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Concrete Homes Newsletter
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Concrete Homes Newsletter > 2005 > March/April
March/April 2005
The New American Home 2005 Makes Its Debut
The New American Home 2005, the official Show Home of the National Association
of Home Builders (NAHB) made a grand debut at the recent 2005 International
Builders Show in Orlando. The Portland Cement Association (PCA) and the Florida
Concrete and Products Association (FCPA) played a major role in this year’s
home by coordinating concrete product donations and providing technical expertise.
FCPA members that donated ready-mixed concrete and/or concrete masonry units
include Cemex USA, Holcim, Florida Rock Industries, Rinker Materials, RMC
Industries and Tarmac. Additional concrete products were provided by Cast-Crete
Corporation, which supplied precast concrete lintels and Hanson Roof Tiles.
Builder Kim Goehring of Goehring and Morgan Construction, Inc., boasts that
TNAH is the "safest home in Orlando." That just might be true,
as the 9,036 sq ft home weathered three hurricanes in the fall and during
construction with barely a hitch. First floor concrete masonry framing is
just one safety component of the home that came into play during the hurricanes.
The New American Home 2005 is clad with Portland cement stucco and concrete
roof tiles, providing additional protection against Mother Nature.
The home's exterior leans heavily on concrete for its artistic side.
Decorative concrete pavers adorn the centrally focused courtyard, and concrete
masonry retaining walls help fulfill the Mediterranean architectural theme.
The home was toured by thousands of attendees of the Builders Show, which
took place January 13-16 at the Orange County Convention Center. After
the Show, Goehring and Morgan Construction opened up the home for public
tours,
with the proceeds being donated to a local charitable organization.
For
more information about The New American Home, visit PCA's online
pressroom at www.cement.org or
the official TNAH website at www.TNAH.org.
Builders’ Show Attendance, Quality Is Impressive
Record size Concrete Pavilion helpful to attendees
Everything about the International Builders’ Show is big: the amount
of exhibit space, the number of attendees, the effort and resources put into
most of the booths, etc. It’s a daunting task to host such a show,
but imagine if you’ve never done it before. Orlando found itself in
that exact position for the 2005 IBS. The show met the challenge head-on.
The IBS has grown so large that one convention center will no longer accommodate
all the companies looking to exhibit. For those who have gone to previous
shows in Las Vegas, this is no surprise. But Orlando’s Orange County
Convention Center (OCCC) is one long, enormous building, with over a million
square feet of exhibit space. Then, to plan for the growth of future shows,
or to hold multiple shows simultaneously, there is a twin building right
across the street. The 2005 IBS encompassed all of the OCCC, and part of
the twin building. (Next year’s show is expected to fill both.) Michael
Currier of NAHB reports that the 2005 show covered 1.5 million square feet,
with 887,000 square feet of that being exhibit space.
The PCA Concrete Pavilion was a record 11,650 square feet, with 37 companies
displaying their products. Many attendees commented on the convenience of
having everyone grouped together. With a show so vastly spread out, they
found it helpful to get their information and answers in one central location
instead of wandering from place to place.
The 2004 IBS set a record with almost 105,000 attendees. Projections
for the 2005 IBS were slightly lower, with some NAHB staff estimating a
total attendance of 90,000. To everyone’s delight, Orlando drew 104,000
attendees, coming very close to the record of the previous year.
And for members of the Concrete Pavilion, the quality of the attendees
was equally, if not more, impressive. David Wilkes of Precise Forms said, “We
were extremely pleased with the quality, quantity and diversity of attendees
that visited us at the show. We already have orders in production from
leads and contacts that were established at the show.” Chris Earl
of Logix echoed those sentiments, saying “The quality of the conversations
I was having was much higher than any other year. They were ready to build.”
The Official Guide to the Concrete Pavilion, published by Concrete
Homes magazine (PCI), was sent out to select, pre-registered attendees, as well
as the normal subscriber base. In addition, 2,500 Guides were available
on the show floor. “The Guide gives each Pavilion Partner wonderful
visibility, and also gives our magazine great exposure at an ideal venue.
It’s a win-win for everybody,” said Gary Pittman Sr., managing
partner of Concrete Homes magazine. Some Pavilion Partners had drawings
or giveaways, others had hospitality suites for after-hours networking,
and one day an ice cream vendor was hired to attract attendees to the Pavilion.
While Orlando experienced some growing pains in the form of traffic
congestion, and the weather was a little cooler than everyone expected,
there was plenty of room for exhibitors and attendees alike. Overall,
the city did a fine job for its inaugural effort. See you there next
year!
Industry Volunteers Are Appreciated
PCA would like to thank all the industry volunteers who helped staff the
PCA booth at the 2005 International Builders’ Show. Without them, our
presence at the show would have been far less fruitful and our impact on
the building community diminished.
Concrete Pavilion Volunteers |
John Arroyo |
NWCPG |
Ray Pisaneschi |
Lehigh White |
Jason Brewer |
Lehigh White |
Cathy Sauerwine |
Lehigh White |
Gene DeBolt |
Cemex |
John Seil |
Hanson Permanente |
Ron DeLeenheer |
Ash Grove |
Lori Tiefenthaler |
SECA |
Steven French |
Cemex |
Thomas Tietz |
CNCPC |
Robert Lopez |
CCT |
Bethany Walker |
RMCPC |
Frank LoRe |
Lafarge North America |
James Willson |
ACA |
John Love |
GCPA |
Michael Young |
SCCPA |
Ray McVeigh |
GLCPA |
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World of Concrete Recap
An expanded bookstore-styled booth brought PCA's most popular titles to
the show floor at this year's World of Concrete. Topping the best seller
list was PCA's newest book, Concrete Floors and Moisture. Its introduction
at World of Concrete coincided with a popular seminar presented by
CTL's Howard Kanare, who also authored the book. PCA also featured
its new guide
to the design and construction of pervious concrete pavement, along
with a display demonstrating the product. Show organizers predicted
attendance of
more than 70,000 people at the annual event.
PCA's director of sustainable development David Shepherd presented a seminar
on Tuesday, January 18, at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas. Titled “Concrete
Thinking,” the presentation looked at the various influences in sustainable
construction and how cement and concrete provide solutions. Shepherd also
outlined what the industry is doing to improve the manufacturing process,
material formulations, and in-place applications for sustainable development.
“The green building movement is here to stay,” said Shepherd.
He contends that for the cement and concrete industries, there is much
to be done. Shepherd will present similar discussions, notably at Conexpo-Con/Agg
2005 scheduled March 15-19, also in Las Vegas. For more information,
please contact David Shepherd.
PCA chief economist Ed Sullivan reviewed the U.S. Construction and Cement
Outlook for 2005 before the media gathered at the World of Concrete in Las
Vegas on Tuesday, January 18. As cement intensities have increased and concrete’s
competitiveness relative to steel has grown, Sullivan predicts demand for
cement will remain strong, climbing 3 percent in 2005.
By the second half of 2005, Sullivan expects residential construction to
climb down from its record levels, but remain historically strong.
Nonresidential activity should be clearly in recovery and significant
changes in public
spending should emerge. The small declines in residential will be offset
by modest gains in nonresidential and public construction. For more information,
please contact Ed Sullivan.
ICFA Spring Meeting and Expo Coming to Denver
Join the Insulating Concrete Form Association and its members in Denver,
Colorado at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center, May 16-18, 2005 as it meets
for its Annual Spring Meeting and Expo.
The meeting is filled with exciting sessions, including:
- "The Magic of Exceptional Customer Service" - Doug Lipp, former
head of training at Disney Studio's Walt Disney University
- "Reaching the Home Builder" - Dawn Faull, Manager, National
Association of Home Builders Concrete Home Building Council
- "Promoting ICFs in the Commercial Market" - Dan Huffman, National
Resource Director, National Ready-Mixed Concrete Association
- "Profiting from Commercial Building"
- and much, much more!
ICFA is also expanding the limits of its expo by holding demonstrations
of the latest and most used products in the ICF industry. From acrylic finishes
to steel floor joists, come to the ICFA Expo to see the hottest products.
ICFA realizes that networking is an important part of any industry meeting
and has several events planned to help you meet and learn from your
peers, including an exciting night of baseball. Join in the fun as
we watch the
San Francisco Giants take on the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
Learn more by visiting www.forms.org. Thanks to the ICFA Informer for this article.
NAHB's University of Housing Admits Concrete
The Concrete Home Building Council (CHBC) of the National Association of
Home Builders (NAHB) conducted successful pilot programs of two educational
programs that will become a part of NAHB’s University of Housing Educational
Programs.
“Cast-In-Place Concrete Foundations” (4 hours) and “Introduction
to ICFs for the General Contractor” (8 hours) were developed by CHBC,
Portland Cement Association, Concrete Foundations Association (CFA) and Insulating
Concrete Form Association (ICFA).
CFA Executive Director Ed Sauter taught the foundations course, and Pieter
VanderWerf of Building Works Inc., taught the ICF program. Both courses were
hosted by the Kalamazoo, Michigan HBA. More than 20 builders, contractors
and industry representatives attended each program.
The courses are designed to be used by any local homebuilders’ association.
For more information, please contact Dawn Faull, program manager for the
CHBC, at (202) 266-8362.
Thanks to Concrete Monthly for this article.
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