Crowds thin at concrete trade show

When convention executives see soft spots in the industry's general improvement, attendance at the World of Concrete comes to mind.

Although the World of Concrete, which started Tuesday and runs through Friday, is still one of the city's largest trade shows, attendance has dropped significantly from four years ago and even last year. While some exhibitors prefer the thinner crowds, with a higher ratio of buyers compared to spectators, fewer visitors isn't good for Strip hotels.

"The show is a reflection of how it's challenging for everybody in the construction industry, housing and commercial," said Steve Pomerantz, the show's marketing director.

Final attendance numbers have not been calculated, but exhibitors representing a wide range of concrete-related construction equipment guessed the final tally could run less than the 55,000 recorded last year. By contrast, the show hit its peak at nearly 92,000 in 2007.

Pomerantz estimated that companies took 515,000 square feet in exhibit space this year versus 900,000 square feet three years ago, while the number of booths has dropped from 1,700 to fewer than 1,300. The 2010 count showed 1,350 exhibitors renting 600,000 square feet.

Online hotel booking site numbers report a similar trend, with a wide variety of rooms available at rates less than half of what was charged during the International Consumer Electronics Show two weeks ago. Expedia listed several hotels, including Mandalay Bay, the Tropicana and the Palms, as having slashed previously posted rates for the trade show.

On the exhibit floor, the difference was also noticeable. Michael Herinickx, co-owner of Altcut Products in Henderson, said he saw more visitors a couple of years ago when he was in a back corner of the Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall than this year where he has a booth in the middle of the hall.

"Given the overall economy, what you will see here is kind of a crapshoot." he said.

Altcut distributes replaceable pieces that fit into machines to cut or grind concrete, much like the blades of a hacksaw.

"My expectation was that this show would be equal to last year at best," said Lee Kramer, the president of Xtreme Manufacturing of Las Vegas.

Xtreme, owned by construction equipment magnate Don Ahern, makes a line of different-sized lifts.

But he, like other exhibitors, has noticed a greater share of people walking the aisles with purchasing authority than in past years. That has happened, several explained, because companies have cut back on the number of people they send.

In addition, the triennial Conexpo-Con/Agg construction show comes to Las Vegas in March. A number of companies, Kramer said, have opted to send a contingent or place an exhibit at just one of the construction-related shows, where they might have gone to both in better times.

Richie Bros., a Vancouver, British Columbia-based auctioneer that has a branch in North Las Vegas, had serious people visit its booth, account executive Sean Casey said.

"A lot of times, people just come to pick up the key chains and hats," Casey said. "We're seeing people who want to talk business."

Business has been "quiet" at the convention so far for GDS, which makes rebar, said managing partner David Vout.

"We really didn't know what to expect," he said, since large sections of the construction industry are still "challenged."

With rebars, the steel rods used to reinforce concrete, deliveries have fallen by half since 2008. Of the remainder, about half will go to nuclear power plant projects, he said.

Gary Cochran, president of construction equipment manufacturer Coneqtec Universal in Wichita, Kan., said purchase inquiries have picked up at the convention, an important first step to actual sales. This comes as the economy starts to turn, even though federal stimulus money never made it to his company.

The show displays innovations that few passers-by would recognize but mean a lot to people in the industry, such as jackhammers that don't vibrate.

Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.