IronPlanet has hired industry veteran Gord McDougall as managing director, Canada, Cat Auction Services.

“Gord is a great addition to our team and he’s a perfect fit for this leadership role as we grow our business in Canada,” said Matt Bousky, IronPlanet’s vice president Global Mining & Canada.

McDougall is responsible for managing and growing IronPlanet’s Cat Auction Services business, as well as leveraging its IronPlanet and TruckPlanet marketplaces across Canada. He rounds out IronPlanet’s team in Canada, reporting to Bousky and working with Sue McGregor, IronPlanet’s managing director, Canada.

McDougall's more than 30 years of experience in the heavy equipment industry includes 21 years with Finning Canada, a division of Finning International Inc., the largest Caterpillar dealer in the world. Most recently he was president and general manager of The Cat Rental Store operations in Western Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Finning Canada.

At the 2015 Intermat show in Paris, Cummins announced the results of a Tier 4 engine teardown inspection undertaken to compare Tier 4 and Tier 3 engine durability. According to the engine manufacturer, the disassembly and in-depth examination of a QSL9 Tier 4 low emissions engine (250-400 hp) at close to 10,000 operating hours revealed major components, fuel system, turbocharger and the block to be in near-perfect condition after three years of operation in a heavy lift-and-carry application.

The Cummins engineers who conducted the teardown inspection concluded that the Tier 4 Interim (Stage IIIB) compliant QSL9 was capable of achieving up to 20,000 hours of operation before an engine overhaul may have been expected – equal to that of a Tier 3 version of the engine working on a similar duty cycle.

Only time will tell whether Tier 4 engine-powered equipment holds up as expected–which OEMs must now spec on all higher horsepower equipment—but Cummins’ evaluation indicates that durability is the same. Which is good news for new equipment buyers.

However there remains a viable argument for small to mid-size rental fleet owners to consider purchasing used Tier 3-powered boom lifts and telehandlers, which are more typically powered by engines in the 75-150 hp range.

First is initial acquisition cost. A good quality used machine with a Tier 3 engine is significantly less expensive than buying new. New engines are costing OEMs anywhere from 20% to 50% percent more. Those costs will ultimately be passed onto the equipment buyer.

Second, given the results of Cummins report, it’s possible to assume that reliability, fuel efficiency, and preventative maintenance costs are on par with new Tier 4 powered equipment. Why not make the most of those slightly older, Tier 3 engines? Keep in mind, however, that OEMs started phasing in Tier 4 engines beginning in 2008 with 2015 being the deadline to meet the new engine requirement. There is a limited population of late model AWP or telehandler equipment with Tier 3 engines. When buying, always consider the machine’s total operating hours, which affects a variety of maintenance and performance issues.

Despite Cummins’ findings, it’s generally assumed that there is less fuel economy with Tier 4 engines, meaning that they burn more fuel per hour. Tier 4 engines achieve emissions reductions through the use of control technologies, including advanced exhaust gas after-treatment.

What about fuel differences? At the Tier 1-3 stage, the sulfur content in nonroad diesel fuels was not limited by environmental regulations. The oil industry specification was 0.5% (wt., max), with the average in-use sulfur level of about 0.3% = 3,000 ppm. However, to enable sulfur-sensitive control technologies in Tier 4 engines—such as catalytic particulate filters and NOx adsorbers—the EPA mandated reductions in sulfur content in nonroad diesel fuels, as follows:

• 500 ppm effective June 2007 for nonroad, locomotive and marine (NRLM) diesel fuels
• 15 ppm (ultra-low sulfur diesel) effective June 2010 for nonroad fuel, and June 2012 for locomotive and marine fuels

Keeping your fleet mix with Tier 3 or lower eliminates the need to purchase and store fuel specifically for the Tier 4-powered equipment. Once you have machines with both lower Tier and Tier 4 engines, you’ll need to be careful not to mix up the fuels. The higher sulfur content will damage Tier 4 engines, while Tier 3 engines are less sensitive to lower grade diesel fuel which is typically found on job sites.

Maintenance issues are different too. In general, Tier 4 engines are larger with increased heat load and new electronic controls. Eventually your maintenance department will need to be retrained to understand best practices for these engines. If you are not yet equipped to properly maintain these engines, buying used AWP or telehandlers with Tier 3 engines may buy you some time as you get your maintenance staff up to speed.

Unless you work in California, Chicago or New York City, low emissions requirements for specific jobs are still primarily driven by construction owner demands. You may start to run into bid requirements for low emissions output per fleet mix, but for now, Tier 3-powered equipment is still permissible to be used in most places.

Finally, operator familiarity is also a concern. Tier 4 engines requires periodic shut down to “re-gen” the catalytic converter. As you integrate equipment with Tier 4 engines, you’ll need to provide additional familiarization and training so operators know how to respond when this occurs.

Expect demand for good quality Tier 3-powered AWPs and telehandlers to be high; and there is a limited population of them available. You may pay more in terms of used equipment prices than you are used to, but the benefits of extending your Tier 3 fleet for awhile longer are worth considering.

Runnion Equipment Company has hired John Rogalla as aerial basket specialist for Illinois. Rogalla provides support to customers and sales representatives for all aerial basket products.

“We’re glad to welcome John to our team,” said Runnion Equipment CEO Pat Runnion. “He has extensive experience with the aerial basket market which is an
invaluable addition to our group.”

Rogalla had previously been the aerial basket territory manager for 29 years at a regional heavy equipment dealer.

Custom Equipment Inc., Richfield, Wis., has added 12 companies to its network of dealers for its Hy-Brid Lifts.

An increase in dealer channels will lead to a broader range of access for contractors looking for Hy-Brid scissor lifts across the region.

The new dealers include: Canmore Outdoor Power Equipment Ltd., Contractors Equipment Center, Davis Rental Supply, Discount Rental & Sales, Jefferson Rent-All Inc, Lloyd’s Rental and Sales, Mid Manitoba Equipment Rentals Ltd, Patten Cat Rental, RG Rents, Tek Aerial Lifts LLC, Thompson Cat Rental Store, and Voisin’s Equipment Rental Ltd.

"We are excited about establishing these new partnerships and adding to the Hy-Brid Lifts dealer channel,” said Justin Kissinger, Custom Equipment marketing manager. “We look forward to supporting and growing our relationship with these dealers, as well as working together to find solutions to best fit our customer’s needs.”

The full line of Hy-Brid Lifts is available to customers through this expanded network. Hy-Brid Lifts are efficient and safe aerial platforms that have working heights to 20 ft. They are compact, easy to maneuver, and have safety features such as low step-in heights and full-swing gates. The user-friendly lifts are available in push-around or electric models.

Contractors and maintenance technicians can use them from start to finish for a wide range of applications in industries as diverse as construction, drywall, electrical, HVAC, industrial manufacturing, painting and plumbing.

To find the closest Hy-Brid Lift rental center, customers can use the dealer locator on www.hybridlifts.com.

The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF)is hosting a webinar for members and non-members interested in learning about handling documents for litigation.

The webinar will take place on Thursday, July 30, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. CDT.  

It will be presented by attorney James White of Bobo, Ciotoli, White & Russell, P.A.

The webinar will discuss:

• The collision of the corporate world and litigation world in developing, addressing, and preserving documents to help defend against expected litigation.

• Case examples from real life situations affecting rental companies, equipment manufacturers, and related companies.

Mr. White attended Loyola Law School and is licensed to practice law in Florida, Norther, Middle and Southern Federal District Courts of Florida and the Federal Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.  He has a broad array of complex and multi-party general litigation experience.  The majority of his litigation practice involves wrongful death and personal injury arising from products liability, premises liability and truck/automobile accidents.  He represents numerous national renal houses and equipment manufacturers.  He has presented at IPAF, AEM and SAIA conferences. 

To register, click here.

If you have questions, contact IPAF at 630-942-6583 or rick.church@ipaf.org

Ritchie Bros.  plans to auction off more than 1,300 equipment items and trucks at huge two-day auction in Polotitlan, Mexico on June 18-19, 2015.

Equipment highlights in the two-day auction include 140+ compactors, 70+ excavators, 30+ crawler tractors, 90+ truck tractors, 90+ pickup trucks, as well as cranes, asphalt and aggregate equipment, and more.

Every item will be sold without minimum bids or reserve prices. Bids can be placed in person, online at rbauction.com and by proxy.

"This will be one of our largest Mexico auctions ever, with the nicest selection of equipment we've ever sold in the country, including a lot of late-model, low-hour gear," said Nicolas Agudelo, regional sales manager, Ritchie Bros. "We originally planned for a one day auction, but with this much equipment to sell, we decided to add another day to the sale. The auction is open to the public and it's free to register. Interested bidders are welcome to visit the site ahead of the auction to test and inspect equipment themselves."

Equipment in the auction is being sold for 150+ owners. For more information, including equipment details and high-resolution photos visit rbauction.com/Polotitlan.

Equipment highlights:

• A 2008 Grove RT880E 80-ton 4x4x4 rough terrain crane
• A 2008 Grove RT700E 60-ton 4x4x4 rough terrain crane
• An Astec PDDC835 Super Six Pack 300 TPH portable drum asphalt plant
• A 2007 Fintec 1080 crawler cone crushing plant
• A 2007 Fintec 1107 22 in. x 42 in. crawler jaw crushing plant
• Seven Caterpillar D8T crawler tractors
• Six Caterpillar D6T crawler tractors
• Eight Caterpillar 120K VHP motor graders
• Six Caterpillar 336DL ME hydraulic excavators
• Two 2010 Caterpillar 966H wheel loaders
• Two 2006 Caterpillar RM300 pulverizers
• 20 Kenworth T800B 6x4 sleeper truck tractors (T/A)
• 15+ 2013 Freightliner Cascadia 6x4 sleeper truck tractors (T/A)
• 55+ Ford F150 pickup trucks

Auction details:

• Location: Carr. Polotitlán – La Estación No. 6, Col. Centro, Polotitlán 54200 Edo. De México
• Date & time: June 18 - 19, 2015; starting at 9 a.m. (local time) each day
• Auction site phone: +52.427.266.0909

Scotia Cranes provided the Massachusetts Task Force- 1 (MATF-1), the New England Regional FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) task force, with three cranes for a specialized training session in Beverly, Mass.

The MATF-1 is almost completely composed of local firefighters who volunteer their time at the Beverly Facility in order to be ready for a disaster or other critical situation. The people who run the facility (the training team) are local firefighters who were involved in search and rescue operations at Ground Zero on 9/11 in New York City. 

“It was very humbling to sit at lunch and dinner with these people and listen to their stories of chaos when they arrived on site the same day the towers were attacked.  These men and women are the real deal, I would say comparable to the U.S. military as far as their will to intentionally put their lives on the line to save others in catastrophic situations.  They also were deployed during Hurricane Katrina,” said President of Scotia Cranes, Mike Crowell.

Throughout the year at the Beverly MATF-1 Facility, the representatives and instructors run a series of training sessions for firefighters and qualified personnel to train for possible deployments. Each training session has a specific purpose. The most recent training session focused on training firefighters how to work with and around cranes for their heavy equipment and rigging specialist (HERS) training.

Scotia Cranes provided three cranes to work with the FEMA crew in Beverly, Mass.: one Grove GMK3055 60-ton all-terrain crane and two Grove RT770E 70-ton rough-terrain cranes, all bought or rented through Shawmut Equipment Company Inc.

The emergency workers used the cranes to rig all the rubble out of the way to uncover and recover people and victims during instruction by the Urban Search and Rescue Division (US&R).  The class included 74 firefighters from various municipalities in New England. Scotia Cranes performed rigging and hand signal training, scale pans training, and personnel basket training. 

Link-Belt Construction Equipment officials have broken ground for a new 20,000-sq.-ft. training and quality assurance facility at the company's plant in Lexington, Ky. 

The expansion will house three classrooms, labs, and high bays to accommodate any  Link-Belt crane. The facility will open in late 2015 and be ready for a busy 2016 training year.

“Link-Belt’s focus and commitment to training is at an all-time high. These new facilities punctuate the growth and commitment of training our dealers and their customers,” said Bill Stramer, Link-Belt vice president of marketing, sales, and customer support. “Testing new model designs and componentry, along with development of new manufacturing procedures will also take place in this space.”

Link-Belt will be able to offer multiple courses weekly for its distributor service, parts, and sales personnel along with course offerings for its Link-Belt Preferred crane owners. Most courses will focus on operation and maintenance of Link-Belt products and will include more hands-on activities to enhance the learning experience.

Rigorous testing of newly designed parts, and, ultimately, new models, will also be housed in the new facility. This quality assurance will be a cooperative effort between Link-Belt’s design, quality, manufacturing, and training groups.

Heartland Construction Division and the Canadian Hoisting & Rigging Safety Council (CHRSC) have set the tentative agenda for the Crane & Rigging Conference Canada, to be held Nov. 9-10, 2015, in Edmonton, Alberta.

Heartland Construction Div., Fort Dodge, Iowa, publishes leading crane, rigging, and lifting-equipment publications, including Crane & Rigging Hot Line and Lift and Hoist International. CHRSC, Ottawa, Ontario, works with crane industry stakeholders across Canada to facilitate harmonization of regulations between jurisdictions. 

“The Council looks forward to providing crane and rigging stakeholders with an update of its efforts to facilitate harmonization of standards, international reciprocity for mobile crane and tower crane operator credentials, and development of national Demonstration of Skills Tests," said Tim Bennett, chairman of CHRSC and vice president of HS&E, technical training, and quality for NCSG Crane & Heavy Haul Services. "The Council has supported CRC Canada since it launched five years ago as a forum for crane and rigging professionals from a variety of industries to discuss safety, productivity, and personnel issues.”

Sessions will focus on People, Processes, and Productivity issues. Among the confirmed sessions and speakers:

Establishing a National Demonstration of Skills Test for Crane Operators to improve Labor Mobility and Safety -- Presented jointly by Krista Bax, executive director of Asia Pacific Gateway Skills Table, and Allan Bruce, the international representative for the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE Canada)

Panel Discussion: Improving Safety Culture with Quantifiable Personnel Qualification and Other Tools -- Panelists include Fraser Cocks, BC Association for Crane Safety; Clinton Connell, Eagle West Cranes; Yannick Morin, Kraning Inc.; Paul Linssen, SML Safety Canada

Qualifying and Quantifying Competency Skills of Crane/Rigger Supervisors: An Oil/Gas Industry Case Study -- Presented by Sheldon Redpath, global head of SHE-Q, Mammoet

Overhead Crane & Rigging Accident Investigation Workshop -- Presented by Joe Kuzar, assistant technical director for Industrial Training International

Best Practices for Selecting the Right Tools, Logistics Strategies, and Assignment of Key Personnel for Crane Assembly/Disassembly Procedures -- Presented by Jeff Hammons, AmQuip

Protecting Crane Engines from Explosion in Flammable Vapor Environments - Presented by Rebecca Goldsack, Diesel Tech Industries

Crane and Rigging Product Innovations with Real-World Solutions: A review of the 2014 and 2015 LLEAP-award-winning products

Other sessions still in development may cover regulatory trends across various provinces, overhead crane safety and productivity, and predicting labor demand. If you are interested in speaking, submit your speaker proposal, including a proposed title, 200-word description, key takeaway points, and credentials, online by June 15. Direct questions to Tracy Bennett, 816-536-7903 or tbennett@mightymomedia.com.

CRC Canada is an independent crane, rigging, and hoist conference for safety and risk managers, crane and rigging supervisors, lift directors, fleet managers, project managers, production managers and crane owners working with cranes in construction and heavy industry.  The conference is organized by Crane & Rigging Hot Line and Lift & Hoist International magazines. Learn more at www.craneandriggingconference.com.

Supporters include Industrial Training International, Event Partner; Liebherr-Canada Ltd., Associate Sponsor; Canadian Hoisting & Rigging Safety Council, Supporting Organization; and Crane & Hoist Canada, Media Partner.

Linamar Corporation’s Skyjack division has partnered with New Jersey's
Interstate Aerials to present a check to the Little Smiles PA, a greater Philadelphia area nonprofit that strives to bring happiness to children who are going through difficult times.

On April 1, Skyjack and Interstate Aerials representatives joined the monthly Junk Food Run at the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia to donate a $2,500 check to Little Smiles.

The monthly event brings together patients and their families with volunteers from Little Smiles to enjoy some of the children’s favorite snacks. The donation will allow Little Smiles to continue to host the fun and joyous events for children who spend long periods in the hospital.

“Little Smiles is extraordinarily grateful for the ongoing support,” said Charlotte Hummel, executive director, Little Smiles PA. “Their donations have meant a great deal to us. Through Skyjack and Interstate Aerials’ current donation, they have actually have sponsored 10 more junk food runs.”

About a dozen children and their families got together at the gathering, where children had the chance to indulge in pizza and snacks. The April event included Easter eggs filled with candy, which children typically don’t receive at the hospital.

Doug Mingst of Skyjack and Matthew Lange of Interstate Aerials met hospital administrators and patients at the event, and helped serve pizza to the children.

Skyjack and Little Smiles have a long running relationship. Interstate Aerials’ employee and Little Smiles volunteer and board member Mike Love reached out to Skyjack more than two years ago and told them about the nonprofit. Since then, Skyjack has not only provided funds for the junk food runs, but has also helped sponsor two of the organization’s annual fundraisers.

“Skyjack is committed to giving back to the community, and we are happy to be able to help this organization once again to bring happiness to these children,” Mingst said. “It’s very satisfying to see their smiles and know that Skyjack is contributing with this good cause.”

The event was part of Skyjack’s 30 FOR 30 PARTNERS campaign, an initiative to celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary by giving back to organizations that have supported Skyjack throughout the years. Whether it’s through monetary or equipment donations, Skyjack looks forward to continuing to support organizations like Little Smiles.
 

Odyne Systems, LLC, Waukesha, Wis., has been named a 2014 Governor’s New Product Award winner by the Wisconsin Society of Professional Engineers (WSPE), an
organization of more than a thousand engineers. WSPE's mission is to support the
ethical practice of Professional Engineering.

Odyne earned The Best of State, First Place award in the small employment category in recognition of its plug-in hybrid system for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and for its economic contributions to Wisconsin through engineering initiative and innovation.

Odyne’s advanced plug-in hybrid electric systems for large trucks can reduce fuel consumption by up to 50%, depending upon the duty cycle, lower emissions, improve acceleration and allow large work vehicles to operate quietly at a job site, powering equipment and tools with the engine off.

Odyne’s systems can also provide heat and air conditioning to the cab without idling the engine and eliminate the need for generators by exporting power from batteries. The company holds more than 15 patents and has 25 patents pending.

Odyne’s proprietary hybrid technology combines reliable electric power conversion, power control, and energy storage technology. The system interfaces with Allison
Transmission’s industry leading fully-automatic transmissions, Remy advanced electric propulsion motors with industry leading power density and efficiency, Johnson Controls lithium-ion battery technology and other robust, automotive quality components.

In 2014, the company installed more than 120 systems on new trucks throughout North America as part of a $45.4 million award from the Department of Energy, administered by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and in performance of projects from the state of California.

John Petras, VP of engineering and principal investigator for Odyne, said, "We are
excited to be named a Governor’s New Product Award winner. I would especially like to recognize the professional engineers, without whom this award would not have been possible: Richard Swortzel, New Eagle, Mark Kosowski, EPRI, Michael Mitchell, Richard (Rit) Booth, and Thomas Widule, Rexnord Innovation Center."

Odyne’s advanced plug-in hybrid technology enables trucks over 14,000 pounds to have substantially lower emissions, improved performance, quieter job site operation, lower fuel consumption and reduced operating and maintenance costs.

Lifting Gear Hire (LGH), Bridgeview, Ill., has relocated its Kansas City, Mo., warehouse to  1886 N. Topping, Kansas City, Mo. 64120.

The new location helps LGH provide faster equipment rental turn around for customers in the Kansas City area. In addition, the new warehouse provides a large selection of rental equipment, as well as larger rental equipment, and more dock space for convenient loading and unloading. 

LGH provides hoisting, pulling, jacking, rigging, material-handling, and safety equipment.

Pettibone/Traverse Lift LLC, Baraga, Mich., has added Leavitt Machinery to its dealer network for all material-handling products.

Leavitt will carry Pettibone equipment at its locations in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, Canada, as well as in the U.S. state of Washington.

“We are excited to welcome Leavitt Machinery to the Pettibone family,” said Scot Jenkins, president of the Pettibone Heavy Equipment Group. “Leavitt has a tremendous reputation for providing premium equipment solutions to the material-handling industry. We look forward to a long and productive partnership.”

Leavitt Machinery’s full-service branches provide cost-effective new and used equipment sales, emergency repairs, planned maintenance, long- and short-term equipment rentals, operator safety training, and parts support.

The company’s primary emphasis with Pettibone is promoting Cary-Lift products for pipe handling in oil and gas applications, as well as for tire handling in mines and quarries. The company will also carry Pettibone’s Extendo and Traverse telehandler lines for the construction market, and the Speed Swing loader for railway maintenance.

“We take pride in delivering a wide variety of material handling equipment options to our diverse array of customers,” said John Mutis, senior vice president of sales for Leavitt Machinery. “Pettibone’s rugged and innovative machines are a great complement to our existing product lines.”

The National Joint Power Alliance (NJPA) has awarded JCB North America a four-year contract to provide NJPA members with medium-duty and compact construction and maintenance equipment. The contractbegan May 19, 2015. It also covers related attachments, accessories, and supplies.

“We’re extremely pleased to have our proposal chosen by the NJPA,” said Scott Whitehurst, commercial sales manager for JCB North America. “Winning this NJPA contract will give JCB and its dealers the opportunity to build additional brand awareness and sales volume throughout North America. We’re looking forward to working with NJPA members and providing them fast and easy access to the quality, competitively priced equipment they need.”

The NJPA is a municipal contracting agency for government, education, and non-profit agencies throughout the U.S. and Canada.  The NJPA goes through a 12-step procurement process that includes identifying member needs, researching solutions, drafting and posting solicitations, evaluating proposals and awarding vendors. By consolidating the efforts of numerous individually prepared solicitations and contracts to one cooperative process, the NPJA is able to help members save time and offer access to a broad range of exceptional product and equipment options with aggressive and competitive pricing. 

JCB’s contract with the NJPA includes equipment such as skid steers, compact track loaders, backhoes, compact excavators, rough-terrain forklifts, telescopic forklifts, and compaction rollers. 

JCB’s network of more than 300 North American dealer outlets, as well as more than 500 JCB employees provide customer service and after-sale support. The company will also offer training events for NJPA’s management and sales force at its 1,048-acre corporate campus in Savannah, Ga., along with marketing and trade show support.

JCB will also update the Government and Municipal section of its North American website, www.jcbna.com, with information about the JCB/NJPA partnership to assist NJPA members through the equipment purchase process.

Bailey Specialty Cranes & Aerials has converted a JLG 660SJ telescopic boom lift from diesel power to 480V 3-phase plug-in electric power to meet the needs of a major theme park. 

The park bought the  66-ft. tall, 500-lb.-capacity lift indoors to maintain a huge video display screen, so it wanted quiet, emission-free operation. The customer also requested that JLG paint the lift black to make it less visible. JLG shipped the brand new lift directly from its Pennsylvania factory to Bailey’s facility in metropolitan Milwaukee, Wis. When Bailey had completed conversion and testing, the lift was shipped to the park, where it was put right to work.

To make the conversion, Bailey removed the lift’s 67-hp diesel engine and all fuel-system components, then installed the 480V 3-phase electric motor, a motor-starter box, a 120V charger for the 12V battery that powers the emergency lowering system, and a 120V transformer. The electric motor was coupled to the lift’s existing hydraulic pump and the system pressure was reduced from 3,650 psi to 3,000 psi. to match the motor’s 15-hp capacity.

Going with a smaller electric motor helped save cost and reduce electric usage without affecting any function other than travel. Since the 660SJ is traveling a short distance on a paved and level floor, travel power and speed were not an issue. Travel speed with the electric motor is just 0.75 mph (vs 4.0 mph with diesel power), but all other functions work with the same speed and performance as in a diesel-powered version. 

Since the electric motor weighed less than the original diesel engine, Bailey added counterweight to keep the lift’s center of gravity in its original spot, then put the converted 660SJ through a full battery of stability and function tests.

The conversion also included a wall-mounted reel with 50 ft. of electric cable that pays out and reels in as the lift travels the 30 ft. or so needed for its crew to do their work.

The entire process took about two weeks of engineering and six weeks of work and testing, according to Jeff Bailey, president of Bailey Specialty Cranes and Aerials.

To help customers around the world optimize parts performance and better understand the health of their equipment, Caterpillar Inc. has entered into a strategic alliance with Modustri, a provider of service and measurement technologies for use in the field.

Caterpillar and Modustri will work together to develop innovations that enhance Cat customers’ abilities to measure wear on parts like never before. In turn, these technologies will help customers optimize their fleets more effectively.

“Our parts monitoring and management tool has been a leader in the equipment management industry for 75 years, but we’re always looking for ways to step up our game,” said Doug Hoerr, vice president of the Reman, Components and Work Tools Division of Caterpillar. “Our relationship with Modustri will allow us to take advantage of emerging technology that gives our customers more information on parts and components to maximize up time.” 

Using web and mobile platforms, the companies will deliver simplified processes that provide customers accurate, immediate access to useful, real-time data while still in the field. The technology could save customers hundreds of hours and millions of dollars by proactively helping Cat dealers and customers better measure wear rates and manage wear parts replacement—including those from other suppliers.

“We’ve seen how mobile technology can change the behaviors of customers; now we can see groundbreaking hardware and software that can help dealers interact with customers, build trust and plan ahead for maintenance and parts replacements,” said Brian Steketee, founder and CEO of Modustri, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“We are at the forefront of a revolution in the heavy equipment industry,” said Greg Folley, vice president of the newly formed Analytics & Innovation Division of Caterpillar. “Emerging technologies are changing the way we can help customers maintain a competitive advantage and achieve new levels of equipment productivity and profitability. Our alliance with Modustri will be key in making this happen."

In the coming months, Caterpillar will collaborate with Modustri and the Cat dealer network to create the latest Cat equipment wear management technologies through web-based and mobile platforms, which will now be available for customer use.

Professional Service Industries, Inc. (PSI) has hired William Melton, E.I.T., as manager-in-training at its Kansas City office. Melton holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Kansas State University.

In support of the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators’ (NCCCO) policy of providing calculators for some CCO written exams, Manitowoc Cranes has agreed to provide 10,000 calculators for candidates’ use.

Basic calculators are supplied for CCO Mobile Crane Operator Specialty Exams, Digger Derrick Operator, Rigger Level II, Mobile Crane Inspector, Mobile Crane Lift Director, and Tower Crane Lift Director exams.

“Manitowoc is delighted to show its support of CCO certification programs and the safety benefits that certification brings,” said Larry Weyers, president of Manitowoc Cranes. “This important sponsorship opportunity demonstrates Manitowoc’s commitment to NCCCO’s primary mission of promoting safe lifting practices.” Under the terms of Manitowoc’s sponsorship, candidates will be permitted to keep the calculators after completing their exam(s).

Since the policy allowing calculators on specific tests went into effect three years ago, NCCCO has given away over 45,000 calculators to certification candidates. For security reasons, only NCCCO-supplied calculators are permitted to be used on CCO examinations. Candidates using computer-based testing are provided with an on-screen calculator.

NCCCO began allowing calculators on specific exams following a study conducted by International Assessment Institute (IAI), the company that provides test development and administration services to NCCCO. The study, The Effects of Calculator Use During NCCCO Testing,concluded that, while the use of calculators would not be appropriate for use on basic math questions contained in CCO Core exams, their use would be supportable on load chart calculations used on CCO Specialty exams.

Manitowoc was the first sponsor of the NCCCO calculator program and, to date, has provided more than 30,000 calculators for use by CCO candidates. Manitowoc’s calculator sponsorship is only one part of their support of NCCCO’s 20^th anniversary.

“We’re delighted that, in NCCCO’s 20^th Anniversary Year, Manitowoc has once again agreed to make this major investment in support of CCO certification,” said NCCCO Commission Chairman, Ellis Vliet. “NCCCO strives to maintain the highest possible standards of quality, integrity and fairness in testing, and our calculator policy, which permits candidates to keep the calculators for use in their daily work, is directly in line with that goal.”

Skyjack scissor and boom lifts hit the greens at the BEA and Action Rentals’ Second Annual Golf Tournament, contributing to the event’s philanthropic goals. The aerial work platform manufacturer returned to the event for a second year as a platinum sponsor.

This year’s golf tournament raised more than $21,000 for Centro Mater, a childcare service in south Florida that specializes in taking care of children of low income and underprivileged families. Skyjack sponsored the event, and donated an additional $3,000 through its 30 FOR 30 PARTNERS campaign.

“Centro Mater is a very noble cause, and Skyjack was happy to return as a platinum sponsor,” said Skyjack regional vice president Pat Quint. “Not only was Skyjack able to double our donation this year, but the entire fundraiser raised twice as much money as last year.”

Held on March 16, the daylong event, which included a golfing and a silent auction, took place at Miami International Links in the Melreese Country Club. Seventy people attended including many construction industry professionals as well as school board and university members. Beyond the platinum sponsorship, Skyjack had machines available at the clubhouse, hole nine and the awards banquet for golfers to check out.

“Skyjack has been a key part in helping make this event a success,” said Bruno Elias Ramos, principal owner of Action Rentals. “I am very proud to be associated with a company that has so much integrity.

Action Rentals has always found importance in giving back to the community, and it is clear that Skyjack has the same values with their anniversary campaign.”

Skyjack’s 30 FOR 30 PARTNERS campaign is a yearlong initiative to celebrate 30 successful years in business. Throughout 2015, Skyjack is donating money and machine rentals to 30 charitable projects around the world. The company has been part of the BEA and Action Rentals golf tournament for two years, helping raise funds for Centro Mater.

Oshkosh Corporation, parent company of aerial work platform and telehandler manufacturer JLG, has updated its EPS estimates for the third quarter and full year fiscal 2015.

The company expects that EPS for the third quarter of fiscal 2015 will approximate the adjusted EPS reported in the third quarter of fiscal 2014.

Previously, the company believed EPS for the third quarter of fiscal 2015 would be above EPS for the third quarter of fiscal 2014.

The company reported adjusted EPS of $1.23 for the third quarter of fiscal 2014.

Oshkosh noted that sales and earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2015, principally in its access equipment segment, have been impacted by several factors including severe weather conditions that continued into the third fiscal quarter, potential rental industry consolidation and, to a lesser extent, new product launch delays.

The company is also updating its full year 2015 adjusted EPS estimate range to $3.75 to $4.00, reduced from its

most recent expectation of $4.00 to $4.25. The company reported adjusted1 EPS of $3.62 for the full year fiscal 2014.