Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/117833
Industry Beat Whit Perryman On March 14, two AED board members testified before the House Energy & Mineral Resources Subcommittee about the impacts of the shale gas and oil boom. Whit Perryman (above), CEO of Vermeer Equipment of Texas-Louisiana and Don Shilling (below, right), president of General Equipment & Supplies and AED���s 2013 senior vice president said shale energy development resulting from improvements in hydraulic fracturing has led to new business activity and growth for their companies, the construction industry, and their communities. Don Shilling 35 Wounded Warriors Attend a Weekend of Activities to Honor Their Service & Sacrifice HALO for Freedom Warrior Foundation and Ride 2 Recovery recently honored 35 veterans with an exciting weekend that featured an opportunity to ���play in the dirt��� operating a Caterpillar bulldozer, backhoe, and skid-steer loader provided by HOLT CAT and its Hiring Our Heroes Program. The event began with the performance of the U.S. National Anthem by Country Western artist Aaron Tippin, with a choreographed skydiving jump with Team Fastrax into Texas Motor Speedway with American flags. Coast Crane Company, the SANY America crane dealer for California, has expanded its SANY territory across the western United States and Canada. For SANY crawler cranes, the territory now includes Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington; the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Yukon Territory; and the U.S. island territory of Guam. For SANY rough-terrain cranes, the Coast Crane territory now includes British Columbia and Yukon Territory. Hawkins-Graves Inc. has been named a SANY excavator dealer in Lynchburg, Va., the first Virginia-based excavator dealer for SANY America Inc. Tar Heel Machinery has been named the company���s excavator dealer in North Carolina. Wajax Industrial Components, a division of Wajax Corporation, and Kaman Industrial Technologies have formed a strategic alliance, strengthening the services offered to customers that have business assets in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The companies will remain independent entities, but join forces under the name Sourcepoint Industrial, to compete for business-to-business and supply agreements with customers in multiple jurisdictions. William Swanston Dies at 84 William Doyle Swanston, 84, of Fargo, N.D., died on Feb. 27. Bill or ���Swanny��� to his friends, passed away after a life of love, family, business and golf. After serving honorably in the U.S. Army he returned to his native Fargo, N.D., where he joined his father���s company, Swanston Equipment Company. Swanston Equipment was one of the first Bobcat distributors in the U.S. Swanston was a pioneer in pavement markings, helping to privatize the road and airport marking industry. He active in AED, the AGC and the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA). His son Mike Swanston serves as president of Swanston Equipment Company. Richard McCann: 1939-2013 On the morning of March 12, Dick McCann passed away after a long battle with cancer. Dick���s wife Lynn and his four children ��� Terry, Kathy, Sherry and Jim ��� were at his side. Dick founded and owned McCann Construction Specialties and also started McCann Power & Equipment when he purchased three Chicagoarea Case company stores in 1994. In 2000, he and partner Dennis Kruepke merged the two companies to form McCann Industries. McCann held leadership positions with AED, the Illinois Equipment Distributors, the Underground Contractors Association and Concrete Contractors Association of Greater Chicago. He also served on the board of the Boy Scouts of America, Three Fires Council. His legacy of a solid work ethic and moral integrity can be seen throughout the business today. April 2013 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 17 14_industry beat_KP.indd 17 3/25/13 2:14 PM