PM On the Road with Mike Miazga

I remarked to a media colleague that if they took a poll to see who had the coolest day at work on June 3, 2010, that we likely would be in the running for one of the top spots.

I say that because I just spent all day driving compact- and heavy-construction equipment at the Doosan/Bobcat Atlanta Media Event 2010 held at a local Bobcat dealership in the Atlanta area. The dealership is located in the shadows of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (I likely saw 50 - and that might be conservative - Delta planes, alone, land while I was there).

This Bobcat dealership in the Atlanta area is located on the outskirts of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

In addition to driving wheel loaders, excavators and utility carts (more on that in a minute) and making a gigantic mess of the dealership’s demonstration field, approximately 30 members of the construction media were educated on the newest Doosan and Bobcat machinery (some models are so new we’re not supposed to talk about them yet).

The real fun, though, happened after each of the two informational sessions. We were encouraged to test the goods out. Now I’m not the most mechanically inclined or the most coordinated person in the world and had never set foot in any type of construction machinery (I go about as far as having once owned a pickup truck), but I thought I held my own on the large - and I mean large - Doosan wheel loaders and excavators.

A driving track provided a real chance to test out the Bobcat utility carts.

I also enjoyed digging with this one Bobcat excavator until it started jerking kind of violently - that’s the machine’s way of telling me I have no idea what I’m doing.

But what really caught my eye was the BMX bike-like track that was set up so we could drive the Bobcat utility carts. I’m also not the best driver in the world (my wife and my driving record can attest to that), but I thought, what the heck, I’ll give it a try.

The result? I made it around the course twice (which included a massive downhill dip and immediate steep uphill climb in mud) without myself or the Bobcat executive sitting next to me falling out into a pile of slop, or worse, the vehicle tipping over. I call that a success (I’m not so sure the instructor seated next to me would agree).

At the end of the day, everybody had a blast (despite scorching Atlanta heat and humidity making cameos after the lunch break) and Doosan and Bobcat put on a first-class event. But the real winners in this are the plumbing and construction professionals that will benefit from the latest technologies and work capacities these pieces of machinery have to offer.

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Mike Miazga (former group editorial director for BNP Media’s Plumbing Group) is now the vice president of sales/membership at the American Supply Association (ASA). Supply House Times is proud to be the official publication and brand of the ASA — a relationship that spans more than a decade.

Mike’s relationship with BNP Media and the Plumbing Group continues today. He now writes a monthly ASA-focused column for Supply House Times and acts as an editorial consultant to BNP Media’s Plumbing Group.

In his 10-plus years at BNP Media, Miazga was senior editor of Plumbing & Mechanical and PM Engineer before taking over chief editor duties at Supply House Times in 2011. In addition to his role as editorial director, Miazga continued as Supply House Times chief editor and the editor of the American Supply Association’s PVF Outlook eNewsletter. He also enjoyed three stints as PM Engineer’s chief editor, holding dual roles as Supply House Times and PM Engineer chief editor on two occasions.

Miazga started his career in newspapers at the age of 19 and has more than 25 years of newsroom, management, editorial and public/media relations experience, and is a former high-school baseball and golf head varsity coach. Mike and his family are still based out of the Chicago area (with ASA Headquarters in Itasca, Illinois). You can reach Mike at PlumbingGroup89@gmail.com.