Construction Equipment Owner

Caterpillar Inc. Chairman Jim Owens was named Friday to a team of economic advisers who will advise President Barack Obama on ways to boost the economy and help the country out of the recession.

A total of 16 business leaders were named to the Economic Recovery Advisory Board including: former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William Donaldson; TIAA-CREF President-CEO Roger Ferguson; Harvard University professor Martin Feldstein, who wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece last year titled “John McCain Has a Tax Plan To Create Jobs”; Obama friend and campaign finance chairwoman Penny Pritzker; General Electric Co. CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt; and two labor officials - Anna Burger of Service Employees International Union and Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO.

Running one of the most successful construction equipment manufacturers in the world makes Mr. Owens well-qualified for the position in my opinion. We here at ForConstructionPros.com talked with Mr. Owens as part of our CONEXPO-CON/AGG & IFPE 2008 coverage which you can view below.

The saying goes, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” but my week at the World of Concrete isn’t something I want to forget or repress. Attendance at the show might have been down from previous years, but manufacturers introduced many new products and contractors who attended the show were eager to find ways to make their businesses more profitable.

A popular topic at the show was today’s challenged economy and the proposed economic stimulus package being debated in Congress. At a press conference during the World of Concrete, Portland Cement Association (PCA) Chief Economist Ed Sullivan discussed today’s current economy and scenarios that could arise with or without a stimulus package. You can read about Sullivan’s expectations for the economy or listen to a podcast at the PCA homepage that explains the importance of an infrastructure package.

Something new at the World of Concrete this year was a video newscast from ForConstructionPros.com, an online resource for contractors and an online relative to Concrete Contractor. If you missed the World of Concrete, or attended the show and want a quick recap of each day, you can view the video newscasts online (go to the Events/Shows area to find the three, thirty-minute daily newscasts).