The International Roofing Expo (IRE) takes place this week in Nashville, Tennessee, representing the preeminent roofing construction and maintenance event where roofing professionals experience face-to-face interaction, product review, education, and networking.
Sponsored by Informa Global Exhibitions, the event takes place from Monday, February 11, through Wednesday, February 13, at the Music City Center. Representatives of CoatingsPro Magazine will be on hand at booth #226.
The show floor and educational program provide opportunities to discover new trends, advances in technology, and best practices for business growth, according to event organizers.
Based on last year’s statistics, the majority of attendees are roofing contractors, while ~20 percent are agents of distributors or manufacturers and ~14 percent are firms involved in architecture, engineering, building, estimating, or specifying.
Trade Show Floor
The IRE’s trade show floor has completely sold out, topping out more than 151,800 square feet (14,102.7 m2) and more than 500 exhibitors. This marks the largest show floor in the event’s history.
Exhibiting companies will feature products and services spanning 40 categories, including adhesives, built-up roofing, coatings, fasteners, gutters, metal roofing, modified bitumen, roof/decking materials, roof pavers, shingles, skylights, slate, spray polyurethane foam, tile, vapor retarders, ventilation, walkways/ballast, waterproofing, and much more.
Exhibitors include companies such as American WeatherStar, BASF, Carlisle Construction Materials, Castagra Products, Inc., CertainTeed, Firestone Building Products, IPS Roofing Products, Kemper System, Icynene-Lapolla, Marco Industries, Lucas Coatings, Adhesives & Sealants, ICP Building Solutions Group, Metacrylics Roof Coatings, National Coatings Corp., Progressive Materials, LLC, Pro Guard Coatings, Tremco Roofing and Building Maintenance, Tropical Roofing Products, and numerous other industry leaders.
J.J. Watt, a star defensive lineman for the NFL’s Houston Texans, will be the special guest of GAF on the show floor on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at the company’s booth (#1401).
The show floor will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time on Monday and Tuesday, and from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
Educational Highlights
Meanwhile, IRE also includes a specialized educational conference program consisting of 122 education hours and 44 sessions. The sessions are broken down into “track” categories, with topics such as general business; technical; workplace safety; leadership/management; green building; money matters; sales/service; and legal/HR.
Sessions are specifically targeted to commercial/residential/metal contractors, owners/CEOs/general managers, superintendents/foremen, architects/designers/consultants, salesmen/estimators, manufacturers/suppliers, and building owners/facility managers.
The sessions include a roundtable discussion on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. local time on emerging business technology in the roofing industry, as well as a contractor-to-contractor technology innovation panel discussion at 7:45 a.m. on Wednesday.
More targeted opportunities relevant to coatings contractors can be found in the education tracks, with sessions examining topics such as the effective use of job hazard analysis (Monday); metal deck 101/metal deck replacement (Monday); the benefits of being proactive with preventative maintenance (Monday); understanding the long-term durability of roofing underlayments; understanding metal roofing (Tuesday); an update on the drone market (Tuesday); energy efficiency and roof design (Tuesday); a hands-on demonstration of a reinforced cold liquid-applied, waterproofing membrane (Tuesday); and decoding requirements for insulation in low-slope roof systems (Tuesday).
Meanwhile, highlights from Wednesday’s final day could be a discussion on R-value optimization for low-slope roofs; avoiding the most common business mistakes roofing companies make; and the benefits of using self-adhered membranes and vapor barriers in the commercial roofing industry.
Continuing education hours (CEUs) will be provided for many courses presented. The entire list of educational sessions, times, and show exhibitors can be accessed at the IRE’s website.
For more information, contact: IRE, (972) 536-6415, www.TheRoofingExpo.com