Hanley Wood Exhibitions' World of Concrete showed about a five percent increase in attendance and exhibit space, compared with last year, when it ran in Feb. 5–8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

There were 1,286 companies exhibited on 605,681 net square feet of space. Attendance was at approximately 55,000, compared with 52,088 last year. In 2012, the show featured 1,168 indoor/outdoor exhibitors on 552,500 net square feet.

“It’s been a good show,” said Tom Cindric, group director for Hanley Wood Exhibitions. “Last year, the parts business was big because companies needed replacement parts, but this year, it’s more about new machinery. Exhibitors are very optimistic.”

Cindric also noted robust growth in the education program, with seminar registration up 10 percent. “Companies are sending more of their team members, especially those who haven’t taken classes over the past few years,” he added.

WOC also partnered with the Red Horse squadrons, U.S. Air Force mobile civil engineering units, to provide relevant education and certifications for their work in the field.

International attendance continues to show strong numbers, according to Cindric, thanks to successful trade missions to core international markets and continuing collaboration with the U.S. Commercial Service, as well as the destination appeal of Las Vegas.

On the international front, Hanley Wood announced in early February its plans to launch World of Concrete India, which will debut in October 2013 at the HITEX Exhibition Centre in Hyderabad, India.

“It’s such a great venue for us because this region is in the process of modernizing its extensive infrastructure,” Cindric said. The event will be held in collaboration with the India Concrete Institute. 

CONEXPO, a massive construction industry even that has some crossover attendees and exhibitors, is coming to Las Vegas in 2014, but Cindric is bullish about the exhibitor bookings for WOC.

“The bookings are holding steady for next year,” he added. “We’re focused specifically on concrete, and people are holding their spaces.”

Attendee James Campbell with Concrete Services Corp. has been coming to WOC for about a decade to keep up on the latest tech developments, take classes and touch base with suppliers.

“Our company likes to jump in and be the first to handle new everything concrete in our state,” Campbell said. “We bring our field supervisors here to scout out the new technologies.” The company recently invested in a new concrete pump and is booked with orders until September.

Exhibitor Tank Stoltzfus with Line Dragon said that attendance seems to be up this year and that his team has received more than 100 leads. “It’s a great show for us,” he added. “We come religiously.”