Greenbuild 2010 proved to be once again a success. I always seem to run out of time when trying to blog or get to see other industry booths etc, and the week was over before you know it. At least this year the swine flu was no going around and I came home as healthy as i left (unlike last year in Phoenix) We had numerous conversations with people from all types of professional backgrounds and while building in general is slowing, the construction that is going on is focused on energy savings and building a sustainable high performing building.

Greenbuild 2010 was a bit different in the booth this year than previous years. We spent more time answering specific, advanced questions than questions on what insulated concrete forms are, which was a common theme the last couple years. It is showing that ICFs are mainstream in the larger markets and are playing and increasingly popular role when owners and designers demand a premium building enclosure.

Importance on Energy Reduction

Folks across the board are understanding, while insulating concrete forms and thermal mass aren’t as “glamorous” as solar power and wind turbines, they are equally if not MORE important to the concept of energy efficiency and net-zero. You can’t worry about creating energy when you are using to much in the first place, so tackle first thing first- REDUCE ENERGY USE!

It seemed in 2010 most of the vendors were focused on energy saving techniques and products they are made from renewable resources as well as unique forms of solar and rain water harvesting. But by no means was the focus on wind mills and photovoltaic. There was numerous new materials and services to help cut through the clutter of “green-washing” and I think overall people get the nuts and bolts of being green, not just the fluffy stuff.

GreenBuild Toronto

So next year we will make the trek to Toronto and see what that market can bring to the table. Not sure why Toronto right now, since there are plenty of US cities to go to and it is the “United States” Green Building Council, but we will see how it goes. We do some decent business up that way and see further growth potential in that market. Until then check us out at World of Concrete in 2011 or any of our another trade shows coming up.

GreenBuild 2010 all aboard. Year 2 of Reward exhibiting at the show, alongside fellow brethren of ICF companies. Today the show started and traffic has been heavy all day with many young adults starting their career in leading the sustainability efforts at their firms. Everyone coming by the booth has been fully aware of insulating concrete forms and are even familiar with our Reward brand!

Reward has seen numerous familiar faces, some regional customers and distributors, as well as the media frenzy that comes with the territory. Our marketing coordinator was a popular man for awhile, apparently everyone has ad space to sell.

Highlights from Day 1

Actually its day two for us as they had a “soft opening” yesterday which failed miserably, how there are extreme difference in the clientele and the booths compared to last year.

1. People are definitely big city people, I can’t get through a conversation without someone recommending a place to eat. Leave it to the local to promote their town, so far they have led us in the right direction. (Off to Gino’s East tonight)
2. Companies seem bigger and the booths seem more invested in. Last year their were numerous small booths, this year I see the same folks with double the booth space. Business must be good in a few areas; a particular vendor I spoke with last year had quadrupled their size because 2010 was such a success.
3. Stories across the floor have been mixed but definitely positive all around. Everyone that is here is optimistic about 2011. Nice to hear the optimism especially surrounded by media that glorifies and promotes the dismal state of seemingly everything. There are success stories and growth opportunities still presenting themselves in this environment.

Here are  few pictures of our booth, including our new award for the NoricF4 Custom Metal ICF frame which is now the 2010 Reader’s Choice Award through ED+C magazine. This is the 2nd consecutive year a Reward product has won the award showing our customer bases dedication to our products and the new innovative products Reward brings to market. Enjoy and I’ll push through a wrap up tomorrow on the blog as well, so be sure to check out!

GreenBuild Expo in Chicago, IL

We are about 2 weeks away from the GreenBuild Expo in Chicago, IL. This is one of the largest, most influential green shows out there, and we definitely wanted to be a part of it, as this industry is about to explode. A couple Reward employees will be working our show booth and hopefully meeting some customers, builders, and industry professionals who are ready to commit to building sustainable structures. We are looking forward to meeting folks who understand the solution to of our country’s energy issues starts with REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION.

If you are planning on going please stop by our booth (1990) and say “hi”. If you still haven’t registered, contact us directly and I can get you some free conference passes! All I need is your name, your title, and an email address.

After the amazing turnout and feedback we received from last years show in Phoenix, we are expecting bigger and better things from this year, especially since it is in the great city of Chicago. We have some beautiful ICF projects in the area as well, I may need to swing by and see them in person!

I will attempt again to bring you some news “From the Show Floor.” I want to focus on any interesting people, products, or brief recaps of overall conversations of people coming by our booth.

Quick Recap:

-GreenBuild Expo November 17-19 Chicago, IL

-Reward Wall Systems Booth 1990

-Call Us at 1-800-468-6344 if you want free passes to Show

-Blog Updates “From the Show Floor”

It was pointed out I put the wrong dates in our newsletter that was just sent out, forgive me and the dates posted on this blog are correct and I updated the online version to reflect changes as well.

Green building

With insulating concrete forms

Whew what a week. Awesome show, great networking opportunities, and hopefully some followup that will expand our network even further. We met quite a few architects and designers using Reward ICFs in the area. We learned some projects won regional awards throughout the country. I’m following up with those individuals to get some more information to showcase to everyone here on aBlog.

I had the opportunity to walk all billion and a half square feet (seemed like that) and checked out a bunch of new products and some companies I never knew existed. There were some interesting booths going on as well:

A flooring company who hired a Yoga instructor and did yoga in the booth. Didn’t quite get that one, but her poses were interesting.

ASU had a booth with a pretty cool setup, caught my eye anyway.

Below is a pic of a design firm who hired caricature artists to draw people as they talked with reps from the company. No I did not get drawn…I had half billion more feet to cover.

-AutoDesk’s booth made all of their exhibit out of corrugated paper rolls, wonder if they designed the booth using BIM?

-The main sponsor of the whole event had, hands down,  the best enter to win prize out of all 1100+ exhibitors. Even cooler than the Vespa Scooters, cash prizes, and iPods. This picture describes it all. I want that in my living room. Yes that’s Urinal plumbwork.

There was also a fully interactive hospital room, the nurses were not real though.

And to show the commitment to recycling at the show, and all around the city as well, this trash can was manned by a recycling “facilitator”. I didn’t dare throw paper in the plastic bin.

So the week is over and sadly I must leave all the sun and the 90 degrees and get ready to hunker down for the winter here in Omaha. It was a little dreary of an exit as it took all of 20 minutes to completely dismantle the show.

10 minutes after closing- where's the carpet!!!

If you didn’t make the trip this year I hope aBlog by Reward has given you peek inside the show. Hopefully we’ll see you in 2010 in Chicago.

Do you have any specific questions or information? Leave a comment!

The New Standard for Sustainability.

Wow so after day one, which consisted mainly of setting up our booth and mingling with other exhibitors for evening hours, I am impressed on a few levels of this trade show.

1. The facility is a gorgeous and very well organized event space. It has ample computers to register, quick lines, and above all- friendly, helpful people.

2. The the attendees all seem very knowledgeable about general benefits of insulating concrete forms. Everyone has been really receptive, not only to the concept, but seem excited to take our literature and read further online. Good to see our building envelope product is catching on and gaining further awareness.

3. The diversity of registrants has been incredible. Homeowners, builders, architects, students, overall proponents  of green building and just overall curious souls. There are alot of organization representations and college students that came just to learn and to see first hand the leading edge of green products and sustainable design.

Quick Updates on ICFs at GreenBuild

There are numerous ICF companies here which is great for our industry. I had the pleasure of meeting a few faces in our industry, and everyone seems to be in good spirits heading in to 2010. Our booth has been filled with many exciting people from all across the country and the world.

Environmental Design & Construction announced that Reward Wall System’s iForm Insulating Concrete Form won the 2009 Readers Choice Award. Thank you to all who participated in voting for us! Apparently our numbers were overwhelmingly strong in comparisons to other products!!!

Lastly, I just want to share some pictures from the conference of some views of Phoenix’s brand new convention center.

We are about 2 weeks away from the GreenBuild Expo in Phoenix, AZ. This is one of the largest, most influential green shows out there, and we definitely wanted to be a part of it, as this industry is about to explode. Pete H, from Colorado, and I will be working our show booth and hopefully meeting some customers, builders, and industry professionals who are ready to commit to building sustainable structures. We are looking forward to meeting folks who understand the solution to of our country’s energy issues starts with REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION.

If you are planning on going please stop by our booth (4422) and say “hi”. If you still haven’t registered, contact us directly and I can get you some free conference passes! All I need is your name, your title, and an email address.

I personally don’t get out to too many shows other than World of Concrete so I’m pretty excited for this particular one.

My goal is to try to bring a little of the show back to you, with DAILY blog posts “From the Show Floor.” I want to focus on any interesting people, products, or brief recaps of what the overall vibe is of people coming by our booth.

So Quick recap:

-GreenBuild Expo November 11-13th Phoenix, AZ

-Reward Wall Systems Booth 4422

-Call Us at 1-800-468-6344 if you want free passes to Show

-Daily Blog Updates “From the Show Floor”

Green building

With insulating concrete forms