ROSEMONT, Ill. — Last week, the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill., was the hub for architecture, engineering and construction industry professionals who gathered for the inaugural AEC BuildTech Conference & Expo

The AEC BuildTech Conference & Expo was produced by BNP Media, one of the country's leading business-to-business media companies. Several of the company’s industry magazines supported the launch, including Architectural Record, Building Enclosure, ClearSeas Research, Contemporary Stone & Tile Design, Engineered Systems, Engineering News-Record, Floor Covering Installer, Floor Trends, National Driller, The Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration News, Plumbing & Mechanical, PM Engineer, Point of Beginning, Roofing Contractor, Restoration & Remediation, Snips, Stone World, Supply House Times, Tile Magazine and Walls & Ceilings.

The event attracted 1,400 registrants and 115 exhibiting companies who showcased the latest products and technologies in building design and construction.

"We thank our exhibitors, sponsors, speakers, attendees, media partners, supporting organizations and partners who helped us launch this first time event," said Scott Wolters, chief events officer, BNP Media. "Working with our media partners, we were able to bring together six elements of the construction industry — plumbing, HVACR/mechanical systems, flooring, building envelope, roofing and general contracting professionals to learn from industry experts, earn continuing education credits, see new products and network."

Two leaders in the industry delivered dynamic keynote addresses, which were extremely well received by attendees.

Steve Jones, senior director of industry insights research at Dodge Data & Analytics, spoke about key trends transforming the global construction industry and the importance of collaboration among the different segments of the industry. 

Antony Wood, CEO, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, spoke about the future sustainability of vertical cities and provided the audience with interesting statistics on the evolution of this industry segment. 

"Steve and Antony both brought a fresh perspective and insight on the future of our industry to our attendees and shared with them important information that truly got everyone thinking," said Scott Seltz, publisher, BNP Media.  "Keynotes are supposed to be inspiring, and both Steve and Antony delivered on that notion."

The conference program had 50+ sessions with a wonderful faculty of speakers, including subject matter experts from many leading organizations and associations. Attendees discovered essential information on new technologies, applications and policies affecting the entire build process and were able to receive continuing education credits from the AIA, IACET, IIBEC, AIBD, AIC, PDHengineer, and BOMI International. 

The expo hall opened with a welcome reception where attendees were able to meet with the exhibitors including Platinum Sponsors Oracle Construction and Engineering, and Procore; Gold Sponsor Autodesk; Silver Sponsor CMiC; and Bronze Sponsor Mestek Machinery.  Also, in the exhibit hall was a Learning Theater where four presentations led by executives from Oracle, TAMLYN, Goodman and Trimble were broadcast live.  To download the sessions, click here.

The 2020 AEC BuildTech Conference & Expo will be held April 21-23 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. 

For more information visit www.AECBuildTech.com. To learn about exhibiting and sponsorships, visit https://www.aecbuildtech.com/Become-an-Exhibitor. To connect with the appropriate staff member of the show management team visit www.AECBuildTech.com/contact. Follow AEC BuildTech on Facebook and Twitter.