GlassBuild America Concludes with Low Attendance

GlassBuild America took place last week (March 10-12) in San Diego, co-sponsored by the National Glass Association, Glass Association of North America, American Architectural Manufacturers Association, the Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance and the Bath Enclosure Manufacturers Association. The event included a three-day trade show as well as a number of seminars and demonstrations.

While the show floor was heavy with exhibitors, it was light with attendee traffic. A number of companies complained about the lack of attendance.

"Based upon the success that we enjoyed at GlassBuild's inaugural show (Atlanta 2003), we were somewhat disappointed in the San Diego show," said Matt Kottke, advertising and promotions coordinator for Truth Hardware. "While we did have a number of 'quality' visits with customers/prospects at our booth - the 'quantity' of these attendees was less than what we had anticipated."
Others echoed that sentiment of quality over quantity.

Sashlite exhibited at the show and Bob Hornung, president, said although traffic was lighter than expected, interest in the Sashlite system was tremendous.

"People were saying to me, 'I can't wait to come by and see it,'" said Hornung. "They've been hearing all about it and now they want to see it … People are blown away."

On the machinery side, exhibitors echoed the fact that traffic was slow but that didn't stop the people who did stop by from purchasing equipment.

Billco, Urban and Sash Systems were a few of the companies who reported selling machines at GlassBuild.

Some exhibitors, however, did say that the show really had more of a regional focus because of its San Diego location.

"This is supposed to be a national show and it's regional," said Gina Harrison of Screen Center Sales. "We won't come again."

Kottke added that San Diego is actually an excellent place to hold a show in terms of hotels, restaurants, proximity to the airport, convention center and the southern California climate.

"That being said, its hard to explain why the attendance fell short of our pre-show expectations," he said.

Looking ahead to 2005, GlassBuild America is scheduled to take place in Atlanta March 22-24.

A complete re-cap of GlassBuild America 2004 will be featured in the May issue of DWM magazine.