More than 81,000 builders, remodelers, developers and other home building professionals filled the exhibit halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) hosted the 81st NAHB International Builders’ Show (IBS), the largest annual light construction show in the world, Feb. 25-27. This marks the largest show in 17 years.
Attendees visited more than 1,800 exhibitors – including 750 new exhibitors – over 728,000 net square feet, exploring innovative building products and technology to advance the industry and enhance new homes.
“This year’s show surpassed our high expectations for attendance, exhibit space and educational opportunities,” said NAHB Chief Revenue Officer Geoff Cassidy. “Attendees saw the latest trends in home technology and resilience, and the latest advancements in building techniques.”
“There are a lot more people here this year, and they really did a good job of organizing like-vendors together to make it easier to check out the same kind of products,” said Josh Deal, a home builder at JNJ Enterprises in McKinney, Texas.
“Traffic has been incredible. We’re having great conversations, and everyone’s been super engaged,” noted Sarah Caperton, director of siding innovation and commercialization at LP Building Products.
This year also marked the 12th anniversary of Design & Construction Week® (DCW), the co-location of IBS and the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. DCW drew over 124,000 attendees, and nearly 2,500 exhibitors occupied over 1.2 million net square feet of indoor and outdoor exhibits.
IBS attendees enhanced their industry knowledge by attending any of more than 120 education sessions led by experts on a wide range of industry topics, including artificial intelligence, building technology, research and trends. Two demo zones featured live demonstrations of trending topics in residential construction, allowing building professionals to learn best practices for building more durable, efficient, higher-quality homes.
Attendees also took advantage of numerous networking events throughout the week and visited The New American Home™ that showcased cutting-edge building techniques, high-performance design, and the latest products and trends.
“There was so much to see and do, but the education was especially valuable. Each session had several really good nuggets of information that you can take and apply to different markets,” said first-time IBS attendee Ryan Darmetko, sales manager at Eastwood Homes in Charlotte, N.C. “We knew the show was going to be big and busy, but it was all very well organized and 100% worth the investment of coming.”
Next year, DCW will take place in Orlando, Feb. 17-19. Learn more about the show at www.BuildersShow.com.
