Get Industry Training, Information in Person
BY AsphaltPro Staff
During the first quarter of the New Year, asphalt company training directors, managers and owners will have the chance to load up on knowledge in real life. While the following big four events aren’t an exhaustive list of the programs available to the asphalt industry, they are programs you’ve seen advertised in AsphaltPro magazine. We’d like to share some highlights you may or may not remember about these opportunities. Take a look, in calendar-event order.
NPE
Jan. 25-27
Charlotte Convention Center
The National Pavement Expo and Conference takes place annually. This year, AsphaltPro Magazine invites you to stop by Booth 1726 in Charlotte, North Carolina, to visit with us. We’ll have paving consultant John Ball in the booth for our popular “Ask the Expert” live series.
The Women of Asphalt (WofA) also have live events happening at Booth 335. That organization is not only hosting a session during the conference— “Women in the Workforce: Recruit, Retain, and Promote,” Thursday, Jan. 26, 8:30-10 a.m.—but they will also host the panelists at the booth. The industry experts available to discuss workforce development with you include: Paul Battista, founder and CEO of Brothers National; Latrell Cates, HR business partner and EEO of Reeves Construction Company; Mary Katherine Harbin, vice president Foothills Division of Maymead Inc.; Ashly Rieman, project manager of Milestone Contractors; and Victoria Taffet, corporate social responsibility director for Colas USA.
Workforce development is only one aspect of the programming the convention planners are pleased to share. A spokesperson for Emerald, the event owner, explained: “This year’s conference program incorporates 60+ sessions and workshops presented by industry veterans in both the residential and commercial sectors, professional engineers, up-and-coming leaders, street superintendents, and business and marketing gurus. These diverse perspectives offer attendees the opportunity to learn not only about their specific areas of work, but also allow for continued growth and exposure to new avenues they can expand their business offerings to include. From retention and recruitment strategies, sealcoating mix design and materials, and technology and teamwork, the NPE 2023 Conference has highly valuable educational content for professionals at every stage of their career.”
Beyond the conference schedule, attendees are encouraged to check out the tradeshow floor and this year’s new Driveway Games.
“One of the most important aspects of the show this year and in years past is the exchange of knowledge during the National Pavement Expo,” the spokesperson shared. “Everyone in attendance is excited to share ideas, lend their feedback and create business relationships that expand beyond just the 3.5 days at National Pavement Expo. The mentorship and collaboration of small to medium sized contractors, municipalities and subject matter experts is something that makes the National Pavement Expo truly unique.
“We also have some excellent new additions at the show this year, including the 1st Annual Driveway Games, which offers some friendly competition and fun with adult big wheels racing, basketball, corn hole and more; as well as our Session Stage area that will host multiple speaker meet-and-greets and breakout sessions. The good times don’t stop there—on the evening of Thursday, Jan. 26, NPE 2023 will be heading over to the NASCAR Hall of Fame for our private party, exclusive to NPE exhibitors and attendees only.”
NAPA Annual Meeting
Feb. 5-8
Loews Miami Beach Hotel
www.asphaltpavement.org/programs/napa-events/napa-annual-meeting
From the golf tournament on Saturday to the inspirational keynote address from recently retired Olympic gold and bronze medal‐winning alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn to the Sheldon G. Hayes awards ceremony breakfast, asphalt industry members have ample opportunity to rub elbows with peers and colleagues at the 2023 National Asphalt Pavement Association annual meeting in Miami Beach.
The national association has put together a series of breakout sessions for brainstorming best practices for reducing emissions and saving money in your operations, recruiting and retaining the modern workforce, asphalt plant technology, asphalt’s advantage in a changing competitive landscape and lessons learned during asphalt plant zoning in between national committee meetings.
RMACES 50th Anniversary
Feb. 7-8
National Western Complex, Denver
This year’s Rocky Mountain Asphalt Conference & Equipment Show is a special one as the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association (CAPA) celebrates its golden anniversary. The state show typically attracts over 1,000 attendees. When combined with speakers, exhibitors and volunteers, they host an event of over 1,300 people every February in Denver, with additional pomp and circumstance at the annual “Best in Colorado” awards banquet.
The RMACES website shares the show’s history, starting in the early 1970s: “In early 1973, Charlie Owen, regional engineer from the Asphalt Institute of Chicago, contacted Walt Howat from the Asphalt Institute of Denver, to organize a seminar for the Western Mountain State Region.” The story goes, Howat contacted various asphalt industry representatives in the area to serve on an organizing committee and they developed a program for the first Asphalt Pavement Seminar. The seminar committee consisted of representatives from a host of sponsoring agencies:
- Asphalt Institute (AI);
- Colorado State University (CSU);
- S. Forest Service;
- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA);
- Colorado Division of Highways;
- Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Wyoming;
- University of Wyoming (UW);
- Colorado Contractors Association (CCA);
- Wyoming State Highway Department; and
- the National Park Service.
Would you believe the 1.5-day seminar had a registration fee of $19 back then? The fee went up to $21 by 1981, according to the website. “For the first 24 years, the event was known as the CSU Asphalt Paving Conference. The early years of the conference centered on asphalt industry suppliers, producers and other members of the Asphalt Institute. In addition, public sector agencies at the Federal, state, and local level were encouraged to attend and participate.”
Over the years, a host of industry experts have participated in the conference, sharing knowledge and best practices with the asphalt world. The site lists some of the big names readers will recognize. In the 1990s, paving and compaction experts Chuck Deahl from Bomag Americas and John Ball of Top Quality Paving & Training teamed up to offer down-to-earth how-to presentations to standing-room-only audiences year after year. It’s the kind of content the conference strives to offer to this day, teaming up with speakers to ensure attendees walk away with good education to improve their bottom line.
CONEXPO-CON/AGG
March 14-18
Las Vegas Convention Center
Make sure you put the AsphaltPro Booth C32025 on your list in Vegas. There’s a whole show section coming up in the March/April edition where we’ll outline what our advertisers have in store for asphalt professionals.