2022 World of Asphalt and AGGI Break Records in Nashville for Show’s 20th Anniversary

World of Asphalt and the co-located AGG1 Aggregates Academy & Expo brought asphalt paving and aggregates professionals together for the first time in three years March 29-31, selling out Nashville’s Music City Center and breaking records in size and attendance.

Organizations from across the country sent representatives ranging from C-suite executives to field operators to this year’s show to view specialized exhibits and product unveilings, take in the latest education offerings, learn about the newest innovations in the asphalt and aggregates industries and make purchasing decisions.   

“This [was] the most important World of Asphalt in the 20-year history of the show,” said Brittany Weltcheff, show manager for World of Asphalt. “We’re so proud of the teams that came together to put this event together [and unite] a record-breaking 11,400-plus asphalt paving and aggregates professionals to learn, experience everything that’s new and important in our industries and make more than 30,000 connections.”

This year marked the fourth return of World of Asphalt to Nashville and the largest iteration of the show in the Music City, with more than 440 exhibitors spread across more than 193,000 net square feet of the Music City Center.

The size of this year’s show is a testament to the resilience of the asphalt paving industry, according to Dr. Audrey Copeland, president and CEO of the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), the majority owner of World of Asphalt.

“In 2016, the last time World of Asphalt and AGG1 came to Nashville, we sold approximately 150,000 net square feet of space in the Music City Center,” she said. “The fact that we were able to use every single square foot of exhibit space the Music City Center had to offer this time, while safely bringing the manufacturers and end users together, speaks volumes about the strength of the asphalt paving industry.”

The record-breaking attendance at this year’s World of Asphalt and AGG1 Academy & Expo shows the enthusiasm of the aggregates industry to be back in-person again, according to Michael Johnson, president and CEO of the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA), the leading advocate for the aggregates industry.  

“Each day, the trade show floor and educational opportunities have been fully attended,” Johnson said. “We are thrilled to provide this top-notch experience for our exhibitors and attendees as we return to fully in-person events.” 

Education at both World of Asphalt’s People, Plants and Paving Conference and the AGG1 Academy broke records as well, with more than 120 different sessions allowing attendees to customize their education schedule. The two most popular sessions were “Compaction 101: Doing the Right Things the Right Way” and “Best Practices for Residential and Commercial Paving.”

Both exhibitors and attendees had overwhelmingly positive feedback about this year’s show.

Edgar Chavez, North American president of ALLU Group, said their team had a successful exhibit.

“This is our first time attending World of Asphalt,” Chavez said. “During the first day, we had more than 15 qualified leads with $250,000 in orders. This is a great show with a targeted audience, and we will definitely be back next time.”

Bill Stanley of American Pavement Specialists and one of the producers of the Raised on Blacktop social media site, said meeting people in the industry and discovering new products and ideas are the best things about World of Asphalt.

“World of Asphalt is the largest network tool you can find in the pavement industry,” Stanley said. “If anyone wants to learn about asphalt, or wants to grow their paving company, whether you’re talking asphalt, roads or dirt, or you’re talking about finding a chemical that works for you, this show pays for itself.”

The next World of Asphalt, co-located with the AGG1 Academy & Expo, will return to Music City Center March 25-27, 2024.

The first World of Asphalt was held in February 2001 at the Wyndham Palace Resort in Orlando, Fla. as a cooperative effort between NAPA and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), and has run every year since except during years when CONEXPO-CON/AGG is held.

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