Orlando, Fla.— Coverings 2023, North America’s largest international tile and stone exhibition and conference, takes place here this week, April 18–21, at the Orange County Convention Center. This year’s show is offering more than 400,000 square feet of exhibit space with numerous global pavilions hosted by leading tile associations and product manufacturers. Attendees will have access to new educational programming, daily keynotes, new product introductions, networking and much more.
Following in the footsteps of trade shows that have come before—namely Surfaces 2023—show management is expecting heightened energy and excitement for this year’s edition of Coverings. “We are very excited about all of the energy and enthusiasm for Coverings 2023,” Jennifer Hoff, CEO, Taffy Event Strategies, the show management company for Coverings 2023, told Floor Covering News. “We’ve received a wide range of positive feedback from tile and stone industry professionals around the world with eagerness to join us at Coverings 2023.”
What’s more, attendance at Coverings 2023 is expected to eclipse recent years. “Pre-registration has been growing exponentially each month and week leading up to the show,” Hoff explained. “All indicators are pointing to increased attendance across the key tile and stone industry segments. We believe Coverings 2023 will be one of the most attended events in years.”
The event will also host more exhibitors for the 2023 event than in previous years. “Coverings 2023 has grown in both the number of exhibitors and represented countries,” Hoff noted. “This year’s show will be the international stage for introducing some of the most innovative tile and stone products in the world.”
The show itself is vastly robust and promises valuable educational and inspirational opportunities for its attendees—something the show continues to elevate each year. This effort is focused on providing what the industry needs to be successful in the challenging world of tile and stone. “Showgoers tell us each year they attend Coverings because the event provides the tools, connections and products to thrive in the tile and stone industry,” Hoff said. “Coverings 2023 will attract thousands of distributors, retailers, fabricators, installers, contractors, specifiers, architectural and design professionals, builders and others within the vital tile and stone industry. There will be something for everyone at Coverings 2023.”
Hoff added that “retailers who attend will be able to feel, touch and experience the newest and trending tile and stone products; expand relationships with distributors, specifiers, fabricators and contractors; and gain valuable business-growth insights.”
Returning favorites
For the 2023 edition, Coverings will host a slew of new programs and initiatives as well as bring back past favorites. The Coverings Lounge, for example, will again be front and center for attendees to relax and network with peers. The lounge will be centrally located for attendees to relax and meet, gain professional knowledge, network with peers, hear from industry leaders and attend happy hours featuring prize giveaways. “The Coverings Lounge at this year’s show is going to have new, swoon-worthy displays and fun activities,” Hoff noted.
For example, the four key tenets of Coverings 2023—“Health & Wellness,” “Sustainability,” “Outdoor Spaces” and “Timeless Luxury”—will be featured in new visual displays and interactive areas, which will be focal points of the Coverings Lounge.
The Health & Wellness tenet will be promoted in the lounge through short mindfulness workshops led by Gianna Vallefuoco, an artist, National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) Five Star contractor and mindfulness teacher with Vallefuoco Contractors.
The Sustainability tenet will be highlighted, in part, by the return and evolution of the Sustainability Wall, which will be on display in the Coverings Lounge to showcase the environmentally friendly properties of ceramic tile.
The Outdoor Spaces theme will be showcased in the Coverings Lounge through an outdoor seating area, featuring biophilia walls with comfortable chairs to provide a relaxing, conversational environment for networking, while also taking in the essence of tile’s seamless integration in outdoor settings among plant material and outdoor furnishings. Plus, a daily demonstration by D.W. Sanders Tile & Stone Contacting will take place to highlight this theme.
The Timeless Luxury tenet will be featured in the lounge to highlight the ways in which tile is a premium offering with impeccable quality that delivers emblematic and experiential value in addition to functionality.
The lounge will also be the center for complimentary Contractor Tours, and the annual Rock Star Awards will also be acknowledged here.
What’s more, happy hours will return as a much-anticipated favorite among showgoers at the event, which will occur in the Coverings Lounge April 18, 19 and 20, starting at 4 p.m.
In addition to the return of the Coverings Lounge, Coverings 2023 is enhancing its popular lineup of interactive Stages for 2023 to feature all the latest and most important updates from tile and stone industry leaders. Trends, solutions, live “how-to” classes and other relevant content will be available on three stages throughout the show floor.
The Installation Innovation Stage, for example, will return to headline live demonstrations, allowing showgoers to precisely see how to install a wide variety of new products and learn techniques to ensure highly successful tile and stone installations.
The Trends & Solutions Stage will return to Coverings for its second year to highlight everything at the forefront of the tile and stone industry. This stage will feature short presentations from those launching new services, providing business solutions or showcasing new product trends.
The Fabricator Stage, a new 2023 addition, will enable attendees to gain insights from experts in the stone and fabrication industry through short and engaging presentations and demonstrations.
Attendees will also have a chance to face off by participating in interactive Fabricator and Contractor Challenges. These challenges require attendees to visit all the exhibitors in a designated area of the show floor, answer a question, get their cards stamped and submit their completed cards in each challenge’s respective bin for a chance to win $2,500.
What’s new
In addition to the expanded returning favorites, Coverings 2023 will host new activations at this year’s edition. The Podcast Studio, for example, is expected to be an extremely popular feature. The studio, located in the South Hall Lobby, will offer established podcasters across the tile, stone and construction industries a unique opportunity to record episodes during Coverings 2023. Showgoers, no matter their interest or favorite genre, can stop by the studio to listen in as podcasters record new episodes for their respective shows.
Also new to Coverings 2023 is the Distributor Lounge, sponsored by the Ceramic Tile Distributors Association (CTDA). This new addition to Coverings will provide a quiet place to meet near the show floor for tile, stone and flooring distributors. Light refreshments and snacks will be served in the lounge, which is located at the top of the South Hall escalators in room S222 (also called the Destination Lounge).
Hoff added that there will also be a robust line up of new-for-2023 show floor tours, demos, learning sessions, networking opportunities and, of course, aisles and aisles of the newest tile, stone, tools, equipment and technology hosted across numerous international pavilions.
