CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026 is just days away…
North America’s largest construction trade show, featuring 2.9 million square feet of exhibit space, 2,000 exhibitors, 150 education sessions (and much, much more) will be held March 3-7 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
With the show right around the corner, AEM caught up with AEM Board Chair, CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 Show Chair, and Caterpillar Senior Vice President Phil Kelliher. In addition to sharing his thoughts on his first couple of months serving as AEM Board Chair, Kelliher outlined what he’s looking forward to most about this year’s edition of North America’s largest construction trade show, and what Caterpillar has in store for show attendees in Las Vegas next week.
AEM: How has your brief time as AEM Board Chair treated you so far?
Kelliher: I’ve been fortunate to be involved with AEM for the better part of the last eight years now, and it’s a fantastic privilege for me to be able to serve as AEM Board Chair for 2026. While it’s still quite early in the year, the experience so far has served as an opportunity for greater engagement with AEM staff and leadership. I appreciate the chance to learn more about the association and its activities and priorities, and I’m excited to see what we can accomplish together in what will be a busy year.
AEM: CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026 is coming up next week. For you and your colleagues at Caterpillar, what’s on your radar ahead of the show, and what are you most looking forward to experiencing in Las Vegas in a few days?
Kelliher: I think the key to CONEXPO-CON/AGG for Caterpillar is it offers us the ability to pull together a very large group of end user customers and expose them to not only our latest products and technologies, but also the rest of the industry as well. It’s an opportunity to engage with so many customers in a short period of time, facilitate in-person connections with them, and even in many cases educate them. It’s just a fantastic opportunity for us at Caterpillar.
Something many of us look forward to each time the show comes around is the Cat® Global Operator Challenge finals. Watching these highly skilled operators compete is always a highlight. New this year, there is also the Cat® Global Dealer Technician Challenge finals. These are can’t-miss events.
AEM: This trade show, and so many others, continues to evolve with time. Our CONEXPO-CON/AGG show team is constantly working to reimagine how exhibitions and events look, feel, and are experienced. How have those efforts impacted Caterpillar?
Kelliher: At Caterpillar, we really try to think long and hard about how we innovate and utilize a show like CONEXPO-CON/AGG to highlight our offerings. With CONEXPO-CON/AGG, one of the major innovations we started utilizing at the show was live demonstrations. So much time and effort go into making sure those demonstrations are useful and worthwhile, but it really goes a long way toward making our offerings seem “real” for our customer base. It’s amazing to see technology really help us to figure out the “what” and the “how” behind what we show, but also how we engage with the people who are present and alongside us at CONEXPO-CON/AGG.
AEM: Given how much we talk about CONEXPO-CON/AGG at AEM, it’s sort of surprising the show only comes around every three years. It goes without saying there are people at Caterpillar, and other AEM member companies, who have never been to the show. But it really does work to bring the entire construction industry together. What does it mean for you and your organization to be able to participate in an event like this one?
Kelliher: It’s just a fantastic opportunity to connect in one place. So many people within our organization are at CONEXPO-CON/AGG, along with dealers and customers. We don’t get an opportunity like this one very often, and we really appreciate and support it when it comes along. And it’s why you’ll see several new products and services at the show this year. For example, in the rental business I work in, we’re unveiling our refreshed brand, Cat Rentals. The show is the perfect opportunity for attendees to experience it for the first time. Ultimately, we utilize CONEXPO-CON/AGG because there is such a large customer base in attendance at the show, which makes it well-suited for unveiling noteworthy offerings.
AEM: For AEM members and show exhibitors, why do you think it’s so important for them to make their presence known at this show?
Kelliher: To me, the root of it is the connection to the customer base. The ability to connect with existing customers, communicate with them, and update them on the latest developments and – just as importantly – connect with customers you don’t do business with today. They can all be found in one place: CONEXPO-CON/AGG.
AEM: Is there anything else you wanted to add about CONEXPO-CON/AGG or your experience with the show?
Kelliher: For Caterpillar, there are only a few shows of the magnitude of CONEXPO-CON/AGG that we participate in today, all around the world. We put so much effort into this show from a Caterpillar perspective, and we’re confident that our presence at the 2026 show will be well-received by our customers. Ultimately, it’s a testament to the team at Caterpillar that we can all come together and be a part of a show like this one. And building on that, CONEXPO-CON/AGG itself is a major endeavor. We have to thank the show team for all that’s done to make a show like this possible, because CONEXPO-CON/AGG wouldn’t happen without AEM’s management and execution.
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