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POINT OF VIEW
For some, seeing is believing, for others, it’s being able to physically touch a piece of equipment
and talk to the experts about performance, customer service, and commitment to the industry—
that’s the excitement of ConExpo/Con-Agg 2011 for the 16 divisions of Astec Industries, Inc.
ConExpo/Con-Agg is held every three years, and
again this year the trade show will be held in Las
Vegas, Nevada, March 22-26. Attendance for
the show is expected to be high and according
to the ConExpo/Con-Agg’s official website,
the event will feature approximately 2,000
exhibitors. In 2008, more than 140,000 people
from all over the world converged on 2.28
million net square feet of exhibit space in and
around the Las Vegas Convention Center—and
this year’s trade show is expected to yield even
higher numbers. ConExpo/Con-Agg is being
heralded as “the global industry gathering place
in 2011” by its organizers.
Booth C5133
For our division, Astec, Inc., ConExpo/Con-Agg
is the most important show that we attend and
the fact that we, along with all of the Astec Industries divisions, will
be exhibiting in one booth space and will be a part of the largest
indoor booth at the show, gives testament to that. This will be a
first for the Astec Industries companies.
When you walk into the central hall and look down from the
mezzanine level you will see stretching from column to column,
measuring nearly 40,000 square feet, the Astec Industries booth.
It’s a big investment for the company and a direct line of contact
to our customers, a large percentage of whom attend the show.
It’s a great place to show them the advances we have made to our
equipment and the solutions available to help them increase their
bottom line.
New Technologies
We like to produce new
technologies that help
our customers gain an
economic advantage when using Astec equipment. At the show,
Astec, Inc. will be introducing a new controls system; showing the
Dillman line that we added through an acquisition in October 2008,
complete with a 1 /8-scale model depicting a Dillman dryer-drum
mixer, which is different technology from our traditional Double
Barrel ® dryer-drum mixer; a Dillman hot-mix silo system and a
Dillman baghouse; and we will have the Astec models that have
been at the last two ConExpo shows— 1 /8-scale models of complete
Astec asphalt plants with all the updates put on them since the last
ConExpo.
In addition, we are showing an expanded line of hot-mix asphalt
production equipment that meets the needs of Astec customers
and also expands our reach to potential customers who are seeking
a complete working solution. There are different preferences in
the industry for technologies in the market, and now Astec offers
solutions to meet the varied jobsite project demands.
Ben Brock
President, Astec, Inc.
It’s well documented that the economy has
hurt our industry; however, Astec, Inc. and all
of its sister divisions have used this time to
invest in R&D and persevere with innovating
new technologies and working with customers
to improve our equipment for decreased
downtime and increased production. At Astec,
Inc., we have raised the bar on customer service
through additions to both the Service and Parts
Departments to provide the experience which
separates Astec from others in the industry.
The relationship between buyer and seller is an
ongoing partnership bound with trust, quality
manufacturing, and two-way communication.
An example of this partnership is the controls
software roundtable meeting held at our facility
last year and attended by 12 customers. The
result of all of this effort is that we will be displaying equipment in
the ConExpo/Con-Agg booth that we did not have three years ago.
New Concrete Plant
As an example, the Astec division has developed a new concrete
plant—built and run in partnership with a local concrete producer.
Through this real world R&D, we confirmed our goal to reduce
the cement content in concrete by 18 percent by operating at
optimum control efficiency with the right materials. Cement is the
highest cost element for contractors when mixing concrete and
this savings will be a boost to concrete contractors. We will have
a model of this plant at ConExpo/Con-Agg. It’s an example of how
Astec has researched
“The concrete plant will be a game
changer for our customers.”
the market need and
developed a solution to
better serve its customers.
In a down market it’s
hard to come up with a
product that creates a paradigm shift. But for the long run, it’s the
right thing to do and we are confident we will be successful in the
concrete industry.
For more insight into the technologies Astec, Inc. has to offer,
check out the article “ConAsphalt” on page 20, and for a
clear understanding of the resale value of Astec equipment, see
the article on page 19. Or, as always, you can visit us online at
www.astecinc.com.
Connecting with customers is paramount to the way Astec does
business and will continue to do business. See you at the show!
HOT-MIX MAGAZINE 5 VOLUME 16 NUMBER 1