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Hadenfeldt edges out Ruiz for Trowel Challenge Title

After more than three months of touring, nearly 15,000 miles on the road, dozens of dealer events and contractor job site visits, it all came down to a heated Trowel Challenge finals competition on Thursday afternoon. Shortly after 3 p.m. Vegas time, hundreds of spectators gathered around the slab in Wacker Neuson's outdoor Silver Lot booth #O30239 to cheer on the top 10 finalists vying to take home the customized CRT 48-35VX ride-on trowel.

Prior to Thursday's final three qualifying rounds, only the top two qualifiers - John Dekryger and Nick "The Kid" Scripture - registered times below 35 seconds. During the 10:30 a.m. round of qualifying, Power Concrete Finishing's Grant Ostridge set the top mark with a blazing course time of 33:27 seconds. The number of lightning-fast times throughout Thursday's qualifying sessions eclipsed those from previous rounds, as contractors in and close to the top aggressively competed for the top 10 final positions.

Names like Dorn, Smith and Knockwood fell off the leader board throughout the day on Thursday as Ricky Ruiz, Lee Hadenfeldt and Josh Hadenfeldt all posted times below 35 seconds. After the final 1:30 p.m. qualifying round, 9 out of the 10 qualifiers ran sub 35-second times. Only one final qualifying time did not crack the 35-second threshold, Rick Scripture, who entered the finals at 35 seconds flat.

But that didn't phase Rick in the least. He kicked off the finals competition with a personal-best time of 33:49 seconds through the course, setting the stage for an electrified competition. Five of the 10 competitors posted sub 34-second times in the finals. Slater & Son's Ricky Ruiz ran a finals-best 33:48-second time, while H & H Concrete's Lee Hadenfeldt crossed the finish line at 33:66 seconds.

After nine of the final timed trowel rides, it all came down to Grant Ostridge, who held the best qualifying time at 33:27 seconds. He needed to run a 34:88 or better to capture the title. However, a couple of costly penalties added precious seconds to his time, resulting in a 39:10 finish in the finals. 

After combining qualifying and final times, a mere 0:03 seconds separated the Trowel Challenge champion and runner up. Winning the customized trowel grand prize for H & H Concrete, Lee Hadenfeldt took the Trowel Challenge crown with a combined time of 68:16 seconds. Ricky Ruiz finished second with a combined time of 68:19 seconds.

The official final top 10 times...

#	Name	Company	Combined Total Time
1	Lee Hadenfeldt	H & H Concrete	68:16
2	Ricky Ruiz	Slater & Son Concrete	68:19
3	Dan Havey	Wilhelm	68:32
4	Rick Scripture	Scripture’s Concrete	68:49
5	John Dekryger	Dekryger Concrete	68:55
6	Josh Hadenfeldt	H & H Concrete	68:84
7	Nick Scripture	Scripture’s Concrete	69:08
8	Bruce Gesek	Slater & Son Concrete	70:17
9	Glen Greth	Engleman Construction	71:54
10	Grant Ostridge	Power Concrete Finishing	72:37

We thank all who visited the Wacker Neuson outdoor exhibit at World of Concrete. We congratulate the hundreds of contractors who stepped up to take the Trowel Challenge. While only one could take home the customized trowel grand prize, you are all winners in our eyes.

Don't forget, the next Trowel Challenge is less than a year away! What will Wacker Neuson do next?

TROWELMASTER

There is only one word to describe the competition at Wacker Neuson's Trowel Challenge...SMOKIN'. The competition heated up on Wednesday with Tuesday's once-thought unbeatable times dropping like flies.

During 10:30 a.m. qualifying, "Kid" Scripture took an early gamble to beat yesterday's time and take the top spot from Dave Havey. His early gamble didn't pay off, and he lost nearly 1 second from Tuesday's time, dropping him to the bottom of the top 10 qualifiers.  Undaunted, he came back in the early afternoon session and delivered a nearly flawless two-lap run, finishing with an incredible time of 34:28 seconds.

However, Wednesday's top story wasn't the fresh faces of new competitors. The familiar face of John Dekryger, last year's Trowel Challenge champion, took the headlines. In only 1 qualifying run, John showed the new competition how it's done, taking the top qualifying time for the day with a smokin'-hot 34:06 finish.

A recap of Wednesday's top 10 times...

1. John Dekryger..................................34:06
2. Nick "the kid" Scripture...................34:28
3. Jeff DeGroot.....................................35:07
4. Marty Hefel........................................35:20
5. Phil Kauffman..................................35:32
6. Bruce Gesick...................................35:61
7. Justin Biosvert.................................35:68
8. Tim Dorn...........................................35:70
9. Jody Knockwood.............................35:75
10. Don Smith........................................35:84

Thursday's qualifying times will be after the 10:30 a.m., noon and 1:30 p.m. shows. The top 10 times will advance to the finals, which will be held at 4 p.m. on Thursday.

The top finisher on Thursday takes home the customized CRT 48-35VX ride-on trowel, valued at $20,000, for his company. Will it be one of Wednesday's top 10 or will a new face emerge victorious? Stay tuned....

TROWELMASTER

Right out of the gates, contractors lined up for their chance to win the customized Wacker Neuson CRT 48-35VX ride-on trowel, powered by Vanguard. Heard from all over the outdoor Silver lot at World of Concrete, the grand prize trowel was started to kick-off the first round of qualifying times at the 10:30 a.m. show on Tuesday morning. And the contractors responded with their best.

Day 1 of the Wacker Neuson's Trowel Challenge wrapped up with fierce competition vying for the top spot. Early on in the competition, Sacramento's Ricky Ruiz took a commanding lead. The 36:50-second time through the obstacle course looked to be hard to beat.



But in the end, it was Dave Havey representing Wilhem nudging out Ricky's top time with a hot time of 36:41 seconds. A mere 0.1 of a second separates the top 4 competitors of the day.

A recap of Tuesday's top 10 times...

1. Dave Havey........................................36:41
2. Nick "the kid" Scripture....................36:46
3. Ricky Ruiz..........................................36:50
4. Grant Ostridge..................................36:51
5. Tim Dorn............................................37:16
6. Rick Scripture...................................37:25
7. Jody Knockwood..............................37:85
8. Gregg Kinsman................................38:22
9. Lee Hadenfeldt.................................38:41
10. Josh Hadenfeldt...............................39:11

Qualifying times continue on Wednesday. Trowel Challenge competitions are held after each Wacker Neuson show at 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. What will day 2 have in store...more than likely fierce competition and faster times.

TROWELMASTER

Winner of Las Vegas trip package calls clean sweep; expecting a win at next week's Trowel Challenge

Call it moxie or just plain confidence. It may be that he's been practicing for the Trowel Challenge. Or, just maybe he's still riding the high of the free plane ticket to and hotel accommodations in Las Vegas.

Call it what you will, but Tony Lampasona (pictured), winner of Wacker Neuson's airfare/hotel trip prize package to World of Concrete, expects to have the Trowel Challenge all sewn up. According to Tony, president of Lindsay Lampasona - Norfolk, MA, "I'm calling the victory. I'm pointing to the fence and calling it."

Tony and Lindsay Lampasona have been using Wacker Neuson trowels for more than a deca

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The movie Field of Dreams and its famed line, "Build it and they will come," has led many astray in their business marketing efforts. Some companies think all they have to do is build good machines or offer the widest selection of equipment and the customers and orders will just roll in. Long lost by many today are the relationship building efforts and blood, sweat and tears that go into earning a customer's business.

Fortunately, this is not the case with Wacker Neuson and its many dealers, including Action Equipment Rental of Las Cruces, New Mexico. As the only independently owned equipment rental company in the southern New Mexico market, Action has put in long hours with its customers and earned that reputation for building relationships and delivering what is promised. "In this business, there's no question that relationships and brand name are vital to our success," says Joseph Muench, president of Action Equipment Rental, which operates five rental locations in New Mexico.

With this philosophy, it was ... << MORE >>

Enjoy the Exhibits on Wacker Neuson

World of Concrete 2010 is just two weeks away. The customize trowel is at For Shor Supply in Salt Lake City today and heading to some Denver area job sites tomorrow...finishing up the final days of its three-month tour of the United States. Wacker Neuson is ready to pouring the slab in its World of Concrete exhibit space for the Trowel Challenge.

You've purchased your plane tickets to Las Vegas and the hotel room for World of Concrete week (well, except for Tony Lampasona...his trip is on us). However, you don't have to purchase your tickets to see the miles of World of Concrete exhibits. Equally as important, you don't have to pay a penny to get in for the Wacker Neuson Trowel Challenge being held in our Silver Lot Outdoor booth #O30239.

Even at this last minute, Wacker Neuson is offering free exhibits-only admission to the big show. Just look for the World of Concrete logo - you know, this one  << MORE >>

Tony Lampasona from Massachusetts!

It's been more than two months since the Trowel Challenge tour began. More than 10,000 hard miles have been logged on the truck towing the customized CRT 48-35VX ride-on trowel, powered by Vanguard, to dealer events and contractor job sites throughout the US.

Nearly 1,000 contractors registered for a chance to win the Las Vegas trip prize package to World of Concrete, sponsored by Wacker Neuson and the promoters of the trade show. Contractors also visited our blog site and registered for the trip package online. In the end, it came down to 38 semifinalists vying for the prize.

Congratulations goes out to Tony Lampasona of Norfolk, Massachusetts' Lindsay Lampasona Concrete, selected on Friday, January 8th, as this year's winner of the trip prize package. He and one lucky companion will receive free round-trip airfare to Las Vegas, along with up to a 4-night's stay in one the show's luxurious hotels, to attend World of Concrete.

Grand Prize yet to Be ... << MORE >>

Registration Still Open Online and at Dealers...but the drawing is Friday, January 8, 2010!

By now you may have heard about this big Trowel Challenge event held by Wacker Neuson at World of Concrete. It's true that Wacker Neuson is giving away a customized, one-of-a-kind CRT 48-35VX ride on trowel at the show. It's also a fact that someone will be crowned the Trowel Challenge champion and will have a year's worth of bragging rights as being the fastest finisher.

But the bottom line: YOU HAVE TO BE AT WORLD OF CONCRETE TO WIN!!! 

Wacker Neuson has you covered for this as well. One lucky winner will receive free round-trip airfare for two to Las Vegas and up to a four-night stay in one of World of Concrete's prime show hotels. Of course all other expenses beyond the plane tickets and hotel room are left up to the winner, but, hey, we are covering the major trip expenses! 

There ...

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Out on the Trowel Challenge tour, we've had the opportunity to see some old friends as well as meet some customers who are new to the Wacker Neuson family. Over this three-month-long trek across the U.S., the Trowel Challenge's grand prize - a customized CRT 48-35VX ride-on trowel, powered by Vanguard - will make stops at 50 dealers and multiple customer job sites throughout every Wacker Neuson regional sales territories.

Once we start this one-of-a-kind trowel at each event the response is always the same: a grin from ear to ear. The sound made by custom-tuned exhaust on the Vanguard V-Twin Big Block engine is like no other. Then customers begin to comment on the trowel's looks and all that chrome.

Inevitably, the questions start pouring in. How did you make the trowel sound like a Harley? What does it cost? Can I put this on a slab and finish concrete with it? How can ... << MORE >>