Diesel Progress North American

DIESELPROGRESS®
EDITORIAL & SALES
Michael J. Osenga .......................................... Publisher
Michael J. Brezonick ................... Associate Publisher/
Editor-In-Chief
Dawn M. Geske ....................................Executive Editor
Kyle Kopplin ........................................ Associate Editor
Niki Trucksa .................................. Advertising Manager
Sue M. Bollwahn........................... Circulation Manager
Melissa C. McNulty...................................... Copy Editor
Joseph M. Kane........................................ Senior Editor
D. Phillip Burnside.................................... Senior Editor
Brent D. Haight ......................................... Senior Editor
Amanda M. Klemp .................................... Senior Editor
Patrick Crow.............................................. Senior Editor
DJ Slater.............................................. Associate Editor
Charles R. Yengst ......................... Marketing Columnist
Mark Clevenger............................................. Field Editor
Bill Siuru........................................................ Field Editor
PUBLICATION STAFF
Marisa J. Roberts.......................... Production Manager
Brenda L. Burbach ..................................Graphic Artist
Carla D. Lemke.........................................Graphic Artist
Amanda J. Ryan.......................................Graphic Artist
Alyssa Loope ...........................................Graphic Artist
SALES OFFICES
PUBLICATION HEADQUARTERS
20855 Watertown Road, Suite 220
Waukesha, WI 53186-1873, U. S. A.
Telephone: 1-262-754-4100 Telefax: 1-262-754-4175
STUTTGART
Lisa Hochkofler................................... Advertising Manager
Gabriele Dinsel ................................... Advertising Manager
Niemöllerstr. 9
73760 Ostfildern, Germany
Telephone: + 49 711 3416 74 0 Telefax: + 49 711 3416 74 74
UNITED KINGDOM
Ian Cameron................................. Regional Manager/Editor
Linda Cameron ................................... Advertising Manager
40 Premier Avenue
Ashbourne, Derbyshire
DE6 1LH, United Kingdom
Telephone: + 44 20 31 79 29 79 Telefax: + 44 20 31 79 29 70
ITALY
Roberta Prandi............................. Regional Manager/Editor
Via Fitta 21A
I - 38062 Arco, Italy
Telephone: + 39 0464 2430891 Telefax: + 39 0464 244529
SCANDINAVIA
Bo Svensson...................... Field Editor/Business Manager
Dunderbacksvagen 20
612-46 Finspong, Sweden
Telephone:+ 46 70 2405369 Telefax: + 46 122 14787
TOKYO
Akiyoshi Ojima........................................... Branch Manager
51-16-301 Honmoku Sannotani, Naka-ku
Yokohama, 231-0824, Japan
Telephone: + 81 45 624 3502 Telefax: + 81 45 624 3503
HONG KONG
S. H. Mok ..................................................... Branch Manager
Rm 1405, Kowloon Building
555 Nathan Road
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Telephone: +852 3118 7930 Telefax : +852 3110 3572
Russell Palmer............................. Chairman of the Board
Michael J. Osenga ........................................... President
Michael J. Brezonick ................... Senior Vice President

MEMBER OF BPA WORLDWIDE® DIESEL PROGRESS® NORTH AMERICAN EDITION (ISSN 1091-370X) Volume 77 No. 4 — Published monthly by Diesel & Gas Turbine Publications, 20855 Watertown Road, Waukesha, WI 53186-1873, U.S.A. Subscription rates are $95.00 per year/$10.00 per issue. Periodicals postage paid at Waukesha, WI 53186-1873 and at additional mailing offices. Copyright 2011 DIESEL & GAS TURBINE PUBLICATIONS.Canadian Publication Mail Agreement 40035419. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: P.O. Box 456, Niagra Falls, ON L2E 6V2, Canada. E-mail: sbollwahn@dieselpub.com. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Diesel Progress North American Edition, 20855 Watertown Road, Suite 220, Waukesha, WI 53186-1873.

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
Reprints of all articles published in
Diesel Progress North American are available.
Please address inquiries to:
mgraesing@dieselpub.com
Tel: 262-754-4147 • Fax: 262-754-4177
TOP DEAD CENTER
Machines Gone Wild

This was supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek column about spending my spring
break at ConExpo-Con/Agg and IFPE. It was to be filled with cheeky references
about Terex’s ads battling with Penn & Teller’s, how the traffic at the Paradise Club
was busier than the show and how jokes about loose slots apparently never get old.
I expected to comment on being shocked to learn that George Wallace was
now the “New Mr. Vegas.” Or the fact that Las Vegas was in full party mode due
to the confluence of Real Spring Break, March Madness and leftovers from St.
Patrick’s Day. That it was. Wow.
There would have been pithy commentary about myriad press events in which
the scripts could have been interchangeable, “Thank you for taking time from
your busy schedules …” Or press conferences that started seemingly at dawn (in
Las Vegas?) and had exactly no news to announce.
Reaffirming your commitment to the North American market, that sustainability
is your buzzword du jour and that you listen to your customers is not news.
But that was the plan — sort of a running commentary on the ironies, oddities
and idiosyncrasies of ConExpo.
However, not long after wheels down at McCarran International Airport, much
to our surprise, a busy, exciting, news-filled trade show broke out and essentially
kept the party going throughout the week.
Simply, ConExpo-Con/Agg and IFPE rocked.
Freightliner and Cat kicked things off three days ahead of the show with My
Vocational Truck Is Bigger Than Your Vocational Truck. The new Cat truck has
the feel of a winner — even though when the curtain dropped amidst noise and
flashing lights and smoke, the latter caused at least one wag to wonder if the
truck was already overheating.
Nonetheless, the battling work trucks got things rockin’ early.
After that, the surprising thing to us was the amount of Tier 4 final informa-
tion that was announced. Granted the announcements were short on specifics
in most cases, but a number of diesel manufacturers went front and center and
said, “Here’s what we’re gonna do for Tier 4 final … sort of, for at least part of the
line, well there’s more coming.”
The equipment manufacturers that also build engines didn’t say so much. No
surprise. It would have been tough to roll out a fleet of new Tier 4 interim equip-
ment in North or Central Hall, while in South Hall, the engine folks were saying,
“That’s nice, here’s the cool stuff that’s coming next.”
Thou Shalt Not Step On Machine Platform Manager’s Toes, is an inviolate
commandment in most of those places.
Upon further review, the Tier 4 final news should not have been a total surprise,
as many felt that Intermat next March may not be the biggest stage to make ma-
jor announcements, and Bauma 2013 would be trending toward too late.
So starting the Tier 4 final information flow fell to ConExpo, even as it served
as the debut of Tier 4 interim in machines in North America.
Hyperbole aside, ConExpo was a helluva way to spend spring break. Happy
people. Morale was good. Traffic strong. Interest high. Most walked away think-
ing it was time well spent.
And that feeling has been a long time coming. dp
Mike Osenga