World of Concrete 2019, the 44th edition of the trade show, drew more than 60,500 people to the Las Vegas Convention Center, making it the largest show in more than 10 years.
This annual event for the international concrete and masonry industries also featured more than 1,500 companies — including 259 brand new companies — exhibiting across more than 72,167 square metres of exhibit space.
“Having our largest event in 10 years proves that the construction sector is strong globally,” said Jackie James, group director of World of Concrete. “The education program was well received with a 5 per cent increase in attendance.”
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The first World of Concrete event was held in 1975 and drew about 1,500 people to the 2,000 square metre floor show. Last year’s event was the largest show in nine years, with 58,000 registered professionals featuring 1,564 suppliers exhibiting across more than 69,305 square metres of space.
Highlights of the 2019 edition included the Bob Weatherton Award established by World of Concrete to honour his contributions to the concrete industry. The award includes a $2,500 scholarship and was presented at the CIM National Board Meeting at WOC 2019. This year’s recipient of the Weatherton Award was Paige Silva, who attends California State University – Chico.
Canadian champ
The 17th Annual Spec Mix Bricklayer 500 World Championship brought in 27 bricklaying teams travel from across North America and Australia to Las Vegas to compete for the title World’s Best Bricklayer.
This year’s winning mason is Mario Alves from A&M Masonry in Hamilton, Ontario with the help of mason tender Kevin Avila, he took home the coveted title as well as more than $120,000 in cash and prizes, including a 2019 Ford F-250 4×4 truck and a John Deere Gator Crossover Utility Vehicle.
World of Concrete returns in 2020 on Feb. 4 to 7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
“The positive energy indicates a strong year ahead. This year brought in record breaking attendees, exceptional exhibits and a very solid rebook rate of just over 538,000 net square feet of exhibit space, rebooking 70 per cent of the total 2019 square footage onsite for next year’s show,” said Kevin Archibald, show manager for World of Concrete.
