Builders’ Show draws enthusiastic crowd

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Orlando—An optimistic home building industry filled the exhibit halls of Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) hosted one of the largest turnouts in recent years at the NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS) Jan. 9-11.

Home building professionals from around the world attended this year’s IBS–the biggest component of the annual Design & Construction Week®, which also includes the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS). The combined events drew more than 85,000 attendees. Of that total, about 60,000 were IBS registrants.

“Each and every year, a tremendous amount of work goes into making IBS an extremely valuable, can’t-miss event for anyone in residential construction,” said Geoff Cassidy, NAHB senior vice president of exhibitions and meetings. “And once again, the show was an incredible success with a palpable enthusiasm reflective of the momentum in the home building industry.”

Exhibit space for IBS also expanded from last year’s 569,000 square feet to this year’s 583,000 square feet, where more than 1,500 exhibitors displayed the latest in building products and technology. Many of the exhibitors noted the increased foot traffic this year.

“The show is back and we were extremely busy all week,” said Vicki Frye, director of corporate marketing for Ply Gem, a leading manufacturer of vinyl, steel and composite siding. “People are eager to know what’s new, so we had a lot of fun showing them a wide variety of real products for real projects, from entry-level and do-it-yourself, to higher price point homes.”

In addition to meeting suppliers and seeing product demos throughout the three-day show, attendees networked with peers and attended any of more than 140 education sessions led by industry experts on a wide range of industry topics.

“After attending just two [education] sessions, I already found exactly what I came for,” said Walt Schumm, a custom home builder and president of C.D., LLC in Crestwood, Ky. “I’ve made several new connections with whom I think we’ll strike up business relationships. Plus, it’s really interesting to see a huge presence from Asian and European vendors on the show floor. The products they’ve got on display are just unbelievable.”

Next year, IBS and Design & Construction Week will be held in Las Vegas Feb. 19-21, 2019.

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