Orlando–The success of the combined CFI-FCICA annual convention here can be measured in several ways. Start with the numbers: This year’s meeting drew 350 attendees, up from last year, including 82 first-time attendees. What’s more, exhibitor attendance was up 45%, a sign that the co-located format is resonating with the industry.
And then there are the intangible benefits that Steve Abernathy, executive director of CFI, and Pat Kelly, executive director of FCICA, prefer to point out—namely how installers and contractors seamlessly collaborate to help each other.
“You can’t look around the room here and say: ‘This is CFI here, this is FCICA there,’” Kelly said. “They were all together. There was great synergy.”
Abernathy said he loved the “intimacy” of the trade show, where installers and contractors visited with 65 exhibitors over five hours in one room. “There’s a vibe, an aura of a smaller event that allows you to spend quality time with one another and build a relationship,” he told FCNews. “Compare that to large events with thousands of people where you may see 10% of the vendors and may only spend a couple of minutes with them.”
Combining CFI and FCICA into one show saves exhibitors on travel while increasing their exposure to a larger group of customers, a fact not lost on the vendors. “For us as exhibitors it has been helpful because we see more variety of customers and get good engagement with what we are showing, like our flexible molding, which crosses over into the commercial segment,” said Tina Keeton-Emery director of business development for Versatrim.
Adam Sartain, senior marketing manager for Shaw’s accessory brand, TotalWorx, added: “Anytime different industries can collaborate is a good thing. It’s how we grow business.”
FCICA’s Kelly also praised the quality of the vendor representatives in attendance, many of whom have installation backgrounds. “Every vendor here brought their technical people, which is what you want and need,” he noted. “These are the people we would call if we had questions about a job, how to fix a problem or change something. They are the problem solvers, and are here you get to meet those people and get to know those people.”
Stepping up commitments
Prior to the start of the event, Mohawk and Shaw each received the “Steadfast Award” from CFI-FCICA as a “thank you” for their significant investment and contribution to the trade in the form of funding, flooring materials and tools. In return, both companies acknowledged the vital necessity of the installation trade. “I want to say, ‘thank you’ to the installers who keep challenging suppliers like us to give them the tools they need to do the job right and efficiently,” said Marcus Guy, TotalWorx director for Shaw Industries.
Alfredo Donjuan, vice president/general manager, accessories for Mohawk, added: “Our product only makes sense if it helps installers. The installer gets a lot of the blame when something goes wrong. We want to make it easier for the installer to do the job successfully.”
The industry’s renewed commitment to the installation trade comes at a critical juncture. As WFCA CEO Scott Humphrey pointed out during the convention, there will be a projected shortage of 6,000 to 10,000 installers for each of the next 10 years, and it will require everyone to do their part.
For its part, CFI has increased the number of active chapters across the U.S. to 10, with five more coming online this year. In the past year it has held 50 training and certification classes, training about 500 people.
FCICA, meanwhile, continues to add members (19 in the last year) and certify installation managers through its popular CIM program.
