CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026 – CheckProof’s Industry Report

Las Vegas | March 3–7, 2026

CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026 showed an industry focused on execution: demand is strong, but labor, schedules, and downtime risk are tight. Leaders and operators converged on the same goal: make performance repeatable, make risk visible early, and make new tech easier to adopt without slowing crews down. This industry report covers the signals that stood out the most during the show, and how they will shape the next era of the construction materials industry.

Key takeaways

• Productivity under constraint was the dominant theme: demand is strong, but labor availability, schedules, and risk tolerance remain tight.
• Plant reliability is finally getting equal attention: inspections, maintenance discipline, and operational workflows matter as much as fleet capability - because even the best rolling equipment can’t save an operation when the plant goes down and production stops.
• Connected platforms are increasingly treated as jobsite infrastructure - the layer that makes AI, autonomy, remote operations, and training scalable.
• Automation is being positioned as people-first operating design: less hazardous exposure, more consistent outcomes, and new roles that are easier to staff and coach.

CONEXPO at a glance

CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026 drew more than 140,000 professionals from 128 countries, held March 3–7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with 3+ million sq ft of exhibit space and 2,000+ exhibitors.

Organizers described the event as the place to buy equipment, conduct business, and explore innovations shaping the future of the industry. In parallel, trade magazine coverage highlighted the “launchpad” nature of the week: OEM and technology announcements, press conferences, and deep booth conversations across the ecosystem.

Show-wide signals

Connectivity is now a prerequisite

Across keynotes and featured sessions, there was an implicit consensus: advanced capability only scales when the jobsite has a reliable operational data backbone. Mixed fleets remain the norm, and “we have data” is not the same as “we can make decisions quickly.”

At the same time, CONEXPO 2026 also highlighted a more grounded truth: connectivity has to work even when there is no connection. That’s where tools like CheckProof’s Offline Mode fit naturally into the “connected jobsite” where crews can still run checks, log deviations, and keep operational workflows moving in remote or underground environments, then sync back once coverage returns (by selecting offline sites/sections and enabling Offline Mode so checklists and recent activity are stored on the device).

Autonomy is becoming part of the operating system

Autonomy isn’t being framed as out-of-reach, technology anymore. Instead of “look, the machine can drive itself,” it’s viewed as a practical way to run operations: picking specific tasks that repeat every day, reducing the time people spend in risky areas, and making results more consistent cycle after cycle. In short, it’s less about showmanship and more about building a safer, more predictable production process.

“Equipment + technology” is the default packaging

CONEXPO’s Next Level Awards format is a small but telling signal: contractors increasingly evaluate solutions as integrated outcomes. The 2026 Contractors’ Choice winners were Husco’s GenSteer (equipment) and Gravis Robotics’ Gravis Rack (technology), selected by attendee voting and announced on the Ground Breakers Stage.

Ground Breakers Stage Speakers – Key Takeaways

CONEXPO 2026 introduced the Ground Breakers Keynote Stage as a flagship thought-leadership platform, here are some of the highlights from speakers who left a lasting impression.

John Deere — Never Idle: Tech Made Easy and Grounded in Purpose

Signal: Lower the skill barrier, reduce rework, and turn jobsite data into operational clarity.

Deere’s keynote framed the next phase around three realities: labor gaps persist, fleets are mixed, and jobsite data is underused. The practical thread was “clarity over noise”—automation that reduces passes (e.g., smarter grading), remote support that protects uptime, and safety capabilities that move beyond warnings into more systematic mitigation and learning loops. AI was positioned as an overlay for predictive maintenance, hazard avoidance, and early autonomy patterns (including haul-cycle examples), but always tied back to deployability and outcomes.

Command Alkon — Leading in the Age of AI

Signal: AI success is leadership discipline—trust, governance, and scaling what works.

Rather than pitching tools, this was an adoption talk. The most useful model was AI maturity as Inform → Assist → Execute, with a clear warning that AI can be “confidently wrong.” The core advice: define success criteria, avoid “pilot purgatory,” keep outcomes first, and explicitly preserve the human strengths that organizations still run on—judgment, culture, accountability.

Epiroc + Luck Stone — Autonomy Designed for People

Signal: Autonomy scales when it’s human-centered and treated as an operating model, not a feature.

This session made autonomy feel less like disruption and more like a deliberate journey. Luck Stone’s narrative emphasized “people-first” design—reducing hazardous exposure, redesigning roles (control-room supervision, data-driven operations), and making change management part of the work. Epiroc reinforced that autonomy succeeds when training, procedures, and workflow integration are considered part of the product. The underlying proof point was credibility: autonomy wasn’t presented as a leap; it was presented as something earned through iteration and trust-building.

Caterpillar — Innovating Together: Technology Solutions for Construction’s Toughest Challenges

Signal: Tech that survives jobsite reality: safety mitigation, rework reduction, and remote operations.

Cat packaged its strategy around safety, productivity, and labor—connected by data and ease-of-use. Safety messaging leaned toward systems that mitigate, not just warn (including motion prevention/stop capabilities), paired with near-miss context capture for coaching. Productivity was framed as shrinking rework (payload measurement, grade automation, integrated workflows). Labor relief showed up through remote operations and a “desk-to-dirt” assistant vision for setup, feature discovery, and service guidance—wrapped in a broader ecosystem story (mixed-fleet visibility and service coverage).

Gravis Robotics — Next Era of Earthmoving

Signal: Autonomy value is often cycle quality—bucket fill rate and consistency—delivered through staged adoption.

Gravis’ retrofit “rack + tablet” story positioned autonomy as a productivity amplifier rather than a labor replacement. The most grounded claim: ROI often comes from consistent cycle execution, not headline autonomy. The “Slate” interface was central—a copilot with real-time 3D site view, cut/fill visualization, AR overlays, people detection, and mapped utilities—supporting a staged adoption path (guidance → assisted autonomy → remote supervision). Longer term, the vision extends to multi-machine orchestration under one supervisor.

ForgeFX — From Iron to Impact: VR Simulation for Training

Signal: Training throughput is a production constraint; simulation works when it’s structured and measurable.

ForgeFX argued for VR as part of a blended training system (instructor-led → sim familiarization → real iron → sim reinforcement). The value case was practical: safer repetition, faster skill acquisition, less machine downtime pulled for training, consistency across sites, and performance analytics that make coaching repeatable. The consistent point across examples: simulation matters when it turns invisible risks into visible practice—and competence into something you can scale.

AEM (Association of Equipment Manufacturers) — Global Technology Trends Shaping Construction

Signal: The trend stack is familiar; execution is the differentiator.

AI, drones, immersive tech, cybersecurity, autonomy, robotics—none were treated as standalone “answers.” The most actionable message was integration: drones moving toward always-on data infrastructure, cybersecurity becoming mandatory as digitization expands, and robotics needing narrow scope plus operational ownership. The thread tying it together: workflow fit and organizational seriousness matter more than prototypes.

POLITICO / AEM — What’s Next for U.S. Infrastructure

Signal: The conversation is shifting from “funding” to “delivery”—policy choices, priorities, and execution capacity.

CONEXPO announced POLITICO Live’s Ground Breakers takeover for “What’s Next for U.S. Infrastructure,” framing it around policy decisions, funding outlook, and innovations shaping the next phase of infrastructure investment.
The subtext is familiar across the industry: delivery constraints (capacity, workforce, supply chain, risk posture) increasingly determine outcomes.

CONEXPO-CON/AGG Next Level Awards — Contractors’ Choice

With so much new kit and tech launched around CONEXPO, the Contractors’ Choice wins are a particularly credible barometer—because they sit on top of heavy competition and a deep bench of worthy finalists. The format also keeps it grounded: attendees spend days canvassing the show floor, seeing the innovations up close, and then voting on what feels most jobsite-real.

This year, after three days of attendee voting, CONEXPO-CON/AGG announced Husco’s GenSteer™ as the Contractors’ Choice winner for best equipment, and Gravis Robotics’ Gravis Rack as the Contractors’ Choice winner for best technology, presented during a special event on the Ground Breakers Stage.

CheckProof at CONEXPO 2026

While the show is famous for big iron, CheckProof’s presence proved that innovative software can draw just as much attention as horsepower.

From the North Hall, CheckProof’s booth became a steady crowd magnet—anchored by a mini quarry with RC wheel loaders, conveyor elements, and a live demonstration loop showing how digital workflows translate into real operations on the ground.

CheckProof also leaned into show energy with:

• A business card drop / prize draw that created repeat traffic and kept conversations flowing—culminating in a Friday 2pm winner announcement: Scott Young (Keeley Construction Group) winning an iPad + a Safety & Operations Audit on site.
• A broader “booth moment” that proved popular, in a busy hall: small machines turning heads, quick demos on iPad, and a simple call-to-action that made it easy to stop, engage, and follow up.
• Participation in Rocket Start’s Scavenger Hunt, adding another reason for attendees to route past the booth and interact.

Just as importantly, CheckProof used the show to tee up what’s next: upcoming releases previewed at CONEXPO included Safety Alerts (critical messages with read-and-confirm traceability) and an AI Checklist Builder designed to turn manuals and machine specs into usable checklists quickly—features that match the show’s broader theme of “productivity under constraint,” where clarity, speed, and compliance matter.

CONEXPO 2026 – Final thoughts

CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026 delivered a comprehensive picture of the industry’s direction: repeatable execution in an environment that doesn’t forgive waste. The most credible innovations weren’t framed as replacements for people, they were positioned as ways to redesign work: reduce rework, lower exposure to hazards, and make performance visible enough to coach and improve.

At the macro level, the industry is moving toward the jobsite as a connected system. At the micro level, the winners will be the organizations that can translate connectivity into daily workflows, where machines, people, and data reinforce each other without adding friction.

We’re already looking forward to CONEXPO 2029!