INTERVIEW
32
HOWDO YOUSEE THEGENERAL CRANE
MARKET PICTURE FOR2014ANDBEYOND?
We see themarket as verypositive in
2014andbeyond, bothdomestically
and inmanyareas around theglobe.
Assuminggovernment political battles
and international disputes trend lower,
webelieve the industrywill continue
to stabilize, andwill begingrowingat a
better rate. The construction industry is
amajordriverof employment, butmore
importantly, the companies thatmake
up the industry create stable, dependable
good-paying jobs andcareeropportunities.
WHATDO YOU LIKEABOUT THIS INDUSTRY?
Outstandingpeople,who caredeeplyand
whoare committed to eachother. The
industry isdrivenby ideas, innovationand
execution. Excitingdevelopmentshappen
daily.Constructionandmanufacturingare
thebackboneof great economies. This is
where things arebuilt.
WHAT IS YOURBUSINESSPHILOSOPHY?
OurUncleLeo,who rana successfulGM
dealership fordecades, used theprinciple
that “Peopledobusinesswithpeople they
like” as a cornerstoneof his success.My
dad, andDICA founderDickKoberg,
has alwaysbeen focusedonmaking sure
wehavea “win-win-win”philosophy in
whateverwe’redoing. Bothof those ideas
are central towhatwedoatDICA every
day. Inaddition to those, I believe culture
and communicationare the cornerstones
to long-term success. Ideas are easy–
execution ishard.Our greatest power is
ourpower to choose. Tobe successful,we
must use itwisely.
WHATDOYOUDOWHENYOUAREN’TATWORK?
Ihaveawonderfulwifeandwe like to
travel andvisitwith friendswhenweare
not traveling tokids’ activities.Our three
childrenareheavily involved ingolf,
baseball, basketball, softball andmusic.
Everyonce inawhile, I love toget out to
thegolf coursemyself.
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ACT
MAY 2014
weight andwill not rot, delaminate, rust
orbreakdown likewoodor steel. It is an
engineeredmaterialwhere thematerial
properties arenot affectedby the elements
orprolongeduse.Designingmat solutions
for low soil bearing capacities andhigh
loads isno longer aproblem.
HOWDID THIS TECHNOLOGY EVOLVE?WHAT
HASBEEN THERECEPTION?
The technologywas first developed for
buildingpedestrianandvehiclebridge
systems as a lightweight, long-term
replacement toheavy steel structures and
rottingwood structures. The receptionhas
beenoverwhelming.Webelieve that the
industryhasbeenhoping for aproduct
like this, one thatwould significantly
reduce transportation costs andprovide
the engineeredperformance that isneeded
forhigher capacity cranes and low soil
bearing capacity conditions.
WILL THE FIBERMAXPRODUCTS EVENTUALLY
REPLACEOTHERPRODUCT LINES?
No, theFiberMax line is abeautiful
extensionof our existingSafetyTech
line. There is a small amount of overlap
that offersour customersoptions, but
thematerials anddesigndifferences flow
together extremelywell.
Currently,weareworking together
througha study calledTheAscent of a
Leader (byBillThrall, BruceMcNicol
andKenMcElrath) that is assistingus in
gainingadeeperunderstandingofwhat
character-centered leadership is andwhat
stepswe can take to engage in it. Some
of theearlybenefits are simplygaininga
deeperunderstandingof eachother,while
alsodevelopingbetter communication
skills.Wehave comea longway from
highly competitiveboysplaying tackle
football in the family room tohaving to
learnhow to respect eachother, trust each
other and runabusiness together.As you
might imagine, this is a constant learning
process, but oneweare committed to.
AT CONEXPO, DICA LAUNCHED FIBERMAX
MATS.WHATDISTINGUISHES THISPRODUCT?
TheFiberMaxproduct ismadeupof
threedistinct linesor “duty’s” that each
servedifferent typesof equipment. The
HeavyDuty lineperforms very similar to
ourHeavyDutySafetyTech line. It is a
differentmaterialwithdifferent properties
that some customersmayprefer toour
SafetyTech engineered thermoplastic
material. TheSuperDuty lineprovides
aniceoption for equipment and soil
combinations that requires an extra rigid
basebetween9-16 square feet. TheMega
Duty line, available in standard thicknesses
from4-10 inches allowsus to fit every
crane currentlymanufactured. This
product canbe constructed tobe strong
and rigid like steel at 50percent of the
The DICA team at ConExpo included (front row, from left) Kris Koberg, CEO; Dick
Koberg, president and founder; Joshua Ford, fitting consultant; Kerry Koberg,
global sales director; (back row, from left) Andy Loff, engineer; Kevin Kabler, fitting
consultant; David Boon, sales engineer; and Kevin Koberg, marketing director.
The technology behind DICA’s FiberMax
outrigger padswas first developed for
building pedestrian and vehicle bridge
systems as a lightweight, long-term
replacement to heavy steel structures
and rottingwood structures.
