KBIS 2018 Draws 25,000+

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) helped form a city-in-a-convention here last week.

The Design & Construction Week, combining KBIS with the International Builders’ Show® (IBS), drew more than 85,000 attendees to the Orange County Convention Center on Jan 9-11.

Initial counts credit IBS with bringing approximately 60,000 to the trade-expo area, with KBIS contributing more than 25,000. All attendees accessed both shows in the convention center’s two main halls.

“Each and every year, a tremendous amount of work goes into making IBS an extremely valuable, can’t-miss event for anyone in residential construction,” said Geoff Cassidy, NAHB senior vice president of exhibitions and meetings. “And once again, the show was an incredible success with a palpable enthusiasm reflective of the momentum in the home building industry.”

In addition to meeting suppliers and seeing product demos throughout the three-day show, attendees networked with peers and attended any of more than 140 education sessions led by industry experts on a wide range of industry topics.

“After attending just two [education] sessions, I already found exactly what I came for,” said Walt Schumm, a custom home builder and president of C.D. LLC in Crestwood, Ky. “I’ve made several new connections with whom I think we’ll strike up business relationships. Plus, it’s really interesting to see a huge presence from Asian and European vendors on the show floor. The products they’ve got on display are just unbelievable.”

Next year, KBIS will be part of Design & Construction Week in Las Vegas on Feb. 19-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

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