Page 235 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong

Everything that we do has
something to do with emissions. Everything.
– Grant Stickney, Emissions Solutions manager, Peterson-Cat
Left to right: Peterson Cat repower decal; DPF filter installation in shop
customers’ pain. Nothing could be further from the truth. “From the beginning, we shared our con- cerns. We helped the industry identify problem areas. We attended a lot of meetings with CARB and industry associations. We’ve hosted CARB workshops to inform customers and listen to their concerns. And we’ve been honest and upfront with what we think will work and what won’t. We’ve invested a lot of time and money into these solu- tions. In our industry, everything we do has some- thing to do with emissions,” says Stickney. “This is just one more service we offer our customers.”
CARB’S COURSE CORRECTION
At the end of 2007, the economy was starting to decline and head for a tailspin. Nobody wanted to deal with costly regulations that weren’t even clearly defined yet. Stickney and several Peterson and Cat officials attended numerous meetings, act- ing as mediators between the industry and CARB members. “When CARB did their original esti- mates of California’s emissions and forecasts for the future, they overestimated based on what was occurring at that time (2004–05),” says Stickney. “Then the economy took a dump in late 2007.That caused a vast reduction in emissions because ma- chines were just sitting around. Jobs had dried up. People weren’t working.”
Yet CARB’s aggressive targets were still in place.
In October 2010, they finally admitted that their estimates had been overly exaggerated—to the tune of 340 percent—based on miscalculated pol- lution levels, faulty health statistics, and scientific analysis. CARB agreed to adjust their numbers, push out the dates, and modify their requirements. Everybody breathed a sigh of relief. The economy had changed the rules by attrition.
Grant Stickney became Peterson’s emissions solutions manager in 2008
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