The venue may have changed, but the Philadelphia Construction Expo in Reading, Pa., was the same great show as it had been for years in Fort Washington.

Held in the new, spacious Greater Reading Expo Center, the 2007 show drew both long-time and new attendees and exhibitors: in all more than 100 exhibitors showcased a vast array of equipment and services to hundreds of visitors over the course of the two-day show.

As with CEG Production’s Pittsburgh Construction Expo in early February, this show too featured a big grand prize – a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup.

Alvin Beiler of Beiler Paving was the lucky winner.

“I was really surprised,” Beiler said. “I think you did a real good thing giving people the chance to win something like this. It was the first time I’d ever won anything like that, and it’s not very often you get a chance to win a prize like that, too. It was very generous of you.”

Beiler initially figured that he had no chance to win the prize. In fact, his primary reason for attending the second day of the show was to show support for one his employees, Alberto Alvarez, who was among the early finalists to win the truck.

Over the course of the two-day expo, 10 finalists’ names were drawn. Later all 10 finalists were gathered at the truck, with each receiving a key. Of the 10 keys only two could open the Dodge Ram’s door. Then, the two remaining finalists drew from two additional keys, this time only one would be genuine. Beiler drew the authentic key.

Beiler also is a CEG Productions trade show veteran, having attended several in the past at the Fort Washington Expo Center. He was impressed with the new venue, the Greater Reading Expo Center.

“The place was really nice,” he said. “It has a big display room and it’s closer to us.”

Beiler Paving, of which Alvin Beiler is co-owner with his sons John, Lloyd and Andy, was founded in 1965 and is located in Ronks, Pa., in Lancaster County. An asphalt paving company, Beiler Paving has recently completed projects for Sight and Sound Theater in Strassburg, which involved parking lot and roadway work as well as the same work for Shady Maple Restaurant in East Earl, Pa.

Eric Mertz of LCJ Landscaping in Birdsboro, Pa., came in second in the truck sweepstakes but still went home a big winner by landing a 4-in-1 root grapple from CID.

In the backhoe rodeo competition Rodney Rinker of Livengood Excavators Inc., Allentown, Pa., finished first with a time of 182 seconds, earning him $750. Roger Loop of Rholan Paving of Mt. Joy, Pa., came in second with a time of 309 seconds, which netted him $500. In all, $5,000 in prize money was awarded to top finishers in the backhoe rodeo competition.

CEG Productions would like to thank all the visitors and exhibitors who helped make the transition to the new venue a success, and we look forward to seeing all of you next year.

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