Alexandria, VA, May 12--Coverings announced that the number of registered attendees at the 2005 show, held from May 3 - May 6 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, was 32,228. This figure reflects a 10 percent increase in registered attendees from Coverings 2004, making this the second consecutive year of double-digit growth and the highest attendance on record.
"We are thrilled by the overwhelming response wefve received and the increase in numbers across virtually all key industry segments," says Tamara Christian, Coveringsf show director and president, National Trade Productions. "These numbers prove that once again, Coverings is the place where tile and stone professionals from around the world come to do business. Wefve certainly raised the bar and our team is already looking ahead to make Coverings 2006 another year to remember."
"Coverings is the show to drive sales," says Joe Still of Proflex Products, Inc., Accord, N.Y. gOur on-site team made an enormous amount of contacts and they closed the show with a huge number of leads to pursue. Proflex will definitely be a part of next yearfs show!h
This sentiment was echoed by Johnnie Howard of Calypso Water Jet Systems, Dallas. gThis year we nearly doubled our booth size at Coverings and the traffic was quite impressive! Within the first two days of the show we had virtually sold every piece of machinery that we brought with us „Ÿ thatfs more than $450,000 in equipment! What more could we ask for?h
National Trade Productions registration data showed significant growth in five key industry categories as the reason behind the record attendance at Coverings 2005. This data shows a 25 percent increase over last year among installers, followed by tile and stone specifiers, who were 17 percent above 2004 numbers. Dealers and retailers were close behind with a 15 percent jump, while fabricators and contractors representation increased by 10 percent and 7 percent respectively.
In addition, data from Coverings 2005 showed attendance from all 50 U.S. states and 90 other countries. While 86 percent of attendees live in the United States, another nine percent traveled from elsewhere in the Americas. Representatives from Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania made up five percent of the total show attendance.
