Biggest show in town
02 May 2008
ConExpo-Con/Agg will be the world's biggest construction and demolition equipment show in 2005. Most of the globe's demolition and recycling equipment producers will be at the show and many will be introducing new equipment and services.
The show actually started life as two separate events, with the first ConExpo being held in 1909, when powered construction equipment generally was still very much in its infancy (horse power was still more common). Since then, the show has developed in line with the industry and particularly after World War II, when industry in the US was generally undergoing massive growth.
In the 1970s, ConExpo-Con/Agg first opened its doors to exhibitors from outside the USA and also began to feature an international business center. In the 1980s, the show moved to its now regular home in Las Vegas in order to provide sufficient space for the growing number of visitors and exhibitors.
The 1999 ConExpo broke every record for US trade shows, with 1.7 million square feet of exhibits (157,000 m(2)) and 124,000 attendees. The 2002 show confirmed the event's position as the largest trade show in the US, although perhaps because of the difficult market conditions at that time, attendance fell to 108000. Of these, 15500 came from outside the USA. Sixty per cent were contractors and other equipment users, 21% were construction material producers, and 5% came from dealers, the rental industry and manufacturers.
The 2005 event currently has 1.85 million square feet of display space confirmed to date, and the show organisers are predicting visitor numbers well over 100000 once again.
The organisers have tried, wherever possible, to keep specific industry sectors together in the showground to make it easier for visitors to find their preferred exhibits. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the demolition and recycling sector, equipment producers operating in the sector are spread far and wide. As you can see from the exhibitor listing, however, most related exhibitors are in the Central Halls, Gold lot, Silver lot, or the North Hall.
