This is the third month that the ACPs are being published under their new ownership. In July we published two of the 13 magazines and in August we published 6. With this issue we have resumed publishing all 13.
You should have had an opportunity to read John White’s Publisher’s Statement and have a good idea of what is planned for the magazines in this incarnation. If you haven’t had the chance to read it and would like to, you can find it on our blog, Digging for Dirt, at www.site-kconstructionzone.com.
I’m presuming that most of you had been reading these magazines before they were prematurely retired and may be surprised by the different format. We hope you like the new look and feel. Please feel free to let us know what you think. We really do welcome your input, your opinions and your comments.
Some people think we’re absolutely out of our minds to relaunch the magazines during the current economy, but these are the times when you most need all the industry information you can get, especially when it’s focused on your specific geographic region like the ACPs are.
ICUEE (International Construction Utility Equipment Exposition) is right around the corner and will be the final major equipment show of 2009. It’s important for a number of reasons. For one thing, it will give the industry some sense of how you – the contractors in the industry – view the economy.
Equipment manufacturers and product suppliers will be putting their very latest and best products on display and available for actual testing.
Coping with current conditions isn’t easy, but some of the new equipment or management software may be just what you need to get traction for forward movement and recovery.
I’m looking forward to ICUEE. I’m anxious to see the new stuff but I’m also anxious to see old friends and make a few new ones. There’s no better place to do this than at an industry show, and this one offers the best venue for these activities. It’s amazing how everyone is friendlier and more communicative. When a contractor gets off a piece of equipment after having operated it, they’re usually ready to tell you what they think about the machine – the good, the bad and the ugly.
Maybe it’s the casual atmosphere that makes everyone at the show more accessible. I guarantee you won’t see too many suits, skirts or high-heeled shoes at the Louisville Exposition and Fair Grounds.
In addition to the equipment on display and available for test drives, there are educational opportunities with a schedule of seminars that have been selected and oriented to help you operate more efficiently and profitably in current market conditions.
With so much emphasis on rebuilding our infrastructure and so much money being allocated for this market, it seems like being up to date might be a competitive edge. One of the comments I’ve heard repeatedly from contractors is that the number of contractors bidding jobs is unbelievable. Profits are really tight. Some of the contractors have said that bids were coming in so low that they didn’t know how the company that won the bid could do the job and survive. A number of materials suppliers made similar comments, i.e., there wasn’t enough money in the bid to cover the costs.
Knowledge and information are two critical tools that can help you survive and be ready when the money starts moving from the spreadsheets to disbursement centers. The point is that ICUEE can help you bring your knowledge up to date and give you the kind of information that can guide you and help in bidding jobs.
Not long ago I wrote an article on ICUEE (for Site-K Construction Zone) and a friend e-mailed me, wanting to know how much I was getting paid for pushing the show. I am not paid a penny for promoting ICUEE. I honestly believe that a trade show like ICUEE can help you be better prepared to bid your next job or adjust the way you are doing a job to make it more profitable.
Staying current, keeping up with the latest developments in equipment, attachments, tools, techniques and technology is a full-time job. When you add the need for staying on top of developments in jobsite management software and the other high-tech products you need to run your business in today’s world, you get stuck with the biggest problem we all face: trying to figure out how to stick 12 more hours in a day.
I can’t promise you great weather for October 6-9, 2009, but I can promise you that it will be worth your time, expense and energy to attend, and that I’ll be there even if it’s snowing.
Some show updates:
New additions to ICUEE for 2009 are the inaugural H2O-XPO show (water and waste water), the IUV Technical Conference and exhibit pavilion (design and engineering) and the iP Safety Conference and Safety Zone exhibit pavilion (safety and training). For more information, e-mail info@icuee.com or go online at www.icuee.com/. Or you can also find a link to ICUEE on www.site-kconstructionzone.com. A three-day pass to all the exhibits is only $15 in advance when you register by September 11, 2009.
ACP will have a booth at the show. Please stop by and visit. We’d like to meet you in person.
Greg Sitek