ConExpo 2026 · Review
ConExpo 2026 Round-Up
We are back from ConExpo-Con/Agg 2026 — and what a show it was. The industry has moved leaps and bounds since the last ConExpo in 2023, and the new advancements from each company were difficult to keep up with. Awesome Earthmovers has tried to condense the most exciting unveils and releases into one place.
John Deere
John Deere unveiled a suite of new machines at their pre-ConExpo event in Arizona last month. That said, their stand was still one of the most impressive at the show — a showcase of almost all their up-to-date models was on display, split into excavators, compact equipment, wheeled loaders and dump trucks. John Deere also gave special attention to their all-new training suite, which uses Mixed Reality headsets rather than full simulators to train both budding operators and engineers.
Deere also announced they would be giving away a choice of one of their all-new P-tier model excavators (the 210, 230 and 260) to any construction professional in the USA, as part of their "Building America" campaign for America's 250th anniversary.
Link-Belt
Link-Belt launched two new additions to the 220 series — the 145 X4S excavator and the 245 X4S excavator — both containing next-generation features such as precision grade machine-control kits and Link-Belt's new Wide Angle Visual Enhancement System.
Link-Belt also brought theatre to the desert with their excavator showdown — a test of skill for operators — as well as the "Pink-Belt" excavator: a 145 X4S which has been on a tour of the USA across the past year. At ConExpo-Con/Agg 2026, Pink-Belt was auctioned for charity, raising $220,000 (the entirety of the proceeds) for National Breast Cancer Foundation and CHI Saint Joseph Health Foundation's Yes, Mamm! programme. The Pink-Belt machine was bought by Rasmussen Equipment's Randy Gallegos.
Caterpillar
The CAT Global Operator Challenge once again concluded in Vegas, crowning Brian Hayden from the USA as the third Global Operator Champion. The other big prize — the Inaugural Global Dealer Technician Challenge Champion — went to British competitor Tom March, a Finning technician.
CAT also lent a large part of their show to the new CAT Command Centre and VisionLink modules, which are being rolled out with new machines. Machine control and tracking is the talk of the industry at the moment, with CAT leading the charge to create a symbiotic fleet of machines.
Komatsu
Komatsu treated the west-hall to a Williams F1-inspired display, with simulators and a 2025 racing car affixed to the wall of their stand. Machines-wise, it was dozers that stole the show. We spoke to Robert Hussey, product manager, about the global debut of the D175AX dozer:
"This machine has an all-new engine, putting out 450 hp, running a true four-speed transmission and a cab packed with features — ergonomically laid out and comfortable for long shifts." Robert Hussey · Product Manager, Komatsu
The Komatsu D61EX/PX-24 slant-nosed bulldozer has also been updated with the new cab and a more powerful engine.
Built Robotics
For the first time at ConExpo, American company Built Robotics had a fully autonomous live demonstration of one of their robots — the RPK 13 — which kits piles for use in solar construction. Attendees got to see firsthand the future of AI and autonomy, including a mega-screen of their software platform with a digital-twin model of the demo.
The all-new Built RPK-13 was announced at the show: the fully autonomous machine is capable of working on most sites with little to no operator assistance.
Bobcat
Bobcat Company revealed the next evolution of its compact loader lineup at ConExpo-Con/Agg 2026, introducing a series of upgraded machines designed to deliver improved performance, smarter technology and greater operator control. With seventeen new options boasting over thirty new features, the enhanced range expands the company's already extensive compact loader portfolio, offering contractors more choice and intuitive features designed to support operators of all experience levels.
Prinoth
Some would say Prinoth had the best stand at the show — we have to remain impartial. Prinoth's big unveiling came in the form of its new Panther T23r Crawler Carrier. The new flagship Panther T23r is the industry's largest and most technologically advanced rotating crawler carrier. The new model is the first to feature Prinoth's PowerForce undercarriage — a breakthrough design underpinning more than 20 patent applications — delivering unmatched terrain performance and operational efficiency.
Adorning the Prinoth stand was their entire lineup of crawler carriers, from the Raptor 60 to the showstopping T-REX 300. Prinoth also had on display examples of their high-reach vegetation management machines, including new technology by Jarraff.
Develon & Hyundai
Develon and Hyundai both made high-profile announcements at the show. Hyundai showed their next-generation HX line of crawler excavators — with a flourish, the all-new HX400 was unveiled when a large curtain dropped to reveal the new 40-tonne machine. Similarly, Develon (owned by HD Construction Equipment) also unveiled a new machine in dramatic fashion. The Develon DX400 is the first 40-tonne smart excavator built by the company and boasts enhancements of 21 per cent in maximum output and 19 per cent in torque relative to the preceding model.