Home | News & Views | Virtual Exhibits | Buyer's Guide | About Us Date: 3 / 30 /2007 AEM News Release AEM Celebrates 10 Years in China For the past 10 years, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has been in China with a full-time Beijing office. The association promotes industry relationships and trade for the mutual benefit of the Chinese, U.S. and global construction equipment marketplace. It serves as the go-to resource for the latest in equipment technology, safety and training, standards development assistance and market statistics gathering. Since the AEM China office opened its doors in November 1997, association staff in China and the United States have worked diligently to nurture relationships with key Chinese government and industry associations. It is proud to work together with these officials as they advance the equipment industry in China and the entire Asia-Pacific region. The AEM China office opened with the original premise of assisting North American companies with their activities in China, recognizing China’s importance as an emerging global player in the construction industry. Initially, activities in the office revolved around trade and tariff issues as well as regulatory topics such as the “CCC” mark. What began primarily as an effort to help American companies enter and understand the Chinese market has now blossomed into also helping Chinese companies enter new markets, particularly North America. AEM in China: More than a Show and Sales of Equipment But, AEM has been committed to doing more than just facilitating the sale of equipment. The Beijing office has established relationships with groups such as the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME) to help Chinese companies better understand and make use of the newest technologies and efficiencies in the construction industry. CONEXPO Asia is a natural extension of these educational endeavors. Knowledge-sharing between continents has been key in establishing strong ties between AEM and Chinese groups in the industry, and AEM has worked hard to ensure that companies on both sides of the Pacific are reaping the rewards of education and trade. For example, in 2002, AEM developed and conducted a technical seminar in China on the South to North water diversion project at the request of China’s Ministry of Water Resources, to bring together equipment manufacturers and project equipment specifers and buyers. AEM has produced dozens of such technical seminars in China highlighting a full range of equipment and manufacturer capabilities, including crushing, earthmoving, cranes, and paving segments. Related to this has been sponsorship of visits to the United States for Chinese industry representatives. In one such visit, water diversion project engineers and project managers visited to discuss with manufacturers and learn about the latest techniques and processes for manufacturing equipment. Enhancing Operator Safety and Training Complementary to the technical seminars, AEM is assisting in providing safety manuals in the Chinese language to promote proper machine operation and maintenance for the benefit of the Chinese marketplace. In the area of training, AEM has conducted many discussions with Chinese industry and government groups on developing operator training programs. The association wants to help industry professionals better and more safely utilize the new equipment technologies to best advantage. AEM has signed a memorandum of understanding with the China Association of Construction Education (CACE) to carry out a cooperative operator training program in China. Improving the Global Exchange of Market Statistics AEM has increased its dialog with Chinese officials to address market information needs for the industry in China and worldwide. Efforts with CCCME have led to Chinese companies’ participation in the global platform of market information exchange and global access offered by AEM. The goal is to establish a single database worldwide for all product categories and sizes to increase the amount of detail and information available. Efforts are ongoing to integrate this information for the Chinese market. In 2006, AEM established a statistics program for China on paving and compaction products, and plans are to expand this to include cranes, earthmoving equipment and concrete pumps. Advancing International Standards Development Activity AEM has begun the important process of assisting Chinese companies to become more involved in the international standards process. AEM is currently working with Chinese companies on ISO/TC-127 (earthmoving), the largest and most developed technical committee. AEM helped facilitate as China hosted a ISO/TC 127 meeting in 2005. Through the efforts of the AEM Beijing office, China was able to also successfully participate in the TC 127 meeting in 2006 in Australia. AEM has taken on the task of also organizing and managing the translation of key ISO TC 127 documents into Chinese. Understanding international standards and compliance is of great importance to Chinese manufacturers, since this will help their products to compete more effectively in the international market. AEM efforts in the standards area include informing Chinese companies of not only what is in the standards, but also how the process of international standards development works, and how Chinese companies can become more involved in the international standards process. As technical efforts expand, knowledge sharing seminars on TC-96 and TC 214 (lifting), TC-195 (road building) and TC-23 (agricultural equipment) are expected. AEM plans to conduct a conference in China in the spring of 2007 that will focus on standards in the construction industry. The conference will provide a state-of-the-art overview of current standards and updates as well as demonstrate the value and benefits of international standards. The conference will be an opportunity to bring together Chinese-based companies and government officials as well as non-Chinese companies in a forum of the technical leaders of the global construction equipment manufacturing industry. New Program: Scholarships for Chinese Students AEM is demonstrating its commitment to the Chinese construction industry by looking to offer scholarships for students with financial need to follow a construction-related course of study at a Chinese college or university. This effort complements AEM’s workforce development efforts begun several years ago in the United States through the creation of the Construct My Future program, which offers college scholarships and has a website dedicated to attracting youth to careers in construction (www.comstructmyfuture.com). Advocate of “Open Door” Between U.S. and China In other examples of cooperative efforts with China, AEM was among the signers of a 2006 agreement between the United States and China pledging cooperative efforts to improve the U.S.-Sino trade balance. AEM Senior Vice President Al Cervero joined a select group of signatories in a special signing ceremony in California that included China Vice Premier Madame Wu Yi. Under the agreement, AEM and CCCME are continuing their mutual efforts to promote trade. The current agreement is based on a memorandum of understanding AEM and CCCME signed in 2003. In other AEM action to boost trade between the two nations, the association continues efforts to streamline the U.S. visa application process and facilitate Chinese manufacturer and customer visits to the U.S. AEM has strong ties with U.S. Embassy offices in China, and has worked hard to educate American officials on the need to improve the processes and more quickly approve the visa applications of the many qualified Chinese business people wishing to visit the United States. CONEXPO Asia 2007 – A World Class Exhibition AEM has had a productive and effective first 10 years in the Chinese market, and looks forward to a bright future of enhancing relationships between the U.S. and China for the betterment of the global construction industry. Recognizing China’s continued importance as a growing global leader in the construction industry, and as another way to advance the industry in China, AEM launched CONEXPO Asia in 2006. CONEXPO Asia 2007 will be held December 4-7, 2007 at the Chinese Import and Export Fair (CIEF) Pazhou Complex in Guangzhou, China. CONEXPO Asia 2007 will provide convenient access to the latest and highest quality in equipment technologies and capabilities offered by Chinese and non-Chinese manufacturers, including the global leaders. Additional knowledge-sharing opportunities will be provided through educational classroom sessions and equipment demonstrations on enhancing job productivity, efficiencies and safety. For more information, contact AEM: telephone +1- (toll free North America) or +1-, fax +1-, e-mail , online www.conexpoasia.com.