World of Asphalt 2006 Shatters Attendance Records

The World of Asphalt 2006 Show and Conference set attendance and exhibit space records during its run March 13-16 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

More than 4,145 asphalt, highway and maintenance industry professionals attended World of Asphalt 2006, a 26-percent increase compared to the last show, held in 2004, and more than two-and-one-half times the attendance at the inaugural 2001 event. Attendees came from companies large to small and from businesses in the United States and worldwide.

A record 68,800-plus net square feet of space was used by 221 exhibitors to showcase the latest equipment, product innovations and services to enhance job performance and productivity. This was a 26-percent increase in the amount of space taken at the 2004 show and almost two-and-one-half times the exhibit space at the first World of Asphalt, held in 2001.

The show attracted a highly qualified audience, with a majority of attendees in management roles - with titles including president, owner, vice president, general manager, chief financial officer and purchasing, sales or marketing manager.

"More than numbers, this year's World of Asphalt had such a positive energy and was truly an industry gathering place where we could exchange experiences and learn from each other," noted R. Wayne Evans, World of Asphalt 2006 chairman and senior vice president of business development for Hubbard Construction Company in Orlando.

Education and Equipment Demonstrations Complement Exhibits

World of Asphalt 2006 education also set records, with 4,185 tickets sold for the People, Plants and Paving Training Program and the Asphalt Pavement Alliance's (APA) Asphalt Pavement Conference. This represented a 62-percent increase compared to the last show and a 74-percent gain compared to the first World of Asphalt educational programming, in 2003.

The event featured a live equipment demonstration event that illustrated technological advancements in roadbuilding techniques, to help industry professionals meet today's ever increasing demands on project specifications. More than 25 equipment manufacturers, contractors and suppliers joined together in the cooperative effort as an educational service to the industry.

Global Scope of Show Grows

The international scope of World of Asphalt continued to grow, with visitors coming from more than 50 countries outside the United States, accounting for almost 19 percent of total show attendance compared to about 10 percent for the last show.

Among the global attendees was a Chinese delegation of approximately 15 roadbuilding professionals ranging from company presidents to engineers. The Russian attendance of 55-plus industry professionals included delegations organized by the Moscow-based Center for International Studies and the Russian Services Bureau of Miami, Florida, and was a result in part because of promotional support from the Russian magazine "Stroitelstvo" (Construction). And, a continuing cooperative liaison with the Mexican Asphalt Association, based in Mexico City, helped bring a large Mexican contingent to World of Asphalt 2006.

World of Asphalt 2006 also had the support of more than 25 domestic and international industry organizations as well as government groups at the county, state and national level. Supporters included the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and, for the first time, a Chinese roadbuilding organization.

The next World of Asphalt will be held March 19 - 22, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia. The event is held annually except in years when the CONEXPO-CON/AGG exhibition is staged.

AASHTO Convoy in Utah June 17

In honor of the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the Interstate Highway Transportation System in June, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and its member departments will retrace, in reverse, the 1919 military cross-country convoy, which began in Washington, D.C. and crossed 11 states.

In 1919, the First Transcontinental Motor Train, which included then Lt. Col. Dwight David Eisenhower - the father of the Interstate Highway System - followed the partially-unpaved path of the Lincoln Highway more than 3,250 miles from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco in an effort to demonstrate the need for good roads.

This 56-day trip, which Eisenhower described as a journey "through the darkest America with truck and tank" inspired the future president to build a nationwide system of highways.

During a two-week stretch from June 15-29, convoy participants plan to travel the same route Eisenhower took, this time along the Interstates from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., where a media event will take place near the very same Zero Milestone from where the 1919 convoy departed. Every state has been invited to join in the convoy and along the way, AAASHTO anticipates participation from RV clubs, antique automobile associations, state and local officials, and others - to make this event people-oriented. AASHTO is also working to make this a joint-effort with other national organizations, who can enlist their members in joining in the event.

The convoy will consist of approximately 20 vehicles with 65 total passengers, including transportation officials, planners and sponsors. The convoy will be escorted into SLC at around 6:30 p.m. on June 17, where the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) will host a commemorative dinner for elected officials and transportation partners and stakeholders. On June 19 the convoy will leave SLC at 9:00 a.m.

The Interstate Highway Transportation System includes more than 46,500 miles of highways.

DWS Construction Roundtable Addresses Labor Woes

The Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS) Central Region Council held a roundtable March 28 that brought together construction industry company and association executives, DWS and other related State agencies to address the ever-growing concern of the labor force.

The concern is replacing a rapidly diminishing pool of skilled workers and craftspeople, who boast a national average age of 47. In Utah, that age is around 37, according to statistics read by Melisa Stark of the DWS.

Representatives from various trade associations lamented the fact that it's becoming increasingly difficult every year to lure today's youth to the construction industry.

Working in a field or skilled trade job requires working long, hard hours, oft times outside in the elements.

"There aren't a lot of people willing to work in 100-degree weather in July and 0-degree weather in January," said Pete Driscoll of the local Carpenter's Union.

Key topics of the roundtable included: