2026 Executive Outlook: Paul Barlow, President, Huddig
Barlow shares unfiltered perspectives on policy, supply chain and technology adoption as a European-based specialty equipment...
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As construction equipment executives look ahead to 2026, they are navigating a landscape shaped by persistent economic pressures and targeted pockets of strength.
Tariffs, high interest rates and inflation may cause contractors to delay big purchases and increase equipment rentals to reduce near-term risk. At the same time, the data center and energy infrastructure demand tied to the AI boom is fueling growth in many regions throughout the country.
For this series of Q&As, Equipment World tapped more than a dozen construction industry leaders to find out what trends are shaping their strategy in 2026, how they plan to invest in their manufacturing and dealer operations and how the current political climate is impacting their product roadmap – from regulatory changes to supply chain constraints.
Our slate of experts also touched on technology – from telematics to automation – and the next steps in their alternative power transformation.
This year’s participants include:
Kyle Fuglesten, Vice President of Construction, Hitachi
Paul Barlow, President, Huddig
Mike Ross, Senior Vice President, HD Hyundai Construction Equipment
Paul Manger, Executive Director of Product Marketing, Kubota
Illmars Nartish, Vice President, Manitou North America
Jeffery Ratliff, Director of Sales & Marketing, and Jeff Stewart, President, Takeuchi
Scott Young, Head of Region North America, Volvo CE
Keep reading to see where Paul Barlow, president of Huddig, is placing his bets in 2026.
Equipment World: Which regions or sectors do you expect to drive the strongest demand for your machines in the year ahead?
Utility, specifically in the North East region.
EW: How are customer requests and feedback shaping the types of equipment or attachments you plan to release next year?
As the availability of quality operators and labourers continues to decline and with an expected 30% of current operators expected to retire within the next 10yrs, demand for machines that are more versatile and capable that can perform a multitude of tasks just by changing attachments (as opposed to single purpose machines), will continue to grow, with the market looking more toward machine utilization improvements.
In addition, being able to mobilize one piece of equipment, instead of multiple pieces to the site, has a massive impact on the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of a business.
EW: What role will emerging technologies—automation, electrification, AI, telematics, etc.—play in your R&D and product launches?
Telemetrics will continue to grow. Being able to diagnose and resolve machine issues remotely without service personnel attending the site will become increasingly important in the technology installed on equipment.
Electrification of machines will continue to grow, especially in large towns and cities where reductions in noise and NOx emissions are sought. Our future thoughts are aimed more towards hybrid drive technologies over pure electric machines, where access to charging can sometimes be challenging.
EW: How do tariffs, infrastructure funding and broader political factors factor into your strategic planning for 2026?
It's really a challenge for smaller European manufacturers of specialty/unique machines, who sell machines in low relative volumes that bring operational efficiencies, and add technology value, the reciprocal tariff alone on European manufacturers significantly increases our base cost of their machines, in addition to the Section 232 steel-derived products tariff that has recently been imposed.
For manufacturers such as ourselves, who are small specialist machine manufacturers who simply don’t have the financial means to build our equipment in the US, it creates a major financial hurdle to overcome. The bottom line is that potentially European machine builders who are bringing new technology to the US may decide the imposed tariffs price their machines out of the market or simply make their value proposition more challenging, and as a result, may decide to pivot their efforts to another country like Canada, where those taxes are not imposed.
EW: Do you expect supply chain constraints for components, steel or electronics to ease, worsen or remain steady?
Worsen. A lot of components on machines come from all over the world in the global economy we exist in, manufacturers potentially will pivot to easier markets to do business in.
EW: What’s your outlook on hiring and retaining skilled manufacturing talent in the year ahead?
Not really applicable to us, as we manufacture in Europe.
EW: How are you working with your dealer network to ensure availability, service and customer support?
Ensuring we continue to have the localized support in terms of technical support and aftermarket support for spare parts, at both a manufacturer level, and dealer level.
EW: How are evolving emissions regulations and customer sustainability goals influencing your product development?
It’s a continuous goal to improve emissions of our machines, especially as our main markets in Europe demand it much more than here in North America.
EW: Where do you see the biggest competitive pressure coming from—established OEMs, new entrants or technology companies?
New entrants are bringing technology that drives efficiency and improves utilization rates on machines.
EW: Looking beyond the next year, what’s your outlook for the global equipment market over the next 3–5 years?
Huddig is investing in North America specifically, as we strongly believe there will be significant market growth for machines that can increase utilization and efficiency for end users, where a single machine can perform the task of two to three machines, reducing depreciating asset investment, at the same time increasing utilization rates.
