As the AEM Manufacturing Express tour continues to work its way back into the Midwest, efforts are underway to make the final month of the association’s public engagement initiative the most successful and memorable one yet.
With the final stop of the tour set for Friday, Oct. 18 at Komatsu Mining Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, home of AEM’s headquarters, association staff and leadership are pulling out all the stops to make the most of its final few weeks on the road. The past several days have seen the AEM Manufacturing Express visit our nation’s capital, stop in Richmond, Virginia to spend a day with Old Dominion Brush Company, engage with employees from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania-based Volvo CE, drop in to visit with AEM Hall of Fame inductee Susanne Cobey and Eagle Crusher in Bucyrus, Ohio, and open this week with a stops at Gradall Industries in New Philadelphia, Ohio, and Fecon in Lebanon, Ohio.
Last week saw U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), and U.S. Representative Don Davis (D-N.C.) hop aboard the AEM Manufacturing Express and receive AEM’s prestigious Champion of the Industry Award. Presented for the fourth time in the association’s 130-year history, the award recognizes members of Congress from both sides of the aisle for their steadfast support of the equipment manufacturing industry and their efforts to advance bipartisan, commonsense solutions to the country’s toughest challenges. The AEM Champion of the Industry is reserved for one Democrat and one Republican from each legislative chamber who have championed legislation important to equipment manufacturers and have worked across the aisle to help move the industry forward, and its candidates are approved by the AEM Government and Public Affairs Committee.
Check out some photos of the winners of the Champion of the Industry Award below.
One day prior, the AEM Manufacturing Express stopped by Old Dominion Brush Company to visit the longtime manufacturer of debris and leaf collection systems. While the company is known for its commitment to innovation, Old Dominion's lengthy track record of providing family-sustaining jobs for the surrounding community of Richmond, Virgina, creating innovative products, and encouraging sustainability in all facets of their operations, are what company officials are most proud of today. “We are especially focused on employee appreciation and sustainability. When it comes to sustainability, we are tackling it from a product and process standpoint and we’ve been able to reduce our carbon footprint and increase our efficiencies over the past few years,” said Mudit Monsi, the company’s operations manager in a newly published article that was featured this week in the AEM Industry Advisor member newsletter.
Following a beautiful day in Richmond, it was off to Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, to spend a few hours with global construction equipment leader Volvo CE. The company was proud to celebrate a historic milestone – 50 years of manufacturing in Shippensburg. According to a newly published story on manufacturingexpress.org, the official website of the AEM Manufacturing Express, the company first opened its doors a half-century ago as Ingersoll Rand before becoming a trusted provider of road development equipment. Acquired by Volvo CE in 2007, the Shippensburg facility is home to the North American division of Volvo’s global construction equipment brand. “It’s an honor to work in such a storied place and continue sharing Volvo’s commitment to training, safety, and sustainability with our community. I can’t wait to see what the next 50 years brings for our people and our industry,” said company VP and GM Gustavo Casagrandi.
Check out some photos from the event at Volvo CE below, or visit the AEM Manufacturing Express Flickr gallery.
Then it was off to Buycrus, Ohio, for a day with Eagle Crusher Company. An industry leader in developing crushers for the recycled concrete, asphalt, aggregate, and sand and gravel industries, Eagle Crusher Company is led by longtime president and CEO and 2024 AEM Hall of Fame inductee Susanne Cobey. Cobey joined Eagle Crusher Company in1974 as parts manager, and quickly advanced through multiple ranks to become president and CEO in 1990. Eagle Crusher has always been a leading manufacturer of heavy-duty crushing and screening equipment. But when significant industry changes in the 1980s impacted Eagle Crusher, Cobey spearheaded the commercial recycling industry in the United States, building the first U.S. commercial recycling plant, Eagle Crusher’s Jumbo 1400, in 1984. Her innovations created a new product line for Eagle Crusher, and a new American industry. Under Cobey’s bold vision, the plant took crushing to a new level with its abilities to process high volumes of aggregate, concrete and RAP. These improvements saved innumerable tons of concrete and asphalt from landfills. A whole line of portable horizontal impactor plants soon followed, creating a boon for the aggregate crushing, the recycled concrete, and the RAP markets. A female pioneer in a male-dominated industry, Cobey has dedicated herself to helping other women in the industry succeed. She has addressed the topic of women in the industry in numerous videos and news articles and serves as a key-note speaker and role model at many commencement addresses.
Finally, to kick off its 12th week on the road, the AEM Manufacturing Express spent this past Monday at Gradall Industries in New Philadelphia, Ohio, before moving on to Fecon in Lebanon, Ohio, this past Tuesday. The tour will close out the week at LBX Company and Grote Industries, while next week will bring five stops in four different states as the tour works its way back toward Wisconsin.
About the AEM Manufacturing Express
The most ambitious and impactful public engagement initiative in AEM’s 130-year history, the AEM Manufacturing Express is an interactive mobile tour that will cover 20 states and make stops at more than 80 equipment manufacturers’ facilities in the Midwest, South, Mid-Atlantic, and states around the Great Lakes this summer and into the fall. Stay in the know on all things AEM Manufacturing Express by visiting www.manufacturingexpress.org.
Subscribe to the AEM Industry Advisor for more AEM news and updates.
