Loading up on the Web: 6/1 – 6/4
It’s been a relatively slow news week here on The Machine Works Blog. It seems like everyone is a bit slow getting back to work after the holiday weekend. Everyone except for Bobcat, that is. This week, the small equipment manufacturer held an awesome press event in Atlanta and unleashed a new line of UTVs and additions to its mini ex lineup. CE Head Hancho Keith Gribbins blogged live from the event, which you can see here:
Bobcat Press Event, Day One: Launch of a new UTV line: The company released its third generation of off-road work vehicles, an 18-month synergy with Polaris (the recreational off-road vehicle innovator). The launch included four new UTVs — the 3200, 3400, 3400XL and 3450 — and these hardnosed mini work trucks have a whole new look, new engines, new suspension and a bed full of new versatile options, a cross pollination of parts and engineering with Polaris.
Watch Bobcat’s New Line of UTVs in Action
Bobcat Press Event, Day Two: The March of the Mini Ex:During the afternoon sessions of Bobcat’s press product launch yesterday, the Georgia heat chased editors into the shade of machine cabs. Muddy boots and sweaty shirts, this editor jumped into all four of Bobcat’s newly released compact excavators, digging red dirt alongside the industry’s biggest equipment publications and Bobcat’s top product managers at the expansive Bobcat Atlanta dealership, right near the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Bobcat released four new mini and mid-sized diggers, but we’ll detail three of the new ones in this blog (saving that micro model 324 for a separate blog on Monday).
Expect more Bobcat coverage when Gribbins gets back into the office on Monday with his treasure chest of product specs and demo video footage. There were also a couple noteworthy stories this week, so be sure to check them out. As always, follow us on Twitter @compactequip. See you next week.
Strategy in a Shifting Market: FMI’s report, New Day, New Strategy: Repositioning After the Great Recession, provides a brief design and construction industry outlook for the next 12 months. The report focuses on challenges, opportunities and market drivers in the new market environment. According to the research, state budgetary shortfalls of $180 billion are estimated for 2011; a sign that constricted capital will continue to hamper growth in the nonresidential sector. At the same time, a predicted improvement in the next 12 to 18 months in the design and construction industry is driving change at the company level.
2009 LoJack Commercial Theft Study: Crooks and Criminals beware — LoJack has its eyes on you! The LoJack Corp. announced the results of its 10th annual Construction Equipment Theft Study in a report that provides valuable information on the ongoing issue of equipment theft — a problem that collectively cost owners 13,452* stolen pieces of equipment in 2009, 82 percent of which were never recovered.
Nonresidential Construction Employment Falls in May: Unfortunately for employment rates in the nonresidential construction industry, the law of gravity, “what goes up must come down,” is ringing true. After an across-the-board jobs gain in April, employment in the nation’s nonresidential construction industry fell by 4,200 jobs in May, according to June 4 employment report by the U.S. Labor Department. Since May 2009, the nonresidential building construction sector has lost 55,400 jobs, or 7.5 percent, and the employment stands at 684,300.
