World of Concrete 2012, held recently in Las Vegas, attracted 52,088 total professional registrants and showcased just over 1,200 indoor/outdoor exhibitors in more than 552,500 net square feet of exhibit space, an increase of 40,000 net square feet over the 2011 show.
“There was a very positive and optimistic buzz on the show floor. WOC 2012 has been a huge success, and based on the feedback we have received from both exhibitors and attendees, we have no doubt the economy is recovering and the commercial construction industry is well on its way to a great 2012,” said Show Director Jackie James.
“Our first year at World of Concrete was beyond anything we imagined,” noted exhibitor Stuart Johnson, President of Phoenix Curb Machines. “We left the show with sales, distributors, solid leads, multiple media interviews, and valuable connections.”
The 10th annual SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National bricklaying championship was held on Jan. 25 at the World of Concrete. The 60-minute bricklaying competition features the best bricklayers in the world traveling from the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and even Australia to test their levels of skill, speed and stamina. The popular event positioned 21, two-person teams made up of a mason and mason tender who competed to lay the most brick while meeting strict quality standards.
Leif Reints, of Reints Masonry Works in Neosho, Mo., won first place after laying 583 bricks in one hour and took home a new FORD F-250 4x4 truck, $5,000 cash and sponsor prizes worth thousands of dollars.
For the first time at World of Concrete, Masonry Construction’s Masonry Veneer Live was held over a 4-day period in the North Hall, adjacent to the World of Masonry. Masonry Veneer Live included products such as cast stone, brick, adhered masonry, and natural stone.
Unique to WOC is the outdoor exhibits and demonstration area that allowed attendees to test products under real jobsite conditions. Construction pros were able to preview and test the latest products, such as trucks, cranes, decorative concrete, surface preparation equipment, walk-behind power trowels and shot blasters.
"We are here to see the new equipment. It's great to be able to go outside and actually test it. It helps us with our buying process," said attendee Cliff Mayo Senior of Mayo Concrete Inc., Grand Junction, Colo.
New to WOC 2012, the CASE Triple Threat Rodeo National Championship, located in the Gold Lot, featured 60 finalists vying for a $110,000 prize. Attendees watched the finalists compete with Case's latest models on the same course for prizes and gifts from Case Construction. The Sasquatch Challenge matched attendees’ skills against the Jack Links Sasquatch in the new D Series mini-excavator. The fastest time won a custom parts locker filled with $1,000 in Jack Links jerky.
In the RAM Truck Zone, attendees got into the seat of the newest 2012 model RAM worksite trucks. Octavio Miranda, of Ancaster, Ontario, was named the Case Triple Threat Rodeo North American Champion and won a 2012 Ram 2500 truck for himself and a new Case TR270 compact track loader and a Towmaster trailer for his sponsoring company, L.M. Enterprises. Owner/operator Allan Long, of Summerhill, PA, placed second and won a U.S. $5,000 CNH Capital rewards card. Lloyd Lesher of Casper, WY, took third place, and received U.S. $1,250 in cash for himself and a U.S. $2,500 CNH Capital Card for his sponsoring company, Andreehunt Construction. First-, second- and third-place finishers also received custom belt buckles recognizing their performance.
CIM (Concrete Industry Management) held its annual unreserved silent and live auctions at WOC 2012 with all proceeds benefiting the CIM Program. The silent and live auctions raised a total of $617,750, a record number to support the education program. The live auction attracted more than 400 on-site and online bidders from around the world and raised $558,000-surpassing the annual auction’s previous record by more than $185,000.
To honor hardworking crews in the construction industry, World of Concrete created the “Crews That Rock” contest sponsored by BASF for WOC 2012. Crews submitted stories and photos of their inspiring projects from the past year.
On Dec. 19, 2011, First Place was awarded to Southwest Tech Bricklaying & Masonry program, of Fennimore, WI, for the Memory Walk at the Grant Regional Health Center Foundation. Second Place was awarded to Stark Excavating Inc., of Champaign, IL, for the company’s pour project at the Kirby Hospital Medical Center and Carle Clinic. Impressions Concrete, of Ottawa, Canada, was named the Third Place winner for the company’s assistance to families that were victims of fraudulent contractors. All winners received an airline credit and room nights in a Las Vegas hotel during WOC 2012, seminars, and a bag of WOC/BASF swag and were honored at the show in the BASF booth.
