Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/536721
YOU CAN ALWAYS REACH ITS WEAK SPOT. GOT A BEAST OF A JOB? Need extra reach for your excavator? The only clamp-compatible extendable arm in the industry gives you more than a fighting chance. Get power and lifting performance when it's retracted or additional dig depth and reach — without the need for repositioning — when it's extended. Add a clamp and monster jobs can never escape your grip. EXTEND HERE July 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com 38 "Technicians are the people who get us up and running in a hurry and make us all successful," says Roger Mohr, director of corporate business division at John Deere Construction and Forestry. "They keep our machines and our cus- tomers going and are deserving of special recognition. The Technician of the Year initiative is our way of doing that," he says. "The job of an equipment techni- cian is not only physically and intellectually demanding, it also tests a person's character," Mohr says. "Technicians deal with a lot of negative pressure. Nobody calls them until something breaks and then they're thrown into a pressure cooker environment. The Techni- cian of the Year Program is a way to recognize people who don't get a lot of recognition. These individ- uals deserve our appreciation for their service to our industry." Thad Pirtle knows something about the value of the Technician of the Year award. In 1990 he was the second person to ever receive the award, and has since then gone on to become a vice president and top equipment manager at Traylor Bros. as well as a past chairman of the AEMP board of directors. "Being tech of the year means a lot to a person," Pirtle says. "It opens doors to opportunities that are difficult to quantify – oppor- tunities to give back to your trade and your profession and to organi- zations like AEMP." Looking forward Having steered away from the cushy, college graduate life of cubicles for the rough and tumble of heavy equipment maintenance, does Schro- der have any regrets? None at all. technician of the year | continued Each AEMP Technician of the Year is awarded this custom built mechanics tool chest courtesy of John Deere Construction Equipment.