NPE OFFERS DIVERSE EDUCATION NPE OFFERS DIVERSE EDUCATION

BY ASPHALTPRO STAFF

TThis year’s National Pavement Expo (NPE) and Conference, held at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, Jan. 25-28, 2023, brought more than 2,400 attendees together for a host of educational opportunities both in and out of the classroom. With roundtable discussions, speaker meet and greets, and additional free sessions on the exhibit hall stage, everyone had ample opportunity to engage with experts and learn some extra best practices to take home for business growth.

A spokesperson for show management shared: “NPE is proud to host such a diverse group of attendees that rely on our event to become more educated and meet new people within the industry, which help them grow every year. There’s really no other event that caters to the same audience and it’s inspiring hearing stories of how NPE has helped many companies that started as small contractors, and are now buying paving and milling machines, or maybe launching a new concrete division, or offering snow/ice removal. This is why our attendees continue to participate every year and it drives our motivation to continue being an asset to the industry.”

Watch for information on the next NPE taking place in Tampa, Jan. 24-26, 2024. All photos courtesy of Emerald unless otherwise noted

LEFT AND MIDDLE: Show management reported 170 total exhibitors for this year’s event. AsphaltPro staff spoke with many who had equipment and tools already sold off the trade show floor. We watched a customer load up a Sweeprite machine with gutter brooms to transport home and watched another fellow rolling a simple line striper into the parking garage. The five machines in the Billy Goat Industries booth across from AsphaltPro Magazine were all sold. RIGHT: Paving Guru John Ball served as the consultant for AsphaltPro Magazine’s “Ask the Expert” at booth 1726. Here he goes over some paving ideas with Keith Reardon of Superior Surfacing Systems Ltd. Photo courtesy of AsphaltPro

LEFT: The Women of Asphalt leadership hosted a panel titled “Women in the Workforce: Recruit, Retain and Promote” in the employee management track. MIDDLE: Here Mike Byrd of Knife River Corporation gives lessons in estimating commercial sealcoating jobs. Show management shared that some of the most popular educational sessions this year were “Paving Best Practices,” presented by John Ball, “The Fundamentals of Sealcoating Mix Design and Material Selection,” presented by Aaron Roy, “Parking Lot Striping with Technology,” presented by Jim Panzenhagen, and “Communication Strategies That Will Fully Engage Your Team,” presented by Randy Goruk. “These were just a few of our standing-room only sessions and workshops at NPE 2023,” a spokesperson shared. “We saw excellent attendance in our conference program, and highly engaged audiences in each of the classes.” RIGHT: Attendees took some time out for fun and games during the work event as well. They attended an exhibit hall preview night and awards presentation Wednesday, Jan. 25, a Nascar Hall of Fame party Thursday, Jan. 26, and raced one another on adult-size Big Wheels off to the side of the trade show floor anytime they felt like blowing off steam.