Portable Plants is now in its 16th year, and I’ve been at the helm of the magazine’s editorial planning for almost half of those.
A lot has changed in portable plants over the last eight years. Acceptance of portability is surely at a new high as contractors seek flexibility to take on a variety of jobs in a multitude of markets on an assortment of worksites.
The digitalization of portable plants and related equipment represents a great change, as well. Concepts like hybrid plants, remote connectivity and predictive maintenance are becoming more prevalent, and the next decade will probably bring even greater change than the last one.
This month’s ConExpo-Con/Agg is the place to be to see and experience this coming change. Manufacturers continue to incorporate cutting-edge technologies into equipment, finding ways to improve productivity, mitigate downtime, maximize efficiencies, elevate safety and do more with less.
Some of the very latest portable plant offerings – ones that will appear at ConExpo-Con/Agg – are featured within this issue, and countless others will be unveiled in Las Vegas at North America’s largest construction trade show.
Looking ahead
While I will be at ConExpo-Con/Agg on behalf of Portable Plants, I’ll be there in a new capacity for the magazine as we welcome in a new editor-in-chief.
Zach Mentz, who joined Portable Plants as managing editor in February 2018, will guide the editorial direction of the magazine going forward. I will continue to serve Portable Plants as an editorial advisor, but it’s Zach who will ultimately shape the content you see in the magazine and on portableplants.com in the months ahead.
Although Zach is a diehard Yankees fan (no disrespect to you Bronx Bombers supporters out there) and an emotionally distraught Raiders fan (trading away an All-Pro like Khalil Mack would tug at anyone’s heartstrings), he’s been a great addition to the Portable Plants staff and the kind of teammate we all covet to have around us at work.
Zach will be at ConExpo-Con/Agg along with a number of other Portable Plants staff members. We’ll mostly be scattered across the show floor, attending press conferences and covering the latest developments in portable plants.
Still, you’re bound to catch Zach, me or another Portable Plants representative at our Central Hall booth (C22941) within the Las Vegas Convention Center. Stop by to say hello, offer feedback on the magazine, and let us know what more you’d like to see us deliver on these pages in the years ahead.