Coverings Sets Fla. Record

In 2006, NTP announced 33,649 registrants for that year’s Coverings.
“We knew it was a challenge to try and repeat or top the numbers we achieved last year in Chicago, where attendance hit close to 37,000,” said Glenn Feder, president of client events for NTP. “But, this year’s number has to be interpreted as a bellwether for the building industry; though there’s a slowdown, there’s no standstill.”
NTP noted that the Remodeling/Contractor and the Commercial Builder sectors showed large increases in attendance from the 2006 event, rising 56.6 percent and 41 percent, respectively. The total attendees registering as Architects and Designers increased from 2007 by 40 percent; last year, in Chicago, it grew by 87 percent.
Coverings’ first regional show, aimed at the architect/designer/distributor market, went into limbo, however, when the event’s board of directors decided to postpone the L.A. Boutique set for the Long Beach Convention Center on Nov. 19-20. No new date has been set.
“We know we’ve disappointed many exhibitors who had signed on for November,” Feder said, “but the board agreed that it would be prudent to hold off until the economic climate is a little calmer and more-stabilized.”