9 ConExpo questions with Xylem’s Ken Albaugh

By |  March 24, 2023
Ken Albaugh

Albaugh

As Pit & Quarry’s editors traversed ConExpo-Con/Agg last week, they asked a handful of exhibitors to share insights about their experience at the trade show held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. P&Q editor-in-chief Kevin Yanik caught up with Ken Albaugh, director of sales and services at Xylem, on the second-to-last day of the show in the company’s Central Hall booth.

Yanik: How was ConExpo from your point of view?

Albaugh: I think the show this year was what I expected. We did MINExpo [2021] right after COVID. People aren’t just here hanging out like they used to. The people here have applications, needs, projects and budgets.

We’ve already generated over $1 million of quotes, just from stopping and grabbing laptops to get people information. We’re very confident we’ll have some pretty good revenue out of this show. A lot of good customers that we anticipated to be here were here, so it’s been good. We accomplished what we set out to accomplish.

Yanik: What did you see from an aggregates standpoint? 

Albaugh: We’ve had all of the major national players come through the booth who are good customers. We’ve had a lot of regional-level players come through, as well.

The show’s been good. I’d say it’s been predominately aggregate people here.

Yanik: What are you trying to impart on ConExpo-Con/Agg visitors this time around?

Albaugh: Our big focus is on service and solutions. Our organization has unbelievable legacy products and brands, but we’re really trying to focus on those core solutions to customers. We’re definitely seeing the trend continue with skilled labor and people transitioning out of the business. Customers need help.

We had one customer the other night who said: ‘I know how to break rock. I don’t know pumps or how to handle water.’ We can help them literally from the pit to the discharge point and with the plants.

We’ve had meetings with several of the crushing and screening manufacturers, too. It helps when they’re selling somebody a plant that they say: ‘Go talk to Xylem about moving your water.’

ConExpo-Con/Agg drew nearly 140,000 people to the Las Vegas Convention Center March 14-18. Photo: P&Q Staff

ConExpo-Con/Agg drew nearly 140,000 people to the Las Vegas Convention Center March 14-18. Photo: P&Q Staff

Yanik: Are you seeing scrutiny of aggregate producers today and how they use and manage water? Any scrutiny of the industry probably starts with mining, but aggregate producers are expected to be good stewards of water too, right?

Albaugh: In the years I’ve been around mining, the mining community as a whole gets a really bad rap. Some of the biggest conservationists I know are mining people. There’s no mining company operating that is out there trying to hurt or damage anything. They want to know how to use water efficiently and correctly.

We’re talking to a lot of people about water quality monitoring at their discharge. Also, they don’t want dirty water at their screening. They want water to be as clean as possible at their screens. All of those different ideas and solutions are coming into play.

Yanik: In terms of trends at ConExpo-Con/Agg, we’re hearing quite a bit about sustainability. Do you have customers coming to you looking for solutions in this area?

Albaugh: There’s obviously a huge shift away from the diesel-powered equipment, getting more electrically efficient. With some of the products we’ve launched over the years, we’ve seen huge efficiency gains.

We focus on trying to make the most efficient water-moving equipment, whether it’s the design of the impellers or how the piping system is designed. We’re seeing a lot of that.


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