by Pat Friedlander
When Matt Andrews, Highmark’s senior vice president, and I sat down to talk about CONEXPO-CON/ AGG, he mentioned that he was having a problem. “What kind of problem?” I asked. “I’ll explain later,” he said. “But it’s connected to CONEXPO-CON/AGG.” Matt has worked at Highmark for almost 14 years, so he has an insider’s perspective on the show. “If you remember,” he said, “the last CONEXPO-CON/AGG was in 2020.
It shut down two days early because of Covid. We had just introduced our multi-level outdoor product, EventMAX. At CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020, we were thrilled to have six outdoor projects using our new EventMAX and 17 indoor projects using our well-known ExpoDeck, the gold standard for indoor double-deck structures. And then, BAM! CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020 shut down—and so did almost all events for the next two years.”
Andrews said that pre-pandemic, Highmark made the strategic decision to invest in a fresh inventory of its indoor products. “Our president, Debbie Parrott, is not afraid to take risks,” he said. In 2020, all the big not-every-year shows were scheduled: World of Concrete, IMTS, NPE, and CONEXPO-CON/AGG. Anticipating an extremely busy 2020, Highmark increased its rental inventory of its indoor ExpoDeck, Max Multi-walls, and SuperMax architectural structures. While the pandemic was an enormous blow, and much of this inventory sat idle for 1.5 years, Highmark’s investment risk ultimately paid off.
Highmark emerged from the pandemic with a full stock of ready-to-deploy inventory during a time when raw materials were scarce, expensive, and with long lead times. This inventory also enabled the quick and timely launch of Highmark’s sister company, YOURspace, LLC (a pivot launched during the pandemic), which makes office and room pods out of Highmark’s wall technology.
On multiple product in time for CONEXPO-CON/AGG installation. It was a massive undertaking in terms of investment dollars, human resources, and supplier relations. “It was also a test of commu- nication on all fronts,” adds Ms. Parrott, “particularly in precise coordination with our clients on project specifics to ensure we were meeting not only their structural needs but their well-choreographed timelines for the move-in of demo machines and more.
I could not be more appreciative of and pleased with our clients’ communication or prouder of the Highmark team’s project management and coordination.”
Breaking All Records
According to the trade publication of the Association of Equipment Managers (AEM), “after five jam-packed days of innovative product launches and major company announcements, enlightening education sessions and countless networking opportunities, CONEXPO-CON/AGG & IFPE 2023 have come to a close, but not before taking the construction industry to the next level. The show crushed expected attendance numbers, drawing over 139,000 construction and fluid power professionals from 133 countries to Las Vegas from March 14-18 making it the largest trade show in North America with more than 2,400 exhibitors from 36 countries spread out over 3 million square feet of exhibit space.”
Highmark’s largest project was outdoors for end-exhibitor Kobelco, a company that manufactures excavators, but Highmark’s client was Kobelco’s exhibit company, nParallel. “We work through exhibit companies and event agencies, so solid partnerships are vital to our success,” says Andrews. “nParallel was an incredible partner throughout this project. They created a concept of a two-story old Western town with all the bells and whistles. In designing the superstructure based on nParallel’s concept, we created 3D models, and nParallel created cladding for EventMAX from the models, an amazing collaboration.
The set-up time was 12 1⁄2 days, and our structure alone was two stories and 7,424 sqft. Our part included the structure itself, and the general supervision of the installation.”
Meeting the Challenges of Outdoor Structures
But Kobelco was only one of eleven Highmark outdoor projects at CONEXPO-CON/ AGG 2023. Highmark also worked with Freeman on Link-Belt and Lippman and MC2 on extending a special ramp system for Volvo. “Most of the time,” says Andrews, “we were setting up in the rain and high winds, sometimes up to 85 mph. All the more reason you don’t want to put the world’s best industrial brands in tents. The reality of outdoor events is that you can’t control the weather before, during, or after the event, so having a durable, reliable, solid structure that can withstand rough weather is a real advantage.”
It was a heavy lift on many levels, but Highmark and its clients could not have been happier with the results. “Encountering rough weather and being on-site for 33 days comes with its challenges, but walking the show outdoors and indoors and taking in the impressive work on the 17 projects we had the pleasure of contributing to was incredibly gratifying.”
“Oh, and about that problem I mentioned at the start… what some might see as a problem really is an opportunity. Highmark is now bursting at the seams with boatloads of indoor and outdoor inventory made right here in the U.S. at our Indiana production facility–that can be pulled, prepped, and deployed at a moment’s notice for indoor and outdoor events anywhere in North America. Nice problem, or shall I say, opportunity to have.”
Read in our Q3 Magazine Issue HERE .
