NORTH AMERICA Ӏ INFRASTRUCTURE BILL
j interstate commerce,” says Smith. “SC&RA members operating fleets in the States are subject to those federal rules, which are also tied up in the bill. At the SC&RA we have a good relationship with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ¬– the federal agency within the US DoT that regulates truck driving. “We’ve worked together on
hours of service rules to forge an exemption due to the specialised nature of what we do. We also support its new apprentice programme for truck drivers under the age of 21 which ties in with the apprentice schemes our members are doing to help address the driver shortage. And although these
things didn’t necessarily come out of the bill, the bill has now helped make them official. “Another point we agree with
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on is to do with automated permitting. With the bill there are now grant programmes that states can now use above and beyond their core highway money. One of these is to encourage states to adopt innovations for truck safety, and federal government has said one such innovation you could use this money for would be an automated permitting system. “That's great news for us
because it’s one of the big dominoes to fall to get towards 50 state permit automation. And now
that it’s a federal programme the states can’t say they don’t have the money to do it.”
HEAVY HANDLING Another area of interest for Smith and SC&RA members relates to weight rules between states. “We have a patchwork of states where the weight rules are different and it creates a nightmare for interstate commerce,” says Smith. “With the federal government usually only regulating the weight and size of trucks on the Interstates, some states have already allowed heavier trucks on their highways. “In a few states, such as North
Carolina and Mississippi, there are state highways which will be f
Dean Barley, Tadano America president and Coo, shares his view:
How soon do you expect to see positive effects from the infrastructure plan? DB: We already are seeing the positive impact of the infrastructure plan on the economy. It will take some time for the actual dollars to trickle down to the crane business, however crane demand overall is high as a result of confidence in the economy. We are seeing great interest in our GTC telescopic boom crawler crane models, which is the perfect tool for infrastructure. But let’s also remember all of the focus on green technology coming out of Washington. We are seeing heightened interest in Tadano’s lattice boom crawler cranes, particularly the CC 38.650-1, which is ideal for wind turbine construction.
Which areas of the infrastructure plan do you expect to generate the most demand for cranes and, in turn, specifically for which crane types? We are seeing a lot of activity in bridges and wind power right now, and Tadano’s lattice boom crawler cranes and telescopic
boom crawler cranes are perfectly equipped to tackle these jobs. Additionally, the demand for renewable energy continues to grow and that is presenting a tremendous opportunity for the crane industry to not only empower that market, but to also provide the tools to pursue further excellence for the world and the future, as Tadano’s corporate philosophy prioritises. Wind turbines are only getting larger, and Tadano has a robust product line of lattice boom crawler cranes to meet this demand. Additionally, we have the right team members in place today to support our customers with these projects along with future product development to stay ahead of this demand. We have also been seeing plenty of interest in our all terrain cranes for wind turbine maintenance and solar projects.
And how will Tadano meet any increased demand for products as a result of more construction work due to the infrastructure plan? We are continuously working to make our supply chain more efficient for our customers. However, we are not immune to the challenges everyone is facing in the global economy. The acquisition of Demag created a tremendous opportunity for Tadano, both in skills gain and production advantages. Just this week, we launched our AC 2.040-1, which is the first Tadano crane jointly constructed between our Lauf and Zweibrücken factories. This collaboration has helped ease supply constraints, which will directly benefit our customers. We continued with investment in our foundational platform during the slowdown and we have all of the right resources to handle continued growth from this infrastructure plan. Tadano’s commitment to the long term has placed our business in a great position to support our customers with any project they may face. We made significant investment in our own infrastructure over the past several years and we are ready for what’s ahead today.
A Tadano GTC 700 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, being used to place large beams for a highway bridge
22 CRANES TODAY
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