P&Q ramping up ConExpo-Con/Agg coverage

Yanik

Another year is almost done. Now, the industry is just a few months away from another ConExpo-Con/Agg.

ConExpo-Con/Agg, which takes place every three years, is always the Super Bowl for Pit & Quarry in terms of content. The day before ConExpo-Con/Agg 2023 is now dubbed “Media Monday,” with a dozen press conferences already on the slate March 13. Count manufacturers like Eagle Crusher, EIW, Hitachi, McLanahan and Superior among them.

The opening day of the show is always crazy for P&Q, as well, with our team “dividing and conquering” to cover the latest developments in equipment and technology. Twenty-seven press conferences are spread out across 11 trade show hours March 14, with Hyundai, John Deere, Komatsu, Liebherr, Martin Engineering and the Wirtgen Group among those hosting pressers.

Setting expectations

ConExpo-Con/Agg 2023 takes place March 14-18. Photo: ConExpo-Con/Agg

ConExpo-Con/Agg, which runs March 14-18 in Las Vegas, should look and feel more like the rendition 2017 attendees experienced. About 128,000 people attended ConExpo-Con/Agg that year. While that mark wasn’t a show record, it was the last “normal” ConExpo-Con/Agg to go down because COVID modified the 2020 show.

More than 130,000 people registered to attend ConExpo-Con/Agg and the co-located IFPE in 2020, but the number on-site was obviously less considering so many companies barred registered employees from attending or advised them not to go.

Will 130,000 people be on hand at the Las Vegas Convention Center come March? Those marks may not be met, and for a couple of reasons.

For one, the number of international attendees will probably be somewhat down due to the new norms that emerged from COVID. Twenty-six thousand international attendees from 150 countries made the trek to ConExpo-Con/Agg in 2017. That total represented nearly 20 percent of the show’s overall attendance. Can ConExpo-Con/Agg get back to those international numbers? We shall see.

Additionally, a number of U.S. aggregate producers noted to P&Q over the last couple of years that they’ll likely approach the next ConExpo-Con/Agg differently. Whereas companies at one time leveraged ConExpo-Con/Agg as a reward for employees, materials producers, for one, are reevaluating how many people they’re sending and who’s going. With costs spiraling out of control and companies looking to keep them in check, expect producers to send their “cavalry” to the show and keep their “infantry” at home.

Still, that’s not a bad thing for ConExpo-Con/Agg and those participating in it. In fact, that sort of attendance makeup could produce a more fruitful ConExpo-Con/Agg for those attending and exhibiting.

Keep up with our coverage

Regardless, P&Q has its readers covered on all things ConExpo-Con/Agg 2023. We ramped up our ConExpo-Con/Agg coverage months ago, with a webpage dedicated to the show at pitandquarry.com/conexpo2023. Look for a variety of pre-show content there right now, and expect our ConExpo-Con/Agg coverage to intensify as the show draws nearer.