CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2005 opening ceremony.

More than 124,220 industry professionals from around the world attended CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2005 and the co-located IFPE 2005 trade expositions in Las Vegas, US, from March 15 to March 19.

The shows at the Las Vegas Convention Centre featured the latest equipment, product innovations and technological advances of the construction, construction materials and power transmission industries.

Both trade shows covered more than 45 acres (18.5 hectares), equivalent to more than 29 soccer fields. CONEXPO-CON/AGG's 1,968 exhibitors took up more than 1.88 million square feet (174,730 square metres) of exhibit space while IFPE used the remaining space.

International attendance was at a record high of 21,220, which was 17 per cent of total attendance. The visitors hailed from 130 countries.

In addition to leading US manufacturers, suppliers and service providers, the show floor included 13 international exhibits highlighting products and services developed outside the US.

CONEXPO-CON/AGG hosted eight of them - two from China and one each from Finland, Germany, Italy, Korea, Spain and the UK.

Hotel occupancy by show attendees and co-located association conventions reached more than 104,000 cumulative room nights. The shows brought an estimated USD180 million-plus of non-gaming revenue to Las Vegas.

Palfinger North America and Manitou North America Inc were among the exhibitors.