YIN AND YANG (IT IS ALL ABOUT BALANCE)

EDITOR Andy Brown andy.brown@khl.com +44 (0)1892 786224

One of the few good things to come out of the Covid pandemic, in my opinion, is hybrid working – spending some time working in the office and some working at home. While I understand this isn’t possible for everyone in construction, for those who can, I think the balance is positive. Another positive has been the reduction in travel – I had one year where I went to China, Germany, France, Turkey, US (twice), and Italy. This was too much but, like hybrid working, the key is balance – I don’t want to be attending all my meetings and press conferences via my laptop. Getting out and seeing people is still key, and also very enjoyable and rewarding.

That’s one of the reasons that I was so happy to attend Intermat in Paris and also to see that the show was busy. Numbers were down on the last time it was held but the show felt bustling; it had a buzz about it. Speaking of travelling, I’ll be headed off to China in the next month or so where I’m looking forward to meeting manufacturers and contractors and finding out more about their specific challenges and opportunities.

One of my own challenges has been putting together the Yellow Table, our exclusive ranking of the world’s 50 biggest OEMs by sales. It’s always a strenuous process not without worry, but well worth it for the picture it paints of our industry. Turn to page 21 to see this year’s results. With features on whether the robotics revolution is here yet in construction, quarrying and mining, road construction, electric actuators and interviews with two of the OEMs that feature in the Yellow Table, it is another packed issue. I hope you enjoy it and if you do have any questions or comments then please get in touch.

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