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June 11 2011 Vol. XVIII • No. 12
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Inside
Cat CFO: U.S. Economy Not Far From Liftoff
Mi-Jack, Howell Tractor Hos t Indy 500 Day...10
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) Caterpillar Inc. believes the American economy isn’t far from taking off again but needs a better idea of where government policy is headed in key areas such as taxes, Chief Financial Officer Edward Rapp said May 19. The company forecasts that the U.S. economy will grow by about 3 percent in 2012, Rapp said before a speech at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington. He said growth of 3.5 percent to 4 percent should kick off demand for new heavy machinery like the company’s construction equipment. “There’s a pent-up demand waiting to happen, but it’s see ECONOMY page 90
Hillside Disabled Vet s Home Proj ect Rolls On...18
AED Chairman to Fabick CAT Helps Joplin, Congress: Give Us a Mo., Get Back On Track Highway Bill Now Just three days after the tornado tore through Joplin, Mo., Fabick CAT was again open for business.
Rit chie Br os. Hol ds Sal e in Mor ris , Il l. . ..8 2
Table of Contents ............4 Air Compressors, Generators & Light Towers Section ........35-43 Paving Section ........65-76 Auction Section ......82-95 Business Calendar ........84 Advertisers Index ..........94
The devastation left behind by the tornado that tore through Joplin, Mo., on May 23 is almost too hard to put into any sort of perspective. More than 500 businesses and thousands of homes were destroyed or heavily damage. Vast areas of the town were virtually leveled in the tornado’s path that stretched for 13 miles long and three-quarter’s of a mile wide. More than 140 people lost their lives in what the National Weather Service has called the deadliest tornado in 61 years. While the town of Joplin may have been reeling from the incredible destruction, Fabick CAT almost immediately began the process of helping Joplin get back on its feet.
“This is the most devastation, we hope, ever to witness,” said Fabick CAT General Manager Mike Pospischil. “We are very grateful through it all — although two of our employees lost their homes — that none of our employees or their families lost their lives.” The Fabick CAT facility in Joplin was one of the many businesses to be leveled by the tornado. To put the force of the tornado in some perspective, in addition to the building being destroyed Fabick CAT found one of its trucks had been thrown across the street. Despite the destruction, the 25 Fabick CAT Joplin employees quickly set about
A new multiyear highway bill must be a top legislative priority Associated Equipment Distributors’ (AED) 2011 Chairman Dennis Kruepke told a crowd gathered for the Rally for Roads May 25 on the National Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol building. “A new highway program is about America’s future,” said Kruepke, who is president and CEO of McCann Industries, the Case equipment dealership serving the Chicago metropolitan area with seven branch locations. “It’s about having the roads and bridges we need to compete in the 21st Century. It’s about getting traffic moving again, reducing the costs of congestion, and wasting less time and less gas sitting in traffic. It’s about a better environment. It’s about having roads that get our families home safely. “We need a road bill that builds a solid foundation for America’s future economic leadership. And we need it
see JOPLIN page 54
see BILL page 34