Spring Cleaning & Site Updates

Spring is always especially busy for us in the technology group.  While we deal with increasing amounts of website traffic, we also work to upgrade critical systems while building new products for our future.  Our Architecture group has moved our webserver traffic onto a smaller cluster of much more powerful computers.  This makes us much greener in the amount of energy we burn as well as improving our website's performance.  This new infrastructure also makes us much more "cloud compatible", should we ever need to scale up or down depending on how slow or fast website responsiveness is.

Meanwhile, the software team is working new tablet-optimized versions of CommercialTruckTrader and EquipmentTraderOnline.  We've noticed that nearly 10% of our traffic now comes from mobile devices, and the majority of that traffic is from iPads.  Knowing that this traffic is only going to grow, we want to make sure we have a great experience for all of our tablet users!

A few of you may have also seen a glimpse of our new iPad-based IMT, also known as Project Quantum.  It's in a very early stage, what we call an "alpha", and being tested by our field representatives at some dealerships.  As we move ahead with squashing bugs and optimizing it, we'll start to distribute this to some test dealers to gather more user experience feedback.

In between all of this work, we've been working to increase how findable ads are in our search.  This is an ever-evolving process.  These latest updates have added Installed Options for EquipmentTraderOnline in the IMT, which are included in the Keyword search, and we've added Special Features to our Keyword search.  While it's not perfect yet, it is a step in the right direction.

Soon, we'll start offering suggested Categories & Classes to minimize the time it takes to enter ad data, as well as allow ads to be mapped to multiple Categories.  This will help deal with situations similar to where you want your ad seen under both "Pickup Truck" and "Pickup Truck - Crewcab".  There's more coming on this topic, but I can't talk about any of that just yet.

As always, you can send us feedback and thoughts at:  snfeedback@traderonline.com

~ Ryan

From Our Perspective...

By Charles Bowles

Equipment

Construction equipment sales are still sluggish, particularly those related to the housing market.  Leasing continues to be a bright spot in the equipment market, with the posting of consistent year-over-year increases.

Grain prices are helping to drive equipment sales in the agriculture sector. The sale of implements and zero-turn mowers are also showing nice growth in certain parts of the country.

In March, EquipmentTraderOnline.com delivered nearly 5 million page views to its visitors. This voluminous amount of searches enables us to construct a good picture of market activity. Here are the top four searches by make for March 2012: (1) John Deere; (2) Caterpillar; (3) Kubota; and (4) Bobcat. Both construction and agriculture are well represented in the demand for equipment.

--Charles Bowles is the general sales manager for Commercial Truck Trader and Equipment Trader. You can reach him at charles.bowles@DominionEnterprises.com or by phone at 757-351-7289.

John Deere Displaying World’s First Walking Forest Machine Prototype

We are fans of robots here at MetalMiner. From the nimble small ones to the sizeable giants, we appreciate the skill – and metal – it takes to create these sci-fi creatures.
That being said, when we stumbled upon this blast-from-the-past machine from John Deere, we were a little excited:


Source: Deere.com

Manufactured back in 1994 by John Deere’s research and development unit in Finland, this walking forest machine was the first prototype of its kind – and quite a fearsome thing to behold. According to a recent John Deere news release, the machine was “the first to be equipped with a harvesting head and accumulated approximately 2,000 working hours during testing. Sensors in the machine’s legs reacted automatically to soft, sloping, or uneven terrain, while a computer control system distributed weight and support equally to all six legs. The machine simply walked over obstacles that crossed its path, and the machine operator was able to adjust the ground clearance and height of every step.”
To celebrate John Deere’s 175^th anniversary and the John Deere Pavilion’s 15^th anniversary, a new exhibit was installed at the Pavilion on Feb. 15 displaying the spidery machine.

Did the creepy, walking coach in Beauty and the Beast inspire the John Deere Team? 

Image source: where-there-had-been-darkness.blogspot.com

Why is it so important to the company?

More than just being the first of its kind, the machine “[paved] the way for future developments in productive and environmentally friendly machines.” In a few examples given by the release, “the automation and stability system technology used in developing the concept underwent further development and is now applied in all of John Deere’s forest equipment. Due to progressive development work on the control systems, hydraulics and transmission, modern John Deere harvesters cause less burden on the terrain.”

If you are interested in viewing this lean, green, fighting machine, feel free to visit the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, IL. Also on display is the John Deere 643K Wheeled Feller Buncher (pictured below).

 
Source: Deere.com

Source: http://agmetalminer.com/2012/04/27/john-deere-displaying-worlds-first-walking-forest-machine-prototype/ 

From Our Perspective

Congress’s passage last week of a 90-day extension to the funding of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will allow for the continuing operations of existing projects; however, it will keep the construction industry in limbo. Without a long-term funding plan in place, investments in new equipment are unlikely to take place, thereby perpetuating sluggish domestic construction equipment sales. Coupling that with the continuing decline in home prices and housing starts makes it unlikely that we will see a significant rebound in domestic equipment sales in 2012.

EquipmentTraderOnline.com is seeing a large increase in the volume of trailers for sale on the site. And, it’s not one type – it’s many different categories of trailers. We’re observing a ramping up in the manufacturing of trailers (based on the volume of 2012 models), which portends good things for the economy as a whole.

--Charles Bowles is the general sales manager for Commercial Truck Trader and Equipment Trader. You can reach him at Charles.Bowles@DominionEnterprises.com or by phone at 757-351-7289.

From Our Perspective...

Equipment

The end of stimulus funding for transportation and the overall malaise of the economy are taking their toll on construction equipment sales. When you add to that the pull-back of construction spending by state governments, the short-term sales outlook for construction equipment is not so great. A bright spot in the construction industry is the rental segment. More businesses are turning to renting rather than buying, as more companies and municipalities are increasingly hesitant about committing to major capital purchases. We are seeing rental rates inch up, which may have the effect of moving some potential renters to buyers. We’ll see how this plays out over the coming months.

An interesting fact that we have observed on EquipmentTraderOnline.com is that buyers have begun to search farther away to locate the piece of equipment that they need. In fact, 60% are searching within a radius of between 100 – 250 miles from their home ZIP code. Contrast this to the fact that only 3% of all searchers are limiting their radius to 50 miles or less. What this tells us is that price and unit scarcity are forcing potential buyers to search greater distances to find the piece of equipment that they need, at a price they can afford.

Commercial Trucks

Domestic commercial truck sales, particularly in the heavier classes, are showing significant growth over last year. It appears that this trend will continue throughout 2012, as replacement demand is driving these results. Light-duty is still making headway over last year, but the growth is not as pronounced as it is in heavy-duty. The ties that medium-duty sales have to the housing market are still hampering sales, and it is unlikely that we will see a big spike in medium-duty until housing gets back into high gear.

We are seeing a large increase in the number of units for sale on CommercialTruckTrader.com. Although we normally begin to see unit growth on the site in the spring, we are seeing greater volume than we have in several years.  We are also noticing unit growth on our private dealer network, WholesaleIndustrialNetwork.com. From our perspective, it appears that this will be a good spring and summer for commercial truck sales.

--Charles Bowles is the Sales Development Manager for Commercial Truck Trader and Equipment Trader. You can reach him at Charles.Bowles@DominionEnterprises.com or by phone at 757-351-7289.

Nothing Like Word of Concrete…

The 37^th Annual World of Concrete Show happened in Las Vegas in January 23^rd- 27^th.  Since 1975, this show has been the industry’s ONLY annual international event dedicated to the commercial concrete and masonry construction industries.  One word to simply describe this show is massive - indoor and outdoor exhibits, leading suppliers showcasing innovative products and technologies, exciting demonstrations and competitions.   There was something going on every minute we were there – we defiantly started off 2012 strong at World of Concrete!  Plans for next years’ show are already in progress…  We hope to meet so many more of our loyal fans and readers so make your plans now!

Don’t take my word for it; here are some reviews from some of our participants:

With 55,000+ visitors, the World of Concrete convention was larger than initially anticipated. PayloadGlobal had a fantastic initial debut. Visitors to the booth were captivated by this unique offering.  Interest in the world's first search engine for the industrial was great and many people came to the stand after hearing about the product from other attendees through word of mouth.  We had a great show and look forward to next year's attendance.

Mitch Cristow – Director of Global Business Development

World of Concrete was the perfect venue to showcase the Dominion Industrial suite of marketing and advertising solutions! We spoke to hundreds of attendees about our international search engine, our wholesale platform, and about our two highly recognized industrial portals. My favorite part of the show was the CAT simulator, and seeing all of the 2012 models debuted from Peterbilt, Dodge, Case, CAT, Bobcat / Doosan and others.

Nadene Evans – Industrial Marketing Manager

I had such great time at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas.  I was very proud to represent our company at this event!  I especially enjoyed when Nadene and I ventured off to visit booths to ask questions to other exhibitors.  It was great how engaged they were and very interested in hearing all about what we have to offer including our EquipmentTraderOnline, WIN, PayloadGlobal, and CommercialTruckTrader. The World of Concrete was a great way for me to see all the new equipment and share with everyone what great websites we have!  It was my first time in Las Vegas and it definitely won't be the last! 

Lyn Pelletier – Sales Manager

I attended World of Concrete for my first time in 2012.  One major thing that hit me as I walked the floor was sheer size of the industry; both physically in the type/size of equipment being displayed, and the number of exhibitors with similar/competitive products to each other.  It struck me that this industry has a strong "cutting edge" to it, inspired by the contractor's desire to find a better way to do things.  And it appears to be a loyal group of purchasers, doing business with people they've done business with before, or with people they have been referred to from a peer.  The attendees were always friendly, and always willing to talk.  People from all over the world were represented at WOC 2012.

Carl Arnold – WIN General Manager

The World of Concrete proved, once again, to be the most unique equipment show of the year. Attendees came from all over the planet, providing a wealth of diversity. We made a number of interesting contacts that are likely to provide terrific joint opportunities. Our launch of PayloadGlobal proved to be a real crowd-pleaser. Mitch Cristow had a lot of traffic at his booth, and many of the people were from other countries.  The show is so big that it really takes an attendee several days to see everything. It felt to me that the number of vendors providing seminars/instruction at their booths increased this year. I saw a lot of live demonstrations that were well-attended.

Charles Bowles – Sales Development Manager

More Site Updates

Hello again, everyone.  It's another week and we've launched more updates to the sites, CommercialTruckTrader and EquipmentTraderOnline.  Some of these updates were directly related to feedback we've received from the site, so I'm sure there's a few people out there who will appreciate them!

Inventory Management Tool.
The overhauled Inventory tab in the web IMT has generated lots of feedback.  Some good, some bad.  We've been working to address the "bad" elements in as a measured, thoughtful process as possible.  With that said, you can now:

• Edit stock number directly on the Inventory tab as you used to be able to on the old version of the page. 
• Filter by Attachments on the Inventory tab.

A couple weeks ago we also added the Featured Dealer Inventory section into our Search Results.  This week we're including additional reporting in the IMT to show the results from this new segment.

We will be watching these numbers closely since we are considering relaxing the restrictions on this new section to increase impressions.  What changes we implement have to balance what the user is looking for against optimal impression rates for the Dealer.  This can be difficult to maintain, so we will be doing this in increments based upon the available reporting data.

Progressive Sponsorship.
We've had a long relationship with Progressive Insurance and we are now expanding that relationship.  On our Insurance pages, you can now get a quote, find an agent, or just get the phone number to call if you want to learn more about insuring your Truck with Progressive.  We hope to find more sponsorships like this in the future for out other Research pages.

On another note.... feedback.
I read every piece of feedback that is sent either from the Inventory Management Tool or from our other links in Search Results and elsewhere on the site.  I try to respond to all of them, but even if I don't, know that I am reading what you send.

So that's it - another week, more updates, and keep the feedback coming.  Don't forget to download the IMT Mobile, too, from the App Store or Android Market.  An update is coming out for that in the next week or so once approvals from Apple and Android are complete.

Press Release from Our Friends at IronPlanet

IronPlanet to host February 2012 auction in Florida
Leader in online auctions brings global marketplace to winter Florida auctions 
 
PLEASANTON, Calif. (Nov. 8, 2011) - IronPlanet® (www.ironplanet.com), a leading online marketplace for used heavy equipment, will host its first onsite and online auction from February 21 - 24, 2012, at the Fantasy of Flight attraction near Orlando.

“Each year, the February auctions attract buyers and sellers of equipment to Florida,” said Greg Owens, Chairman and CEO of IronPlanet.  “We’re very excited to give our customers the opportunity to participate in the Florida winter auctions with the same convenience and confidence they’ve come to know and trust at IronPlanet.”

Featuring equipment from Ring Power and other sellers, items can be previewed starting February 14 both in person at Fantasy of Flight and, just as with every IronPlanet auction, online through detailed inspection reports that come with the IronClad Assurance® guarantee.  Buyers can place bids online in advance of the sale using IronPlanet’s PriorityBid service.  During the four-day auctions, bids may be placed live at Fantasy of Flight or online through a computer, tablet, or mobile device.

“We’re bringing the world of IronPlanet to Florida in February,” said Owens. “With equipment onsite, both our global bidders as well as the buyers located in Florida will be able to take advantage of our online auctions and exclusive IronClad Assurance, resulting in better prices for the equipment we sell.”
Consignments for the February auction in Florida are now being accepted. Sellers can auction equipment from their location or Fantasy of Flight. To learn how to add your equipment to this sale, please contact IronPlanet at 888-433-5426. 

Fantasy of Flight, Central Florida’s Premiere Aviation Attraction, is conveniently located off I-4 at exit 44 in Polk City, southwest of the Orlando International Airport. 

Mahindra Max is Coming Out

Moments ago we received an exciting email from one of our manufacturers, Mahindra, about their newest product launch.  After looking into it, we decided it was a "must-share"... Mahindra is coming out with a line that is called Mahindra Max.  This line will showcase revolutionary sub-compact tractors and focus on "Max Value, Max Performance, Max Maneuverability and Max Versatility".  Equipment Trader Online would like to wish them much luck and success on their endeavor that will launch in a few short days.

Below was quoted and taken directly from their website, Mahindra Max:

"You're an early observer. You're about to get a glimpse of the most

revolutionary sub-compact tractor introduced into market. Stay tuned as 

each day we are gradually releasing more details, videos, content and 

features about the newest member of the World's #1 Selling Tractor."

More Website Upgrades!

Welcome to the new year, everyone.  While we've been at home on vacation visiting family or just relaxing from a busy 2011, we have also been busy adding new updates to CommercialTruckTrader.com and EquipmentTraderOnline.com.  There's a slew of new additions to the site with a few goals in mind.  I'll run through each briefly!

Social Sharing
The most obvious change is the tab that now displays on the left side of the page.  If your resolution is above 1024, you'll see it hover just outside the content area.  If it is 1024 or smaller, then it'll hover inside.  You can test this by shrinking and expanding your browser.

This tab allows you to share on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+, certain pages of the site.  It appears on our homepage, search results, ad detail, and dealer galleries.  This way if you find something you really like, you can share it with a group of people very easily!

OEM Sponsored Pages.
We have been reaching out to various manufacturers to help provide additional content to our search pages.  This helps present our users with some information about products that they may or may not know, allows a manufacturer to provide what the information is, and gives the search engines some more content to chew on

Check out our first two here:  Isuzu and Doosan! 

Featured Dealer Inventory.
One thing we've continually heard from our dealer community is a desire to create new spaces to feature their inventory on our site.  On the consumer side, it can difficult to identify a dealer that has what you're looking for, or @ least something similar to what you're trying to find.

To attempt to address this, we've created a new area, called Featured Dealer Inventory.   This is a space in our search results which shows a specific dealership's inventory which is relevant to what you're searching for.  We currently limit this to Category or Make and Model.

Here's an example with some demo data.  The Featured Dealer Inventory will always show in the 6th position of the page, or if there are fewer than 6 ads, after the last.

Upgraded Keyword Searching.
This, too, has long been a concern with our buyer and seller communities.  We've been hearing you and sympathizing that our keyword capabilities have left something to be desired.  To upgrade our abilities, we first had to integrate new technology, something call Solr, which significantly expanded what abilities were available to us.

Last summer we added Category to our keyword searching and now we've also added "options".  Options are things like air conditioning, leather seats, alloy wheels, cruise control, etc.  They're check boxes available when creating a new listing in the Place An Ad process or inside the Inventory Management Tool.

So go ahead, type "air conditioning" into the keyword field and see all the trucks that have it!

We're working on adding all of the other specification pieces to our keyword searching, too.  Expect it in the next couple months.

Upgraded Feedback in Search.
As we said back in May of '11 - we need your feedback!  To make it easier, we've upgraded the old "mailto" link in our search results to a modal form.  This grabs some details about the user session so we can better understand the context of the feedback we receive.

Remember to send us your thoughts - whether they are "good" or "bad".  In my book, all feedback is good feedback.

Interstitial Search Banners.  BETA!
What do I mean by this?  So you know when you're looking for plane tickets on a travel site and after you enter your travels dates and places, hit enter, and see a page with a big advertisement on it?  That's what I mean.  Sort of.

We're testing out the effectiveness of adding these to the site.  These will feature certain dealers who we're selecting as part of a beta program.  The advertisements will take the user, should they click on it, to that dealer's gallery on our site.  These are targeted to a geographical area, that way folks in Phoenix don't see advertisements for people in Chicago.

IMT Mobile.
This is big deal for anyone who manages inventory on our sites.  For a couple decades now, the best path to getting photos on the website for a truck or piece of equipment was to take the photos with some device in the lot, then take that device to a computer, log in, and upload.  This included note taking, stickies, and other things to make sure the right photos went with the right thing.

Now you can do this from your iPhone, Droid, or other iOS and Android powered device.  Let me say this again - you can now do this directly from your phone!  The product is new and we're anxiously gathering feedback so we can polish it up.  In fact, an update is days away that will add more photo functionality!

Download IMT Mobile from the Apple App Store, or from the Android Market.

A new tab in the web-based version of the IMT will be appearing soon with an instructional video included.

Keep Your Machines Up And Running In Cold Weather

Written By: Garrett Ginglen

Cold weather can be hard on machines. Here are important tips to keep your machines running in great condition during cold weather.

Cold Weather Recommendations:

1. Always maintain your machine per the Operation and Maintenance Manual during cold weather
2. To better prepare your machines for cold weather, try the following:
   1. Use block heaters
   2. Use enclosed storage facilities when machines are not in use
3. Be sure to install the correct lubricants
4. Provide the correct cooling system protection for the conditions you will be working in
5. Inspect all rubber parts weekly
6. Keep all batteries fully charged
7. Always fill the fuel tank at the end of the shift
8. Check the air filters on a regular basis when snow is present
9. Before your shift, run the engine until it reaches operating temperatures
10. Never remove the air cleaner element when snow packing occurs
11. If your machine is shut down for more then 16 hours, the engine will cool to the external temperature

Do you have tips for keeping machines running at peak performance during cold weather? Please share your comments below.

Happy Holidays from Marketing

We want to take the time to wish all of you cheer and joy as the 2011 holiday season approaches. It is a time of sharing and caring, and also to think about what 2012 may bring us.

We have so many new products and initiatives for 2012 we want to work on, and all of our teams are excited to get started! As 2011 comes to a close, we are also thankful for our dealers, partners, and wonderful team.

Here's to a GREAT holiday season!

Nadene E,
Marketing Manager
Trader Industrial Brands

Meet One of Our Featured Dealers - Pro-Tech

EquipmentTraderOnline.com has many dealers who our team and customers have come to know over the years... In honor of Thanksgiving and the holiday season, we would like to feature some of our dealers over the next few weeks. Stay tuned for a dealer that may be in your area... Tell them we sent you!!

 

Pro-Tech offers a robust product line of containment and multi-use plows, blowers, brooms and blades to help its customers address multiple surface conditions and applications with confidence. Through quality, price and availability, Pro-Tech delivers proven value with durable, competitively priced products that are there when customers need them.

Quality

Pro- Tech’s values are trust, respect and quality based on integrity.  Quality is a measurement of our values translated through our word and our product. Our quality systems measure our performance with inspection processes and is maintained by a series of checks and balances, and is reinforced with training.

Availability

We believe customer satisfaction comes when the customer knows exactly what they are getting, when they are getting it and what it will cost. Our commitment to availability means that we build our inventory levels up during the winter season so we’ll have product to ship when an order is placed.  We’ll call you when your order is leaving the lot and our trucking partners will call you to confirm delivery times.

Price

Quality and availability don’t mean a whole lot if your product is priced out of reach for the majority of customers. At Pro-Tech, we feel we have the very best combination of Quality, Availability and Price. Our top quality products - with the Pro-Tech name, experience, warranty and integrity behind them – are priced right where the competition is, if not lower.

Products

Pro-Tech industrial snow & ice removal products are vital tools for your operations. From containment and multi-use plows to blowers, brooms and blades – Pro-Tech has a wide range of products, models and sizes to give snow & ice management professionals the ability to address multiple surface conditions and applications with confidence.

Pro-Tech Manufacturing & Distribution

711 West Avenue

Rochester, New York 14611

888-787-4766

sales@protechcorp.com

www.protechcorp.com

www.facebook.com/Protechcorp

http://www.youtube.com/user/ProTechMFg

Coming Soon: Big Inventory Management Updates

I know it's been some time since I've blogged and that's because we've been working hard on several new initiatives.  I would like to mention some of the upgrades we're implementing into our Inventory Management Tool. We're focusing mainly on these User Experience upgrades:

• Easy application of Premium or Featured Photo features
• Easy Ad Copy
• Easy upload of multiple photos
• Easy feedback mechanisms
• Pricing assistance
• IMT Mobile

Easy Application of Premium or Featured Photo Features
We've been working with our friends with CycleTrader and RVTrader to upgrade the Inventory tab in the IMT. This will soon include thumbnails as well as quick-click application of features and the adjustment of prices, among other things.

Easy Ad Copy
We're integrating a mechanism that will allow our IMT users to easily copy the basics of a listing into a new listing. This way if you have seven 2003 DEERE 225C LC RTS you need to sell and hate the process of entering year, make, model, class, and photos, you'll be able to copy them from ad to new ad easily.

Easy Upload of Multiple Photos
Using some technology from our friends with PowerSportsNetwork, we're integrating a similar JavaScript-based photo upload tool. This will allow users to upload many photos simultaneously.

Easy Feedback Mechanism
We'll be adding a new button to the IMT's navigation which will allow you to send us feedback about any section, part, or operation that the IMT provides. We're serious about hearing what our user's think and providing the mechanisms to make it easier for you to do that are key.

Pricing Assistance
We're sure our dealer's know what good prices are in their markets, but we're thinking it could be helpful to see what the maximum, minimum, average, and mean are in your region while creating a new listing. The pricing data is supplied by our own database of tens of thousands of listings. This feature will be in beta for awhile as we tweak our algorithms and listen to user feedback regarding its usefulness.

IMT Mobile
The product is designed to utilize the strengths of the smartphone in helping you maintain inventory on our site. Take photos and upload them from the lot. You can also edit price, mileage, and even create an ad directly from your iPhone or Android device. We are expecting to see this in iTunes and the Android Market by mid-November, pending the approval process and our final bits of feedback.

 As always, please send me feedback!

- Ryan
@industrialdev
G+

CONEXPO-CON/AGG and IFPE 2011: News Release

CONEXPO-CON/AGG and IFPE 2011 attracted nearly 120,000 registered attendees; the shows were the global industry gathering place for the year and the largest gathering in North America since 2008 for the construction, construction materials and fluid power/power transmissions/motion control industries.  The shows were held (in March) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. 

Attendees said they were at the shows to examine the newest equipment and product technologies and innovations to help them prepare for future business; exhibitors cited the high quality of customers and reported strong purchases and sales lead to new as well as existing customers.

International Scope

International registrations accounted for a record of 24 percent of the total, representing more than 150 countries.  CONEXPO-CON/AGG and IFPE 2011 were among a select group invited to participate in the U.S. Department of Commerce International Buyer Program, which facilitates the participation of international visitors.  The shows hosted 42 official international customer delegations from 37 countries, organized by the U.S. Department of Commerce as well as in-country associations and related groups.

On the Show Floor

Altogether on the show floor there were more than 2,400 exhibitors taking more than 2.34 million net square feet of exhibit space.  IFPE was the largest ever, and CONEXPO-CON/AGG’s exhibit space was the second largest in the show’s history.  Reinforcing the global scope of the shows were ten international exhibit pavilions-IFPE with pavilions from China, Italy and Taiwan and CONEXPO-CON/AGG with pavilions from China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Looking Ahead

The next edition of the triennial CONEXPO-CON/AGG and IFPE expositions will be held in 2014 (March 18-22) at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

With Featherlite Model 8270 semi stock trailer, bigger can be better!

CRESCO, Iowa (May 26, 2011) – Featherlite offers stock trailers in many lengths and configurations, including semi livestock trailers up to 53 feet, to serve any size of farming operation.  New for 2012, Featherlite’s semi livestock trailer Model 8270 is now available in lengths starting at 34 feet, giving farmers and commercial haulers even more options when choosing a Featherlite.

Standard base lengths now include 34 ft., 38 ft., 42 ft., 46 ft., 48 ft. and 53 ft., but length can be added or reduced to custom fit the trailer to a livestock hauler’s needs. In addition, Model 8270 measures eight feet, six inches wide with an inside height of 7 feet.

Its standard features include a heavy duty center gate and a full swing rear door with roll up gate, center cam lock and “Western” hardware. The semi stock trailer features a durable corrugated aluminum treadplate floor, air ride suspension, bright LED wraparound lights and a convenient escape door. Featherlite’s trailers are protected with an 8-year limited warranty and also come equipped with Featherlite’s easy, lower maintenance wiring harness.
Options include a full-width loading ramp, clean out trap door and load lights, among others.

For more information on Featherlite Model 8270 or any of Featherlite’s other stock trailers, call Featherlite Trailers at 800-800-1230, visit a local dealer or go to the web at www.fthr.com.

We need your feedback!

A few months ago I had referenced how we are changing gears to try to solicit more user feedback from the site.  We would be doing more beta programs, providing more options for you to share your opinion, and making sure we consider points that our users made.

To that end, we put together two very simple surveys, one oriented towards the "consumer", or users coming to the site for informational and purchasing purposes.  The other survey is oriented towards our dealership customers, or those that provide the majority of content on the website.

That's a long winded way of saying, "We need your help."

If you come to our website to look for something to buy, or just information, then please take our nine question consumer survey!

If you use our website as a dealer to sell, then please take this quick eleven question survey!

You may wonder how we'll use this information for our two main goals.  We aim to provide the most leads we can to our dealerships and we also aim to make the process of finding what you want to buy as easy as we can.  Our perspective on what's "easy" and what's not can be different from either of those perspectives, buying or selling.

This increases in complexity with different search habits within user groups and whether someone is new to the site or has been using it for a long time.  Someone who has used the site for a long time and comfortable with a design may be quick to reject a product overhaul because it's different.  Someone new may like an overhaul because they don't have a frame of reference.

So what we'll do is comb through the feedback responses, noting patterns we see and any specifics users provide.  This may point us in a direction for further refinement.  If, for example, many people feel the new search is complicated or slow, then we'll know we need to continue to refine the experience.  If, however, most responses are complimentary, then we'll look at those that are not and see if there's smaller, more incremental improvements to make.

Should many people request a specific type of product, then we'll certainly give that consideration and find where it may fit into the schedule.

This is an opportunity for you to help shape our direction over the next year.  While this won't be the last opportunity for you to provide feedback about your experience on our site, this information will be used in on going discussions about where we're going!

- Ryan

ryan.goodwin@dominionenterprises.com

@IndustrialDev