Conexpo-Con/Agg 2008

With about two months to go until the 2008 ConExpo-Con/Agg opening, the industry is pinning down exact details for a handful of additions to this year’s

With about two months to go until the 2008 ConExpo-Con/Agg opening, the industry is pinning down exact details for a handful of additions to this year’s schedule. Attendance at the March 11-15 Las Vegas gathering is expected to top 125,000, besting the 2005 event’s number of 124,200 delegates. New education sessions, outdoor competitions and challenges, approximately 2,000 exhibitors, and focused programs for small fleet owners are just some of the offerings Milwaukee-based organizer Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) will have on hand for the 2008 tradeshow and conference, staged at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

New additions to the show’s schedule will focus on industry safety training and the need for a qualified workforce. The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association-backed Mixer Driver World Cup is an extension of the group’s Ready Mixed Truck Driver of the Year award, which recognizes driver career achievements, safety, professionalism, competence and customer service. The inaugural Cup involves driving a challenge course, performing a walk-around visual inspection, and completing a written examination. Awards will be presented to first-, second- and third-place finishers. The event will take place March 12, with the driving challenge and inspection in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s outdoor Orange Lot.

In the Safety Zone area, exhibiting groups include federal agencies such as the Mine Safety and Health Administration and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The International Powered Access Federation also will be on hand with its Click It campaign, which demonstrates proper techniques for wearing full-body harnesses in boom-type aerial work platforms. The Zone is open during the run of the show, located west of the outdoor Blue Lot.

The Construction Challenge is part of AEM’s efforts to draw the best and brightest young people into the industry in professions ranging from manufacturing to in-the-field careers. Some 50 teams are expected to compete in three areas: awareness of construction-related jobs, construction equipment and manufacturing, and infrastructure awareness. Among the prizes are industry-related scholarships. The competition takes place March 11-13 near the AEM booth in the main convention center lobby area.

Once again co-located with the National Fluid Power Association’s (NFPA’s) International Exposition for Power Transmission (IFPE) technical conference, ConExpo-Con/Agg is expected to occupy more than 2.2 million net sq. ft. of convention floor and outdoor parking lot space. Both shows will feature the latest equipment, product innovations and technological advances of the construction, construction materials and power transmission industries.

Education is the cornerstone of the IFPE experience, event organizers contend, with this year’s event featuring a new Innovation and Solutions Center to complement the 111-presentation Technical Conference. The new center will offer 19 free education sessions conducted on the show floor (South Hall Level 2) and focus on real-world solutions for current and future design applications. Topics are grouped into four major areas: green solutions, innovative applications in the entertainment industry, fluid power solutions, and motion control solutions now and in the future.

A green solutions track will give attendees insights into renewable energy, hydraulic hybrid vehicles and system technologies, environmentally friendly fuels, and the latest issues related to U.S. Tier IV engine emission regulations. Topics on fluid power solutions will cover mobile hydraulic, hydraulic fluids, hydraulic braking and steering, hose routing, seal designs, contamination control, and the future of fluid power. Presentations on motion-control solutions will highlight electro-hydraulics and motion control for mobile equipment hydraulics.

Several segments will unveil new research taking place at the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power; funded in part by the National Science Foundation, it is the result of efforts led by industry leaders and IFPE co-owner NFPA. The IFPE Technical Conference will gear sessions to the global needs of engineers and other decision makers in design and manufacturing processes. The IFPE show will feature 400 exhibitors and 127,000 net sq. ft. of exhibit space. Registration details and information on education and other show features can be obtained by visiting www.conexpoconagg.com or www.ifpe.com; or, by calling 414/298-4141, (toll free) 800/867-6060.

COMMAND ALKON PROGRAMS ENTERPRISE MANUFACTURING INTELLIGENCE MODULE

Among new technology offerings to be featured at ConExpo-Con/Agg 2008, Command Alkon has developed an Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence module named Plant Watcher. It can be configured to connect to all COMMAND-batch systems on a user’s network and provides real-time, event-notification alerts for gross over and under tolerance, material and mix file modifications. Plant Watcher likewise can send scheduled reports daily to detail a site’s production, material usage, and equipment efficiency, plus recently added scheduled and performed plant maintenance information. Product developers underscore the technology’s potential for curtailing nightly printing and e-mail or fax exchanges, or manual handling of documents. The Plant Watcher automatically conveys the manufacturing intelligence to a user’s inbox.
Û www.commandalkon.com