Upbeat Mood Reported At Industry Trade Shows

Optimism was the prevailing mood at two major industry trade shows — ConExpo-Con/Agg in Las Vegas, and the Work Truck Show in Indianapolis — that took place a week apart this March.

John Celoni, president and CEO of Ramsay Industries, cited a variety of factors for the optimism, including pent-up demand.

“We’ve got aging fleets that are out there. People have deferred expenses,” Celoni said at the ConExpo booth of Auto Crane, a Ramsay subsidiary. “I think the (presidential) election, regardless of who won or didn’t win, there was a pause before the election that is hard to understand but it happens every election. And then since then, yeah, things have freed up. I would also say that having oil and gas in that 55 (dollars a barrel) range or better and the optimism and more rigs being drilled now are all encouraging points.”

Russ Thielen with Peterson Trucks Inc., a Caterpillar and International Truck dealer in the San Francisco Bay Area, said there was “good energy” and “good activity” at ConExpo. He agreed with Celoni that a lot of people are looking for new ideas and showing a willingness to expand.

“I think the money and the financial aspect of our industry is loosening up a little bit and that’s going to bear out over the next couple of years,” he said. “People are looking at capital expenditures.”

He is fortunate that Silicon Valley, where Thielen’s business is located, seems to be a stable marketplace regardless of the health of the construction industry in the rest of the country.

“Things are positive and still on the uptick in the San Francisco Bay area,” Thielen said.

Traffic was excellent

The chairman of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, which organizes ConExpo, noted a mood change at the 2017 version of the triennial event, according to a post-show news release.

“I think there is a noticeable difference in the attendees at this show, and the difference is their optimism,” the release quoted AEM chair Michael Haberman, president of Gradall Industries. “Optimism was on display throughout the show, and the traffic was excellent.”

Jim Hasty, vice-president and general manager of Iowa Mold Tooling Co. Inc., attributed much of the optimism he noticed at ConExpo to election promises of ramped up infrastructure spending. But he also noted that “there’s some people in West Virginia in the coal mines that are starting to get optimistic that maybe they’ll start mining coal again.”

Asked if perhaps the coal miner’s optimism is misplaced because of natural gas pummelling the coal market, Hasty said, “I don’t know if you can be overly optimistic. Those type of things actually help feed the economy. So as long as everybody is optimistic it should help keep things moving.”

Hesitation has ended

Donna Popp-Bruesewitz of Stellar Industries Inc., who also attended ConExpo, noticed a more positive vibe on the floor of the Work Truck Show this year.

“There was a little hesitation last year with the whole political season,” Popp-Bruesewitz said. “Now that that’s under our belt people are starting to get a little excited about some of the things that are coming.”

While she attributed much of that to people just being glad the election is over, she added that the outcome will be good for the industry.

“I think with the infrastructure stuff that they’re trying to pass, that just means good things for everybody in this industry,” she said, adding, “Put people back to work and fix the roads, fix the bridges.”

It’s all psychological

Gerry Turchak, president of Penticton, B.C.-based Brutus Truck Bodies and Nor-Mar Cranes, said the mood at this ConExpo was more positive than the last time around. He attributed that to the recent of change government in the U.S., “whether good or bad.”

Much of the mood change is psychological, he said. “Somebody thinks things are better, they’re probably going to get better,” Turchak said. “You want to come here depressed, you can stay depressed quite easily.”

He has also noticed an attitude change in Canada as well. When oil prices dipped, his business slowed down considerably.

“Now the optimism is coming back. We’re getting busier and hiring,” said Turchak, who has been coming to ConExpo for two decades.

Heather Wilt, marketing director for Curry Supply Company of Martinsburg, Pa., said the company’s ConExpo booth received “a ton of traffic,” which she attributed to the buoyant mood.

“Everyone seems really optimistic and we’re talking to a really great amount of people who are ready to buy and Curry Supply is excited for 2017 and what the show is going to bring,” said Wilt, who was attending her third ConExpo although it was her first since joining Curry Supply.

She attributed the optimism to construction and other industries picking up. “They need service trucks, and they need trucks from us to do what they do every day. So I think that’s what’s really going to help boost this industry,” Wilt said.

It’s about Trump

ConExpo meanwhile was old hat for Paul Hecker, director of engineering with Southwest Products, which has its manufacturing headquarters in Surprise, Ariz. He has been coming to show since the early 1990s, before many of the exhibitions halls at the convention center had been built.

“I think this is a real exciting show this year,” he said.

And to what does he attribute the enthusiasm?

“Trump!” he exclaimed with a mischievous laugh. “How many people have said that?”

“I’m a supporter of what’s best for our country,” Hecker added in a more serious tone.

“One of the best lines I’ve heard this entire trade show — and I’m not going to say it’s original and I may not coin the phrase correctly — but I think it was described best that with the economy people were hesitant to try make themselves joyful about the opportunities that we have in our industry,” Hecker continued. “The equipment industry is large, it’s exciting, and so someone said, ‘I think people are manufacturing enthusiasm.’ And guess what? It’s been very contagious. So if I can do nothing else for the people and attendees here, I want to be one of those who manufactures enthusiasm.”

Prepping for new builds

At the Work Truck Show, Ryan Fiorenza of CTW Electronics Co. Inc., an Indianapolis area company that makes electrical components for vehicles, said he has encountered more decision-makers at the show than in previous years.

“We’re seeing a lot of fleets prepping for new build cycles,” said Fiorenza, whose company was exhibiting at the show for the 10th time. “So a lot more fleets are sending out bid packages and requests for quotes and things like that, getting ready for large fleet purchases.”

What does he think is behind that?

“Well, you can only hold off building for so long,” said Fiorenza, who is a national sales rep. “And the economy has held people back for quite awhile. It seems like people are optimistic of an upturn. We’ll see how it goes.”

Political change is a factor, he added. But so is a rebounding housing market and a revitalized construction sector. “And all those guys use trucks,” Fiorenza said.

Renee Franklin, an outside sales rep with Houston-based service body maker RKI Inc., also noticed an upbeat perspective on the economy.

“Oil seems to be kind of bouncing back up,” Franklin said. “And we’re directly impacted because we’re a Texas-based company in the oil patch.”