Committee for European Construction Equipment

Regulations Will Continue to Impact the Construction Equipment Industry

responses submitted by Riccardo Viaggi, Secretary General, Committee for European Construction Equipment (CECE)

Eff orts to reduce emissions will remain a driving force for the design of traditional and alternatively powered construction equipment.

Diesel, Electric & Other Power Alternatives How do you see alternative fuels playing a role in the heavy equipment industry in the coming years? What impact do you see electrifi cation—or other alternative energy/power systems—having on the mobile equipment industries?

We see all of those continuing to grow. There is a general market pressure; we are delivering that innovation and we have been delivering innovations that curb fuel costs. From a European point of view, what we start considering and will keep considering is the regulatory push in all this. For us the key is sustainability. Sustainability has three legs—it’s environment, society and economy. If solutions do not meet the economic feasibility and economic productivity needs of a construction contractor and an infrastructure project, they will probably have a short lifespan. They will only work with public support, public spending.

This is for us the philosophy behind what we call the four pillars approach. So there are four pillars to CO 2 reduction; that’s what the European Union wants to curb with its own Green Deal and the climate law that the European Commission is planning. We believe that legislators must understand we are not at all like the on-road sector, we are not manufacturers of vehicles moving people or goods from A to B, we are production machines that are used by another company in a B2B transaction in order to create productivity and profi ts. So, this is why our four pillars approach is key because the machinery effi ciency is only one of the four pillars. Then you have to add on process, operation and alternative energy sources. This is our approach to sustainability, to alternative fuels and to the general, very understandable struggle to curb emissions.

Are there any emissions or other related regulations your association is monitoring, or feel will have an impact on the industry?

We always keep an eye on all regulations that might have an impact on our equipment. What we usually keep an eye on is how the regulators decide to create provisions for the heavy-duty vehicles. The legislators [have] said before sometimes they make the assumption that whatever works for big trucks works for excavators. And that of course is not the right approach. We kept an eye on what the commission has created for CO 2 regulations. And we will be watching the EU Green Deal and the climate law. For the moment, we are not in the legislators’ targets. But we know that we have our role to play. If it’s not as a European Union regulation, there are other pressures.

Challenges & Opportunities What are the biggest challenges and opportunities you see for the industry?

The largest challenge, which is not always widely mentioned, is related to people, to the workforce. It may not be the challenge for the next 1 or 2 years, but it’s a generational challenge.

I like to think that to every challenge there is an opportunity. Some of the things we’ve discussed, such as data, digitization, automation will present opportunities. A lot of the tasks in construction are being automated; a lot of repetitive tasks, physically challenging tasks are being automated or at least supported by machines—robots, cobots are buzzwords we are hearing on construction sites. This is allowing the industry to change its image from a dusty, dangerous kind of macho industry to something a bit diff erent. And that in my opinion opens a whole new possibility when it comes to the image of the industry towards young people and even women. That’s where I see possibilities to tackle that challenge. |

Watch the Video

Watch the full interview for more of Riccardo Viaggi’s insights on current industry trends at oemoff highway.com/21174209.