After a few uncertain years and a truncated event in 2021, the World of Concrete trade show brought together tens of thousands of contractors and construction equipment gearheads in Las Vegas on Jan. 18 to 21. Nearly 37,000 attendees came by to check out the latest equipment and products from over 1,100 equipment, tool and materials vendors.
而且，如果演出中的情绪令人惊讶地乐观，那么它很可能是由于全国各地的一些建筑活动所驱动的。尽管COVID-19大流行中的多年中断，波特兰水泥协会在2022年及以后的水泥消费和建筑活动中预测了另一个强劲的一年。
Even with data from December not yet available, PCA is forecasting that year-over-year cement consumption growth in the U.S. will be up 3.2% for 2021. That’s being driven by construction activity in specific sectors and regions, according to PCA chief economist Ed Sullivan. “What’s really been propelling it has been residential [construction],” he says. “It really hasn’t been the public side, and it certainly hasn’t been the non-residential side.” Sullivan adds that the 2021 activity was mostly in the Southeast and East Coast regions, a marked change from 2020, where cement consumption was driven by activity in the Mountain West.
但是，未来几年抵押贷款利率的预期上涨可能会限制住宅繁荣，这是最近通过的基础设施和就业法案可能启动的。援引城市和州的赠款申请复杂过程以及竞标以及竞标沙利文预计该法案的建设活动不会立即明显。他说：“在我们的计算中，直到2023年，您才能看到这种情况。”基于这和其他因素，沙利文预计，美国水泥消费量的同比增长在2022年和2023年，在2024年再次获得。
至于更直接的未来，尽管Sullivan和PCA对目前的建筑活动水平保持乐观，但他看不到对供应链问题的快速解决方案，这些问题已经使整个行业陷入了困境。他说：“（美国可以实施）没有太多政策来解决这一问题，这是一个国际问题。”“这将需要一段时间才能解开。”
Kubota在贸易展览会上展示了其新的“几乎零尾秋轮” U10-5迷你外观。
杰夫·鲁本斯通（Jeff Rubenstone） /恩新利18备用
具体的新功能
In an outdoor lot, Copenhagen-based manufacturer COBOD International ran a demonstration of its 3D concrete printer, the BOD2, in partnership with one of its U.S. customers, builder-developer WePrintHomes, and material provider QuickCrete. The printer extruded concrete walls several feet high during two-hour demo sessions.
虽然演示过程中的印刷速度比推荐的最高500毫米最高的速度慢，但菲利普·隆德·尼尔森（Philip Lund-Nielsen）（Co Undounder and Americas for Cobod）却是，随着模块化设备的更新，印刷速度继续增加印刷人员变得更加习惯了这项技术。隆德·尼尔森（Lund-Nielsen）说，在德国，佩里（Peribod）是另一个科博德（Corbod）合作伙伴 - 在短短21天内将4,100平方英尺的三层公寓楼带有五个单元。
他补充说：“我们已经出售了该特定型号的35多个打印机，上周我们在美国又出售了3个打印机，因此采用的情况确实在增加。”Cobod最近还与GE Reenwable Energy和其他人合作，打印了10毫米的风力涡轮塔壁垒原型。
回到展厅,利勃海尔介绍了THP 80-LP truck-mounted concrete pump, the smallest in Liebherr’s lineup for the North American market. It is intended for use in urban environments and sites with limited access. At only 22,684 lb, the THP 80-LP does not require a commercial driver’s license to operate, offering more flexibility for crews. Despite its smaller size, it has the same heavy-duty pump and high-capacity hopper as Liebherr’s larger boom trucks.
Kubota was on hand with its new U10-5 mini-excavator that boasts a “near zero-tail swing,” according to Kubota product manager Patrick Baker. An improved version of the 1-ton-class mini-excavators Kubota offers for the rental market, the U10-5 sports a redesigned ROPS that almost eliminates tail swing. “Just 0.6 of an inch hangs over the tracks, so we do classify it as a minimal tail swing,” says Baker. He adds that U10-5 is able to handle many jobs that call for a zero-tail-swing mini-ex, including work alongside active roadways.
泥瓦匠和招标在Spec Mix Mix Bricklayer 500比赛中竞争。
杰夫·鲁本斯通（Jeff Rubenstone） /恩新利18备用
谁是最好的瓦工？
尽管这个混凝土的世界与典型年份相比少，但它仍然设法填补了Spec Mix Bricklayer 500摊牌的看台。泥瓦匠和招标团队有一个小时的时间来建造人群为他们加油打气时所能提供的最大，最质量的砖墙。当尘埃落定时，肯塔基州列克星敦的梅森·科尔·斯坦珀（Mason Cole Stamper）和梅森·招标杰夫·贝克尔（Jeff Becker）的团队以760砖墙获得了最高奖项。两人带回家了一辆全新的福特F-250 4x4皮卡车，以及10,000美元的额外现金和奖品。
