Groff Tractor & Equipment Buys Assets Of Vernon E. Stup Company; Expands Into Maryland

Published on June 17, 2013 in Constructioneer and Daily Dirt. Closed Tags: , , , , , , .

Groff Tractor & Equipment has purchased the assets of Vernon E. Stup Company in Frederick, Md. The Frederick location allows the company to better service customers in Western Maryland, Northern Virginia and Eastern West Virginia, and will complement the company’s existing footprint in Pennsylvania. This includes branches in Mechanicsburg, Ephrata, State College, New Stanton, Cranberry Township and Ebensburg.

Groff Tractor - FrederickGroff Tractor & Equipment is an authorized full-line dealer of CASE Construction Equipment. The company plans to further develop the Frederick location as a full-service facility that includes an extensive parts inventory, in-shop support and field service. The new location will also expand the availability of CASE rental equipment to customers in the region. Groff Tractor President and CEO Mike Savastio reports that this expansion will include the addition of new technicians, service trucks and advanced parts expediting.

“This location will allow us greater access to our customers who work in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, as well as new opportunities with customers formerly serviced by Vernon E. Stup,” says Savastio. “Rental demand continues to grow in the region, and customers here will benefit from greater equipment options and availability.”

“Groff Tractor is an excellent partner and this expansion helps strengthen the CASE Construction Equipment brand in the heart of the Mid-Atlantic States,” says Jim Hasler, vice president, CASE Construction Equipment-North America. “The company understands the importance of service and they take pride in that relationship with their customers. They are clearly making a commitment to their customers in the region with this expansion.”

Terms of the deal were undisclosed. The new Groff Tractor location is located at 5859 Urbana Pike, Frederick, Md.

For more information on Groff Tractor, visit www.grofftractor.com. For additional information about CASE Construction Equipment, visit www.casece.com.

Association of Equipment Manufacturers announces judges for 2013 AEM Hall of Fame

Published on June 17, 2013 in Daily Dirt, Events and Industry Activities. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , .

AEM_logo_wo_cmykThe Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) announces that a distinguished panel of judges has been selected for the 2013 AEM Hall of Fame awards to be presented at the AEM Annual Conference on November 5, 2013 in Orlando, Florida.

The AEM Hall of Fame honors the pioneering individuals who have invented, managed, built and led the off-road equipment industry. Individually and collectively they represent some of the best, brightest and most influential minds in the history of the off-road equipment industry.

Judges for the AEM Hall of Fame include industry experts from the agriculture and construction sectors. They are:

  • Ken Anderson, Brownfield Ag News
  • Al Cervero, Association of Equipment Manufacturers
  • Marcia Gruver Doyle, Randall-Reilly
  • Lynn Henderson, AgriMarketing Magazine
  • Jay Kriss, Inspirit Creative
  • Mike Lessiter, Lessiter Publications
  • Charlie O’Brien, Association of Equipment Manufacturers
  • Stan Orr, Association of Equipment Management Professionals
  • Greg Sitek, Associated Construction Publications
  • Mike Steenhoek, Soy Transportation Coalition
  • Rod Sutton, Construction Equipment Magazine
  • Chris Wehrman, American Rental Association

Visit the AEM Hall of Fame website for biographies of the judges.

AEM Hall of Fame nominees are judged on five guiding principles crucial to the health of the off-road equipment manufacturing industry: innovation, industry contributions, leadership, corporate citizenship/social responsibility and sustainability.

Since its inception, more than 40 leaders in the industry have been inducted into the AEM Hall of Fame.

For more information about AEM Hall of Fame or the nomination process, contact AEM’s Jordanne Waldschmidt (jwaldschmidt@aem.org, Tel: 414-298-4152).

About the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) - www.aem.org
AEM is the North American-based international trade group providing innovative business development resources to advance the off-road equipment manufacturing industry in the global marketplace. AEM membership comprises more than 850 companies and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture, construction, forestry, mining and utility sectors worldwide. AEM is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with offices in the world capitals of Washington, D.C.: Ottawa, Canada; and Beijing, China.

JCB Announces Successor To CEO Alan Blake

Published on June 17, 2013 in Daily Dirt. Closed Tags: , , , , , .

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JCB has announced a successor to Chief Executive Officer Alan Blake who is to retire at the end of the year.

 

Blake, 63, joined JCB in 1989 and became CEO in 2010 after holding a number of senior positions in the company and after leading the biggest production expansion in JCB’s history.

 

Since his appointment as CEO, Blake has presided over the company’s return to sales and production growth against a backdrop of continued economic uncertainty around the world. Blake will remain as a senior advisor and board member of the company.

 

His successor will be Graeme Macdonald, 45, who became Chief Executive Officer Designate from June 1.

 

MacDonald has held a variety of senior roles during his 16 years at JCB and was latterly the company’s chief operating officer. He was previously MD of the company’s Backhoe Loader Business Unit, based at the World HQ in Rocester and also held the position of president of JCB Inc based at JCB’s North American HQ in Savannah, Georgia.

New AEM bulletin emphasizes static electricity risks during refueling

Published on June 11, 2013 in Daily Dirt and Equipment & Products. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , .

AEM_logo_wo_cmykIndustry educational outreach focuses on Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD)

“ULSD…Not Your Same Old Diesel Fuel Anymore” is a new best practices guidance bulletin from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM); the bulletin warns of the greater static electricity ignition hazards associated with use of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD).

With federal regulations mandating ULSD use, AEM undertook the educational outreach to help inform machine operators and others on the farm or construction jobsites about ULSD characteristics that can affect safety during refueling.

The bulletin explains that the removal of sulfur and other compounds in ULSD fuel decreases its conductivity and increases its ability to store static charge. “Static electricity discharge when combustible vapors are present could result in a fire or explosion,” the bulletin notes.

All off-highway diesel-powered machinery (including older legacy or vintage agricultural and construction vehicles) have been using this new formulation of ULSD. While it may not be noticeable to most users, there may be a greater risk of static electricity ignition if their refueling systems are not properly functioning or maintained.

The bulletin urges industry workers to consult with their fuel or fuel system supplier to ensure the delivery system is in compliance with fueling standards for proper grounding and bonding practices.

A multi-sector AEM ad hoc committee of member companies developed the best practices bulletin. Initial resource supporters are the Agricultural Retailers Association, Agrievolution Alliance, American Rental Association, Engine Manufacturers Association, and the North American Equipment Dealers Association. AEM is encouraging industry groups and government entities to disseminate the bulletin to foster widespread understanding of the related risks during ULSD refueling.

“About 90 percent of off-road equipment is run on diesel and at one time the fuel had upwards of 5000 ppm sulfur content compared with 15 ppm today,” stated Mike Weber, AEM technical and safety services manager. “ULSD is now required for on-highway and off-highway applications in the North American market and we need to educate users who may be unaware of the changes in the physical properties of ULSD and the potential for harm during refueling.”

For more information, download the bulletin from the AEM website (www.aem.org) in the Safety, Regulatory & Technical section.

Trimble Acquires Actronic Technologies to Extend its Machine Monitoring and Reporting Solutions for the Connected Site

Published on June 11, 2013 in Daily Dirt, Equipment & Products and National. Closed Tags: , , , , , , .

TrimbleActronic Technologies is a Leading Provider of Weighing Solutions for Construction, Aggregates, Mining and Waste Industries

Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) announced today that it has acquired privately-held Actronic Holdings Limited of Auckland, New Zealand. Actronic Technologies is a leading provider of weighing technology and payload information systems for construction, aggregates, mining and waste markets. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Actronic Technologies produces the LOADRITE® weighing system for wheel loaders, excavators, conveyors and waste collection vehicles. LOADRITE systems provide equipment operators, site foremen and project managers with accurate payload weights and allow them to ensure that machines are loaded to optimal capacity and that loads are accurately recorded. Weight information combined with fleet dynamics and cycle time tracking provides metrics for monitoring and improving both machine and project performance.

LOADRITE extends Trimble’s Connected Site® portfolio by adding weight as an element of information collected at the machine. This extended capability will better enable contractors to use the Trimble Connected Site to achieve improved comprehensive real-time intelligence on asset and site productivity for the contractors mixed fleet. Trimble’s Connected Site is an extensive information architecture that optimizes and integrates operations across the construction site and the office, thereby enabling improved planning, more advanced monitoring, and significantly greater productivity.

“The acquisition of Actronic Technologies empowers machine operators, foremen, supervisors and project managers to understand machine performance and progress across the entire site within the aggregate, construction, mining and waste industries,” said Roz Buick, vice president and general manager of Trimble’s Heavy Civil Construction Division. “LOADRITE weighing systems expand the richness of the Connected Site information we collect from machines and complements the productivity and reporting capabilities we already provide our customers.”

“The LOADRITE system is widely recognized as setting the standard for our industry, a result of over thirty years industry expertise gained by working closely with machine owners and operators,” said Gottfried Pausch, general manager for Actronic Technologies. “I believe the addition of the LOADRITE system to Trimble’s leading portfolio of positioning and automation technology solutions extend our collective ability to deliver more powerful and robust solutions designed to improve operational efficiency and reporting and allow our customers to maximize their profits.”

About Actronic Technologies

Since 1979, Actronic Technologies has been designing, developing and manufacturing applied technology solutions to improve productivity in the aggregates, mining, waste management, forestry, and other industries. Actronic Technologies is a leader in the field of measurement. LOADRITE load weighing technology and payload information systems are installed on wheel loaders, excavators, garbage trucks and other heavy loading equipment to ensure optimal loads, and provide quality data for productivity analysis.

For more information, visit Actronic at: www.loadritescales.com.