CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Construction and Design Exposition wrapped up Thursday morning. The event, in its 35th year, is the region’s largest trade show for the industry.
More than 5,000 people attended the two-day event including 455 vendors who set up booths in the Grand Hall and Coliseum of the Charleston Civic Center.
Expo Show Manager Shannon Louk said it’s all about meeting and making contacts with the who’s who in the construction and design world.
“What we want to do is for them to walk away with having met contacts and decision makers that can help their business,” explained Louk. “It really helps in bringing business to the state.”
With so many vendors on display, Louk stressed it’s a great opportunity to grow a business.
“We have a lot of folks who just want to see what’s new and available in their industry. We have a lot of contractors a lot of engineers, architects,” said Louk.
On top of the expo the event also featured 80 seminars and meetings on everything from state building codes to accessible work zones and keeping your environment and wallet green. Attendees get credits that go towards their continuing education hours.
“We hope that people walk away having learned something from their seminars, not just filling in the box of gaining their CLUs but really learning something and take something away,” according to Louk.
The event also featured the third annual Marcellus 2 Manufacturing Ethane Development Conference which focused on West Virginia’s natural gas industry and how it’s impacting the state.