Throwback Thursday: Into the Astrodome
The Jan. 22, 1996 issue of National Home Center News, the forerunner of HBSDealer, previewed the National Association of Home Builders’ 1996 Builders’ Show, held at the world-famous “Eighth Wonder of the World” Houston Astrodome.
In addition to drawing record number of exhibitors, the headline of the article promised that wood-framing techniques would be on display in the Astrodome’s parking lot.
The article anticipated high energy, high enthusiasm and the largest attendance for a Builders’ Show up to that time (more than 65,000 builders and exhibitors). The record-breaking show in 1996 followed a year that was described as a “down year for home builders.”
The residential construction numbers support that assessment. Total housing starts in 1995 were 1,354,100, while single-family starts were 1,076,200. Both of these figures were down from the previous year’s activity. (But they are both significantly higher than those of every year between 2007 and 2018).
At the show, the featured seminars included “Increasing sales by adding value to meet consumers needs,” “Reducing your workers’ comp costs,” “customizing homes in all price categories,” and “Framing with steel.”
Another highlight was the demonstration of two side-by-side construction jobs using different framing techniques in the parking lot of the Astrodome.
The keynote speaker was William Bennett, the former Secretary of Education. The poet Maya Angelou also participated in a lunch event.
HBSDealer’s Throwback Thursday is sponsored by Schaffer Associates, a national management consulting firm specializing in executive search and organizational strategies for the hardware, home improvement, building materials, and consumer products industries. As the premier management consulting firm serving the industry, we help build organizations and leadership teams that foster corporate growth and success well into the future. Contact SchafferAssociates.com.
In addition to drawing record number of exhibitors, the headline of the article promised that wood-framing techniques would be on display in the Astrodome’s parking lot.
The article anticipated high energy, high enthusiasm and the largest attendance for a Builders’ Show up to that time (more than 65,000 builders and exhibitors). The record-breaking show in 1996 followed a year that was described as a “down year for home builders.”
The residential construction numbers support that assessment. Total housing starts in 1995 were 1,354,100, while single-family starts were 1,076,200. Both of these figures were down from the previous year’s activity. (But they are both significantly higher than those of every year between 2007 and 2018).
At the show, the featured seminars included “Increasing sales by adding value to meet consumers needs,” “Reducing your workers’ comp costs,” “customizing homes in all price categories,” and “Framing with steel.”
Another highlight was the demonstration of two side-by-side construction jobs using different framing techniques in the parking lot of the Astrodome.
The keynote speaker was William Bennett, the former Secretary of Education. The poet Maya Angelou also participated in a lunch event.
HBSDealer’s Throwback Thursday is sponsored by Schaffer Associates, a national management consulting firm specializing in executive search and organizational strategies for the hardware, home improvement, building materials, and consumer products industries. As the premier management consulting firm serving the industry, we help build organizations and leadership teams that foster corporate growth and success well into the future. Contact SchafferAssociates.com.