Airport_Business_December2019-January2020 - 32

SNOW REMOVAL
the regional, small commercial and large
commercial airports, and get to know the
depths of how they operate," Purdy said.
"When we walk out of these meetings,
oftentimes we say, 'Wow, if customer
X could hear what this airport just said
about their snow removal
operation, we'd believe it
to be very beneficial to the
efficiency of that airport.'"
Bernard said Oshkosh
Airport Products wanted a
cross-section of attendees
to make sure there were
opportunities to learn.
" We i m m e d i a t e l y
thought, not only would
purchasing benefit from
that session, but operators
mechanics and maintenance
groups, and management would benefit
from that session," he said.
Allie Keller, director of marketing
for MacQueen Group, said the team
wanted to give mechanics and operators
a chance to network with their peers and
share different ideas on utilizing their
equipment.
"The value for them was being able
to hear what other airports are doing
and how they're staffing, not just related
to equipment, but airport operations
overall," she said. "We offered a lot of
different scenarios where they were
able to feed off one another, share their
successes, failures, and struggles. I think
that setting is a huge value they can take
with them going forward."
Purdy said the customer summit
was held at the EAA Museum not only
because it's a phenomenal site, but the
organization is also known for innovation.
It was only marketed to airports via
MacQueen Group's sales staff, but the
response was swift.
"We didn't know what to expect,"
Purdy said. "We walked in thinking
that we would possibly have 35 to 40
attendees, but quickly thereafter, we were
having conversations about having to cap
the event."

An Education in
Networking
The summit kicked off with a tour of
the Oshkosh Airport Products plant
where airport snow removal equipment
is manufactured. The attendees got

Education about
equipment allows workers
to better use and maintain
their fleet during the
winter months.
JOE PETRIE/AIRPORT BUSINESS

James Riley with MAC shares
best practices in snow and
ice removal from Twin Cities
area airports.
JOE PETRIE/AIRPORT BUSINESS

Educating operators and
mechanics together can break
down communications silos
between the groups.
JOE PETRIE/AIRPORT BUSINESS

a firsthand look at how the company
builds equipment and how the assembly
line works, as well as meeting the team
behind the products
"When the customer visits Oshkosh,
they see the value we can provide," said
Thomas Carle, sales manager for Oshkosh
Airport Products. "Not just the product,
but the training and our production
processes, and how we maintain quality
with our service and parts people.
"We have so many resources, and it's
great to talk with customers about these
when we visit their site, but to have them
see our processes firsthand opens their
eyes to the value we provide. They see
we are unique in what we have to offer."
Summit attendees had a full day of
training on snow removal operations

including presentations on snow
removal operations from different
airports, maintenance and operations best
practices and a hands-on session with a
variety of Oshkosh trucks.
One of the most unique sessions
was called "voice of customer" where
facilitators from Oshkosh and their dealer
MacQueen asked questions about issues
in the field. This included discussions on
challenges with equipment maintenance

32 \ AIRPORTBUSINESS / DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020
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