The AEM Manufacturing Express kicked off its month-long tour of Texas on Aug. 1, 2025, visiting association member companies across the Lone Star State and encouraging equipment manufacturers to make their voices heard on the policies made at the state and federal levels.
Throughout August, the AEM Manufacturing Express will visit 22 manufacturers at their facilities across the state. The visits serve as opportunities to engage lawmakers, provide them with chances to tour the facilities, as well as meet workers and see the impact of pro-manufacturing policies firsthand.
"Since we announced this year's tour, I have often been asked: ‘Why Texas? Why now?'" said Kip Eideberg, AEM senior vice president of government and industry relations, in a byline in the AEM Industry Advisor.
"The simple answer is that Texas leads by example. The Lone Star State is the equipment manufacturing capital of America, supporting 345,000 jobs and adding $49.5 billion to the state's economy — more than any other state equipment manufacturing industry," Eideberg said.
The Texas tour opened with a visit to NXG Truck Bodies' grand opening in Mount Pleasant on Aug. 1, followed by stops at Anderson UnderBridge, Epiroc, DY Concrete Pumps, C&W DustTech and Cummins. To close out a busy first week, the AEM Manufacturing Express stopped by Kubota in Grapevine.
AEM also is offering member company employees the opportunity to take the "Manufacturing Challenge," an interactive game that tests players' knowledge about the innovative technologies, processes, people and products powering equipment manufacturing across America. AEM also will continue to recruit I Make America supporters, who help AEM and its industry peers advocate for pro-manufacturing policies.
The ribbon-cutting event at NXG Truck Bodies for the company's Mount Pleasant grand opening proved to be the perfect way to kick off the AEM Manufacturing Express Summer 2025 tour. Industry leaders, local officials and community members joined together with friends and family to celebrate the new facility, which is expected to create about 100 jobs in Mount Pleasant by year's end.
According to a post on Manufacturing-express.org, "NXG's brand-new 110,000 square-foot manufacturing facility specializes in building premium steel and aluminum truck bodies with precision, durability and next-generation features. From flatbeds and haulers to contractor and crane bodies, every product reflects a commitment to excellence for hardworking professionals and the industries it serves."
Three days later, the AEM Manufacturing Express arrived in Greenville to visit Anderson UnderBridge, manufacturer of the Anderson Hydra Platform, an under bridge work platform built for heavy-duty inspections, utility installs and safe access. The company welcomed AEM and the Greenville Chamber of Commerce for a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate Anderson UnderBridge's new training center.
"When a lot of you drove here, you probably went over a lot of bridges along the way," Anderson UnderBridge CEO Jamie Roush said in The Herald Banner in Greenville. "And while you may not think much about what's under the bridge, there is a lot going on under there … and those bridges have to be inspected at least once every two years.
"There are about 6,000 bridges in the U.S., and about half of them are considered to be substandard," Roush told the Herald Banner. "What we specialize in is getting inspectors under those bridges quickly, safely and much more easily [than with scaffolding or similar methods]."
After a trip to Garland to spend a day with Epiroc and showcase the company's commitment to being at the forefront of the future of mining, the AEM Manufacturing Express visited Alvarado for a pair of stops at DY Concrete Pumps and C&W DustTech.
Then it was off to Cummins, where the tour celebrated an organization that has made its name by putting sustainability and community at the forefront of its business.
"When you hear our CEO Jennifer Rumsey talk about Destination Zero, it's apparent that our business strategy is deeply tied with our value system and who we are as a company — and we've stuck to these values for decades," said Brian Mormino, Cummins executive director of technical and environmental systems.
