Reflecting on a successful ConExpo-Con/Agg

By Kevin Yanik| May 22, 2023

The Festival Grounds attracted waves of people during stretches of the morning on Day 4 (Friday) of ConExpo-Con/Agg. Photo: P&Q Staff

Exhibitors were underwhelmed with ConExpo-Con/Agg three years ago, as the pandemic kept thousands of would-be attendees at home.

Expectations were elevated going into this year’s trade show in Las Vegas. Fortunately, exhibitors were not disappointed, as more than 139,000 people attended ConExpo-Con/Agg across one or more days of the five-day show.

Perhaps more importantly, exhibitors say those who attended ConExpo-Con/Agg were largely ready to buy.

“I thought the people who came to visit had things you could help them with,” says Kevin Cadwalader, president of REMco, which exhibited in Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. “They were looking for solutions. I think the quality of the people who visited was very high.”

Philippi-Hagenbuch’s Josh Swank, whose company exhibited in the new West Hall, agrees that those who attended ConExpo-Con/Agg were not tire kickers but serious buyers.

“We met with over 500 people per day, with over 20,000 people in, through or around our booth,” says Swank, vice president of sales and marketing at Philippi-Hagenbuch. “These were individuals who weren’t just there to check out our booth setup – although it was pretty cool, if I do say so myself – but people who were genuinely interested in discovering new products and technology that could benefit their operation’s productivity and efficiency.”

Haver & Boecker Niagara’s Kristen Randall, whose company exhibited in the outdoor Silver Lot, has a similar view as she reflects on those attending ConExpo-Con/Agg.

“Daily feedback from our sales team over the course of the show pointed to most visitors being true buyers,” says Randall, global technology marketing manager at Haver & Boecker Niagara. “Within hours of opening on Tuesday, we already felt that all the hard work and investment leading up to our industry’s ‘Super Bowl’ had 100 percent paid off. ConExpo was the place to be to meet industry decision-makers, and they were ready to move forward.”

Enhanced footprint

Multiple exhibitors expressed to P&Q that the typical ConExpo-Con/Agg visitor was a serious buyer and not a tire kicker. Photo: P&Q Staff

One ConExpo-Con/Agg improvement that stood out to Bailey-Parks Urethane’s Brian Tutor was the show layout.

Tutor believes exhibits with an aggregates focus were more centralized in Central Hall this year. While aggregate producers could probably find applicable exhibits in every hall and lot, aggregates exhibits, as defined by show management, were featured this year in Central Hall and the Silver Lot.

“I’d say it’s the best organized show I’ve been to as far as a ConExpo-Con/Agg,” says Tutor, vice president and general manager at Bailey-Parks, when visited in Central Hall on the second-to-last day of the show. “They put like businesses in the right building.

This building (Central Hall) is aggregates, concrete and asphalt. That means we’re condensed, so when we have customers coming, they don’t have to go from one end of this place to the other.

“Before it was chaos,” Tutor adds. “You picked your own building and what you wanted to do.”

While Cadwalader agrees the 2023 show layout was an improvement, he continues to hear from customers that ConExpo-Con/Agg is simply too large.

“I asked several customers what they think about it,” Cadwalader says. “They even said: ‘The show is so big now that we break our people up.’ For example, somebody goes to see the crusher guys, another goes to see the paver guys, and so forth. Then, they all kind of get together at the end of the day and compare notes because [the show] is way too big for one guy. You’d spend all week here if you tried to cover it all.”

Wacky weather

In the Silver Lot, the Superior Industries booth (foreground) attracted plenty of ConExpo-Con/Agg visitors alongside the expansive John Deere-Wirtgen Group booth (background). Photo: P&Q Staff

Those exploring ConExpo-Con/Agg on the opening show days encountered abnormally wet, cold and windy weather for Las Vegas.

The conditions drove many show goers indoors for stretches of Day 1 and 2, but those exhibiting outdoors still saw good value in being where they were as they look to future ConExpo-Con/Aggs.

“In the middle of the monsoon on Wednesday afternoon (Day 2), I remember asking our team: ‘Is this the time to decide if we move indoors in 2026?’” Randall says. “To which I was met with a resounding: ‘Outside is the place to be.’”

That sort of comment from colleagues gave Randall pause as she reflected on ConExpo-Con/Aggs from the past.

“Looking back, it rains at least one day at every ConExpo,” she says. “But that doesn’t seem to deter visitors and just makes exhibiting outside a little more of a challenge. Plus, all of us from the north (Canada) were just happy it wasn’t snowing.”

Like Randall, Talbert Manufacturing’s Troy Geisler spent ConExpo-Con/Agg outdoors.

“We had a tent thankfully,” says Geisler, vice president of sales and manufacturing at Talbert, which exhibited in the Diamond Lot. “So, while the rain was not ideal, it did not knock us down. The traffic was lighter when the rain was coming down, but people were still out and about. I think that speaks to the dedication and true interest of the crowds at this year’s show.”