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Proposal would eliminate federal transportation funding
Two U.S. Congressmen filed a bill dubbed the Transportation Empowerment Act (TEA) that would gradually eliminate federal funding for transportation projects. According to The Hill, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) filed TEA, which would lower the gas tax in five years from 18.4 cents per gallon to 3.7 cents. Authority over federal highways and transit programs would be transferred to states over this period. Block grants would replace congressional appropriations. "States and cities could plan, finance and build better-designed and more affordable projects," Lee says. "Local communities should finally have the flexibility to develop the kind of transportation system they want, for less money, without politicians and special interests from other parts of the country telling them how, when, what and where they should build." "For the country as a whole, our plan would mean a better infrastructure system, new jobs and opportunities, diverse localism, and innovative environmental protection," he continued. According to Graves, the bill has generated 19 co-sponsors in the House. NSSGA (ROCKPAC) contributed… Keep Reading
W.S. Tyler names Thompson president
W.S. Tyler appointed Karen Thompson as its new president. She replaces Florian Festge, who assumed the managing director position of the Machinery Division for W.S. Tyler’s parent company, Haver & Tyler. Thompson spent the last 16 years working in various roles within W.S. Tyler. Keep Reading
Cat shares Tier 4 used equipment plans for less regulated countries
Caterpillar unveiled its strategy to meet the needs of customers in less regulated countries selling and purchasing used Tier 4 Interim products for operation. Caterpillar determined that Cat Tier 4 Interim engine systems between 7 and 32 liters will not require any modification to operate in less regulated countries. Cat will offer modification processes that remove after-treatment from machine and commercial engine configurations for Cat Tier 4 Interim engines less than 7 liters. Modification processes, which include decertification, will be made available to customers in less regulated countries through Cat dealers beginning next year. Keep Reading
Boart Longyear names North America sales director
Boart Longyear appointed Vince Trotta as its director of North American product sales. Trotta was most recently the director of global product management and marketing communications for Boart Longyear. He has seven years of sales experience in global mining heavy equipment. Keep Reading
Eriez names market manager for aggregates
Eriez promoted Bill Dudenhoefer to market manager of heavy industry. Dudenhoefer will oversee the company's equipment and orders for heavy industries, including aggregates. He will supervise a team of three and report to Dave Heubel, director of North American sales. Dudenhoefer joined Eriez in 1998, serving as technical sales representative until his promotion in 2006 to separation product manager. Keep Reading
Ohio commits $120 million to repair locally owned bridges
The state of Ohio plans to invest $120 million to repair and replace more than 200 county- and city-owned bridges over the next three years, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). ODOT says it reduced overhead costs and improved efficiencies to free up the $120 million. The state says work is expected to begin on the first 40 bridges next year. ODOT will work with local officials to identify other bridges to repair or replace in the following years. According to ODOT, Ohio has 44,000 bridges – the second-highest number in the United States behind Texas. Keep Reading
MSHA issues third-quarter fatality data
Four miners died in metal/nonmetal mining accidents in the third quarter this year, according to an MSHA report. Five coal miners also died in the third quarter. Two of the four metal/nonmetal miners died in powered haulage accidents. One died in a machinery accident, and another died in a falling-material accident. "In metal/nonmetal mining, fatalities continue to occur that could be prevented by using 'lock out/tag out' best practices," says Joe Main, assistant secretary of labor for MSHA. "Two of the fatalities this quarter could have been avoided by disconnecting the power, ensuring the miner on the job has locked the power source in the safe position and tagging to prevent the power from being re-energized." Keep Reading
Firm anticipates 7 percent increase in construction next year
Researchers at FMI, a management consulting and investment banking firm to the construction industry, are predicting construction-put-in-place (CPIP) growth rates to be slightly ahead of the gross domestic product in 2014. FMI is specifically predicting construction put in place to reach $977 billion next year – a 6.8 percent increase over the $909.6 billion that's expected to be in place by the end of this year. FMI issued its prediction in its 2014 U.S. Markets Construction Overview. According to FMI, residential CPIP is anticipated to grow to $379.6 billion next year from $338.2 billion in 2013. Health care CPIP is expected to grow 6 percent next year; transportation construction is expected to slow a tad to 7 percent, from an 8 percent increase this year; and manufacturing construction is expected to grow 4 percent next year after taking about a 2 percent dip in 2013. Keep Reading
Doosan tabs Park as president, CEO
Scott Park was appointed president and CEO of Doosan Infracore Construction Equipment, replacing Tony Helsham, who plans to retire in February 2014. Park is responsible for Bobcat compact equipment, Doosan heavy equipment, the global businesses related to Doosan Infracore Portable Power, and Montabert and Geith attachments. Park most recently was global vice president of strategy, manufacturing strategy and total quality management for Doosan. He previously worked with Volvo Construction Equipment. Keep Reading
