World of Concrete Asia
Doug Carlton and Paul Godfrey presented a seminar at World of Concrete Asia, held in Beijing. They explained what's new in decorative concrete and showed pictures of stamping, staining, overlays, polishing, concrete countertops and vertical surfaces.
by Doug Carlton

Deep down, I was hoping the Great Wall of China was a poured-in-place concrete wall utilizing a crafty form liner. It's not, but if it was constructed today I bet it would be. Anyway, you may be asking yourself what a presentation on decorative concrete in Beijing has to do with you and your business. Believe me, I asked myself the same thing several times during the 12-hour flight over. If you even noticed the "CONEXPO Asia" banners at the 2006 World of Concrete in Vegas, you probably never gave it a second thought. I personally thought the first-ever World of Concrete Asia had very little significance to the decorative concrete industry. I was wrong.

More than 75 countries were present with an attendance of more than 13,000 industry leaders during the four-day architectural concrete event. The thing that surprised me the most was the interest from other countries. Some attendees were very familiar with the decorative practices and projects performed by American concrete contractors. Other countries inquired about basic decorative concrete methods to help enter the market.