Thousands of construction industry professionals are expected for the opening of the industry’s largest global gathering, CONEXPO-CON/AGG, today at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
More than 130,000 are expected to attend the show, which runs today through Saturday, and is held every three years. The show will feature more than 2,500 exhibitors representing various segments of the industry such as above and belowground utilities, asphalt, aggregates, concrete, earthmoving, lifting and mining.
Contractors will account for about 63 percent of the people attending, while equipment dealers and distributors, the next largest group, make up about 17 percent. Show officials say 150 countries will be represented.
The show will cover 2.5 million square feet — about 43 football fields — around the convention center. There is roughly 475,000 square feet of outdoor pavilion space.
A new feature this year is the Tech Experience section, which will feature 49 exhibitors demonstrating live 3-D printing, solar-powered roads, drones, robots and more. It will also be the location of 40 Tech Talks — short, inspirational presentations — that will focus on innovation. One of the first on Tuesday is on directional drilling.
There will also be nearly 150 educational classes at the Westgate Las Vegas Convention Center covering 11 topics from safety to business management to equipment maintenance.
The show is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Pacific) today through March 10, then from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 11.
Visit with me
I’ll be attending CONEXPO Tuesday and Wednesday. Email me at cory.dellenbach@colepublishing.com. I would enjoy meeting those of you attending the show and hearing your thoughts on where the industry is going.
