2012 is set to be a positive year, with a very slow growth rate. The key message we have heard over and over has been “Accept the new normal” because the economy is not coming back to where it was in 2007. This year saw many OEMs and component suppliers heading to emerging markets to establish manufacturing and distribution facilities closer to their foreign customer base, and there were countless acquisitions, including the most notable one between Bucyrus and Caterpillar.The following verbatim responses from industry experts and association leaders attest to 2011 achievements, indicators and 2012 opportunities and challenges, both domestically and globally.
Click the links below to read the State of the Industry interviews in full:
Dennis Slater, President, Assn. Of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)
Eric Lanke, Executive Director, National Fluid Power Assn. (NFPA)
Allen Schaeffer, Executive Director, Diesel Technology Forum (DTF)
Brian Rauch, VP Of Engineering, Construction & Forestry Division, John Deere
José Maria Alapont, President And CEO, Federal-Mogul Corp.
Matt Mulder, Vice President North And Central America, FASTER Inc.
H. Len Walton, Director Of Sales And Marketing, MICO, Inc.
Dominic Grote, President And COO, Grote Industries, Inc.
