The triennial trek to CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2005 is under way.

Like a child waiting in line to ride a roller coaster, there’s a kind of nervous tension that builds up right before a major exhibition opens to the public.

A forest of cranes fills an outdoor exhibit area on March 13, two days before the CONEXPO-CON/AGG show opens.

Aisles are littered with banged-up crates, carpet remnants and plastic wrap. A cacophony of beeping back-up alarms follows dozens of forklifts across a hard, concrete floor.

Security guards stand stiffly, protecting vendors' belongings from corporate spies. Perky product demonstrators rehearse their lines to glassy-eyed salesmen.

In Las Vegas, hundreds of workers are setting up the world’s largest construction event of the year. Before long, the clanking and clattering will fade into a dull roar of tire kicking, beer drinking and schmoozing.

Gearing Up

ENR’s journey to Las Vegas took a slight detour to the Sonoran Desert, where we met up with officials at Caterpillar Inc., one of Conexpo’s largest exhibitors. The firm greeted us deep inside its training grounds in Tinaja Hills, Ariz., just a few miles south of Tucson.

Peoria, Ill.-based Cat was making preparations to host some 2,200 customers at Tinaja before and after the Conexpo show. It is using the 6,000-acre facility to demonstrate its latest equipment and product support options. Cat is introducing 60 new products for 2005.

The world’s largest manufacturer of heavy-duty equipment also revealed key strategies for the future. For one, its focus is less on products and more on product support, reflecting a growing movement between manufacturers, dealers and end-users to work together as one team (ENR cover story 3/14/2005).

Shaheen says jobsites today are "orchestras" that require constant fine-tuning.

Joining us on our tour March 11 were more than 400 Caterpillar retirees. Squinting under the intense Arizona sun, Group President Gerald L. Shaheen stood up to address them. He smiled, took a brief pause, and said, "Welcome home."

Echoing the tenets of modern day brand-building, Shaheen explained Cat’s desire to shift from a hard-iron supplier to the elevated status of jobsite consultant. "One of the biggest mistakes we could make is to demonstrate a monolithic Caterpillar," he said. "Our main objective is to show that we stand with our customers in their industry."

Equipment chiefs push for an ethical code of conduct between manufacturers, dealers and end-users.

Cleaning Up

Open communication between contractors and suppliers turned the corner on March 13, when members of the Association of Equipment Management Professionals signed a new code of conduct. The resolution, enacted between contractors, dealers and manufacturers, which some call the "equipment triangle," is a first attempt to clean up competitive harassment among those who buy and sell machinery.

ENR joined the group's annual meeting in Las Vegas prior to the Conexpo show. Dave Markey, vice president of Worcester, Pa.-based American Infrastructure Inc. and outgoing AEMP president, introduced the new ethics standard at the meeting. "If I'm going to buy a Chevy or Ford or Dodge truck, that's my decision, isn't it? I'm the customer." He went on to describe the new code of conduct as "a preventative maintenance checklist" for customer-client relations.