Article reprinted from WESTERN ROOFING magazine March/April 2008.

2008 International Roofing Expo Recap

Thousands Gather in Las Vegas, Nevada, for 2008 IRE

by Marc Dodson, editor

With much fanfare, the International Roofing Expo (IRE) was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, February 21-23, 2008, and thousands of roofing professionals gathered from across the nation to attend the annual event. This was the fourth IRE, formerly the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) trade show, since the sale of the exposition to Hanley Wood. The NRCA is still actively involved in the event, holding their annual meetings, fund-raising tournaments, and awards dinner in conjunction with the conference. The association is also the official sponsor of the event.

According to Hanley wood, there were 442 exhibiting companies in 1,060 booths occupying 13,100 square feet of tradeshow convention space. Final attendance figures were not available at press time.

Once again, the exhibit floor was well attended, as were the numerous seminars. With 48 sessions, the conference program featured seven educational tracks addressing key roofing segments, including: technical, general business, leadership/management, sales and service, money matters, and workplace safety. Of the 48 sessions, almost all featured new topics, with five of last year’s most popular sessions repeated due to high demand. In addition, the spouse program offered 23 sessions for the involved spouses who are looking for ways to help manage and grow their family businesses. Capitalizing on the popular "green" movement, nine sessions addressed energy efficiency, green roofs, solar energy, and the green building movement.

Legendary NFL quarterback, Archie Manning, provided the keynote address, Principles for Success. Sharing personal anecdotes, he discussed the principles he used throughout his 15-year career for success, and what it takes to be a winner in any situation.

The tradeshow was held in the South hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center this year, which meant some noticeable differences; with only one main aisle, there was an inherent design flaw. Those exhibitors lucky enough to be located on that aisle were very pleased with the turnout. On the other hand, several of the exhibitors unlucky enough to be located away from the center saw little action and were vocal with their opinion.

The buzzword being touted throughout the tradeshow this year was “green.” Almost every company had some sort of green spin to their products. There were garden roofs, reflective roofs, lighter colors, special coatings, and solar panels, all designed to save energy. For some, however, going green was simply a matter of rewriting their brochures. If the forces of nature didn’t easily break down a product, it was “sustainable” and therefore green since it didn’t have to be replaced as often. If the product was easily broken down, then it was green because it was biodegradable. Some talked about their green manufacturing process. One manufacturer told us about the recycled hydroponic fluid used as a release agent (translation: they used water).

Demonstrations were the order of the day on the exhibit floor. Many companies took the opportunity to demonstrate their products and application right in their booths. Other exhibitors took advantage of the two large, bleachered demonstration arenas on the exhibit floor. The demo areas featured live demonstrations every few hours on the proper application of specific roofing materials from cold-applied, to peel-and-stick membranes, to equipment. The arena usually played to a good-sized crowd.

Next year, the IRE will once again be held in the West. The conference will held in the Mandalay Bay convention center in Las Vegas, February 3-5, 2009. •••