CBUSA Shines at the International Builder Show’s Diamond Anniversary

The 75th annual edition of the International Builder Show drew its biggest turnout in over a decade last month, and CBUSA was there to add some extra shine to its Diamond Anniversary. Over 67,000 home building professionals packed the exhibit halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center February 19th through the 21st to network with their peers, attend more than 130 education sessions led by industry experts, and check out the newest, most innovative building products at over 1,500 vendor booths.

“As the International Builders’ Show celebrates 75 years, it remains the premier event for the housing industry,” said Geoff Cassidy, NAHB senior vice president of exhibitions and meetings. “With the largest attendance in 10 years, we’re proving once again that IBS is the only place to experience such a diverse collection of innovative products, education sessions and networking opportunities all in one place.”

Since 2004, CBUSA was there to share our mission of building the country’s largest network of premiere independent homebuilders. Our presence has grown each year, and given the significance of this year’s show, we knew we had to do something extra special. Located in the nextBuild section, our new booth — designed by Zig Zibit — doubled in size from previous years and drew record attendance.

“This year’s International Builders Show was the busiest one I’ve seen in my 25 years of attending,” remarked CBUSA President Bill Smithers, “which was a great testament to the current health of the housing industry. CBUSA had a large presence at the show with nine members of our team on site working our booth, meeting with current and prospective builder members, and developing new and existing manufacturer relationships.”

The increase in independent builders intentionally stopping by to learn about our programs and membership benefits was a testimony to the reputation CBUSA has developed as our network has expanded to several more major U.S. markets since our first year at the show in 2016. And our partnership with GuildQuality drew even more interested builders who were excited to see if the promotional scratch-off cards they’d received were winners.

New CBUSA team member Megan Bosnjak — our National Contracts Manager — and Southeast Region President Phil Randolph did a stellar job meeting with current CBUSA manufacturer partners, as well as building relationships with potential new partners, to further enhance the programs we offer our members.

On the National Contracts front, we had meetings with dozens of leading manufacturers, and engaged in productive discussions about both new and existing agreements,” Smithers said. “It was very clear from our interaction with these companies that the importance of CBUSA’s business and our clout in the marketplace have grown substantially since our National Contracts Program launch in 2011. Our track record for performance tells a very powerful story, and the manufacturer community has responded favorably to our group’s show of buying power and brand commitment. We are excited to see such strong growth in this area of our business and know that it is one of the many things that is helping us to maintain our national position as the largest and most successful purchasing group in the residential sector.”

In addition to our booth at the show, CBUSA hosted a Happy Hour just steps from the convention center at Piero’s Italian restaurant that gave show attendees a chance to mix, mingle and network after a long day of visiting booths and taking continuing education courses. Despite the unusually cold, wet weather (including snow!) approximately 275 CBUSA members, prospects and manufacturer partners huddled together around heat lamps under a party tent to enjoy delicious food provided by Piero’s incredible staff, who made sure the event ran flawlessly from start to finish. We’d like to give a special thanks to our Happy Hour Sponsors Electrolux, Generac, Innovative Hearth Products, James Hardie, Lennox, National Paint Alliance, NOON homes, Studio 41, Wayne Dalton and Weyerhaeuser, and for making the evening so special.

“We were very honored to have nearly 300 builders take time out of their busy schedules to join our team at the 2019 CBUSA Happy Hour at Piero’s on Wednesday evening during the show,” Smithers emphasized. “It is a great time to be in the homebuilding industry, and we are proud of the success that our members have had through their work with CBUSA. Our team is looking forward to another great year in 2019 as we continue to raise our program to new heights.”

“The 2019 International Builders Show was a fantastic event for CBUSA,” echoed  Ryan Lipchek, CBUSA VP Sales and Marketing. “The energy at the show was extremely high.  It is a great time to be in homebuilding and we’re excited to help more first class builders across the country strengthen their bottom lines this year.”

Our team is already looking forward to next year’s show, set for January 21st through the 23rd, 2020. We’ll be back in our same space, SU1315, and will host another fantastic Happy Hour at Piero’s — we’re hoping to see you there! In the meantime, if you weren’t able to make it to this year’s show, you can check out photos from our booth and Happy Hour on our Instagram and Facebook pages. See you next year in fabulous Las Vegas!

Interested in joining our nationwide network of elite independent home builders and benefiting from everything a CBUSA membership has to offer? Don’t wait until next year’s show — you can schedule an appointment with us to talk about how CBUSA can help you save money and grow your business today! And for all the latest news and daily happenings, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

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Alyssa