Concrete plant equipment manufacturers, mixer truck body builders and fellow exhibitors enjoyed solid booth traffic, quote inquiries and buying activity at 2017 ConExpo-Con/Agg, some telling Concrete Products the March 7-11 event was the best such show to date. Confidence in the business climate and prospects for stepped up infrastructure investment, fueled by President Donald Trump, permeated the Las Vegas Convention Center gathering, co-located with IFPE 2017.
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| Concrete fleet equipment, materials and information technology exhibits were grouped in the Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall (top), plant and pumping equipment in the flanking Bronze Lot (above). |
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| Organizers promised a host of technology and related devices for ConExpo-Con/Agg 2017, among them Doka North America’s Concremote, which applies the Internet of Things model to mix maturity monitoring and is shown here in one of three Tech Experience domes; and, Astec Industries’ Silo Bot, a magnetic wheeled, remote controlled silo inspection tool, albeit better suited to insulated asphalt mix vessels than conventional cementitious material storage. |
“I think there is a noticeable difference in the attendees at this show, and the difference is their optimism,” said 2017 Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) Chair Michael Haberman (Gradall Industries). “Optimism was on display throughout the show, and the traffic was excellent.”
“This has been one of the best editions ever,” added 2017 ConExpo-Con/Agg Chair Rich Goldsbury (Doosan Bobcat) as the five-day event concluded. “Exhibitors are writing sales at an incredible pace, and attendees clearly came to Las Vegas to buy.”
“These are not tire-kickers,” observed Volvo CE Vice President of Marketing & Corporate Communications Dave Foster. “These are people who are willing to buy multiple machines for work they have now and anticipated growth based on a renewed confidence in the market.”
The 2017 ConExpo-Con/Agg and IFPE spanned 2.8 million square feet of indoor and outdoor space, had a record 2,800-plus exhibitors, and saw attendance near 128,000 for the week. Among key metrics, AEM cites in comparison to the shows’ early-March 2014 staging, also in Las Vegas: U.S. and total buyer attendance figures climbed 16 percent and 8 percent, respectively; overall contractor and producer attendance grew 10 percent; and, attendees purchased a record-breaking 52,000 tickets for education sessions, a 26 percent increase.
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