A “Conventional” Success

(…And a Look Ahead to 2022!)

by Ed Truxal, Business Development Analyst (BN Products-USA™) | Email

[Photo: Jeff Scheid, The Nevada Independent | Nevada News Bureau, Inc. | Images may be subject to Copyright.]

As the United States slowly migrate back to an active business culture during the COVID-19 pandemic, the success of the 2021 World of Concrete Show – our industry’s top international trade show – became a major milestone both for the Construction industry, and for the North American convention industry. Simply stated – many eyes were on this event, which ran from June 7-10 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Following the highly-attended WOC show in early February, 2020 – travel, conventions, and large-scale public events, as we are all aware – quickly transitioned to virtual settings that fundamentally changed the way we showcase and promote innovation and goods in nearly every industry. Ironically, the 2021 WOC Show had the distinction of also being the first major convention event to return to Las Vegas, after a hiatus of nearly 16 months of major convention events that regularly convene in the Nevada desert.

World of Concrete 2021 also featured the opening of the brand-new West Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center, a massive, 600,000 square-foot convention hall expansion, that also features an additional 150,000 square feet of new meeting rooms, ready to welcome a new age of business.

(Left) The grand entrance to the Las Vegas Convention Center’s new West Hall welcomes convention guests with the largest digital, hi-definition experience in the US convention industry [Jeff Scheid/The Nevada Independent]; (Right) WOC 2021 attendees get their first look at the expansive West Hall, featuring 600,000 square feet of exhibitor space. [Sam Morris, LVCVA/Las Vegas News Bureau]

From the opening of the Convention the morning of June 8th, 2021 – our team from BN Products-USA™, and thousands of industry partners eagerly dove back into kind of business exchange that firmly established the annual World of Concrete Show as the “olympian” event of the Concrete Construction industry.

Are there positive takeaways, from the pandemic-delayed 2021 Show, as we look forward to regathering once again in mere months – for World of Concrete 2022 – coming next January?

Yes there are! There are quite a few, actually; and our outlook is bright:

As mentioned in our pre-show article, this year’s show takes place in June, a more active time for contractors. The Show is typically held during the winter months, where professional contractors have more flexibility for travel and are building business and equipment plans for the year ahead. The seasonal shift – and the current, robust pace business in construction in general – did affect overall attendance (official figures pending as of this writing). However, it was far, far from wasted or even idle time. We were very pleased to still see thousands of attendees and exhibitors over the course of three days. Steady orders and productive meetings with manufacturer representatives proved to a refreshing shift to serving construction professionals and the distributors that supply them… in person.

(Left) BN Products-USA™ Director Erik Kientz, CEO Ed Kientz, and Charilyn Kientz pose with BN’s hand tools display while setting up the 2021 exhibit (Center) The Operative Plasterers’ & Cement Masons’ International Association (OPCMIA) exhibited its one-of-a-kind Virtual Reality Concrete Finisher at the Show [Photo: OPCMIA] (Right) Mel Kientz of BN Products-USA™ answers questions and demonstrates the power of BN Products-USA’s portable hydraulic rebar cutting and bending machines

The 2021 show shifted a number of exhibits to new real estate at the Convention Center, with larger equipment showcased in the stunning new West Hall, as visitors were greeted by the new video board heralded as the “Lobby Spectacular.” While the 2021 Show was limited to the new West Hall and the venerable and still very large North Hall – still bustling with hundreds of large and smaller exhibitors – World of Concrete management (Informa Markets) expects the January 2022 WOC Show to utilize the the North, West, and Central exhibit halls in a return to attendance similar to what the industry has come to expect. In years past, attendance in excess of 50,000 visitors has become the expected norm.

At BN Products-USA™, we are thrilled in the successes of the “comeback” of WOC 2021, and are eager to maintain a strong presence at the 2022 Show in just a few short months. We continue our forward efforts, innovating and engineering equipment solutions that continue to expand the market for rebar and concrete tools, with high-quality, affordable tools that are the key to the success, for tens of thousands of pro contractors.

We hope to see YOU in Las Vegas next January!

Want to see more from World of Concrete 2021? Here’s a great summary & photo gallery published by the Nevada Independent following the Show’s opening day:

Click Here for full article and gallery of WOC 2021 Photos, World of Concrete’s opening ends 15-month absence of Las Vegas-hosted conferences; published by The Nevada Independent; 6/9/2021.

Ed Truxal