Penton’s EquipmentWatch launched the first annual EquipmentWatch Residual Value Awards, a new industry awards program based on asset value retention.

The program will recognize the model series with the highest projected future value on the resale market for each equipment type. Winners will be announced online in February 2016.

EquipmentWatch also unveiling the list of award semifinalists, with John Deere, Caterpillar and Komatsu among the 26 manufacturers of off-highway equipment nominated.

“EquipmentWatch is best known for fair market values (FMV) and forced liquidation values (FLV) of heavy equipment,” said Garrett Schemmel, managing director of EquipmentWatch. “Residual valuation has long been a core competency of our consulting analyst team and with the industry’s largest sales database powering our valuations, we recognized that we were in a unique position to create the first set of data-driven awards that acknowledge the OEMs performing best in the secondary market.”

Residual values are the projected value of an asset after accounting for depreciation and various market conditions. EquipmentWatch leverages a database of over $700 billion in equipment transactions and the industry-leading ValueTrend Engine to estimate the residual value curves.

Residual values are predicted over a five year period, covering FMV and FLV ranges and enabling users to make better decisions concerning equipment purchasing, financing and disposition. Recipients of the EquipmentWatch Residual Value Award will represent the models projected to retain the value best among the competition.