Coverings, the largest international tile & stone exhibition and conference in North America, had another year of strong growth at the 2019 show. With nearly 1,100 exhibitors showcasing 479,788 square-feet of tile and stone, the exhibition had solid growth from Coverings 2018. Almost 27,000 professionals from over 90 countries — a 8.6 percent increase — attended the 30th annual trade show, which took place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando from April 9-12.
“The significant uptick in attendance at Coverings is certainly a strong indication of the health and vitality of the tile and stone industry,” said Jennifer Hoff, president of Taffy Event Strategies, the management company for Coverings. “It was particularly meaningful to see such strong attendee numbers as we celebrated three decades of Coverings.”
Coverings 2019 participants enjoyed new product previews, live demonstrations, networking opportunities, and over 50 educational opportunities. Among the thousands of professionals who attended, distributor attendance was up nine percent while architects & designers, builders & remodelers, contractors & installers, fabricators, and retailers grew by more than 10 percent as compared to 2018.
Exhibitors, in particular, were delighted with this year’s turnout:
“We come to Coverings each year because it’s the best opportunity to meet with key business players,” said Giampaolo Acerbi, Cooperativa Ceramica D’Imola North America national chief sales officer. “The show provides us with a moment in time to launch new collections, which we continue to see great success with.” 
Perry Yancovich, Vitromex Vice President of Sales & Marketing also reflected on the show.
“Coverings doesn’t mean simply bringing new products and awaiting feedback,” Yancovich said. “We continue to see opportunities for new growth and distribution. This year, we took advantage of our time at the show to launch a new, user-friendly website on the first day of Coverings, which reinforces our brand identity while providing added tools and catalogues for customers.”
The show’s 30th anniversary milestone provided an opportunity to celebrate the brands that move the industry forward, as well as the designers, architects, specifiers, distributors and more who promote tile and stone within their businesses. In honor of these long-standing partners, anniversary badges and booth ribbons were awarded to attendees and exhibitors who’ve participated in every year of Coverings.
“The show allows us to meet with both current and potential customers, architects, designers and others involved in the industry, acting as a great networking opportunity,” said Ceramica Gomez Area Manager, Salva Liñan. As a veteran company in the industry, we attend Coverings every year full of enthusiasm because it is the best place to showcase our newest product developments.”
The show concluded with a second-line-style parade, complete with beads and a marching band, in celebration of the fact that Coverings 2020 will take place in New Orleans. Coverings 2020 will be held April 20-23, 2020.
