Builders get back to Las Vegas

In what is described by organizers as a “mega-event, ” Design and Construction Week will attract an estimated 110,000 builders, general contractors, remodelers, designers, flooring professionals, as well as product specifiers from around the globe.

The event kicks off Jan. 19 in Las Vegas, serving as a giant stage for suppliers and a massive theater for builders and contractors with high expectations.

DCW features the co-location of the NAHB International Builders’ Show and the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. In 2016, DCW will include two partner events – the International Window Coverings Expo  and The International Surface Event.

Among the highlights of the three-day event:

• IBS Live, the show’s live theater on the show floor has a full schedule of presentations described as “part education, part entertainment. Topics range from Design Trends 2016 to a panel discussion of builders under 40.

• Business leaders expect growth in 2016, and so do economists. How much growth, and what form it is expected to take will be discussed at the highly anticipated NAHB Housing Industry Forecast, to be delivered Tuesday in room S223. David Crowe, the NAHB’s chief economist will lead a panel of forward-looking speakers.

• Canada will make up the largest contingent of international exhibitors at IBS. And to help grease the wheels of international business, the Canadian Home Builder’s Association will host an educational session appropriately called “Doing Business in Canada.”

• A back-to-school feeling will pervade the KBIS as NKBA University Courses will be offered before and during KBIS. Courses carry a registration fee.

• If you’re under 40, there’s the Young Professionals After Hours Party slated for Wednesday night at the Foxtail Nightclub. If you’re a child of the 70s, or even if you’re not, there’s the IBS Spike Concert featuring Hall and Oates Thursday night. (Tickets are $40.)