BY: Bob Glenn, Editor and Publisher

We recently had the pleasure of speaking with three WireCo executives about several topics of interest to the lifting and rigging community. Look for a complete recap of our discussion in an upcoming issue of Wire Rope Exchange. But more immediately, we wanted to share our discussion about their plans for CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026, which will be taking place March 3-7 in Las Vegas. It’s a big show, and to be sure WireCo has big plans for the week. They’ll be exhibiting in the North Hall at N-10519.

We spoke with:

• Dan Burch, Vice President – Marketing and Strategy
• Tim Klein, Senior Principal Engineer – Global Lifting and Fabrication
• Jim Stillwell, Marketing Manager

Here are a few key points from our conversation with regard to CONEXPO-CON/AGG.

Bob Glenn, Wire Rope Exchange:  CONEXPO is obviously a very different audience than you see at the more specialized lifting shows where you also exhibit or present, so who do you hope to speak with there and how they are different from who you might typically speak with at more focused events?

Dan Burch, WireCo: A show like CONEXPO is a big branding opportunity – a product awareness and company awareness show where there are many more people who haven’t heard of WireCo, or don’t necessarily attend an AWRF (Associated Wire Rope Fabricators) or SC&RA (Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association) conference.

The main audience we’ll talk to that we don’t normally see together are folks from the OEM’s – the crane OEM’s or other new equipment manufacturers, they’ll be walking around at CONEXPO and they can come into the booth and talk to our engineers and experts like Tim, while other events we frequent are more focused on the end user or on our distribution channels.

Tim Klein, WireCo: It’s such a large group – we get all the OEM’s in one place and we get all of our customers and quite a few end users as well. Many people are seeking us out specifically to get information about WireCo, looking at the product family, looking at the technical information that we have available. How can we help them solve their problems and what other product offerings do we have that might provide better solutions or better life for their applications – we’ll get questions like that.

Bob Glenn, Wire Rope Exchange: And obviously just given the scope and size of the show, I would assume you talk to a lot more people?

Tim Klein, WireCo: Oh yeah! We know the OEM’s and the big players – we can go see them, but it’s a global market. To get everyone together in one place at one time over a five-day period is pretty amazing.

Bob Glenn, Wire Rope Exchange: Who are you going to have on site at CONEXPO – are all three of you going to be there or do you have some others that you’re sending?

Dan Burch, WireCo: Yes, all three of us. We’ve got a pretty big crew. Our CEO and CFO are coming, our head of sales, our head of engineering. Depending on the day of the week, we will have 15 to 20 people on site because this show is only once every three years. It’s not only a chance to meet our customers and talk about WireCo, but it’s a good opportunity for people to walk around the show and learn about what else is going on in the market that you can’t really do elsewhere. It’s mostly a US-focused team, but we will have some European colleagues here as well.

Bob Glenn, Wire Rope Exchange: Tim, I see that you’re also presenting in part of the Education track. What will you be covering, and have you presented at CONEXPO before?

Tim Klein, WireCo: I have never presented at CONEXPO. I did attend a prior education program there some years ago, they were doing some special sessions on wire rope, and I thought this was really good for the lifting community to educate users and make sure that people know the basic practices.

I’ll be talking about everything below the hook. We make wire rope, but we also make slings and assemblies so we’re heavily involved in the below the hook lifting world as well. And I chair the ASME B30.26 subcommittee, which is about below the hook rigging hardware. This gives me the opportunity to speak about all types of slings, wire rope, chain, web, and all the different types of applications that are found there. I’m really looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be good.

Bob Glenn, Wire Rope Exchange: I’m eager to get to the show, and I look forward to seeing you there!

Dan Burch, WireCo: We’re all waiting with bated breath. We have a great story to tell with our new products being made here in North America as well. Three years ago, our big story was the $30 million investment we did in US manufacturing. And so today that’s operating, all the machines have been installed.

That’s what’s helping us produce Lazerlift and Boomfit as well as some of our other products that were previously only made in Germany and Portugal. That allows us to be more responsive in the US market, and that’s something we’ll be reiterating to customers when they come by.

Jim Stillwell, WireCo: Please stop by – I think you’ll be blown away. We like to think we have the best looking booth not only for wire rope manufacturers, but anywhere there in the North Hall!

Visit WireCo at CONEXPO-CON/AGG in the North Hall at N-10519 and online anytime at www.wireco.com.