Coverings 2006 Brings ‘Em In

ORLANDO, Fla. – When Coverings opens its doors in Chicago next April, it’s going to have a tough – and record-setting – act to follow.
This year’s four-day event here early last moth drew a record 33,649 registrants, showing a 4.4-percent increase from 2005 and part of a 24.4-percent growth trend in the past three years, says Tamara Christian, show director and president of event manager National Trade Productions (NTP) of Alexandria, Va.,
“Coverings attendance and this steadily progressive growth signals growing consumption of tile and stone products,” Christian says. “There is great cause for optimism in the industry right now.”
Stone played a large role in 2006’s record-setting attendance at Coverings, with 21.3-percent more stone fabricators than in 2005. Stone-and-tile distributors also increased their presence by more than 28 percent from the previous year.
In other attendance categories, remodeling contractors increased by almost 22 percent from 2005, and 10.4-percent-more commercial builders roamed the aisles at the Orange County Convention Center.
Specifier attendance also increased from the previous year, with architect figures rising 20.5 percent and interior designers by 9.2 percent. The count on dealers and retailers, meanwhile, increased 6.6 percent.
“Industry professionals have made Coverings the ‘must-attend’ show, and it’s now substantiated by hard, cold facts,” Christian says. “Repeatedly we heard from exhibitors and every category of attendee that, when it comes to seeing the newest and best-of-the-best in tile and stone, this is the place to be; nothing compares.
“Up and down the aisles business was being transacted daily and there was a palpable mood of excitement that the industry, itself, is thriving.”
Coverings featured more than 70 seminar programs, with many providing CEU credits for professionals. Reflecting the event’s international flavor, Coverings offered simultaneous translations from English to Italian or Spanish were offered in several of the programs. The Tile Council of North America and the National Tile Contractors Association also conducted live tile-and-stone installation demonstrations daily.
Nearly 1,200 exhibitors from 56 countries around the world offered stone and tile products on the show floor.
“This puts us at a very exciting crossroad,” Christian says. “We’re stronger than ever as we approach the 20th anniversary of Coverings as the show makes its move to Chicago and McCormick Place for 2007.
“We’re opening the door on new opportunities and broadening the reach of Coverings even further westward. It promises to be historic.”
Coverings will return to Orlando in 2008.