Rod Sutton is editorial director of Construction Equipment magazine. He is in charge of editorial strategy and writes a monthly column for the magazine, The Sutton Report. He has nearly 25 years in construction journalism, and has been with Construction Equipment since 2001.
Three years ago, minus a few weeks, the construction equipment industry was returning from an exhilarating Conexpo-Con/Agg 2008. Optimism carried the day as construction markets were humming and a wealth of new machines had been introduced.
The return to Vegas for the 2011 edition of Conexpo-Con/Agg promises a return to that excitement. Manufacturers have been investing in their products, and pre-show indications promise more innovation and machine improvements than we’ve seen in a while.
Two manufacturers have successfully generated anticipation among industry watchers. Caterpillar’s entrance into the heavy-truck arena will be unveiled a couple of days prior to the Show’s opening. This joint venture with Navistar will field a Cat-branded truck for the construction industry, expected to be powered by diesels adapted from Navistar MaxxForce engines.
John Deere, which in 2008 unveiled its high-speed dozer, is teeing up another “reveal” on the first day of the show. Whereas images of the 2008 dozer had been spotted prior to the unveiling, sources at Deere have told us the lid has been snapped tightly on this machine. Truly, we haven’t a clue what the Deere announcement will be, although a Monday evening event promises “quite possibly the single most important piece of equipment Deere has ever manufactured.”
Other manufacturers have released pre-show public relations, too, and we expect a substantial number of machines that will be new. Many of them are featured in the Official 2011 Conexpo-Con/Agg Show Preview, published by Construction Equipment.
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