CED

February 2013

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From the Chairman President & CEO - TOBY MACK Associated Equipment Distributors Oak Brook, Ill. Our Incurable Devotion to This Business Executive Vice President & COO Robert Henderson Associated Equipment Distributors Oak Brook, Ill. Officers Chairman - mike quirk Wagner Equipment Co. Aurora, Colo. We may not be where we had hoped by now, but somehow, with AED's help, we're still enjoying the ride, aren't we. Vice Chairman - Tim Watters Hoffman Equipment Co., Piscataway, N.J. Sr. Vice President - Don Shilling General Equipment & Supplies, Inc. Fargo, N.D. Vice President - Rick van exan Toromont Industries Inc. Concord, Ontario Vice President - whit perryman Vermeer of Texas Inc. Irving, Texas Vice President of Finance Michael D. Brennan Brandeis Machinery & Supply Co., Louisville, Ky. Past Chairman - Larry Glynn CMW Equipment St. Louis, Mo. At-Large Directors ron barlet Bejac Corp. Placentia, Calif. Paula Benard C.N. Wood Co., Inc. Woburn, Mass. Gregg R. Erb Erb Equipment Company, Inc. Fenton, Mo. Dennis J. heller Stephenson Equipment Inc. Harrisburg, Pa. Mike Rooney Thompson Tractor Co., Inc. Tarrant, Ala. Michael J. Savastio Groff Tractor & Equipment, Inc. Mechanicsburg, Pa. Regional Directors Bruce A. Bowman Upper Midwest Reg. Star Equipment, Ltd Des Moines, Iowa gary frelick Western Canada Reg. Douglas Lake Equipment Langley, BC Patrick McConnell, West Reg. Clyde/West, Inc. Portland, Ore. christopher palmer Northeast Reg. Wood's CRW Corp. Williston, Vt. Mark Romer, Southeast Reg. James River Equipment, Inc. Ashland, Va. Jeffrey Scott Rocky Mountain Reg. Intermountain Bobcat Salt Lake City, Utah Rick Van Exan Eastern Canada Reg. Toromont Industries Ltd. Concord, ON gary D. Vaughn South Central Reg. OCT Equipment, Inc. Oklahoma City, Okla. 5_fromthechairman_KP.indd 5 By Mike Quirk Back in 2010, I was a new officer on AED's Board and it was three years before I would assume the role of AED Chairman – and I thought a lot about what 2013 would be like when my turn came. We were still reeling from the downturn. But by September that year, I began getting calls and e-mail from our Product Support group that we were getting a significant increase in requests for quotes on some large repairs and rebuilds that showed great promise. This was wonderful news because we would need to begin calling back technicians for this labor-intensive work. It was the beginning of the turnaround. I began to imagine that by the time 2013 rolled around we would be in full recovery. AED and its members would be struggling with expansion and the return to normal conditions. (Like the growth we enjoyed for more than a decade before 2009). We would have just been through the 2012 election cycle and the future course of our economy would be clear. The uncertainty that dominated our thoughts would fade. We would have a plan to deal with tax reform and the deficit, and I was sure that we would have a long-term highway bill. My term as Chairman would be really upbeat. Well things don't always work out the way we imagine. Here we are in 2013 and my, oh my. We have a fiscal cliff (only delayed rather than averted), a debt ceiling debate, an interim highway bill, and a murky national health care program that still has many mysteries. In spite of all that, I'm pleased to report that our members across North America are for the most part fairly upbeat. While we do not have a long line of sight to the ingredients for long-term growth we do have many positive signs of life. Rental demand is strong and in many large regions we have embraced new markets like oil and gas and mining. Traditional markets are finally showing some signs of life. We're beginning to build houses again. Credit is available if you work your way through the maze, and the newmachine industry is slowly coming back. Most of us are hiring and adding to our inventories. We're investing in service trucks, tooling, and facility upgrades. We're looking at new product lines and services. While we are again looking forward, we can't help but spend some time looking over our shoulders. What we have is a mixed bag of peril and recovery. How nice! What this demonstrates is why we love this business. We, and our customers, are devoted entrepreneurs. It's often genetic – and incurable. It's what we know, and don't know, that keeps us motivated. Back in 2010, my mind wandered to 2013 to anticipate the role that AED would play in adding real value to our Canadian and American distributors, manufacturers, and service providers. Now that 2013 is here and we see the great challenges and opportunities before us we are ready to accept that responsibility. AED will remain engaged and vigilant to voice opposition to oppressive government regulation and taxes affecting our industry and the markets we serve. We will also be faceto-face advocates for legislation that will help our businesses. We will continue to provide high-level programs of relevant content in an environment conducive to building the lasting business relationships that AED is famous for. Through The AED Foundation we will provide education opportunities specific to the needs of our industry, featuring best practices delivered in valuable, manageable formats. All in all, I'm okay with where we are at this point in time. We have survived. I look forward to being your Chairman in 2013. Our work is not for the faint of heart, but we wouldn't want it to be easy now, would we. Mike Quirk (mquirk@wagnerequipment.com) is vice president of Operations at Wagner Equipment Co., Aurora, Colo. February 2013 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 5 1/30/13 2:54 PM

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