Boral Windows introduces its Series 700 vinyl window which features an inverted J channel profile making it easier to install in retrofit applications.

The International Builders’ Show (IBS) opened Tuesday in Las Vegas and, as is customary, the crowds bustled into the Las Vegas Convention Center (into three mammoth halls), to see all categories of products on display—including doors and windows.

Boral Windows showed off its Series 700 vinyl, which can be used in replacement or new construction. The products feature an inverted J-channel profile that offers a cleaner appearance while making it easier to install in retrofit applications without tearing apart existing walls, according to the company.

David Decker, president of Boral, was excited to tell [DWM], “It gets a DP-50 rating right out of the box.”

Decker reports that attendees were pretty excited about the product. “We are hoping to start production on the first of March,” he explained.

As always, doors are a big part of IBS and this year was no exception. Neuma Doors introduced a direct-glaze door to its Neolite line, which is designed for dealers who pre-hang. Sold as a door kit, the product is geared to new construction.

“Basically, you can lift it off the pallet and screw it in,” said Michelle Bryant, marketing specialist.

In Weather Shield’s booth, the company showcased its NextGen contemporary sliding patio door, featuring minimal profiles—something customers are asking for, said Chris Schield, director of product marketing. With a 2-¼-inch-thick door panel, the product can expand into maximum panel widths of up to 5 feet and heights of up to 10 feet.

Schield adds that a particularly innovative feature includes a low-profile, high-performance 1-¼-inch sill that balances low sill height with water performance.

“This high level of water performance is achievable thanks to its wept sill design, which is engineered to channel water through the sill and away from the home,” he says.

Attendees gathered at the Continental booth to check out all its options including new colors for laminates.

Based on this year’s turnout for colors, darker tones remain a trend. While manufacturers indicate that black is still in high demand, Weather Shield unveiled a Bordeaux anodized finish—a deep red color that’s gaining attention.

“We are seeing darker colors in markets we never thought we would,” said Schield, naming Boston as one such example.

Marco Patermann with Continental, also suggests that darker colors are here to stay. His company works with door and window companies to supply laminates in a wide variety of colors.

“Jet black is still the best seller,” Patermann said, further suggesting that wood exteriors are growing in popularity as well.

ODL unveiled a prototype of its motorized blinds, and how an app could be used easily to control the blind at the touch of a button.

Continental added three colors to its woodec line that it’s showing off at this year’s event.

Moving to the trend of home automation, ODL has something pretty big coming in 2021, officials said. The company showed off a prototype of its motorized blinds.

“We believe this is the only 7/8-inch motorized blind that can be used in a window or patio door,” said Roger Finch, national marketing manager, retail and OEM channel.

The company showed attendees how an app could be used easily to control blinds at the touch of a button.

“The best spot for this is a patio door,” added Finch.

The company had other products to showcase as well. Zeel, its new door glass frame, was gaining a huge amount of attention from the mostly builder crowd, according to Amy Post, national marketing manager.

ODL’s Zeel, its new door glass frame, gained a huge amount of attention.

“Our customers were absolutely begging us for a product like this,” she said. “It installs easily through a clip system designed in-house … We have had amazing feedback. It’s our strongest material yet.”

For some companies, their trips to IBS were far from smooth sailing. Such was the case for Cornerstone Building Brands and Ply Gem Residential Solutions.

The company, which usually takes up massive floor space—about 5,000 square feet, in fact—didn’t have a booth this year due to an unfortunate turn of events.

“Our show partner went bankrupt,” said Mark Montgomery, senior vice president of marketing, U.S. windows and doors. Luckily, Cornerstone found a new company to house the booth for them but when they started to unpack it in July 2019, the company found that it had been trashed due to the bankrupt company’s haste in unloading materials.

“We made lemonade out of lemons,” said Montgomery.

How? The company was able to take meeting space in the convention center so it could still network with customers and talk about new products, trends and more.

Regarding trends, Montgomery agrees that a huge focus continues to be color.

“We paint. We laminate. We coextrude,” he said. “We continue to add color to our product offerings to help drive designs.”

Other trends he spoke to include a move to skinny triples, an increased focus on daylighting and a continued focus on the seamless transition from indoors to out.

For more new products and trends from IBS, look to dwmmag.com for future reports. The event continues through Thursday.