Las Vegas line-up unveiled

The National Demolition Association has announced the programme of formal events for its 41st Annual Convention that is being held once again at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, USA, on 22-25 February, 2013.

The keynote speaker for 2014 is Dr Steven Chu, former US energy secretary, who will present on the world’s energy future and the ways in which government and industry have worked together to make the USA more energy independent.

According to the NDA, the 2014 convention will feature a combination of state-of-the-art technologies, quality speakers and lively entertainment. D&Ri understands that the NFDC’s high reach simulator will be making the trip across the Atlantic for the event and it will be joined at the show by Cat’s excavator simulator. For the first time, the Association will be offering a Leadership Development Programme that has been designed for contractors, project managers, estimators, superintendents and foreman. This limited enrolment programme will help attendees develop the leadership skills they need to help grow their organisation. This forms a part of the NDA’s new Education Initiative.

On the 28 February, three separate technical sessions will be held, with the first covering the state of the US construction industry and its economic position following the downturn of recent years. The second will provide a set of in-depth recommendations concerning the recruitment and retention of key members of a company’s management team. The final session will cover the new NDA member services that are available that are designed to help members access information and train their employees.

As always, social events are an important part of the NDA convention programme and each year a ‘theme’ governs these. In 2014, the theme will be the ‘NDA in paradise’ and in this case paradise is the Caribbean. It conjures up the image of the US demolition industry in loud shirts, straw hats and fip-flops on the theme night part on the Monday night.