Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/340625
July 2014 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 63 Sector Point of View ADVERTISERS' INDEX Ajax Tool Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Allied Construction Products, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 BidSpotter.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 CE Attachments, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Charter Software Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Coneqtec Universal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Direct Capital Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 e-Emphasys Technologies, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32-33 EPG Insurance, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 FRD Furukawa Rock Drill, USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Glynn General Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 HKX, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 HydrauliCircuit Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Infor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Leading Edge Attachments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Loftness Attachments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Lowe Manufacturing Company, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Okada America, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 PFW Systems Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Pierce-Pacific Manufacturing Co. Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 SANY Heavy Industry Co., LTD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC Screen Machine Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Sentry Insurance Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Solesbee's Equip. & Attachments Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Stewart-Amos Equipment Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Sullivan-Palatek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IBC Unified Purchasing Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Vacuworx Global, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Woods Equipment Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 XAPT Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OBC As the official magazine of Associated Equipment Distributors, this publication carries authoritative notices and articles in regard to the activities of the association. In all other respects, the association cannot be responsible for the contents thereof or the opinions of contributors. Copyright © 2013 by Associated Equipment Distribu- tors. Construction Equipment Distribution (ISSN0010-6755) is published monthly as the official journal of Associated Equipment Distributors. Subscription rate — $39 per year for members; $79 per year for nonmembers. Office of publication: 600 W. 22nd St., Suite 220, Oak Brook, Ill. Phone: 630-574-0650. Periodicals postage at Hinsdale, Ill. 60521 and other post offices. Additional entry, Pontiac, Ill. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Construction Equipment Distribution, 600 W. 22nd St., Suite 220, Oak Brook, Ill. 60523 ways to improve the performance of homes and consumption of energy, but standards have to be based on achievable goals. CED: Both the House and Senate have housing finance reform bills. NAHB supports the Senate bill. What is your reasoning? Kelly: The Senate bipartisan bill strikes an appropriate balance. We feel it provides a path forward to transparency and a way for large and small banks to participate in the mortgage finance system, which is an absolute imperative. Unlike the House bill, the Senate bill provides a federal backstop by creating a fund to be paid into by all participants in the game, a catastrophic fund, in the event we have another down- turn. A prudent federal backstop is what has given the housing finance mortgage system a 30-year fixed rate mortgage. You won't find such a mortgage in Canada. It gives working families the first step up on the ladder to home ownership. If we are successful in the Senate, I am hopeful the House will move to adopt a more middle-of-the-road position. This would be a historic and monumental step forward for the nation and our economy. CED: Did your company's business plan change as a consequence of the housing collapse? Kelly: Every builder standing today had to modify its business operation and we did the same. We went from building a lot to acquiring rental property and modernizing it. We have done a lot of that over the last few years and it has done well for us. We have a bunch of new things on the drawing board that we believe we will be able to move ahead with in the next six months or a year. CED: You sound optimistic. Kelly: We are optimistic that things will continue to improve. Like the rest of the industry, we are looking for prudent, balanced regulation, reduced regulation in many instances, which will lead to greater job creation. We estimate the regulatory burden adds 16-25 percent to the cost of a home. There is egregious regulatory overreach at the federal level, but also at state and local levels. We believe that as home costs go up, opportunities to acquire homes diminish. We try to convince policymakers at all levels of govern- ment to understand that. A reasonable person will acknowl- edge some regulation is warranted. However, in terms of the homebuilder industry, regulation is excessive at every level of government. The negative impact goes beyond home- building, because as housing goes, so goes the nation. GILES LAMBERTSON is a retired journalist and freelance writer whose interest in the construction industry goes back to his carpentry days. He can be reached at gparkerel@ gmail.com ('As Housing Goes, So Goes the Nation' continued from page 27)