Las Vegas, Nevada (March 14, 2020) A multitude of construction and construction materials industry groups converged on the Las Vegas Convention Center and Festival Grounds as they came together for CONEXPO-CON/AGG & IFPE this week. Many came to unveil new technologies and products, share knowledge, train, and network with industry peers, as well as to buy equipment.
The show spanned 2.68 million net square feet, up from 2.5 million in 2017. The cancellations totaled 66,950 net sq. ft., or roughly 2.48 percent, with 15,000 sq. ft. resold.
This year’s event hosted over 2,300 exhibitors from global manufacturers that ranged in size from small firms to multinational corporations. Attendance numbers were unavailable, but pre-registration was more than 120,000.
“We refer to CONEXPO-CON/AGG as the ‘heavy metal’ show, but it’s more than that. It’s also small equipment, education and technology. And that was reflected in every way this week,” remarked Mary Erholtz, Vice President of Marketing at Superior Industries and CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020 Show Chairperson. “Giant machines, incredible exhibits, fantastic education and huge expectations. Organizers of CONEXPO-CON/AGG have a legacy of building and innovating on previous shows, and the 2020 gathering extends that record of success. This has been one of the best editions of CONEXPO-CON/AGG – ever,” continued Erholtz.
“Truly, for us it was a step-by-step process – from logistics to operations to security, emergency preparedness and crisis management – to ensure that safety and health of all the participants are top-of-mind”, said Dana Wuesthoff, Vice President, Exhibitions & Event Services for Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), which owns and produces the show.
According to officials at AEM, teams closely monitored the situation and worked with facilities, local agencies, vendors and stakeholders to ensure the proper protocols were being followed at this years ConExpo.
“It takes a long time for our show to set up, so we’ve been in Las Vegas for over a month, which made it easier for us to be in a constant communication loop. We were continuously evaluating every new piece of information that came in and made sure we addressed it.” said Wuesthoff.
A no-handshake policy was introduced, suggesting elbow bumps, or foot taps as an alternative, promiting it with buttons and stickers that showed a slash mark across shaking hands. Extensive cleaning protocols were put in place. Several vendors recognizing the importance of limiting exposure helped out by offering free hand sanitizers promoting their businesses as well.
“The crowd was much better than expected under the circumstances and most importantly, the right buyers were on the show floor. We were very pleased with the strong showing from the 300-plus exhibitors at IFPE 2020, and we are looking forward to the 2023 show,” Replied IFPE Show Chairperson David Price, Global Marketing Manager of HydraForce Inc.
Despite attendance being slightly down from early numbers. U.S. buyer attendance went up 8 percent from the 2017 show, and total global buyers increased by 5 percent. Contractor and Producer attendence also saw a jump of 14 percent in attendance. Most surprising still was the record-breaking 75,623 tickets for education sessions issued at the show, which was a 46 percent increase from 2017.
Things could have gone much worse. Similar industry shows scheduled for the following week were cancelled along with many others following suite at the Las Vegas Convention Center. 2020 was a success, but what will 2023 bring? We cant wait to find out.