CAMPBELL, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AT WHEELER MACHINERY CO. “The education sessions are a big reason I attend Summit. I’ve brought portions of several sessions back to the dealership to help improve our teams and develop our people. We even hired one of the presenters for our annual sales meeting.” – BILL PRICE, SALES MANAGER AT WEST SIDE TRACTOR SALES
OEM PANEL Tuesday, February 5, 2019 8:30 am - 10:00 am The OEM panel for the 2019 event will present Summit attendees with the opportunity to hear from leading OEM executives and share their perspectives on issues facing the industry in 2019. Sitting on the 2019 OEM Panel will be Jason T. Daly, global director, marketing & support, John Deere Construction & Forestry Co.; Richard Goldsbury, president, Doosan Bobcat; Philip Kelliher, vice president, Caterpillar Inc.; Moderator, J. Michael Marks, Indian River Consulting Group; Peter Mayr, president, Liebherr Construction Equipment; and Stephen Roy, president, Volvo Construction Equipment. This panel will provide a discussion-based session where audience member dealers are encouraged to interact with OEM panelists and vice versa. The panels are intended to make attendees think creatively about their own challenges and give them more insight into what their clients, providers and customers are dealing with.
PHILIP KELLIHER
PETER M AY R
STEPHEN ROY
RICHARD G O L D S B U RY
J A S O N T. D A LY
M O D E R AT O R : J. MICHAEL MARKS
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FEATURE SPEAKER - RICH KARLAARD Thursday, February 6, 2019 8:30 am - 10:00 am One of the most influential and respected figures in the technology, economic and business worlds, Rich Karlgaard advises audiences on how to harness an organization’s disruptive spirits to maximize business opportunities in the global marketplace. Rich is the thought leader that Fortune 500 companies, small businesses and national associations turn to for a reliable roadmap of what’s to come.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER - JOHN BOEHNER Wednesday, February 6, 2019 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm A former small businessman himself, perhaps John Boehner is better known for the time he served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, from January 2011 to October 2015. During this period, he led the drive for a smaller, less costly and more accountable federal government. Boehner represented the Eighth Congressional District of Ohio in the U.S. House from 1991 to 2015. He now serves as senior strategic advisor for Squire Patton Boggs, one of the world’s foremost law and public policy firms. “I’m interested in hearing from John Boehner. The keynote speakers the last few years – George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Leon Panetta – have been excellent and I expect that this will be similar.” – JONATHAN CAMPBELL, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF WHEELER MACHINERY CO.
the aed foundation fundraising gala The AED Foundation’s Third Annual Gala and Live Auction is the ideal time to bring your family, friends and partners together for an evening of fun. Open to the generous supporters of The AED Foundation, the Gala will be held on Monday, February 4, at the Orlando World Center Marriott. Every year, The AED Foundation creates pathways to opportunity for the construction equipment distribution industry with one goal in mind: to grow and develop support for our members. Last year, The AED Foundation was able to improve the availability of future industry employees by accrediting diesel-equipment technology college programs, advocating for greater federal investment and working to increase awareness and interest among school-age students.
will provide educational opportunities as well as improving the quality of available employees. The 2019 event will include dinner, open bar, live auction and entertainment. During the Gala, the Foundation will also be honoring an exceptional member for their commitment of support with the Lester Heath Award. Remember, Summit masters, The AED Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) educational foundation, which means tickets to the Gala are tax deductible.
Sales from the Gala will help support The AED Foundation in enhancing the success of AED member companies and 22 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | November 2018
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…SUMMIT: A FAMILY TRADITION… I polled my family members (who are also my colleagues!) for their responses, as last year was my first event, and personal relationships with both manufacturers and fellow I polled my family members (who are also my the resounding response was that Summit is the best opportunity for us to meet with all the manufacturers we represent, our dealers at these annual events. Many of these relationships colleagues!) for their responses, as last year was my first financing partners, our competition and our friends in one place. are generational and have been passed down during our 60event, and the resounding response was that Summit is the opportunity Gibson for Machinery haswith beenalla the proud member of AED in year this history. and its previous incarnations since 1941 – this is our best us to meet manufacturers 77th year of membership. Gibson, father, has and been the dealer principal since 1975 and has attended every Summit we represent, our financingLee partners, ourmy competition Whatapproximately lessons has 25 Faris Machinery taken away except for two since that time. My mother, Larysa Gibson, has attended Summits in her capacity as ourfrom VP our friends in one place. attending Summit education sessions, and how has it of finance and administration, and my sister, Meredith Gibson Cavell, has attended each Summit since 2012 in her role as incorporated them into its day-to-day operations? Gibson Machinery has been a proud member of sales manager. The topic of human resources has always been an area that AED in this and its previous incarnations since 1941 – this The 2018 Summit in Las Vegas was my first Summit – Gibson in late 2016 Gaining and missed the isI joined addressed at theMachinery AED annual meeting. a deeper is our 77th year of membership. Lee Gibson, my father, has 2017 event in Chicago. It sounds cliché, but every event was a highlight: meeting Wayne Newton at The AED Foundation understanding of the needs and work habits of younger been the dealer principal since 1975 and has attended every Fundraising Gala, participating in the Small Dealer and Emerging Leaders Committee meetings, meeting Leon Panetta and generations and having a forum for discussion with other Summit except for two since that time. My mother, Larysa hearing both his and Diane Benck’s remarks… everything was truly top notch. dealers and behavioral experts has helped me cope with Gibson, has attended approximately 25 Summits in her theitshuman resource in our I’ve daycapacity asAED our VP of finance and administration, and my provides tremendous educational opportunities for members and thechallenge attendeesever-present of its conferences. to-day work environment. Faris Machinery started doing sister, Meredith Gibson Cavell, has attended each Summit participated in two Financial/HR Symposiums and am currently in the airport on my way to the first session of the 2018-2019 personality assessments for new hires in 1996 because of since 2012 inDevelopment her role as sales manager. Leadership Institute. our attending AED that year and meeting with a human The 2018Machinery Summit looks in Las Vegastowas my each first year as our most valuable opportunity to learn about new industry Gibson forward Summit resources expert offering this “new” management tool. Summit – I joined Gibson Machinery late 2016 andwe proudly represent, reconnect with old friends and make new trends, attend quality meetings with theinmanufacturers How recommend that other dealers missed theconnections. 2017 eventAED in Chicago. It sounds butof making business consistently does a cliché, great job surewould that ouryou investment in attending Summit is amplyor OEMs get the most out of this year’s Summit? every eventwith was the a highlight: meeting Wayne Newton Thetop-notch speakers. We’re all looking forward to Orlando 2019! rewarded high-quality educational offeringsatand Getting the most out of 2019 AED Summit will take AED Foundation Fundraising Gala, participating in the LAUREN A. GIBSON, CPA commitment to attend as many of the planned activities Small Dealer and Emerging Leaders Committee meetings, Gibson Machinery, LLC as possible. You never know who you will meet or what meeting Leon Panetta and hearing both his and Diane Chief Financial Officer direction a conversation will take that turns out to be the Benck’s remarks… everything was truly top notch. gem you would have missed for not showing up. I always feel AED provides tremendous educational the Summit provides a level of strategic business direction opportunities for its members and the attendees of that helps reinforce some gut-level intuition I bring to these its conferences. I’ve participated in two Finance/HR meetings. These are elements of the Summit that business with Summit Master of Faris Machinery, Giles Poulson Symposiums and am currently in the airport and on myPresident way to owners and distribution executives cannot get in any other the first session of the 2018-2019 Leadership Development venue outside of the AED Summit. Institute. dealers and behavioral experts has helped me cope with How long has Faris Machinery been attending Summit? Gibson Summit the human resource challenge ever-present in our dayWhat Machinery value havelooks past forward Summitstoadded to your year company’s each as ourAED mostmembership? valuable opportunity to learn to-day work environment. Faris Machinery started doing Faris Machinery has been attending the AED annual about new industry trends, attend quality meetings with personality assessments for new hires in 1996 because of meeting, now the we Summit, for represent, over 60 years. Ownership the manufacturers proudly reconnect with our attending AED that year and meeting with a human of our distributorship has always found value in the old friends, and make new business connections. AED resources expert offering this “new” management tool. educational does breakout sessions developed consistently a great job and of making surelong-lasting that our How would you recommend that other dealers or personal relationships bothis manufacturers fellow investment in attending with Summit amply rewardedand with the OEMs get the most out of the 2019 Summit? dealers at these annual events. Many these relationships high-quality educational offerings andof top-notch speakers. Getting the most out of 2019 AED Summit will take are generational and have been passed down during our 60We’re all looking forward to Orlando 2019! commitment to attend as many of the planned activities year history. as possible. You never know who you will meet or what LAUREN A. GIBSON, CPA direction a conversation will take that turns out to be the LLC WhatGibson lessons Machinery, has Faris Machinery taken away from gem you would have missed for not showing up. I always feel attending education sessions, and how has it ChiefSummit Financial Officer the Summit provides a level of strategic business direction incorporated them into its day-to-day operations? How long has Faris Machinery been attending that helps reinforce some gut-level intuition I bring to these The topic of human resources has always been an area that Summit? What value have past Summits added to your meetings. These are elements of the Summit that business is addressedAED at the AED annual meeting. Gaining a deeper company’s membership? owners and distribution executives cannot get in any other understanding the been needs attending and work the habits of younger Faris Machineryof has AED annual venue outside of the AED Summit. generations a forum for 60 discussion with other meeting, nowand thehaving Summit, for over years. Ownership
Q&A
of our distributorship has always found value in the educational breakout sessions and developed long-lasting
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1
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
FEBRUARY 4-7, 2019
SCHEDULE AT-A -GLANCE
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T U E S D AY | F E B R U A RY 5 , 2 0 1 9
7:30 am - 3:00 pm Registration 7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast 8:30 am - 10:00 am Opening General Session OEM Panel Discussion 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Hospitality Suites 10:00 am CONDEX Ribbon Cutting Construction Dealer Expo (CONDEX) 10:30 am - 2:00 pm Guest Activity 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Public Policy Council Meeting (by invitation only) Noon - 1:00 pm CONDEX Luncheon 2:45 pm - 4:00 pm Professional Dealer Education (concurrent breakout sessions) 4:15 pm - 5:30 pm Professional Dealer Education (concurrent breakout sessions) 5:15 pm - 6:30 pm CONDEX Reception 6:30 pm Past President’s Dinner (by invitation only)
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE, VISIT WWW.AEDSUMMIT.COM FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION.
M O N D AY | F E B R U A RY 4 , 2 0 1 9
8:00 am - 5:00 pm Hospitality Suites 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Registration 12:30 pm - 1:45 pm Professional Dealer Education (concurrent breakout sessions) 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm Professional Dealer Education (concurrent breakout sessions) 3:30 pm - 4:00 pm Annual Meeting of the Membership (members only) 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Manufacturers Advisory Group (by invitation only) 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Exhibitor Reception (by invitation only) 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm The AED Foundation Fundraising Gala The AED Foundation Program 12th Annual Live Auction Presented by The AED Foundation & Ritchie Bros. 9:00 pm - 11:00 pm After Hours Welcome Reception
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W E D N E S D AY | F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 1 9
6:30 am 1st Source Bank 5k Fun Run/Walk 7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast 7:30 am - 8:30 am Canadian Breakfast (by invitation only) 7:30 am - 2:00 pm Registration 8:30 am - 10:00 am General Session Rich Karlgaard - Trump, Technology, and 2019 Turbulence 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Hospitality Suites 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Construction Dealer Expo (CONDEX) 10:30 am - 2:30 pm Guest Activity 10:30 am - 11:30 am Emerging Leaders Council Meeting (by invitation only) Noon - 1:00 pm CONDEX Luncheon 12:45 pm - 1:45 pm Small Dealer Committee Meeting 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm Professional Dealer Education (concurrent breakout sessions) 3:30 pm - 4:45 pm Professional Dealer Education (concurrent breakout sessions) 6:00 pm Doors Open for an Evening with John Boehner 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm A Conversation with John Boehner moderated by Brian P. McGuire 9:00 pm - 11:00 pm AED’s Centennial Celebration
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ORLANDO, FLORIDA
FEBRUARY 4-7, 2019
M A XI MI ZE YOUR CO M PA NY ’ S E XP OSU R E AT SUMMI T Summit has always been a place for industry insiders to develop their leadership skills and catch up on the trends that are driving the market. But Summit also provides a great opportunity for OEMs and dealers to meet, greet and talk shop. An ideal way to maximize your exposure to the many Summit attendees is by hosting an OEM suite or having a dealer meeting. If your company has not yet hosted or visited a suite or dealer meeting, here is what they are all about.
H O S P I TA L I T Y S U I T E S Create a comfortable environment to enhance your oneon-one meeting time with dealers. An AED hospitality suite provides you with a private setting for entertaining business partners and prospects, as well as conducting confidential business meetings. Suites are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. DEALER MEETINGS Start your year off at AED Summit with a private event with your dealers and customers. AED Summit is the ideal place to recognize top performers of 2018, share goals for 2019 and prepare for a successful year ahead. Get creative – AED will help with every step! Plan a breakfast, lunch, dinner or other private event with your entire dealer network.
H AV E Q U E S T I O N S ? Please Contact Jon Cruthers Vice President of Sales Phone: 630-468-5217 Email: jcruthers@aednet.org
RESERVE YOUR SUITE TODAY! 1. Visit aednet.org/hospitality-suites to download the hospitality suite application 2. Review the suite overview at aednet.org/hospitality-suites
RESERVATION/CANCELLATION POLICY
All suite reservations must be guaranteed by one night’s room and tax, which will be charged at the time the reservation is made. Room cancellation policy is 3 days (72 hours) in advance for the one night’s room and tax. REMOVAL OF FURNITURE
Removal of furniture requires an additional charge of $250 (includes storage) paid to the hotel. COMPLIMENTARY SERVICES FOR ALL SUITE HOLDERS: •
Summit app suite listing with ability for suite holder to edit profile, upload documents, schedule meeting times
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Suite door sign with company logo
•
Electronic mailing list of registered attendees, including email addresses if authorized
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Are you thinking about booking a suite? Hear what OEM’s had to say about last year’s suites below! The convenience of having so many OEMs and dealers in one place, under one roof, was appreciated by one of last year’s attendees, Jay D. Shafer of Shafer Equipment Company, who commented, “I had scheduled 14 meetings in two days. If I had to fly all over the U.S. to have these meetings, it would be cost and time prohibitive.” We hear you, Jay. Hosting a dealer meeting and/or having a suite can save a company time and money. Jay’s comments got us wondering what other prior hosts of dealer meetings and hospitality suites had to say about their experiences. The overwhelming majority of the feedback from these forward-thinking dealers and manufacturers was positive. LiuGong Construction Machinery held a hospitality suite last year and plans to do so again this February. A representative from LiuGong commented, “We identified several new business opportunities during this year’s Summit, but these meetings also give us an ideal opportunity to improve our relationships with existing dealers.” Getting face-to-face time with their existing customers allows OEMs and dealers to optimize relationships and home in on customer needs. Many prior suite hosts encourage other OEMs to host suites at Summit. LiuGong Construction Machinery representatives commented, “We would certainly recommend that OEMs host a suite at the Summit. This gives the manufacturer a golden opportunity to meet with a large number of dealers over a short period of time, rather than having to spend several weeks traveling all over the country to have those meetings. During these meetings, we can concentrate all our attention on understanding dealers’ concerns and on finding ways to help our dealers improve their businesses. Obviously, if their business is benefited, the OEM benefits as well.” Integrated business operation is a trend to keep an eye on right now. Living in the information age, it is crucial for OEMs and dealers to share information and focus on what is good for the end user. Summit allows the industry to come together to provide optimized solutions to those end users. Steve Wilson, director of product support for BOMAG Fayat Group, commented on the proactive collaboration that happens at Summit, stating, “The greatest value is having the opportunity to schedule and meet with many of our current distributors for focused discussions relating to our and their performance.” 26 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | November 2018
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Wilson pointed out, “BOMAG, as an OEM, has hosted a hospitality suite at AED for well over 20 years. It is an excellent opportunity to meet with our distribution and potential new distributor prospects, as well as attend industry-specific informational sessions and seminars. AED Summit affords the opportunity to meet with ‘old’ friends and meet new ones, discuss issues with our peer group as well as our distributors. It is a wellorganized and structured venue that brings very positive return for the time and investment in attending.” Look for BOMAG’s hospitality suite at the 2019 Summit event. Many of the comments regarding last year’s event revolved around the high attendance of dealers, OEMs, and CONDEX exhibitors. Many see attendance as an indicator of the general attitude of dealers about the upcoming year. Take the 2018 Summit, for example: Several in attendance – both dealers and manufacturers – said that 2018 sales were starting off strong. And Summit attendance was up, as were first-time CONDEX exhibitors. There were 55 suite participants and over 200 distributor attendees. But the flip side of this coin is also true: Some of the more seasoned Summit attendees remember the Great Recession years when dealers could only afford to send one or two representatives.
Glynn General Corporation also hosted a hospitality suite last year. President and CEO Jock Cockroft commented, “It was awesome, and we have a suite reserved for 2019… We seem to always have someone new find their way to our suite to discuss utilizing our programs. A great venue to solicit new customers.” Cockroft echoed the sentiment shared by the other OEMs and dealers about Summit, noting that it’s “economically smart to gather contacts in one setting.” He added, “It is just a great opportunity when you have key personnel gathered in one place to discuss current business or potential new business with a customer.”
RESERVE YOUR SUITE T O D AY Visiting
aednet.org/hospitality-suites
to
download the hospitality suite application. Review the suite overview at aednet.org/ hospitality-suites. Setting up dealer meetings has never been easier. In fact, AED member companies hosting a hospitality suite or exhibiting in CONDEX can reserve meeting rooms at no additional cost. Participants in dealer meetings are required to register for AED Summit at the applicable registration rate. For more information: Jon Cruthers, vice president. Phone: 630-468-5127 Email: jcruthers@aednet.org
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CANA DIAN D E AL E RS M IG R AT E S O U T H F O R T HE 2019 A E D S UMMI T
A
ED’s Summit offers attendees unfettered access to the inner workings of the construction equipment distribution industry. Education sessions, OEM panels, keynote and featured presentations and CONDEX are only some of the ways OEM and dealer professionals can develop their business strategies and leadership skills at Summit. Along with these universal draws toward the conference and trade show, Canadian dealers find additional value in attending Summit. This year’s Summit takes place on Monday, February 4, through Thursday, February 7, at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida. Aside from offering a much-needed reprieve from those long Canadian winters, Summit provides a unique opportunity for Canadian dealers to come together to tackle the challenges that are unique to their markets. Some of these challenges include the uncertainty and instability of NAFTA negotiations, currency fluctuation, and tax changes. Jeff MacDonald, president of Amaco Construction Equipment Inc. in Ontario, commented on the attraction of Summit: “Summit provides an opportunity to visit with current manufacturing partners, explore new manufacturer partners, and attend speeches and seminars to improve various facets of our company.” MacDonald elaborated on the usefulness of Summit to Canadian dealers: “There are many seminars at Summit with useful information to assist our day-today operations. Often trying to incorporate one or two good ideas can go a long way to improvement. Shared information and best practices are key; after all, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel yourself.” Beyond education, AED’s annual membership meeting will occur at this year’s Summit. Canadian dealers will want to participate and voice their perspectives regarding the direction of their member services. Remember, AED’s representation of their Canadian members on Parliament Hill depends on the feedback presented at these meetings. Proactively manage your AED membership by attending and participating in the membership meeting.
Garry Frelick, president of Douglas Lake Equipment Ltd., also commented on the value of an AED membership: “I have personally been involved with AED for over 20 years and have represented the Canadian region on the AED board of directors and executive council. I have attended numerous AED Summits in both good and bad economic times and have witnessed quite an evolution within the Association and its membership. I have always believed that the strength of any association is its membership, so you need to get actively involved, and that’s part of the real value in being a member. You get back what you put in, and I have developed many lifelong relationships through my direct involvement.” One Summit event that is specifically designed to unify Canadian dealers and their collective voice is the AED Canadian Breakfast. For the third year in a row, the Canadian Breakfast will give our northern dealers an opportunity to discuss a variety of important topics to help them stay at the forefront of federal issues that can impact the cost of doing business. Sure, the events at Summit are designed to further business prospects and professional development. Yet sometimes the impromptu networking opportunities can end up being the greatest value of the gathering. But don’t take it from us. Here is what one Canadian dealer had to say about such opportunities: “I always have ‘takeaway moments’ at Summit, either through attending a breakout session or having a business conversation with a colleague in a social environment. Our business issues are many and quite challenging, and I always enjoy discussing our challenges/opportunities with some of my friends and appreciate gaining different perspectives. Many of the members have a very high industry IQ, and I value their comments and enjoy the time spent networking within the group. Another benefit of the Summit is that it has provided me the opportunity and venue to meet directly with many of our suppliers and their senior management teams (via Hospitality Suites). We have numerous product lines/vendors, and most attend the Summit, and I usually have a full schedule of supplier meetings,” said Frelick.
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Ad_template.indd 2 18-KOBELCO-1235_CED_MultitaskAd_RUN.indd 1
10/19/2018 8:59:58 AM 7/17/18 11:52 AM
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Unparalleled Education Programming at AED Summit Offers Opportunities for Attendees to Maximize Each Aspect of Their Business B Y M E G A N M A T T I N G LY- A R T H U R
“I attended Summit the second and third times because
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REGISTER www.aedsummit.com
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or 800-388-0650
10/26/18 2:43 PM
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
FEBRUARY 4-7, 2019
W
ith the new year just around the corner, it’s time for heavy equipment dealers to mark their calendars and save the date for the annual AED Summit. The 2019 Summit will be held Feb. 4–7 in Orlando, Florida and, as in years past, will feature a robust education program designed to impart information and skills that attendees can use to improve various aspects of their dealerships. The program features more than 35 sessions, divided between six different educational tracks: leadership, management, rentals, product support, sales and technology.
“The dealer education that we have at
Summit isn’t available anywhere else,”
said Liz McCabe, AED’s senior director of education and programming.
“Our educational programming is dealer-focused and each session, regardless of the track they’re in, gives dealers the opportunity to improve or maximize a part of their dealership. Everything is centered around the idea of improvement: improving the dealership financially, improving efficiency, improving hiring practices, improving retention – we want our educational programming to be able to help dealers improve the different aspects of their businesses.” If feedback from previous attendees is any indication, AED’s Summit educational programming is achieving that goal. Jay Williford, president of Atlantic Coast Toyotalift/ACT Construction Equipment, has attended three past Summits and is looking forward to taking advantage of as many education sessions as possible at the upcoming AED Summit in Orlando. “The education sessions helped us benchmark what we should expect with certain topics and gave us resources to use to close the gap,” Williford said. “I took home some creative customer financing ideas,
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sales management strategies and some e-marketing directions. We also had some mid-level managers attend (the 2018 AED Summit) and it helped them see what the potential for their areas could be, and what the future may look like.” Although Summit educational programming is developed with dealers in mind, the sessions offer plenty of takeaways for manufacturing-level attendees as well, according to Ditch Witch Dealer Development Manager Brent Bolay, who has attended six previous Summits and will be at the next Summit in February. His introduction to Summit came when Ditch Witch sponsored a leadership class for dealer personnel that included attendance at the event. Bolay had a great experience and, after that, he was hooked. “Our company sponsored a leadership class for dealer personnel, and part of that program was to attend the AED Summit,” he said. “In the past, others had attended from our company and I had heard good comments about the Summit. When I was able to attend, I was impressed that the educational sessions were so worthwhile. I am at a manufacturer level, but most of the discussion at the educational sessions are topics that affect both the dealer and the manufacturer.
Many times there is benchmark information that is shared that can drive decisions from a ‘what’s going on in the industry’ standpoint.” In development since earlier this year, the educational programming for the 2019 AED Summit features a roster of engaging speakers. “Each year, when we start planning, we send out a call for speakers and try to tap into some of our service providers that might want to present to our members,” said McCabe. “We make sure our speakers are a good mix of AED members, professional trainers and speakers.” AED develops its educational programming in response to member feedback, current business climate and industry trends to ensure that the provided sessions are as relevant and applicable as possible. According to Bolay, that’s one of the things he likes best about attending education sessions at Summit. “Both the topics and speakers have been so in tune with current topics,” he said. “They are very fresh and typically something the industry is struggling with. Also, the overall quality of the speakers – both for the
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educational sessions and the general session agenda – are excellent” Williford agrees. In fact, the relevancy of the topics covered at Summit is what keeps him coming back again and again.
“I attended Summit the second and third times because some of the education topics seemed so applicable to our current business environment,” he said. The leadership education track at the upcoming Summit will include sessions on construction equipment industry trends, economic outlook, the profitability of hiring diversity and more. The management education track – which focuses more on the operational aspects of business, as opposed to the leadership track which is more focused on business strategy – will feature sessions covering topics such as giving critical feedback, employee engagement or disengagement, successful hiring and retention practices, building a strong team, and creating a high-impact, high-performing business culture. The rental, product support and sales tracks feature department-specific sessions geared toward improving profitability. The technology track, which was a new addition to the Summit education lineup in 2018, provides sessions that focus on technology trends and new technology solutions that attendees might benefit from implementing in their own businesses. The technology sessions were well received; in fact, Bolay mentions learning about a new software focused on the service side of the business as one of his key takeaways from the event. Each of the Summit educational sessions can benefit dealers and their dealerships, but with more than 35 different sessions available, there’s obviously no way for a single person to participate in them all. That’s why McCabe encourages attendees to employ a “divide and conquer” strategy to make the most of their Summit experience.
“On average, dealers send three people to Summit,” she said. “When dealerships send multiple people, not only do they save on the per-person registration fee, but they’re able to divide and conquer the education program. Dealers can bring their subject matter experts and send them to the sessions that are most applicable to get the most ‘bang for their buck.’ One of the best ways to make sure attendees are getting the most out of Summit is to make sure their department managers and senior staff are in attendance.” According to McCabe, divide and conquer isn’t just a good strategy for completing education sessions – it’s also a great way to tackle the CONDEX trade show that goes along with the AED Summit. “For example, dealers can send the person who manages their rental department to sales track education sessions and supplier meetings – and even have them meet with multiple suppliers.” Williford offers this suggestion for dealers who can’t send their entire team: “Pick a couple education sessions that have the most relevance to attend, and engage the presenters afterwards to develop a base for future communication if questions arise.” Registration for the 2019 AED Summit is currently open. To those who may be considering attending, Bolay has this advice: “Go with an open attitude and engage – at sessions, lunches and extra activities – and you will be amazed at what you can learn.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION on the upcoming AED Summit in Orlando, Florida – or to register for the event – visit www.aedsummit.com November 2018 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 33
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2019 SUMMIT MO B IL E A P P
Looking for a list of CONDEX exhibitors or suite hosts? Need a way to help schedule your time in Orlando? Looking for something that has the full Summit schedule at your fingertips? Want to find out who else is in attendance? Looking to make sure you have the most up-to-date Summit information? All of this information and more will be available in the palm of your hand in the 2019 Summit mobile app.
SEARCH “2019 AED SUMMIT” IN THE APP STORE OR GOOGLE PLAY TO FIND THE APP.
Please note that the information and schedule in the app are subject to change.
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ORLANDO, FLORIDA
FEBRUARY 4-7, 2019
AED’s 2019 Summit in Orlando is the premier industry event where attendees are able to connect with peers from over 500 companies.
This year’s Summit will be held at the Orlando World Center Marriott from February 4–7, 2019. Whether you’ve been serving the North American market for decades or are just entering the industry,
Summit is one of the best places to connect with peers in one location.
Here are the top 10 reasons to attend the 2019 AED Summit and CONDEX:
AED Summit is the only industry event that brings together construction equipment distributors, manufacturers and service providers under one roof.
Enjoy three days of dealer-specific education that features a variety of sessions in six educational tracks: leadership, management, rental, product support, sales and technology.
View the latest products and services on display by OEMs and service providers that are focused on the needs of dealers in today’s marketplace.
Network with like-minded industry peers. There will be ample time for networking with other attendees during events and activities such as the CONDEX evening drink reception, AED’s Centennial Celebration, The AED Foundation Fundraising Gala and more!
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Hear from a variety of world-class speakers, such as John Boehner, small businessman and former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; and Rich Karlgaard, one of the most influential and respected figures in the technology, economic and business worlds; as well as a featured OEM panel.
Visit the hospitality suites of your current suppliers and forge stronger relationships with the companies that support your dealership.
Take advantage of having one-on-one time, in one location, with the manufacturers you represent. Don’t waste time and money outside of Summit when you can meet with them during designated meeting times throughout the week.
Summit is both a human capital investment and a potential savings opportunity for your company. Previous attendees have implemented practices that resulted in an estimated $300,000 in cost savings for their dealerships.
New employees can benefit tremendously by listening to industry leaders who have been around for 40 years or more and can give advice that will impact the business.
AED Summit is your Association’s annual meeting. You have a stake in the direction that it’s heading in, and your opinion is valued. Attend Summit if you want to learn how you can make your voice heard.
When you attend AED’s Summit, you can expect exceptional quality in programming and service. Use this time to concentrate on putting an action plan together for improving your dealership for all of 2019 and beyond. Divide and conquer the sessions being offered; your team will be better for it! The more individuals that attend from your dealership, the more you save! Register for this event and view more information at www.aedsummit.com.
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THE AED FOUNDATION FUNDRAISING GALA O R L A N D O, F L .
ORLANDO WORLD CENTER MARRIOTT M O N D AY, F E B R U A R Y 4 | 2 0 1 9
The AED Foundation’s third annual Foundation gala and 12th annual live auction is taking place on a new day this year, Monday, February 4, 2019. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to invest in the future workforce of the industry to support the only Foundation that supports construction equipment distribution.
PRICE $200 for single tickets $2,000 for a VIP package with 10 tickets
D R ES S CO DE /B E AC H PART Y White Party (attendees are encouraged to wear all white or beach attire)
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REGISTER www.aedsummit.com or 800-388-0650
MAKE A SPLASH WITH THE AED FOUNDATION!
The AED Foundation will be bringing the atmosphere of Florida beaches inside for The AED Foundation Fundraising Gala, taking place on a new day during the 2019 Summit! Join your industry colleagues for a night specifically for the generous supporters of The AED Foundation! The theme of the 2019 Gala is “a beach party.” Attendees will be able to relax, have drinks and dinner, all while enjoying the beauty of the Florida beaches. The event will take place on a new day, Monday, February 4, 2019 at the Orlando World Center Marriott.
1
2
3
DRESS TO IMPRESS AED is encouraging all attendees to wear their finest white or beach attire at our beach party.
DON’T MISS 12th Annual Live Auction presented by The AED Foundation and Ritchie Bros.
NEW THIS YEAR! We are bringing the Gala to you! Join us in Cypress 1, within the Orlando World Center Marriott. Attendees may also participate in our NEW silent auction.
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Business Planning for the Unexpected Prepare yourself and your business for life’s twists and turns By Marc Johnson Principal, K·Coe Isom No business likes the word “disruption.” Generally speaking, when we hear that word we immediately think about disruption in the form of materials, technology, delivery, service, scheduling, pricing, regulations, etc. Business disruptions can happen at any time. These unplanned events can take many different forms – natural disasters, loss of key personnel, data breaches, economic turns, tax reform, tariffs and labor strikes. But what if you were the disruption? Think about this: If you had to go on leave for a month or longer starting tomorrow, what in your business would suffer? Which part(s) of your business operations would slow down or even cease? Consider taking these precautions to protect yourself and your business in the event of your unplanned absence: 1. Determine your “number two.” Who is in charge of business operations? Is there a second-in-command who knows what needs to be done each day if you are gone? It’s a good idea to make sure you have a backup who knows your day-to-day business procedures, as well as your plan for long-term operations. You’ll need someone who understands the decision-making process at your dealership, complete with timelines and scheduling, for the parts of your business that you solely handle. This involves something as simple as communicating your process and plan, or writing down a few things that others can rely on. 2. Determine a backup for contract deadlines. Are there others in your business who are familiar with the deadlines you have to keep your business running? Without your history of making decisions in regard to things like tax reporting, OEM inventory ordering, pool fund usage, insurance, and bank covenant reporting, someone might need to “wing it” on your behalf for a multimillion-dollar decision. It is imperative that you make sure you have others in place who can handle those issues if you cannot. 3. Share your strategic plan and milestone commitments to achieve it. Do you have contracts that must be delivered on in some future month? Do you have relationships that are dependent upon your support? Make someone aware of these issues, or at least make sure a reliable person knows where you keep this type of information.
If you have invested a lot of time and money in a strategic plan but have not shared your individual responsibilities for its completion, the plan could fail in your absence. Identify a teammate who will share in accountability for the plan (one benefit of doing this is that you have another person’s buy-in and assistance). 4. Evaluate and secure the appropriate insurance. How much insurance one needs is often a debatable question. But most will agree that you should have at least some minimum amount of life and health insurance. Don’t forget about other pertinent people in your business. You may want to consider “key man” life insurance for yourself or a certain employee, as well as business disruption insurance. 5. Prepare for financial and accounting issues. What would happen with bookkeeping and payroll? What about the stack of bills you were going to pay when you had a moment? Make sure you have some business protocols in place where your accountant and lender can work together if necessary. 6. Make a list of key contacts. Include a short description of who they are and what your relationship is, so your spouse, business manager, or others can contact them. This could include your OEM contacts, key customers, vendors, bank, accountant, etc. You may be thinking, “My business has grown to the point that I have moved other people into most of those roles already.” In that case, the abovementioned disruptions might occur if something were to happen to them instead of you. The point is that these kinds of contingencies aren’t what we normally think of when we plan our days, but rather are things we typically put off, intending to plan for them when we have time. If only the luxury of time existed when we’re faced with a sudden disruption. Acting now will help ensure that you’re prepared for an unexpected business disruption and will go a long way toward protecting you, your family, and your business. MARC JOHNSON proactively counsels business owners on financial and tax matters in order to position them well for growth and business succession. He works primarily with equipment dealerships throughout the United States, and has for over 20 years. Marc can be reached at marc. johnson@kcoe.com or 913-643-5000.
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A CLOSER LOOK
1st Source Bank:
Big at Heart 1
By Karen Algeo Krizman st Source Bank wants to be more than just a financial institution to members of the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED). “When our customers are calling us because they have issues that we’re not even part of, but they want to know what our aspect is and what we think, that’s what we strive to do – to become a true business consulting partner to our customers,” explained Larry Shute, president of 1st Source Bank’s Construction Equipment Finance Division. The Indiana-based bank is a publicly traded, closely held institution that has been offering financial services since 1863. It has $6.32 billion in assets and has earned numerous national honors, including being named the “Top-Ranked Bank Headquartered in Indiana” by Forbes in 2018 and earning a 5-star “Superior” rating from BauerFinancial based on capital ratio, profitability/loss trend, credit quality and CRA rating.
Yet, give the bank a call and you’ll still get a human on the other end of the phone. “We are not a big box bank lender ... there’s no big bureaucracy here,” Shute said. “You’re talking to the guy. You call for us and you don’t get a machine. You get a live person, and more than likely you’re going to be able to get to whoever you need to help you, whether it’s to help you solve your positive problem or solve your negative problem. We’re very available. We want to be close to the customer. That’s the way we operate.” Focusing on the small and middle market, 1st Source Bank has been a member of AED since 1990 and has sponsored the annual Summit fun run for nearly as many years. Shute believes the seasoned sales team’s familiarity with the equipment industry and their understanding of what it takes to run a small-to-mid-size organization makes the bank particularly suited to understanding the needs of many of AED’s members.
“We’re not just a transactional lender who is looking to do a million-dollar deal with someone and then never talk to you again until the next deal. We are all about relationships.” - Larry Shute 1st Source Bank
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CUSTOM FINANCING Co n str u c ti o n E q u i p m e nt
Looking to finance construction equipment? Look no further than 1st Source Bank. Serving businesses and individuals of northern Indiana since 1863, we have become a national leader in the financing of specialty equipment. Our experienced construction equipment team will provide you outstanding service, straight talk and sound advice. Let us tailor a financing package that fits your needs.
Contact us today! 574 235-2601 construction@1stsource.com
Rental Fleet Specialists Flexible financing options including pre-approved construction equipment credit limits Simple application process for aggregate credit up to $350,000 Experienced professionals who provide personal service that makes it easy to get things done National specialty finance leader for over 40 years
Specialty Finance Group 1stsource.com/construction
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“We’re a smaller business too, and we’re somewhat family oriented because of the closely held piece of the organization, which allows us to understand all of those customers that are in the equipment rental business or the dealer business or construction-oriented,” he said. “We’re a steady influence and pretty knowledgeable on the equipment side. And also on running a business and managing people and teamwork, which is what the dealers are all about. We’re on the same level. We do the same thing.” 1st Source Bank offers a full array of banking products, including depository products, trusts, personal asset investment and insurance. “We’ve got all the products, so we’re not just a transactional lender who is looking to do a million-dollar deal with someone and then never talk to you again until the next deal,” Shute said. “We are all about relationships.” That means ensuring those relationships endure through good times and bad. “I can’t tell you the number of customers we’ve had for 20 and 30 years,” Shute said. “One aspect of it is, we don’t go in and out of the market. When the economy turns or goes a little bit south, we don’t leave the market. We don’t cut people off. We’re still there. The negative problems up here, we’re more than anxious to help our customers through any of that. We’re not just, let’s repossess something and move on down the road. Helping is part of our business.”
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Success in a Man’s World Ditch Witch Southwest Co-Owner Says Confidence and Hard Work Are Key to Gaining Respect in Male-Dominated Industry By Megan Mattingly-Arthur
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T
hough Ashlee Groves didn’t officially begin working in the heavy equipment industry until 2007, it’s been a big part of her life for as long as she can remember. Groves grew up learning about equipment from her father, who’s worked in the utility construction business for more than 40 years. “The heavy equipment industry, that’s really all I’ve known,” she said. “I grew up on the customer side of things and now I’m on the retail side.” Like many with family in the industry, Groves grew up working for her father, which piqued her interest in a heavy equipment career of her own. After graduating from college, she interned at the Ditch Witch factory and stayed on while completing her master’s degree. All this hard work was aimed at a single goal: purchasing Ditch Witch Southwest. Groves and her brother, Dustin Smith, made this dream a reality in 2009, and she took to her job as co-owner like a duck to water. “I like that every day is different,” she said. “I love a good challenge, and helping customers solve their challenges is extremely rewarding and makes the work fun. And if your job isn’t fun, you’re in the wrong line of work, if you ask me.” There’s no question that Groves is in the right line of work, even though just a few decades ago her presence in the industry might have been considered a bit of an oddity. Acceptance of women in the heavy equipment industry has increased in recent years, according to Groves, though there’s still room for improvement. “Gaining respect and trust in a male-dominated industry was initially – and can still be – a challenge,” she said. “When new customers call or come in and I say, ‘I can help you,’ some are a little hesitant to believe that I can.” Fortunately, Groves takes it all in stride – and has a strategy for overcoming gender bias-based barriers. “I have to always be confident in my knowledge and ability to help them, and overcome their doubts by not being timid or scared, and not being afraid to get my hands dirty. I think women will always be treated a little differently in this industry upon first impression, but as people start to see your knowledge, your hard work and your work ethic, I feel like it’s possible to gain respect. People see that I’m not afraid to get dirty to do what needs to get done, and know I wouldn’t ask anyone to do anything that I wouldn’t do myself.” Though there are more women in the heavy equipment industry than there were a few decades ago, female technicians and executives are still relatively few and far between. However, the women who are in the industry have the potential to learn a lot from each other, according to Groves. “As women in the industry, it’s important to create relationships with each other,” she said. “It can be really helpful to pick each other’s brains and understand each other’s challenges, and try to come up with new ideas.” With an aging workforce and a skills gap that can make finding qualified technicians difficult, there are more opportunities for women to join the heavy equipment industry than ever before. Still, there’s a lot of work to be done to attract them. Groves says women who are currently in the industry can help by being visible and creating relationships with the public. To women who might be considering a career in the heavy equipment industry, Groves offers this advice: “Face your challenges without fear and do not be intimidated. Go for it – and never doubt yourself or your abilities.” When she’s not busy fulfilling her duties as co-owner of Ditch Witch Southwest, Groves is spending time with family, playing tennis and golfing.
Ashlee Groves says women who are currently in the industry can help by being visible and creating relationships with the public.
For more information on Ditch Witch Southwest, visit ditchwitchsouthwest.com. Ditch Witch Southwest is also on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
November 2018 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 45
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Journey to the Top
EXODUS machines
CEO discusses achieving success – even when things don’t go as planned By Megan Mattingly-Arthur evin Boreen’s journey to the top of the heavy equipment industry wasn’t the traditional one. Rather than growing up in the industry or turning a love of working with his hands into a career, Boreen found his way through an entirely different path. After graduating college with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, Boreen spent five years working as a certified public accountant for the tier-two accounting firm McGladrey & Pullen. From there, his career path took him to a company that manufactured industrial food equipment, where he started in the position of financial director before being promoted to vice president-chief operating officer. It was while in this role that he found his way into the heavy equipment industry, after being asked to serve on the board of directors for Exodus Machines – a Wisconsin-based manufacturer eyeing an alliance with Caterpillar. “I was serving on the board of directors at Exodus Machines when the opportunity to form an alliance with Caterpillar was first floated,” Boreen said. “I was drawn to the idea of partnering with a heavy equipment manufacturing giant such as CAT. Eventually, I moved into the role of chief executive officer of Exodus Machines, which is where I am today.” That was seven years ago, and though the alliance with Caterpillar didn’t work out as planned, the company has taken great strides toward meeting its goals for growth and diversified business. “My career path since joining Exodus has not exactly gone
K
Kevin Boreen Exodus Machines CEO
To learn more about Exodus Machines, visit exodusmachines.com.
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as planned,” Boreen said. “The ‘plan’ through our alliance with CAT was to grow this relatively young company (Exodus was formed in 2008) into a financially solid engineering and manufacturing powerhouse, that would allow us to venture out into other opportunities to grow and diversify the business. Unfortunately, the alliance with CAT did not work out the way either one of us was anticipating, and the relationship ended in 2017.” The end of the alliance wasn’t a setback; it was an opportunity for Exodus Machines to bloom. While working with Caterpillar, the company formed four key divisions that now operate under the umbrella of Exodus Machines: BladeCore, which provides mobile and stationary shear replacement blades for the scrap industry; ShearCore, which designs, manufactures, sells and services mobile shear and concrete crackers for the scrap and demolition markets; Connect Work Tools, which supplies hydraulic breakers, compactors and rotating grapples for the utility, construction, demolition and rock quarry markets; and OilQuick USA, which is introducing Europe’s long-held premier standard automatic quick coupler systems to the American market. “We are a family-owned small business that cares about our people and our customers,” Boreen said. “We will go to extreme measures to make sure a customer is satisfied with our products and, more importantly, our service.” Despite the unexpected twists and turns in his career path, Boreen couldn’t be happier with the work he’s done
with Exodus Machines. “Starting four different divisions and seeing them grow from infancy to functioning, more mature entities is one of my favorite things about my role as CEO,” he said. “Not all have arrived yet, but all are on the path to successful futures! I also view my role as that of a servant leader. I want the employees that work at Exodus to feel they are empowered to make decisions, while at the same time not feeling like they are left out on their own without support. I want to provide leadership that encourages career growth and maturity for all.” To people who may be considering a career in the heavy equipment industry, Boreen offered this advice for success: “Never compromise your integrity. Work hard. Relationships matter. And, most importantly: Service your customer, service your customer, service your customer!” When he’s not busy with work, Boreen and his wife are foodies who enjoy spending time with their grandchildren, backpacking, hiking and working out.
November 2018 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 47
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STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION (Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685) 1. Title of publication: Construction Equipment Distribution 2. Publication Number: 0130-160 3. Date of filing: September 30, 2018 4. Frequency of issue: Monthly 5. Number of issues published annually: 12 6. Annual subscription price: $79.00 7&8. Location of known office of publication and headquarters: 650 E Algonquin Rd, Ste 305, Schaumburg Rd, Illinois 60173. 9. Publisher: Martin Cabral, Associated Equipment Distributors, 650 E Algonquin Rd, Ste 305, Schaumburg Rd, Illinois 60173. Editor-In-Chief: Sara Smith, Associated Equipment Distributors 650 E Algonquin Rd, Ste 305, Schaumburg Rd, Illinois 60173. 10. Owner: Associated Equipment Distributors, 650 E Algonquin Rd, Ste 305, Schaumburg Rd, Illinois 60173. 11. There are no known bondholders, mortgagees and other security holders. 12. The tax status has not changed in the past 12 months. 13. Title of publication: Construction Equipment Distribution 14. Issue date for circulation data below: September 2018 15. Extent and nature of circulation: Average No. copies Single issue each issue during nearest to preceding 12 months filing date A. Total number of copies printed 1,592 1,400 B. Paid and/or requested (outside county) circulation (Form 3526-R) 1,163 1147 Other classes mailed through the USPS 116 116 C. Total paid and/or requested circulation 1,279 1263 D. Free distribution by mail 0 0 E. Free distribution outside the mail 133 0 Total free distribution 133 0 F. Total distribution 1,412 1263 G. Copies not distributed 180 137 H. Total 1,592 1400 I. Percent paid and/or requested circulation 90.5% 100%
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16. This statement of ownership will be printed in the November issue of this publication. 17. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete: (Signed) Martin Cabral, Production Manager, 09/30/18.
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