The first really beautiful spring weekend in Cleveland proved to be a good one for Construction Equipment Guide’s Cleveland Construction Expo II. Held at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds on Friday and Saturday, April 11 and 12, with more than 50 indoor and outdoor static displays plus almost 20 acres of outdoor demonstration areas, the Cleveland Expo provided something for everyone looking to enhance their equipment inventory or find out more information on a new technology.Attendees were not the only ones who had a great experience at the show, the exhibitors did too, talking to current and potential customers while touting their company’s wares. Mahnen Machinery, the John Deere dealer in northeast Ohio, had dozers, a backhoe, an excavator and a mini-excavator in the demonstration area for use by contractors, as well as plenty of other machines in its nearby outdoor exhibit area. It wasn’t quite like the deli line, but it was close enough as contractors lined up to run the equipment all day, each day. Contractors lined up to operate the big machinery such as the 700H dozer and 200C excavator while the 27C mini-excavator was a popular favorite for the younger operators. Several trenching contractors were checking out the abilities of the Deere 200C, equipped with laser equipment.Cantwell Machinery, the Volvo dealer in Ohio, northwestern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana, had the largest outdoor exhibit at the show. With a location right at the beginning of the outdoor exhibits, the company was a magnet for pulling people into the outdoor area. Cantwell Machinery debuted the new Volvo BL70 backhoe loader at the show and it attracted a lot of attendees, said Andy Mauck, of Cantwell. He added that he got a number of good leads at the show.The company highlighted the majority of Volvo’s product line including the EC 35 compact excavator, the L120E loader that was dumping into a A35D truck and an EC210BLC excavator getting ready to dump into a PEP FT2408 screening plant. The new Volvo MC110 skid steer also was on hand for contractors to check out. Dean Bradley, of Bradley Machinery, Kent, OH, said he enjoyed the show “tremendously.” The company had an outdoor demo display where customers could check out the latest from Gehl. “The show went great for us. It was fun watching customers run the equipment. Some of those guys are tremendous operators and it was great to see them show off their skills.”Bradley noted that he also received a number of solid sales leads at the Expo. “We will probably sell at least one unit within the month from the show,” he said.Ongoing and potential customers were especially interested in the Gehl 7800, which is the company’s largest skid steer, as well as the CTL 80, which is Gehl’s largest compact track loader.Bradley said that as well as his customers learning about his products, he also was able to learn more about his competitors as attendees went from demo area to demo area operating all the different pieces of equipment. “We’ll definitely be back next year. We enjoyed being out there watching people dig trenches and build building pads. It was great to see their faces after watching them get off an 100-plus horsepower skid steer. They really liked that,” he said.Southeastern Equipment had a large outdoor static exhibit where the company featured a variety of products from its Case, New Holland, Bomag and Kobelco product lines, including the Case 850K and 1850K dozers, 70XT skid steer and 721D wheel loader as well as a Bomag BW900 roller and the Kobelco 45SR and CS80 excavators.Trucks were a main event as Valley Ford Truck Sales and LaPine Truck Sales both had outdoor static displays. Valley Ford Truck showcased a few of its smaller models in its indoor exhibit, while highlighting the bigger Sterling and International models outside. LaPine had select models of its Mack and trailer lines.Shonna Bauer, of Lake Front Aerials, Brookpark, OH, said the company got several good leads at the show. As the only company with lift products in the indoor exhibit area, the company answered numerous questions for attendees throughout the two days.Bauer also noted that the company will be on hand again at next year’s show. “Save some space for us,” she said. “We expect it to be a profitable show in the future for everyone,” she added. West Shore New Holland had another great location right at the beginning of the outdoor exhibit area. The company highlighted a variety of pieces including the New Holland LB110 backhoe loader and LS180 skid steer as well as the Takeuchi TB125 mini-excavator.Geith introduced its new claw coupler at Cleveland Expo, as well as one of its excavator buckets. Attendees flocked to the booth throughout both days to check out the attachments for their equipment needs.Lincoln Electric/Northern Ohio Sales, which shared an outdoor booth with Aga Gas Inc., held welding demonstrations during the show. Contractors gathered to watch the the PowerMig 300, known as the Machine of the Year, in action. The company also demonstrated the new Vantage 500 and the new Ranger 305 diesel unit, as well as other small mig welders and additional welding equipment.According to Lauren Lipp, of Paul R. Lipp & Sons, Rogers, OH, the company gained some exposure at the Expo. Jerry Neville, also of the company, added that “traffic as far as our business was concerned was good. We had quality people coming through.” The company received a few good leads, he said.Attendees, he said, had a lot of interest in the company’s depth monitor for excavators. Getting the word out on that “was the main reason we were at the show,” he noted.Showcasing the Cougar Industries truck vibrators, Steve Lerch, of Steve’s Welding, Hillsboro, OH, said the show gave his company a few decent contacts. “We only got a few but the leads we got were pretty promising,” he said.The Steve’s Welding booth had a vibrator demo on hand so attendees could see how it works for a truck. He and his associate, Jim Tucker were on hand to answer questions about the product line.Those attendees wishing to discuss their hydraulic repair needs only had to turn to Warren DuBois, of Wooster Hydrostatics, for some recommendations. DuBois noted that he received good, solid leads at the Cleveland Expo.All in all, most exhibitors noted that a good bunch of quality customers attended the show, interested in the products and machinery on hand. As Chad Huffman, of Bobcat, said, “It’s the quality people you want at a show like this. They are the ones that are serious about looking at the equipment and purchasing it.” He added that the company had a good crowd who reviewed the products that were on display. Bobcat showcased the majority of the machinery included in the product line as well as many of the accessories, including the track loader and the 341 mini-excavator.Rodeo Time!The Backhoe and Skid Steer Rodeos were a huge success at the Expo as contestants lined up to try their skills. More than 50 participants signed up for each rodeo ready to vie for the top prizes. A crowd gathered for each event, cheering on family members and friends. Events for the Backhoe Rodeo included the Pipe Drop, Egg in the Nest and Backhoe Baseball. The machines were donated by Cantwell Machinery, Bobcat and Mahnen Machinery.The Skid Steer Rodeo consisted of an obstacle course where operators had to knock over one cone and carry a log over a barrier of cones all while staying within the lines. Machines were donated by Bradley Machinery, Bobcat and Mahnen Machinery.The top winner of each rodeo on Day One came the next day to compete against the top winner. Winners were awarded more than $1,000 in cash prizes.On Day One, the top five winners of the Backhoe Rodeo were: Tim Skidmore, first place, with a time of 2:31; Steve Severino, second place, 2:36; Jeff McNish, third place, 3:05; Rob Raw, fourth place, 3:15; and Robin Kershner, fifth place, 3:28.The top five winners of the Skid Steer Rodeo for Day One were: Jerry Horning, first place, 2:35; Daryl Martin, second place, 2:39; Bill Fox, third place, 2:58; Scott Forthofer, fourth place, 3:06; and Will Cunningham, fifth place, 3:16.Day Two was just as competitive as Day One. The winners for the Backhoe Rodeo were: Don Fisher, first place, 1:51; Daryl Martin, second place, 2:37; Dan Sillings, third place, 2:40; Dan Strouse, fourth place, 2:45; and Ralph Romeo, fifth place, 2:51.The Skid Steer Rodeo winners were: Jeremy Fisher, first place, 2:02; Dan Strouse, second place, 2:04; Don Fisher, third place, 2:05; charles Wyman, fourth place, 2:07; and Frank Kish, fifth place, 2:09.The Backhoe and Skid Steer Rodeo championships immediately followed the Day Two events. The champion of the Backhoe Rodeo was Steve Severino. Severino was the second place winner from Day One, but was able to participate and win because the first place winner failed to show up for the championship round.The champion of the Skid Steer Rodeo was Jeremy Fisher. Each champion was presented with an additional check for $500 and trophies were awarded to all finalists in the championship round.For more information on 2004’s Cleveland Construction Expo III, visit www.ConstructionEquipmentGuide.com later this year or call Sheila Kirby, show coordinator, at 800/523-2200. We’ll see you next year! This story also appears on Construction Equipment Guide.
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