ACPA Exhibits at 47th World of Concrete

With more than 650 exhibitors covering approximately 300,000 net square feet of exhibit space, World of Concrete 2021 wrapped up on June 10 as a great success.

The first large-scale event in Las Vegas and the U.S. since the COVID-19 pandemic, World of Concrete 2021 was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center and marked a significant milestone for the country’s emergence to business as usual. The American Concrete Pumping Association was proud to be part of the show, just as it has for the past 47 years.

“The American Concrete Pumping Association is the only continuous co-sponsor that has exhibited at World of Concrete since its inception in 1974,” says Christi Collins, ACPA executive director. “We believe strongly in the show’s longstanding commitment to education, innovations and networking in the concrete industry.”

New West Hall Expansion

The ACPA’s booth was positioned in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s new West Hall expansion, which welcomed guests for the first time on day one of the show. The $1-billion, 1.4-million-square-foot West Hall addition features a contemporary design, an abundance of natural light and the largest column-free exhibition space in North America at 328,000 square feet.

An open-air atrium in the West Hall expansion includes a 10,000 square-foot digital screen developed by Samsung, the largest digital experience in a convention center in the U.S. The massive screen, which extends from eye level to ceiling height, rotated images throughout the show, displaying images from World of Concrete, Las Vegas and Nevada landscapes.

ACPA Highlights

The show was well-attended by ACPA members, who participated in a variety of the association’s events. On the show’s first day, ACPA hosted a Concrete Pump Operator Certification seminar, followed by certification testing. Attendees of the seminar fulfilled the safety training requirement for ACPA Operator Training, which included comprehensive, in-depth coverage of the basics included in the certification written examination.

On day two of the show, ACPA members participated in the association’s first-ever hybrid Annual Meeting. Members who weren’t able to attend World of Concrete were able to join the Annual Meeting via Zoom.

World of Concrete garnered national attention as Fox Business News showcased World of Concrete and the return to in-person trade shows. ACPA member company Putzmeister could be seen in the clip, with ACPA member McClure Concrete Pumping’s pump in its booth space.

“Technology enabled us to fulfill our requirement of having a quorum present for the annual meeting,” says Christi Collins, executive director. “We used a voting app that allowed the board members to vote for the executive board using their phones—no more counting paper ballots! All in all, the meeting and voting process was very successful. In fact, this just might be how we hold our meetings and elections in the future.”

The ACPA looks forward to returning to the World of Concrete 2022, which will be held January 18-20 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Persons attending the show will receive a discount on registration fees by using code A-23 when registration opens sometime in mid-September.