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Show Report
The Start of Something Big
The inaugural World of Hurricane Protection Trade Show and Conference
brings the industry together in a dedicated two-day event.
By Howard Shingle
Photography by Jim Robinette
|
 The
hurricane protection industry reached another milestone this spring
as dealers, manufacturers, suppliers, testing and consulting firms
and governmental agencies gathered for the first event dedicated solely
to hurricane protection. The industry’s first trade show and
conference, The World of Hurricane Protection, was held April 26 and
27 at the Ft. Lauderdale Convention Center, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The
event was sponsored by the International Hurricane Protection Association
(IHPA) and produced by Hurricane Protection magazine.
The inaugural World of Hurricane Protection Show was a solid success
with overall attendance reaching approximately 660 and with nearly
50 exhibitors showcasing the latest and best products available in
some 10,000-square feet of exhibit space. Products ran the gamut from
nuts and bolts to storm panels, shutters of every type and make, impact
resistant glass, tools, motorization and business software.
 Accompanying
the trade show was a schedule of seminars covering Florida’s
new unified building code, insurance issues, product testing and marketing
and sales techniques.
FIRST EVENTS
Exhibitors began arriving on Wednesday, April 24 to begin setting
up booths, and the trade show floor began taking shape. Set-up was
completed on Thursday, which also saw the event’s first official
festivities, a golf tournament sponsored by the IHPA at the Jacaranda
Golf Club.
That evening a Welcome VIP Reception was held on the poolside patio
at the Marriott Marina Hotel, the official host hotel for the show,
from 7 until 9 p.m. Approximately 200 exhibitors, IHPA board members
and show speakers and staff attended the reception.
The trade show and conference began in earnest Friday morning with
a question-and-answer panel discussion. The panel included Joe Belcher,
BRB Code Educators; A. Roland Holt, P.E., C.B.O., Building Official,
Palm Beach County; Raul Rodriguez, Miami Dade County Product Control;
and Frank Storms, IHPA president. The discussion was attended by 75
people and covered many of the complexities and questions arising
from Florida’s new Unified State Building Code.
Additional seminars were held on Friday morning. Topics covered included
Highlights of the Wind-load Provisions of the Florida Building Code,
by Joe Belcher, BRB Code Educators; Product Testing, by George Dotzler,
Construction Testing Corp.; Product Safety & Liability Issues
by Steve Buzzella, MetalTech, and attorney Alex C. Michel, Esq.; and
Relationship Selling for the 21st Century—How to Build a Money
Machine by Michael Stahl.
Following the seminars an official ribbon-cutting ceremony opened
the show at 10 a.m. Frank Storms, IHPA president, and Kerri Caldwell,
associate publisher of Hurricane Protection magazine, welcomed attendees
onto the trade show floor.
There, visitors were treated to a grand array of products and services
for the hurricane protection industry. Among the many highlights,
George Dotzler, Construction Testing Corp., provided live test firings
of a cannon that shoots a nine-foot two-by-four at storm panels, and
Poma Corp. attracted attention to its booth with its brightly painted
Indy car, which the company sponsors. At the end of show hours, a
reception was held in the exhibit hall.
MORE SEMINARS
Saturday featured a second schedule of seminars that included Surviving
the Insurance Crisis with Don Leggett, Bouchard Insurance Agency;
Product Approval with V. John Knezevitch, P.E., Knezevich and Associates,
Inc. and LZA Technology; Marketing on a Shoestring Budget with John
Palumbo, Sterling Group; and The Art of Closing the Deal and Up-selling
for Big Profits with Michael Stalh.
Attendees returned to the trade show floor on Saturday as well. The
show concluded at 4 p.m. and exhibits were dismantled at that time.
Besides the golf tournament and the Welcome Reception on Thursday,
there were plenty of other activities for show-goers outside the exhibit
hall. On Friday evening, Eastern Metal held an invitation-only reception
that attracted 100 guests. Poma also had a private reception at one
the area’s nearby hotels.
Planning is under way for the World of Hurricane Protection’s
2003 event, which will be held again in Ft. Lauderdale in the spring. |
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