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World of Concrete Show is Building01-30-07 | News

World of Concrete Show is Building




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World of Concrete is one of the planet?EUR??,,????'???s biggest construction-related trade shows, with indoor and outdoor exhibits stretching for about a mile adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip. The 2007 event hosted close to 1,700 exhibitors, including 400 new companies.
Photos by Erik Skindrud







Concrete artist Rae Kozai of Chandler, Ariz. demonstrates acid stain technique at the 2007 World of Concrete in Las Vegas, Nev. The annual show offers dozens of demos and seminars that give hardscape contractors a chance to learn new methods and techniques.


This year?EUR??,,????'???s World of Concrete attracted close to 90,000 attendees?EUR??,,????'??+almost 5 percent more than last year’s total. The event boasted more than 900,000 square feet of exhibit space, including dozens of artisans teaching hardscape finishing techniques.

The 2007 show was about 130,000 square ft. bigger than last year?EUR??,,????'???s, making it the biggest in the trade show?EUR??,,????'???s 33-year history, World of Concrete?EUR??,,????'???s Steven Pomerantz told LandscapeOnline.com

Next year?EUR??,,????'???s event happens Jan. 21-25?EUR??,,????'??+again in Las Vegas. More info: www.worldofconcrete.com

More than 30,000 square feet of concrete was poured in the Las Vegas Convention Center parking lot for exhibitor demonstrations this year.

A modest increase in cement consumption is expected in 2007-08, fueled by a surge in commercial and public construction activity, reports the Portland Cement Association, a Skokie, Ill.-based trade group. Higher cement use per project and in more applications is also aiding overall consumption, the PCA says, despite a 13 percent drop in new home starts nationwide last year. (Homebuilding accounts for about 25 percent of all Portland cement sales.)

“Concrete’s relative pricing, when compared to competing building materials such as steel and asphalt, will result in a 2 percent cement-intensity growth in 2007,” declared Edward J. Sullivan, PCA’s chief economist. “Although overall construction activity is expected to decline 1.8 percent in 2007, concrete-intensity growth will more than offset that.”

Overall consumption, as a result, should grow an aggregate of 3 percent over the next two years. Much of the activity is expected to occur in the industrial, resort and office markets, the PCA says. The South, West and Mountain regions will see much of the growth, due to strong regional economies, whereas the Great Lakes, Northeast and Middle Atlantic states are still expected to struggle.

“We are going to have more subdued economic growth, but that’s not bad from a historical perspective,” Sullivan said. “The construction market is going to decline due to residential (construction’s slowdown), but commercial activity and state finances are improving. In 2008, we’re going to see a much better year.”

Source: Las Vegas Business Press

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