Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/141668
Market Update OEM Responses Not to worry, insists Andrew Kahler, engine and driveline product manager at John Deere Construction & Forestry. Kahler says Deere is ready for Tier-4 Final. The company tracks the training process of its dealers to evaluate how well information is being absorbed, and actively intervenes in the process. "Our dealers are well on their way. They've taken broad-based Tier-4 Final training, as well as for initial Andrew Kahler Tier-4 Final products launched, very specific product sales and support training." Asked if any Deere dealers are dragging their feet about training or are in denial about the need for it, Kahler says dealers are not only encouraged to be prepared, but to be experts in the area so they can act as advisors or consultants for contractors trying to navigate the technology. Over at Case Construction Equipment, Rhonda Monks says that "most, if not all, of the Case dealer network is prepared." onks, the service manager for North M America, said Case has "educated the Rhonda Monks dealer channel in a number of ways, from printed materials, to webinars, podcasts and other multimedia. We've also worked to help educate our customers through many of the same methods, as well as new channels such as augmented reality. We are satisfied that our dealers are among the most prepared in the construction industry. "[Case dealers] are not avoiding this; it's critical to their success to embrace it," she added. "They understand it puts them in an advantageous position compared to other outlets that may not be able to service that equipment." Komatsu America executives believe their distributors are prepared to maintain the equipment with Tier-4 Final engines. "Training is part of the process of introducing new technology," said Richard Smith, vice president of the ICT division and product marketing. "We conduct that extensively at our training facility as well as in the field. Our dealers have been very well trained leading into this Tier-4 technology." Douglas Morris, Komatsu America's director of product marketing added: "We Richard Smith have a training certification process and are very confident of the ability of the technicians out there. We train every distributor in servicing a product and we are there to (continued on next page) UndercArrIAge for Mini excavators & cTL's Artliner-BLS BoLT-on & cLIp-on rubber Track pads & continuous rubber Tracks rollers, Idlers, & Sprockets over 1,000 ModeLS for (FOR TRIPLE BAR SHOES) 888-TUFPADS or 800-307-0299 www.tufpads.com • bls@tufpads.com 1120 Thorndale Ave. • Bensenville, IL 60106 July 2013 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 25 Const Equip Dist 2012 C4 22_Tier4_Feature_KP.indd 25 6/27/13 12:52 PM