Open, Statement of Intent

Between Purple Wave and the National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA)

Facilitated by the Caillouet Foundation through Trade Train Lab

Date: January 20, 2026

Purple Wave, a leading no-reserve online auction platform for heavy equipment and vehicles, and the National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA), the premier trade association representing utility construction professionals, hereby express their mutual intent to establish a strategic collaboration. This collaboration, supported and facilitated by the Caillouet Foundation Inc. (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit) through its Trade Train Lab initiative, aims to advance workforce development in the construction industry by recruiting and training craft labor and heavy equipment operators while facilitating the efficient redistribution of surplus heavy equipment (Auctions) and to support training programs, school districts, and NUCA members whenever possible.

Core Objectives

• Strengthen national workforce pipelines by identifying, training, and recruiting skilled heavy equipment operators and craft professionals.
• Support high school and postsecondary construction pathway programs through NCCER-certified training and regional coordination.
• Leverage Purple Wave’s auction platform to redistribute heavy equipment, making it more accessible for training, workforce entry, and operational needs of NUCA members.

Regional Alignment Strategy

The collaboration will adopt Purple Wave’s established regional structure to align resources across NUCA chapters, Purple Wave representatives, and facilitated by Caillouet Foundation/Trade Train Lab support. Within each Purple Wave region:

• Regional representatives from NUCA, Purple Wave, and the Caillouet Foundation will be identified and coordinated.
• These representatives will map and engage school districts offering NCCER Certification in construction and heavy equipment pathways.
• This alignment will enable targeted identification of students, instructors, and regional employees already participating in construction pathways, streamlining recruitment of qualified craft labor and heavy equipment operators into the utility construction workforce.
• Joint efforts will provide NCCER certification support, curriculum resources, and equipment access to accelerate workforce entry and address industry labor shortages.

This regional approach ensures efficient allocation of resource deployment, maximizes local impact, and creates sustainable pipelines for trained professionals while supporting NUCA membership growth and Purple Wave’s equipment redistribution services.

Supporting Resources from TradeTrainLab.com

The following pages on https://tradetrainlab.com (the Commercial Construction Broadcast Network operated under the Caillouet Foundation) document foundational elements of this cooperation, including proposed collaboration discussions, workforce strategies, heavy equipment training pathways, and regional school engagement:

• https://tradetrainlab.com/: Homepage overview of Trade Train Lab’s mission to deliver NCCER certification training for high schools, colleges, and construction companies, including heavy equipment programs in collaboration with NUCA. It highlights the Caillouet Foundation’s role in workforce development and references national strategies involving NUCA and Purple Wave for training and recruiting heavy equipment operators.
• https://tradetrainlab.com/purpose-and-function-of-the-foundation/ : This section discribes the Purpose and Function of the Caillouet Foundation Inc
• https://tradetrainlab.com/high-school-recommended-for-heavy-equipment-operations-pathway-programs/ : NCCER Course’s for Full Heavy Equipment Operation Certification program.
• https://tradetrainlab.com/missouri-organizational-structure/: This Section describes the Organization of the Missouri support system for the Schools
• https://tradetrainlab.com/high-school-recommended-for-construction-pathway/ : High School recommendation for Carpentry Program including recommended Heavy Equipment Operations training
• https://tradetrainlab.com/high-school-recommended-for-electrical-pathway-programs/ : High School recommendation for Electrical Program including recommended Heavy Equipment Operations training
• https://tradetrainlab.com/high-school-recommended-for-plumbing-pathway-programs/ : High School recommendation for Plumbing Program including recommended Heavy Equipment Operations training
• https://tradetrainlab.com/high-school-recommended-for-hvac-pathway-programs/ : High School recommendation for HVAC Program including recommended Heavy Equipment Operations training
• https://tradetrainlab.com/high-school-recommended-for-pipefitting-pathway-programs/ : High School recommendation for Pipefitting Program including recommended Heavy Equipment Operations training.
• https://tradetrainlab.com/high-school-recommended-for-masonry-concrete-finishing-pathway-programs/ : High School recommendation for Masonry/Concrete Finishing Program including recommended Heavy Equipment Operations training.

These resources collectively demonstrate how the collaboration will drive labor recruitment through certified training pathways and enable heavy equipment redistribution via Purple Wave’s auction services to equip training programs and industry professionals.

Purple Wave and NUCA, with facilitation from the Caillouet Foundation, commit to pursuing personal relationships at the regional level where NUCA members live and regional Purplewave associates oversee regional Heavy Equipment Auction to serve their customer base. Caillouet Foundation will coordinate the training and school relationships to promote a pipeline for Workforce development needed for the Heavy Equipment Operators needed in the Industry.

Please provide any feedback and your thoughts.

Thanks, Donald Ray Callaway
Director, Caillouet Foundation Inc