Generally regarded as the biggest convention in Las Vegas, encompassing some 3 million square feet, ConExpo-Con/Agg 2026 broadened its gigantic footprint by consuming the outdoor Platinum Lot at Las Vegas Convention Center and spilling over to the Festival Grounds, the last patch of undeveloped desert on the Strip.
The construction industry tradeshow, produced by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, grabs attention every three years in Las Vegas with its flock of cranes towering in the skyline.
It was held March 3-7 with more than 2,000 exhibitors, including behemoths like John Deere, Caterpillar and Komatsu, and drew an estimated 140,000 attendees. International attendance weighs heavily with people traveling from the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and China.
From bustling exhibit halls to outside lots crammed with graders, bulldozers and excavators, from live demonstrations to press conferences unveiling new products and technology, ConExpo reflects an industry equipped to build America’s modern infrastructure.
“Construction touches every community and every industry, and ConExpo-Con/Agg brings that impact to life on a global stage,” Megan Tanel, president and chief executive officer of AEM, says at an NYSE bell ringing to kick off the show.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, based on October 2025 data, overall construction spending in the U.S. is estimated at $2.175 trillion, seasonally adjusted. The U.S. Bureau of Labor reports 8.3 million construction jobs as of December 2025.
SETTING UP
Exhibitors at ConExpo arrive two weeks before the show’s opening to move equipment onto the lots, erect two-story structures with hospitality and meeting rooms, and configure space to accommodate heavy machinery, some weighing up to 60 tons.
The hard part is getting the machines in place on such a tight schedule, says Ray Burn, training manager and technical support for dealers of Blaw-Knox pavers, a division of Gencor. There’s a specific order for bringing them onto the Silver Lot, prime high-visibility space at the entrance to LVCC’s grand lobby. The job is never quite finished, he adds, picking up a piece of trash from underneath a machine.
Burn has attended ConExpo, the largest construction tradeshow in North America, five or six times. “It’s impressive. If you can’t find what you’re looking for here, you don’t need it.”
Jim Hershberger toiled at finishing Rockland Manufacturing’s exhibit booth in North Hall; his forehead glazed with beads of sweat. “It’s hot out here,” the sales manager for the Bedford, Pa.-based company complains. “The toughest part is sorting and laying it all out. Nothing fits like it did at the factory.”
And then, only half of Rockland’s rotating table display case showed up, Hershberger grovels. Luckily, they found a Las Vegas company that could provide the missing piece. “It ain’t here yet,” he cautions. “It takes a little faith in the local vendors.”
Things went smoothly for Shayne Woods, supervisor for Apple Rock Displays in Greensboro, N.C., whose six-man team set up an 80-foot-by-100-foot exhibit for Kioti tractors in the West Hall, as well as a smaller exhibit at the Festival Grounds, in about four days.
“Inside was harder than outside, getting in and working with everybody, from the A/V, the electricians, the freight, just working with everybody, and everybody was polite and we got it done. A lot of booths all came together,” Woods says.
PLATINUM LOT
The Platinum Lot, normally reserved for parking in the block across from LVCC’s South Hall, was dedicated to high-production equipment and large-scale material processing systems.
At Rockster GmbH, contractors were able to explore the latest equipment to efficiently process C&D waste, asphalt, concrete and natural stone. The company is known for advanced recycling technology focused on profitability and sustainable material processing.
The booth at MB Crusher America featured live demo zones where attendees got a hands-on look at versatile processing solutions, crushing and screening buckets, pulverizers and grinders with MB attachments.
Soilmec North America offered a close look at four drilling rigs, with product specialists available for assistance. The rigs feature Blue Tech-Plus technology, designed to reduce fuel consumption and emissions while maintaining high performance and improving jobsite efficiency.
The Platinum Lot included exhibits for sustainability, jobsite data tracking, autonomous drones, material handling and transport, soil stabilization, mobile welding and safety.
FESTIVAL GROUNDS
The Festival Grounds, about a half mile from the convention center’s West Hall, was the place to go for experiential opportunities.
At Link-Belt Excavators, a 40,000-square-foot spread designed by Highmark TechSystems, you could hop into the seat of a gamified excavator and try your hand at scooping up basketballs without knocking over distractions in the fastest time. Or test your luck at rolling giant dice from the excavator.
The biggest challenge in building the massive Link-Belt display was its sheer size, says Matt Andrews, senior vice president of Highmark. The company’s EventMAX product line is made up of 16-foot-by-16-foot modules, and Link-Belt required 36 of them, the largest structure ever built by Highmark. It took about 18 days to set up.
“Efficient labor and freight management and good old-fashioned hard work filled the recipe to complete the build effectively,” Andrews tells Exhibit City News.
Highmark has installed outdoor exhibits at ConExpo starting in 2020, when the show ended early at the onslaught of COVID. “Since 2020, we’ve seen the projects grow in scale, forcing Highmark to add to our outdoor rental inventory,” the company executive relates.
In total, Highmark used 83 EventMAX modules, including single-story and multi-story pavilions, to create 22,300 square feet of outdoor exhibit space at ConExpo, Andrews calculated.
Volvo Construction Equipment offered test-drives of electric excavator models in the operating pit. Caterpillar gave hands-on demos in a monster CAT machine featuring the newest “collision mitigation” warning system.
Eight finalist CAT operators from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia and Japan were put through a series of challenges to test their precision at navigating obstacle courses and digging to grade, along with other equipment maneuvers.
ConExpo’s tallest piece of equipment, the 282-foot Liebherr 1700 crane, nearly as tall as the Statue of Liberty, was on display at the Festival Grounds. Liebherr cranes are being used in the renovation of the Colosseum in Rome.
BUILDING A BRAND
Inside the North Hall, Leeann Essai accepts delivery of bottled water, soda and juices to stock the refrigerator at IFM Efector’s booth. She’s tradeshow manager for IFM, in charge of making sure all the orders are delivered on time and accurately, from carpeting and furniture to floral arrangements and catering.
She collaborated with Mark Serron, senior site supervisor for INNOV8, installing the 40-foot-by-50-foot exhibit space, which required rigging and electrical work.
IFM’s exhibit is designed to create business leads, of course, but also to increase brand awareness, Essai explains.
“Our product is sensors and controllers,” she says, pointing out a driver’s screen that frames people and equipment around the machine in different colors. “We want to show how the sensors work on live construction machines.”
Down the aisle, Sarah McGuire of XBE solutions and integrations has her head deep into a laptop, uploading a program to an interactive computer screen that will allow contractors to explore data systems for tracking concrete dispatch, from logistics to delivery.
“It’s common for people to use 20 percent of our tool,” the vice president of marketing says. “We want people to get 100 percent usage.”
WORLD RECORD
In an attempt to break the Guiness World Record for most people wearing high-visibility vests, ConExpo gathered an estimated 3,000 participants on opening day. The idea was to shine a spotlight on the safety of workers who play a pivotal role in shaping communities and infrastructure across the continent.
“This record attempt is more than a number – it’s a celebration of the advances, hard work, innovation and dedication of everyone in the construction industry,” show director Dana Wuesthoff says. “We want to honor those who build our cities, roads, railways, airports, stadiums and monuments and highlight how their efforts touch every aspect of society.”
CONEXPO NUMBERS
- Caterpillar uses 140 trailers of dirt in its Festival Grounds booth.
- There are more than 130 countries represented by attendees and exhibitors across ConExpo-ConAgg.
- There are more than 2,000 exhibitors across every major construction and infrastructure segment.
- ConExpo-Con/Agg uses more than 3 million square feet of indoor and outdoor exhibit space at LVCC (more than 52 football fields).
all photos taken by Ray Smith
