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April 29 – May 1, 2013. Coverings is billed as “the ultimate stone and tile experience”, and is known for connecting the people, products, innovations and education that go to make up the tile & stone industry. (The visual motif you saw everywhere was silhouette people made of tile and floor-covering patterns, all cheerfully chatting and shaking hands — or is that shaking tiles?) With more than 20,000 professionals attending Coverings 2013, there were plenty of new business leads and contacts to be made, for input into a variety of tile- or stone- related topics. Visitors could observe creative masterpieces being constructed onsite at Coverings, when NTCA Five Star contractors and Atlanta-area design firms were partnered to showcase the synergy between beautiful design and professional installation. You could watch a bar/lounge, hotel lobby, inpatient room in a women’s birthing center and a master bathroom being created from inception to completion right on the show floor. Whoops, don’t slip on those tiles…!
March 23-26, 2013. NDA ? Nope, not Notre Dame Academy. This NDA is the National Demolition Association. The running joke on these guys is that, for people involved in the “construction business”, they’re awfully destructive… and that they never saw a building their wrecking balls didn’t like. Actually they are a little-understood fraternity. Their penchant for blowing stuff up? Actually controlled explosions (or any other kind) account for only 1% of their operations. Destroyers of heritage sites? Actually they work awfully hard to make sure that condemned buildings topple the other way, so as to minimize damage to viable structures next to them. Landfill-hogs? Nope, these days it’s all about recycling. Unsophisticated brutes? Not so much; “A safe and successful demolition project requires an extensive working knowledge of both construction and the law”. And speaking of demolition, there are a whole lot of other misconceptions that this industry would like to “demolish”…
February 14-19, 2013. NUCA is the National Utility Contractors Association — the leading trade association working for the utility construction and excavation industry in the United States. NUCA’s nationwide network of state/regional chapters and member companies represent utility contractors, excavators, suppliers, manufacturers, and other providers in the water, sewer, gas, electric, telecommunications, treatment plant, and excavation industries. NUCA is the driving force for improving conditions in the utility construction and excavation industry, for both open-cut and trenchless contractors. The Association’s core purpose is to improve the operational proficiency and financial performance of its member companies by providing services that focus on shared industry issues. NUCA also works to secure more funding for America’s aging underground infrastructure. In keeping with the Old West theme adopted for 2013, the show was subtitled “Dig Out Of Recession Canyon”. Here’s your pick and spade, pardner…
February 6-8, 2013. The Northeastern Retail Lumber Association (NRLA) was established in New York in 1894 by a small group of pioneering lumbermen who recognized the value of cooperation (and could see the wood from the trees). These are people on a mission: to promote and support investment, education, and research related to, and for the benefit of, the lumber and building material dealers, their employees, customers, and the general public. Today the NRLA has 1,150 members. The association represents independent lumber and building-material suppliers and associated businesses in New York and the six New England states. Education seems to be one aspect distinguishing the independent lumber dealer from the rest, and has continued to be major focus. This year NRLA’s education team produced 21 seminars and webinars, launched an NRLA Facebook page, and built a new small dealer roundtable. Whad’ya mean, what’s the round table made of? This is a lumber association, Mac…
January 31 – February 2, 2013. This show was billed as the Green Convention of the Americas, and it featured green building, solar clean tech, and much more besides. The MiaGreen Expo & Conference claims to be the only event in the United States providing access to the ever-growing, non-stoppable green, renewable and sustainable markets for ALL the Americas. (Miami is a well-known stopping-off point for countries to the South of the USA, i.e. pretty much the whole of Latin America). MiaGreen has, we heard, developed as the one-stop, all-inclusive, interactive conference and marketplace for sustainability, combining a major trade show with leading-edge educational and networking programs, with a huge range of Machinery, Equipment and Tools serving the above-mentioned categories. American enterprises dominated, with 80% US and 20% Latin America and Caribbean participation. Remember, green is the color of money…
January 28-30, 2013. AHR? It sounds like what the Pirate King would say as he opens his treasure chest. But no, seeing the acronym above the registration desk means you made it to the International Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Expo. The drive for greater energy efficiency, greener products and sustainable technologies has, we heard, accelerated the pace at which new AC and heating products and innovations are coming to market. In this challenging economy, these professionals must also be more innovative in their businesses, or risk getting left behind. Present were over 1,800 manufacturers and suppliers of the latest HVACR systems, equipment, products and services. Attendees included Mechanical & Plumbing Contractors, Facility & Operations Management and Building Owners, Consulting, Project & Design Engineering types, folk from Public Utilities and Government Agencies… Is it just me, or is it chilly in here? I’m heading for the heating end of this jamboree…
January 11-13, 2013. Precast? Precast what? Well, precast concrete, since you ask. This was the show for precasters and suppliers of products, equipment and services to make the stuff, and incorporate it into building projects. Precast concrete, we heard, “offers an almost endless variety of products and design options for both above ground and underground construction. From the largest infrastructure projects to the smallest architectural details, precast is one of the most versatile and sustainable building materials available for today’s fast-paced, environmentally conscious construction”. The strength of precast concrete apparently increases little by little over time, while other materials can deteriorate, experience creep and stress relaxation, and lose their strength over time. “Build for keeps” was the message here…
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