Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) has an exciting lineup of 2020 conferences! The first conference of 2020, Summit, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, from January 14th through the 17th. The main focus of this conference is to propel everyone in the equipment industry forward, using a variety of different mediums. At Summit, you can attend educational industry lectures, discover new and innovative products, and interact with peers from all divisions of the equipment industry. Below are some of the lectures and topics we are particularly excited about.
The Summit conference lectures are split up into 6 different categories ranging from Leadership and Management to Product Support. Each one of these categories contains multiple lectures and several different guest speakers. One leadership lecture, “The Four Enemies of Innovation and How to Overcome Them,” broaches the fascinating concept of collective genius. Because the equipment industry is so competitive, companies need to take advantage of every positive leadership style. Collective genius is a concept that prizes culture and mentality above rules and structure. Today, we see companies such as Google and Apple employing this leadership method and they are reaping the benefits daily.
Among the Management lectures is one called, “The Changing Demographics of Heavy Equipment.” Unfortunately, the pool of qualified laborers in the construction and equipment industry is small. Subsequently, dealers must modify their hiring and training methods to match the increasing demand for laborers. For instance, the largest segment of the workforce is millennials. In light of that, we can modify our verbiage to connect better with this segment and therefore spur them on to considering the equipment industry as their next career option.
Another lecture that we are eager to hear is, “Legal Challenges: Renting Your Equipment in a Changing Industry.” Here again, we see the common theme of equipment industry change. But more than that, we need to be fully aware of the legal standards of our industry. Included in this lecture are topics such as negligence claims, damage waiver provisions, and class-action lawsuits. Hopefully, gaining these insights now will protect everyone from legal incidents in the future.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration sent the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), to the House of Representatives to be voted upon. The USMCA would serve as the replacement for the highly criticized NAFTA trade deal. In a statement from December 18th, Brian P. McGuire, AED’s President & CEO said, “AED commends the Trump administration and congressional leaders for working in a bipartisan manner to craft an agreement that modernizes and strengthens trade ties between the United States’ closest allies and partners.”
Thankfully, the House of Representatives passed the USMCA on December, 19th. However, until all three countries ratify the agreement it will not be implemented. As it stands now, the US Senate is expected to vote on the agreement in early 2020. But since this is largely a bipartisan agreement, most expect the US Senate to pass the USMCA without much resistance.
We are so excited to be a part of Summit this year! Our CEO, Jayme Bates, and Operations Manager, Miriah Smith, will be in attendance. Please be sure to stop by our booth and tell us about yourself! If you need a stylish pen, we can help you with that!
We cannot wait to meet you and learn more about this great industry!
Click here to read other Equipment Industry Blogs!