Pavement Show with Quality Experience

For the 2024 installment of the National Pavement Expo (NPE), industry professionals gathered in warm and sunny Tampa, Florida, for three days of education overlapping two days of equipment and services displays. A pirate-themed party along the waterfront offered extra networking time and themed morning huddles gave attendees opportunities to discuss and solve pain points involving striping and pavement markings, sales, business operations, pavement preservation, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the back office and beyond. New this year was a striping competition with prizes for the first-place winner and runner-up from Graco Inc.

The team from Quality Asphalt & Maintenance LLC came from Michigan to support their owner, Shane Farlin, who spoke in the technology track, and to share what’s coming up in the pavement maintenance realm for 2024.

Also new this year, the education programming featured 80% new presentations and 59% new speakers, with a new track devoted to technology. But the show staff didn’t lose track of the topics of paving, employee management, business operations, striping, sales and so on that attendees were looking forward to from years past.

Jacob Buck, vice president of Buck Brothers Asphalt & Concrete, Toledo, Ohio, spoke animatedly about dominating your paving market.

“Our newly revamped 2024 conference program brought attendees valuable, actionable insights that they can apply directly to their businesses and careers,” Show Director Morgan Wilson said. “This year’s education delivered attendees not only brand-new content, but also a diverse lineup of influential speakers, experts and thought leaders, offering attendees a chance to connect with the best in the field. NPE 2024 debuted our newest learning track focused on technology, as well as a variety of trending and emerging topics. Our speakers reported that the attendees in their sessions were very engaged, asking lots of questions, and actively participating in conversations; this is an excellent indication that the information delivered in our 2024 conference program resonated with attendees.”

The tradeshow floor was loud and crowded on the first day, giving way to an atmosphere more conducive to business and final sales on the second day.

Beyond the education sessions, attendees flocked to the tradeshow floor to ensure they could purchase equipment and products to use for the 2024 construction season. “The traffic on the show floor was excellent. We always enjoy meeting with readers and equipment manufacturers,” AsphaltPro Publisher Chris Harrison said. “We had paving consultant John Ball in our booth for our popular ‘Ask the Expert’ series, and he stayed busy talking to visitors and answering questions while a steady stream of attendees buzzed around the show floor.”

Graco Inc. and Pavement Stencil sponsored the NPE Striping Competition, which took place Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 24 and 25, alongside the expo hall. At the end of the show, the top two stripers took home prizes and a gift card from Graco. Center left, Jason Gomez from Ontario Parking Lot Services took first place; Center right, Nick Lucas from TNT Asphalt Solutions was the runner up.

Wilson described the atmosphere of the entire experience. “The energy we saw this year was electric. We are always impressed by the dedication of these paving and pavement maintenance professionals, and their commitment to the industry. Attendees were eager to explore new products, services and innovations and had a curiosity to learn about the latest trends, technologies and solutions in their field driving them to visit different booths, engage with exhibitors and attend educational sessions. The Tampa location was a perfect place for attendees to network with peers, potential clients and business partners, especially during our NPE Party on the Riverwalk. We couldn’t ask for a better backdrop to host this year’s show.”

Next year’s venue remains in sunny Tampa, Florida, conveniently near the Tampa International Airport, but the dates have shifted two weeks earlier in the month. The NPE website states: “It has been brought to our attention that another industry event booked identical dates to our 2025 show. While our dates have been booked since Fall 2022, we must remain focused on our #1 goal of producing an event that connects buyers and vendors, presents impactful education, and facilitates networking. It’s the reason our show exists! Having two industry events running concurrently ultimately affects your bottom line and unfairly forces decisions that result in lost opportunities. Because of this, we have worked with our facility partners and were able to negotiate a change of dates for the 2025 show. As facilities are booked years in advance, we were extremely fortunate to have this option to change our timing. We will be moving our show dates to Jan. 15-17, remaining in Tampa. NPE has served the paving and pavement maintenance industries for over three decades and looks forward to continuing for many more to come. Our commitment to bringing the community together is unwavering and we value your participation and support.”