Already, some engine cowlings are growing in size, impairing visibility. Earlier this year, Case debuted a Tier 4 excavator sporting rear and side cameras. As prices rise to cover the cost of the cleanup, watch out for Tier 4 at CONEXPO.

3. From the Far East

Chinese vendors expand reach

You may not be able to buy a Chinese car yet in the U.S., but there are many options in heavy equipment. Chinese exhibitors with funny names—Sany, Zoomlion, Liugong, Sunward and others—won’t be sitting on the sidelines this year.

“There are some new names that are really making their presence known,” says Tanel. Sany is unleashing a 300-ton-capacity crawler crane designed by Manitowoc engineering veteran John Lanning. Sany is tailoring this crawler and two others for U.S. jobsites, Lanning says.

4. Truckin’ in Style

Cat is out of the bag

Since Caterpillar sold its on-highway engine business to Navistar in 2008, the two companies have been busy building a heavy-duty truck for construction pros. No ordinary truck, this hefty rig, built by Navistar, will have the Caterpillar brand name all over it. Also significant, the new truck will be sold only through Cat dealers.

We don’t yet know what it will cost or what it looks like. But Cat says the truck, being rolled out for the first time in Las Vegas at CONEXPO, will sport “a glossy, viper-red cab and hood with a silver dump body.” Most units will be built to order with custom paint and chrome details.

The Cat-brand engine also will be built by Navistar, which has taken some heat lately for turning up its nose at SCR clean diesel. Navistar hasn’t shown its full-blown EGR engine publicly yet, but Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman recently told ENR, “We’re pretty happy with what we see.” ENR will be publishing more of the Oberhelman interview closer to showtime.

5. Crane Safety

No one is off the hook

Now that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has begun to enforce its new crane and derrick rules, issued last summer, contractors have many questions about how to comply. In addition to a “Crane Operator Rodeo” competition, this year’s CONEXPO will feature a special seminar on March 23 given by Bill Davis, risk engineer at insurer Zurich Corp. He and other experts will also speak at a Crane and Rigging Conference, held March 25 at the Riviera Convention Center, for a special roundtable discussion moderated by this article’s author.