Set up for CES 2020 underway in Las Vegas

Temporary structures are popping up outside the Las Vegas Convention Center in preparation for the all-things-tech CES trade show, with programming set to begin Sunday.

The convention is one of the largest in the country, with more than 4,400 exhibitors displaying their products across more than 2.9 million square feet in 11 venues in Las Vegas, including the LVCC.

On the inside of those venues, contractors and companies are turning portions of empty space into miniature attractions.

In the Sands Expo and Convention Center, for example, Canadian company 1Valet plans to show off its smart solution in an exhibit that will replicate its vision for the future of apartment living.

Rick Hardy Cheam, vice president of sales and marketing for 1Valet, said the company has models set up in Toronto and Ottawa.

“We had to think of a way in which we’re going to be able to replicate that at CES,” he said.

Planning and booth design took about four months, he said. And throughout that process, about 10 to 12 people had their hands on the project, he said. A company called Pubsphere assembled the exhibit in Canada before taking it to Las Vegas.

CES’ official contractor, Freeman, is responsible for fabricating booths for more than 200 exhibitors, said Freeman Executive Vice President of Business Development Steve Anderson.

“Everything has to happen in an orchestrated function,” he said.

For Anderson and his team, CES setup starts in mid-December.

“We just keep rolling,” he said.

The first few days are about infrastructure such as electrical power distribution, he said. Then lights, trusses and motors are installed into the ceiling. After that, hundreds of trailers haul equipment to the various locations, Anderson said.

The company delivers all the major materials to every location, he said.

At the Las Vegas Convention Center, the company is responsible for power distribution, overhead rigging and cleaning.

He said he tells his workers that every year is like the first year on the job because CES is constantly growing.

Freeman is in its seventh year as the primary contractor, and Anderson said his crew faces new challenges every year.

“It’s a new equation every single time, which is what makes CES so fun,” he said.

Anderson works with a core group of about 30 people throughout the year in order to pull off the show.

At its peak, the number of people working on preparing multiple venues for crowds swells to nearly 1,600 — made up of trade union workers.

For Anderson and Freeman, this season is about more than the pressure of taking on CES. He and his company have other shows on the schedule, including the International Home Builders’ Show and Kitchen and Bath Industry Show.

Keeping up with the work depends on maintaining focus and pace, he said.

“Until you run a marathon, you really don’t know how those last miles feel,” he said.

CES runs Sunday through Friday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Westgate, Renaissance, the Sands Expo and Convention Center, The Venetian, Palazzo, Wynn Las Vegas, Encore, Aria, Park MGM and Vdara. CES is not open to the public.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. Las Vegas Sands operates the Sands Expo and Convention Center, The Venetian and Palazzo.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.