The BAM team was at NAHB’s International Builders’ Show® (IBS) in Vegas to explore the latest and greatest innovations in the building industry. The massive three-day event for industry professionals had an expansive sea of products, workshops and concepts designed to help enhance our business moving forward. All together, there were over 110,000 builders, general contractors, designers, flooring and remodelling professionals, and product suppliers from around the globe.
There were lots of really interesting exhibitors, and demos. We had a chance to check out an immersive virtual reality platform, which allowed us to explore an upscale loft using a VR headset. I’ve written about this in the past, so it was impressive to see it in action. As this year’s show shared a location with the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, there was a ton of kitchen design and organizational elements on display, such stylish built in pizza stoves, and pot/utensil storage solutions. It was also interesting to see the way kitchen design on a whole was changing. It seems as though trends are leaning towards kitchens that have unique elements to them, rather than kitchens that look as though they were all made in the same place at the same time. An example is that rather than granite countertops, there is a rise in other materials, such as concrete, and more bold colours being introduced. On a whole, there seemed to be many home innovations that merely made people’s everyday lives better, and made their homes more functional. From window technology, standing dryers that let you hang clothes and press pants, dual washing machines that let you do two loads at once – to intelligent, smaller scale items, like wall plugs that have USB charging capability, and built-in night-lights.
We also got a chance to see lots of unique design and display options and meet with interesting suppliers. It was exciting to learn – and reinforce – that BAM was already on top of many of the current trends. It’s a testament to our innovation and a great thing to share with our clients, who trust our expertise. It was also inspiring to know that large portions of the technology offerings at the show were from Canadian companies.
It was nice to see so many of our Canadian friends in attendance. In fact, on the night that the BAM team landed in Las Vegas, we spent the evening with some great BILD members, including Bryan Tuckey and Paul Golini, who were celebrating the Canadian nominees at the National Sales and Marketing Council Awards.
Overall, it was a great show – and a great time. We can hardly wait until Orlando 2017!
JohnAmardeil.com 