2025 Florida Asphalt Expo Wrap-Up
The Asphalt Contractors Association of Florida (ACAF) held its highly anticipated 2025 Florida Asphalt Expo and Conference at the Caribe Royal Resort in Orlando, Florida, bringing together industry professionals from across the state for two days of collaboration, education, and networking. The event showcased cutting-edge advancements in asphalt technology and best practices, while also celebrating outstanding achievements within the industry.
We had over 430 attendees, 30 Exhibitor Booths, and 8 Equipment vendors with over 13 pieces of heavy equipment!
Here’s a recap:
Day 1
- ASCENT Leadership: The association just hosted its first meeting of a yearly long Asphalt Supervisory Coaching and Emerging New Talent (ASCENT) Academy. This program will develop asphalt industry leaders through education, coaching and teamwork. Participants will have access to industry experts, hands-on experiences, and practical leadership tools through interactive online and live teachings.
- Women of Asphalt Meeting: Sponsored by Beard Equipment and Dobbs Equipment, the Women of asphalt kicked off the Expo & Conference with an immersive, hands-on afternoon of learning with real milling and paving equipment. .
Day 2
- 2025 SWIFTT Challenge: ACAF partnered with the Florida Department of Transportation to host the second Safety Work Zone innovations for Today and Tomorrow. An event that allows people to showcase their innovations and secure a chance for their idea to be developed with FDOT projects, currently programmed for the next 24-months.
- 2024 APA Perpetual Pavement Award: The Florida Department of Transportation was awarded its 15th Perpetual Pavement award by performance for the project on Florida's Turnpike between MM 76 and 81. View the 15 Florida Perpetual Pavement Awards
- 2025 Smoothest Pavement of the Year Awards: The association and FDOT partners awarded 15 projects for their successful smooth paving that completed in the FDOT's FY24-25. Congratulations to Anderson Columbia and Preferred Materials for securing the Statewide Awards for Primary Roads and Limited Access categories, respectively! View the Smoothness Pavement of the Year Statewide Winners
- "Work Zone Management" by Ryan Buck & Curtis Long: Ryan and Curtis shared work zone statistics and strategies for improving collision detection and avoidance.
- "The Year in Asphalt" by Jim Musselman, P.E.: Jim provided a comprehensive overview of the year’s trends, innovations, and milestones within the asphalt industry.
- "The State of Pavement Construction" by Rich Hewitt, P.E.: Rich discussed the current landscape and future outlook for pavement construction, offering actionable insights to attendees.
- "FDOT Specifications Update" by Greg Sholar, P.E.: Greg shared updates to FDOT Standard Specifications that had been implemented, planning to be released in 2026, and extra work that the State Materials Office and Construction offices are continually working on to improve Florida's asphalt pavements.
- "FDOT Research Update" by Mohab El-Hakim, P.E.: Mohab shared the latest findings and initiatives from the Florida Department of Transportation.
The day concluded with the FDOT Asphalt Panel Discussion, where experts engaged in a Q&A session, addressing pressing issues and answering attendee questions.
To wrap up the evening, the third annual Cornhole Tournament brought everyone together in the exhibit hall for food, drinks, and a whole lot of fun! Congrats to Max Linn and Tanner Plensdorf with Ajax Paving Industries of Florida for coming in first as the cornhole champions! We had over 106 participants fighting for the win!
Day 3
The Expo and Conference concluded with a final day of presentations from industry professionals:
- "My Brain Made Me Do It: Psychological Drivers of Employee Behavior" by Stephen Peterson of Caterpillar
- "7 Habits of Highly Successful Producers" by TJ Young of Duval Asphalt Products
- "The Evolving Role of Volumetrics" by Nathan Moore of the National Center for Asphalt Technogy
- "Paving the Way for Quality: A View into IC" by David Crockett of Sakai Americas
- "Technology and Industry Trends" by Bryce Wuori of Pavewise
If you are a logged in ACAF Member, you can access this years presentations at our Educational Library.
Google Drive Photo Album from the 2025 Florida Asphalt Expo