CASE Partnership Connect High Schoolers, Construction Industry
CASE Construction Equipment has announced a new educational partnership designed to attract young people to work in the construction industry. According to recent figures, the industry is short about 546,000 workers. To try to solve this problem, many organizations are working to attract more young people to the trade.
According to CASE:
CASE is teaming up with nonprofit Crew Collaborative to sponsor and help build from the ground-up an-all new career counseling and mentoring program for high school students interested in the construction industry trades: FrameWork.
“At CASE, we are customer-led in all we do,” says Terry Dolan, vice president, CASE Construction Equipment, North America. “It’s no secret that our industry has faced labor shortage issues over the past several years, and we can’t think of a better way to support our customers than to help identify enthusiastic students who will make incredible contributions to the construction industry.”
Crew Collaborative joined CASE at its CONEXPO/CON-AGG booth in Las Vegas to solicit stories of how mentors have changed the lives of those in the construction industry and what paths industry veterans would recommend to best begin a career in the trades. They will also gather names of those interested in potentially serving as mentors to interested high school students.
“A couple of months ago, FrameWork was merely an idea on a sheet of paper,” says Kristina McMillan, Crew Collaborative founder and board member. “When we brought the initial concept to CASE leadership and asked about their potential partnership on it, they replied ‘We’re all in.’”
Post CONEXPO/CON-AGG, Crew Collaborative will host an in-person retreat with CASE employees and other industry insiders to build out the program and begin beta testing. A full FrameWork program launch is slated for first quarter of 2024.
“Although CASE has 180 years of experience in the earthmoving business, we are making moves with the speed and agility of a startup,” says Dolan. “Partnering with Crew Collaborative to bring the cutting-edge concept of FrameWork to life will have a true impact on the construction industry here in North America and beyond for years to come.”
Those interested in potentially mentoring high schoolers about the construction industry can find more information and sign up for updates at https://crewcollab.org/framework/.
Monica Ziegler Promoted to Sunbelt Executive Vice President, Chief People Officer
Sunbelt Rentals promoted Monica Ziegler to executive vice president and chief people officer, where she will serve on the executive committee and lead efforts to advance the strategy and the culture of the organization.
“The greatest way to support our team members is to invest in them,” said Sunbelt Rentals Chief Executive Officer Brendan Horgan. “Monica’s efforts have already proven to be invaluable to our organization and with her vision, we will further our people-first strategy.”
Since 2021, Ziegler has been the vice president of talent and development for Sunbelt Rentals. In this position, she was instrumental in continuing the path to progression for employees by enhancing succession planning and leadership development. Prior to joining the organization, Ziegler held several leadership roles at a large automotive parts company.
Reed International Acquires Stepp Manufacturing
Reed International has acquired Stepp Manufacturing, a company specializing in asphalt maintenance equipment. The acquisition was announced during CONEXPO 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Stepp Manufacturing has reached an agreement to become part of the Reed International team, joining the ranks with VSS Macropaver and Kasi Infrared.
Stepp Manufacturing builds trailer, truck, hook truck and slide-in asphalt pothole patchers for outdoor construction projects. Located in North Branch, Minnesota, the business also offers a line of asphalt recyclers, crack sealing machines, Mastic Melter’s, Oil distributors, tack trailers and asphalt kettles.
Reed International is based in Hickman, California and manufactures the VSS Macropaver and Kasi Infrared line of asphalt equipment.
VSS Macropaver produces Slurry and Micro Surfacing Pavers, with the flagship model being the Macropaver 12-E. The company also produces Asphalt Emulsion and Modified Asphalt Production plants. Kasi Infrared offers a wide range of infrared asphalt equipment to meet the demanding needs of contractors and municipalities. The business offers the truck-mounted Patriot Infrared System, Proheat Minuteman Trailer Units, which include all the features of the Patriot in a trailer-mounted version, IR Trailer Units and smaller walk behind Infrared Heaters, such as the IR-120.
