Nov. 23, 2011 - “Win-door is not the biggest show we go to, but it is
really important for us,” Kari Tamminga, a marketing specialist with WTS
Paradigm, says. “It is kind of the little big show.”
That seems like a fair way to characterize the 2011 edition of Win-door
that took place Nov. 15 through 17 at the Toronto Convention Centre.
While the crowds were not huge, there were enough people to generate
some bustle. The feeling of connections being made and deals going down
was in the air. Many exhibitors reported they had a great show, and the
usual grumbles about traffic did not rise above the level of background
noise. Overall, there was a sense of important things going on and
suppliers working hard to put their best feet forward. Those who were
not there missed out.
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Win-door attendance numbers were up from prior years.
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Show management estimated a 20 per cent increase in attendance over
2010, with exhibitor numbers staying steady. “Any time a trade show
keeps its numbers steady in this environment, it is a win,” show
chairman Matt Kottke remarked.
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Jeff Baker, Fenestration Canada's technical consultant, packed them in for his seminar on building codes.
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The talk of the show was the incredible popularity of the various
seminars put on by experts from Fenestration Canada, the Insulating
Glass Manufacturer’s Alliance, Altus Group and others. Fenestration
Canada technical consultant Jeff Baker’s discussion of upcoming building
code changes went beyond standing room only to the point where people
were crowded outside the lecture theatre and craning their necks to see
in.
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This was the scene outside Baker's presentation.
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Efforts were made to enlarge the theatre to accommodate more
attendees, but to no avail as the Thursday version of the talk also
overflowed into the show aisles. An aggravating outcome for those who
came too late to get a seat, no doubt, but a refreshing change from the
half-empty seminars that are all too common at trade shows these days.
Don’t look now, but relevant technical information from top industry
experts still has the power to draw a crowd, even in the Internet Age.
You can see more photos from Win-door 2011 on the Glass Canada Facebook page.
Related links
Glass Canada's Win-door 2011 Facebook album
Win-door
Fenestration Canada
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