Courage to approach the future!

The rationale behind the title of this editorial has lingered in everyone’s mind in our publishing house for some time.

Since the official end of the Corona pandemic was in sight, numerous new ideas have come to light, and it appears that the future is again considered with a good degree of confidence and anticipation. This also includes looking at new markets, and in this respect this headline fits very well to what we experienced at the end of January at the World of Concrete trade fair in the United States.

For the first time ever, the 2023 edition of World of Concrete featured an AAC pavilion. In this pavilion, nine companies presented themselves to members of the industry. Naturally, AAC Worldwide supported this initiative and, as media partner of the event, organized an AAC seminar.

Initial discussions were characterized by a range of different opinions on the potential success of AAC in North America, with some companies seeing little potential in the USA due to the historical development and prevailing building culture, while others were completely convinced that AAC has a great future in this region. Furthermore, regarding the potential appearance as an exhibitor at the trade fair, there were a few concerns about taking a position in the immediate vicinity of market competitors...

In retro perspective and based on numerous conversations, we can say that the AAC pavilion held its own for several reasons. Firstly, the AAC industry presented a strong unit, so that visitors immediately saw that this is an existing industry that operates successfully worldwide. And secondly, the material AAC and its application opportunities were prominently presented to an interested audience. Numerous trade fair visitors and experts from the American construction industry came into contact with this building material for the very first time, and many of them were impressed.

The sentiments expressed in many conversations, also at our own AAC Worldwide booth, confirmed that the American construction industry is open and ready for new building materials and construction methods. The courage of the exhibitors, especially those who were initially not completely convinced about their participation in the AAC pavilion, was rewarded at last – probably not necessarily with numerous orders, but still with promising contacts. The AAC seminar with its three exciting keynote presentations and around 50 participants was also rated a great success by the organizers of World of Concrete.

Among many other exciting articles in this edition, you will also find a comprehensive review of the World of Concrete 2023, including statements from the participating industry.

Yours sincerely,

Michael von Ahlen