ConExpo-Con/Agg rep offers 2020 show preview at the P&Q Roundtable

The footprint for ConExpo-Con/Agg is slightly different than it was three years ago. Photo courtesy of ConExpo-Con/Agg

Do you remember the first time you experienced ConExpo-Con/Agg? You surely learned at least one hard lesson at that time.

“Make sure you have some good shoes,” says Dana Wuesthoff, vice president of exhibitions and event services at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), which manages the massive trade show. “You need to have some good shoes that have been worn in and broken in. You will be walking a lot.”

That’s fantastic advice for those attending ConExpo-Con/Agg for the first time this year in Las Vegas. In addition to that word of caution, Wuesthoff offered an exclusive preview of the March 10-14 trade show for those who attended this year’s Pit & Quarry Roundtable & Conference.

Great expectations

For 2020, ConExpo-Con/Agg attendees can expect to find roughly 2,800 exhibitors spanning more than 2.6 million sq. ft. of exhibit space. AEM expects the show to take in about 130,000 visitors.

Probably the biggest change from ConExpo-Con/Agg 2017 to ConExpo-Con/Agg 2020 is the addition of the Festival Grounds. This year, the show campus extends to a brand-new area that will require transportation from the Las Vegas Convention Center, a hotel or elsewhere.

“It is right off Las Vegas Boulevard, and it’s kind of adjacent to the Circus Circus hotel,” Wuesthoff says. “It’s sort of down the street from where the Gold Lot used to be.”

Wuesthoff

The old Gold Lot is currently under construction. The Gold Lot previously hosted those companies exhibiting cranes and aerial lifting equipment, but the Las Vegas Convention Center is building a new exhibition hall on that site.

“Starting in 2023, that will be a new exhibition hall feature and part of the show campus for ConExpo-Con/Agg,” Wuesthoff says.

While the Festival Grounds is situated farther from the Las Vegas Convention Center than the old Gold Lot, show planners have a number of transportation options for visitors to access the Festival Grounds. Visitors can also expect to see the same amenities in the Festival Grounds (i.e., concessions, restrooms) that are available in other areas of the show campus.

“There have been a lot of questions ever since we announced this new, extended campus – mainly about the logistical things of the show,” Wuesthoff says. “Things like: Are we going to have enough buses? Are we going to have enough food outlets? Rest assured, our internal show planning teams have been hard at work for two-plus years to work on all of the different logistical things.”

Hotel shuttles running to the Las Vegas Convention Center will again be available this year, and ConExpo-Con/Agg visitors can utilize shuttles to access the Festival Grounds, as well.

“We have shuttles running all over the place,” Wuesthoff says. “You can get from your hotel to the Festival Grounds, or from your hotel to the Las Vegas Convention Center and in between and back again – wherever you may need to go.”

Visitor badges include several transportation features, including the hotel shuttles and a monorail pass.

“The monorail does have multiple stops, including the Las Vegas Convention Center and one at the Sahara, which is a short walk over to the Festival Grounds,” Wuesthoff says.

Education and the Tech Experience

Dana Wuesthoff offered a preview of ConExpo-Con/Agg at the 2020 Pit & Quarry Roundtable & Conference. The Roundtable was held Jan. 14-15 in Bonita Springs, Florida. Photo by PamElla Lee Photography

Still, the exhibits aren’t the only ConExpo-Con/Agg attraction at the Las Vegas Convention Center and in the surrounding areas. Show visitors have plenty of education options they can choose from, and the Tech Experience that launched in 2017 is back for a second go-around.

“We really do have a stellar lineup of education – 150 sessions – and they focus on different industry issues, trends, management [and] applied technology,” Wuesthoff says. “We are fortunate to have some excellent education partners.”

The Tech Experience is yet another offering ConExpo-Con/Agg visitors can take in. It will have two locations this year – one in Silver Lot 3, with the other at the Festival Grounds.

According to Wuesthoff, the Tech Experience is designed to offer visitors a few different takeaways.

“One is to inspire the younger attendees of the show,” she says. “Another one is growing your business today, presenting new products and emerging technologies for the construction industry, and telling people the benefit of why you should start using this. The other is that it’s a future vision showcase, presenting a preview of emerging technologies, tools and solutions of tomorrow – things that are going to have a dramatic impact on our industry in the next five to 10 years.”

ConExpo Connect

Yet another newer offering from ConExpo-Con/Agg is ConExpo Connect, which brings the industry together online. ConExpo Connect was launched in late 2018.

“This is a reflection of how people are getting information now,” Wuesthoff says. “We know equipment buyers are looking for multiple ways to stay informed about products and learn about what’s going on in the industry – attending trade shows, reading industry publications. Part of that is doing research online.”

ConExpo Connect added a new dimension to the construction industry by providing contractors access to equipment experts. The free resource is available 365 days a year.

“Joining the site, contractors can ask questions, talk to industry experts, learn from their peers and have information at their fingertips,” Wuesthoff says. “Then, that community can have face-to-face engagement once every three years (at ConExpo-Con/Agg).”

Additional advice

As any veteran goer of ConExpo-Con/Agg will tell you, make sure to pack a good pair of comfortable shoes ahead of your trip to Las Vegas. But besides that tip, any experienced ConExpo-Con/Agg visitor will advise you to show up with a plan.

“It’s not one of those shows you just wander around and think you’re going to get a lot out of it,” Wuesthoff says. “It’s big, it can be overwhelming. So you definitely want to make a plan.”

For more coverage of ConExpo-Con/Agg 2020, check out P&Q’s Countdown to ConExpo-Con/Agg show page.