World of Concrete 2026 Reflections: Acumatica Brings AI-Powered Construction ERP Technology to the Masses

Every year, tens of thousands of concrete and masonry professionals from around the world come together at the Las Vegas Convention Center to take advantage of world-class educational, skill development, and workforce growth resources. The event? World of Concrete, the preeminent annual international event dedicated to the commercial concrete and masonry construction industries.

“World of Concrete is where the future of concrete and masonry construction is built. We are honored to be part of a worldwide community that champions innovation, elevates performance, and celebrates the artistry of craftsmanship,” says Jackie James, Vice President of World of Concrete, in the World of Concrete press release. “Each year, our exhibitors and attendees come together to connect, collaborate, and uncover new opportunities that will continue to shape the industry’s future.”

The Acumatica team was excited to once again take part in this prestigious event and  exhibit our modern construction ERP solution’s intelligent features to industry leaders who can benefit the most.

Pictured: Staci Connolly-Anagnos (Acumatica), Dan Conway (Accordant), Salina Patel (Strategies Group), Kaitlyn Dempsey (Acumatica), Randall Greco (Acumatica), Nate Belachew (3Value), Eric Eberhardt (3Value), Diane Grayson (Net@Work), Chris Marocchi (Net@Work), Shannon Ward (Strategies Group)

World of Concrete 2026

World of Concrete took place January 19–22, offering expert-led, interactive sessions, live demonstrations and competitions, and untold networking opportunities. There were more than 1,300 indoor and outdoor exhibits with exhibiting companies showcasing their innovative products in multiple product categories, including material handling, concrete producers, concrete masonry, cement production, and construction technology.

During this year’s World of Concrete, AI played a huge role in the various event offerings, with educational forums focusing on applying AI in a practical way to help address labor shortages, efficiency, and sustainability. There were also many AI-powered products and tools on display throughout the exhibition hall, highlighting the growing importance of AI in the construction industry’s success.

It was an amazing learning and connecting event for concrete, masonry, and construction professionals, and as a premier cloud ERP solution, Acumatica was thrilled to showcase what our AI-driven construction management software can do for the over 47,000 participants that were researching the latest and greatest technology, equipment, and solutions for growing their organizations.

Acumatica: Taking on the World of Concrete

Acumatica’s Randall Greco, Strategic Sales Development Manager, headed up our team that attended World of Concrete, and according to him, the four-day, education-filled event was well worth the wait. “The show continues to be a strategic driver to engage buyers who are looking for leading technology and up-to-date cloud architecture.”

Pictured: WOC attendees learning about the benefits of Acumatica Construction Management ERP software

Since 2018, Acumatica’s ERP software for construction has been helping managers, supervisors, subcontractors, and customers enjoy seamless project execution with our advanced job cost accounting and financial, project, and change management features. As a comprehensive, flexible construction offering, Acumatica’s integrated AI capabilities ensure project excellence from bid to execution to service, and because AI continues to be a driver of conversation and innovation in the ERP space, Acumatica was a big hit.

“Acumatica’s ability to encompass both operations and project accounting all in one platform received a high level of interest from people at the show,” Randall says. “There was a lot of talk around integration, open APIs, framework, and architecture, and we’re proud that Acumatica leads the channel in this space with our low code/no code, open API functionality.”

Because World of Concrete draws people from around the globe who work in diverse industries, Acumatica’s dynamic and industry-bridging applications earned many kudos. Says Randall, “No other ERP can do construction and manufacturing as well as we can. Seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they saw an ERP solution that captures both worlds was great to witness.”

We’ve repeatedly witnessed this same response from our many satisfied customers, including Dukathole, a manufacturer of high-quality concrete bricks and contractor that builds affordable housing in South Africa.

Duckathole’s Acumatica-Fueled Success

Duckathole was founded in Aliwal North, South Africa as a cement brick maker. The housing crisis in South Africa inspired founders Charles and Landi Kieck to help the housing gap to expand their efforts into Queensland, producing additional cement products, like roof tiles, pavers, lintels, and pre-cast products, that would serve the needs of a growing population.

Dukathole opened another brick-making production site in Herschel due to continued high demand, and Dukathole also acquired two struggling brick makers and a construction company, which has enabled them to build subsidized housing. The manufacturing and construction business was growing by leaps and bounds, and its plan was to let Sage manage their operational needs. Unfortunately, the implementation was a disaster.

“It was a horrible implementation, one that didn’t work, and one that didn’t have any support,” says Graham Leonard, Head of Finance and Operations. “Sage was remote cloud and required a lot of maintenance and went down a lot.”

The decision to replace Sage was made, which meant Duckathole had six divisions operating on six different financial systems. The team set out to find an ERP system that could thoroughly handle their complex manufacturing and construction requirements, and the ERP they found was Acumatica.

“Any ERP that you can go live with during hard lockdown and have all your staff trained and functioning remotely must be a system for everyone to consider,” Leonard says.

Acumatica’s intuitive interface, unique licensing model, intercompany functionality, and ability to connect to other applications sealed the deal, and Dukathole—which makes one million concrete bricks per day, runs 40 delivery trucks, builds ten houses daily, runs a division that mines raw materials (for production processes), opened two retail locations, and has distribution relationships with four hardware stores—is now able to enjoy:

• Accurate financial insight and reporting
• Customized dashboards
• Real-time access to data
• Up-to-date inventory management
• Improved customer experiences
• Robust project functionality
• A connected platform

“Having one view of every single entity allows us to see if an entity is not pulling its weight so we can make adjustments quickly,” says Leonard. “You don’t want the group to suffer if one of the other divisions is struggling.”

He adds, “The flexibility in Acumatica helps to support our entrepreneurial spirit. When we add a new company, we don’t have to buy extra software user licenses. Instead, we just create a new branch in Acumatica and quickly integrate them into Dukathole Group.”

There’s much more to Dukathole’s customer success story, but bottom line? Acumatica Cloud ERP has provided the construction and manufacturing tools and full-throttled support Duckathole needed to accelerate its growth.

Acumatica Helps Construction Businesses Attain Next-Level Success

Pictured: WOC attendees learning about the benefits of Acumatica Construction Management ERP software

Acumatica’s time at World of Concrete was incredibly successful, and we’re excited that more construction professionals were able to hear how Acumatica can propel their businesses from surviving to thriving with our seamlessly integrated AI tools that help them automate tasks, streamline complex processes, and increase profitability.

“Acumatica really is an all-in-one, adaptable solution that quickly enables everything you need to run your business,” says Leonard. “And it is effortless to use.”

For more information about our user-friendly, comprehensive Acumatica Construction ERP, contact our experts today.