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Great conversations at Win-Door 2013

Nov. 15, 2013 – Win-Door 2013 attracted new and old faces from the window and door industry to its three-day expo in downtown Toronto. Slightly fewer exhibitors but slightly larger booths added up to a small overall increase in floor space. Registration was about the same as in 2012, with traffic showing its usual pattern of crowds the first day and relative quiet the second. Exhibitors expressed overall satisfaction, saying the quality of attendees was quite high and they signed many deals.

Nov. 15, 2013 – Win-Door 2013 attracted new and old faces from the window and door industry to its three-day expo in downtown Toronto. Slightly fewer exhibitors but slightly larger booths added up to a small overall increase in floor space. Registration was about the same as in 2012, with traffic showing its usual pattern of crowds the first day and relative quiet the second. Exhibitors expressed overall satisfaction, saying the quality of attendees was quite high and they signed many deals.

Demonstrations draw interest. You can’t try out a spacer applicator on the internet.

The education sessions featured the usual excellent information from top experts, wth Jeff Baker and J.F. Kogovsek drawing the largest crowd and most comment with their presentation on the upcoming inclusion of NAFS air/water ingress standards into the Ontario building code. Pre-hangers are concerned about the impact of the change, and feel it is unfair that they should bear the risks and costs of ensuring entry doors meet the standard. Estimates of the cost of testing all of a pre-hangers door/sill/lite options ran as high as $320,000. Many in the audience want more accountability for installers. “If one of my sills is installed right, you can drill a two-inch hole through it and there will still be no water inside because it drains to the outside,” Bob Hamilton of Hamilton Windows and Doors explained. “We have brought electrians and plumbers back into homebuilding – it is time we brought carpenters back in, too.”

It’s always standing room only at the Jeff and J.F.K. show.

Notable exhibits included Jim Parker Best Booth award-winner, Mennie Canada, with its lovely piano player setting a sophisticated mood. Runner-up Performance M&T featured a futuristic white “virtual booth” with a huge screen and viewing lounge. JRC Machinery brought an impressive amount of heavy equipment, including a automated four-point welder and a multi-axis door cutter, all powered up and processing material. Perhaps not coincidentally, the staff on the JRC booth were the happiest at the show, reporting dozens of new leads including many from customers they had not worked with before. The Walk It Off Clinic and Partners Promoting Window and Balconey Safety presented a joint booth with a putting game rewarding accurate golfers with a chance to win putters and a full set of clubs.

Big machinery created big crowds for JRC.

Screenco and Mennie Canada hosted a gala fundraiser for Nellie’s Women’s Shelter following the secon day of the show. Over 300 attendees raised over $4,600 for the cause.  

The Fenestration Canada general meeting heard that the association recorded a small financial surplus for 2012. Important developments over the past year included hiring Robert Rivard as full-time executive director and forming the Fabricators Council to ensure good communication with the association’s manufacturer members. Al and Aynsley Dueck were just about everywhere at the show enthusiastically promoting the 2014 Annual General Meeting in Winnipeg. If half the effort goes into executing the event that Dueck has put in to promoting it, it should be a good one.

Now under the same roof, the Truth and Amesbury guys seem to be getting along OK.

Win-Door will be back at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Nov. 11 – 13 2014. This will be the 20th edition of the show, and organizers are hoping to mark the milestone with a very special event. Members are encouraged to come forward with their suggestions as to how to recognize the anniversary.

Related links
windoorshow.com
fenestrationcanada.ca