On March 8 and 9, 2005, backhoe operators will once again be showing off their expertise during the Philadelphia Construction Expo at the Fort Washington Expo Center, just 15 mi. north of Philadelphia.

A total of $5,000 will be up for grabs to those who can master the following five events:

• The Pipe Drop — The operator must lift two cylinders, one at a time, using a tooth on the bucket and placing each over a metal post. Time will stop when both cylinders are in place and the bucket is returned to the start position.

• Backhoe Bowling — The operator will start with the backhoe bucket resting on the ground at a full stop right. The operator then moves the boom left, picks up a ring with a tooth, lifts and swings to knock down the pins. Then the operator must return the chain and tooth to the start position and boom to the start position.

• Backhoe Basketball — The operator starts with the toothed bucket on the ground in a designated square. Then the operator must pick up balls off of traffic cones and drop them into a bucket placed near the cones.

• Egg in the Nest — The operator starts in the center position, moves the bucket to the right, picks up the egg from the sand pile, then moves the bucket to the left where he or she deposits the egg in the tire with the straw “nest.”

• The Backhoe Sand Trap — The operator picks up a golf ball from the sand trap with a special tooth on the bucket, swings the boom and drops the ball into a coffee can.

The sixth Philadelphia Construction Expo, also called “The Greatest Show in Construction, Public Works & Landscaping,” will again feature a wide array of equipment dealers and manufacturers, including: Eagle Power & Equipment, Giles & Ransome, Midlantic, Norris Sales, Eager Beaver, Earthborne, Ingersoll-Rand, Delaware Valley Bobcat, Total Rentals, United Rentals, Sunbelt Rentals, Vermeer, Ritchie Bros., King of Prussia Equipment, Curry Supply, Historical Construction Equipment Association, National Kids Construction Club, Godwin Pumps, Norki Energy Systems and first-time exhibitors Power Curbers Inc., Speedy Scan Company Inc., Diamond Blade Warehouse and Conklin Company.

For more information on exhibiting or attending, call Sheila Kirby, CEG’s trade show manager, at 800/523-2200. Check out upcoming issues of CEG for more details.

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