Let me start by saying that if you have not attended ConExpo and you are in the industry in any way, shape, or form, you need to attend at least once in your lifetime. If you’ve been in the past, then you know just how absolutely awesome this weeklong event is.
I cannot thank Shell and my company RILCO enough for allowing me to attend. This was definitely a highlight of my career thus far.
While the expo began on Monday, we arrived Tuesday evening in the pouring rain. Our flight was delayed multiple times thanks to the lovely spring weather in Las Vegas. We were supposed to arrive around 7:00pm and go right to an interview I had previously set up, but since we did not arrive until well after 9:00pm, the interview didn’t happen. This delay really threw off the start of our trip because it took us forever to leave the airport and find our Airbnb. We were not able to grab any groceries and got to bed way later than planned.
I really regret not attending the entire week at the Expo. Monday’s opening ceremonies included a huge tribute to women in construction and the famous operator challenge competition at Caterpillar Stadium. There were also lots of great classes Monday & Tuesday that I would have loved to attend.
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday it continued to rain. We spent most of the day at the Shell booth and were able to hang out with NHRA racing legend – the fastest woman in the world, and my idol, Leah Pruett, who was there signing autographs for fans. The Shell booth was located in the South Hall second floor near many engine and filtration OEMs. Thanks to social media networking, I was able to meet many new friends who came by the booth to see me, and with the help of my Shell counterparts, answered some of their oil related questions.
We ended the expo Wednesday by attending the Social Media Influencers panel which included Missy Scherber of T. Scherber Enterprises in Minnesota, Stacey Tompkins of Tompkins Excavating in New York, Aaron Witt of BuildWitt Media Group in Arizona, and Jimmy Starbuck of Starbuck Excavation in Australia. These four business owners were able to answer audience questions and provide advice from learning experiences of their own. One point made by Jimmy Starbuck that stuck out to me was how much his use of social media has gotten him and his company in legal trouble, yet he continues to use it. He feels that the benefits of the transparency that social media offers and the potential workforce it reaches outweigh the cons. I was able to ask the panel a question and inquired on their participation with industry related associations. Missy and Stacy are promotors of association participation while Jimmy felt they were unnecessary.
Wednesday evening, we attended the Buildwitt event and got to meet even more social media friends which was such a blast! It’s incredible how these platforms are transforming the industry and helping establish strong friendships in every corner of the world. After the meet-up, we had a great dinner with some of my Shell crew.
THURSDAY
Thursday we spent the day walking the Festival grounds, South, and Bronze Halls. The amount of equipment and exhibits to see is quite overwhelming which is why I suggest planning ahead. By the end of the day my feet were raw. I also took some classes which I hope to recap in future posts. All in all, I’d say the highlight of this expo day was making some great work wear connections for the W W Collective!
Thursday evening we were invited up to the Alta Equipment suite by VP and friend Mike Dahlen. If you’re not familiar with Mike, his story to success is quite inspiring and I hope to interview him soon. I can’t thank him enough for inviting us up as I was able to make some more great business connections with his other guests! We stayed out way too late networking and got back to our Airbnb around 2am.
FRIDAY
Friday started slow as you can imagine. The majority of the day was spent having fun checking out the big equipment from the OEMs in the North Hall and enjoying the sunshine at the Festival grounds. Kasey and I were both able to try our hands at operating a Kubota excavator with Engcon attachments at the Engcon booth. I have a newfound appreciation for equipment operators everywhere – I was terrible at it!
Friday night we had a great dinner with the fleet manager of KR&G Excavating, Mark K., and spent some time checking out the extravagancy of the Las Vegas hotels. A big thanks to Mark for joining us!
SATURDAY
Normally the expo continues for half a day on Saturday, but thanks to the COVID 19 virus, this last day was canceled. With newfound free time, we slept in, ventured out to the Hoover Dam, and paid a quick visit to the Clark County Wetlands Preserve.
I have already started brainstorming for the next expo in 2023!
2023 Goal
My goal is to host a seminar on simple tips for fleet/maintenance managers on topics such as: reading oil analysis results, how to pull samples properly, how to read TDS/SDS’s, and easy ways to prevent cross application of oil products.
One of the classes I attended was “Contamination Control for Hydraulic Systems, which had great information for someone in my position with a good base understanding of oils, but was quite high level and included non-pertinent info for fleet managers. I’d say it was geared more towards industrial settings and I was a bit disappointed by it which has prompted me to want to host a seminar of my own.
I’d also like to host a panel where women in the industry can meet workwear manufacturers, view/try products, and express their needs in workwear attire/PPE. Maybe a workwear fashion show??
If you attended the expo, I would love to hear about your experiences! What did you do, what was your favorite part, and what, if anything, were you disappointed by? Hopefully, next year we can meet up!