Hello guys the show has been outstanding!. Best in years! I still have 5 or 6 booths to visit.

Learned a ton

On Monday I'll post pics here.

Brian, I am also gonna point out that I thought you had lots of hair on your back and was about 450 pounds much like a wild boar with a tape measure on his hip...what a bunch of laughs we had Huh? The integra party is something i always look forward to...I met alot friends from Florida..One Vendor that i like and will always remember as a friend to the end is Rich magee from Gemstone sinks...I always have so many laughs...

For me I will take as I can count three things that will benfit my business....I am sure there more but right now..I cant think

hey and Andy was great ...would believe Guys Andy was caught in a GREEN class at the show  LOL...I was gonna hand out granola bars and have everyone wear hippie robes and hug during a drum circle...but most of the time people expect that anyway..

I was laughing watching people reading the sign on the door...they would see the word GREEN...and hi tail outta there..it was funny...:) when I see them today I am gonna give them a big romantically hug and tell them I love them.

dats gonna be funny I will try to get pics of fabricators in UNCoMFORTABLE POSES ..HEY those that know me know I enjoy myself alot

Hi Guys,

Wish I could have attended. Thanks for all the updates.

Here the are some pics.











Kate Bisley won the trip to Spain for two!!

Exhibit hall.

More exhibit hall stuff





Super Bowl Party at Ricardo's

The Networking Luncheon.



The onsite vanity fabrication challenge -- concrete countertops

A few more:





Making the concrete countertop





The winner of the onsite vanity fabrication:

Looked like a good Show, I will be there for sure next year! I will see some of you at KBIS. Hope Andy's knee didn't take to much punishment, the parties looked like a good time, the Integra guys always step up with great parties, way to keep it going guys, hope to see you soon.

Russ,
Thanks for the pics, I think and hope that next year will be the one I can get back to.

Hello All,

I attended the ICE show in Vegas this year and was pleasantly surprised.  The show felt better attended but I have no numbers to back it up.  I saw a lot of new faces but seeing all the familiar faces is what keeps me coming back.

Early mornings seem to have the most people at the show floor. As usual the exhibit hall started to thin later in the day.  Not so unusual.  With fewer exhibitors with real countertop related items being showcased, it was more comfortable to really talk with the vendors and see what they had to offer.

I met up with Kevin, Jon, Gene, Jeff (from the MIA), Sandy, Richard, Brian Stone and many others I am probably forgetting to mention.  The Integra guys, Doug, Ray, Chad and Wade were all there hosting another excellent party.

I must say Sandy Milroy pulled one off even during these tough economic times.  To see the turnout, I was quiet surprised to see so many fabricators.  This years show was much better than the last two so much credit goes to Sandy for making this happen.

To be perfectly honest and straightforward, the show was on the small side.  That said, it is finally headed in the right direction after years on the decline.  Some of the excitement was back like the days of old.  The conferences were filled and most of all the exhibitors felt it was worth the effort.

Found a few new items:

• MitreForma V-Groove Clamps for miter folding stone or quartz edges.  After seeing them in action they will prove to be a huge time saver.
• Domain Industries redesigned the entire company from the catalog to the sample box.  Very impressive.
• Moreware introduced some extreme functionality with their Jobtracker software.  I am still trying to wrap my head around it.  They also hosted a class after the exhibit hall for current customers to get feedback and share ideas.
• LT-55 has the same laser paired with a new laptop computer.  The larger screen makes digitizing that much better.
• I know this is not brand new, but the Karran stainless sink that is seamable directly to solid surface or quartz material.

Various concrete countetop pictures along with the two concrete vanity competition.




Concrete Edge Profile


Glass Insert in Concrete


Concrete Vanity


Placing the Concrete


Completed concrete placed in a form.  Overnight dry time.


Closeup of the reinforced fibers embedded into the concrete.


Some of the concrete supplies.  Buckets, trowels and sprayers.

---

Concrete form.


Concrete vanity utilizing two different techniques to create a unique veined pattern.  This top won the vanity competition


Two part epoxy to fill any voids and gaps left after the concrete was placed.


Epoxy fill troweled into fill the voids.


Fabricator sanding with a standard 6" sander.  Approximate finish time for this three foot vanity was about 3 hours.


Fabricator working on the bowl is troweling the two part epoxy into the sink to fill the voids.

Various Pictures











Contest Entry built by Sterling Surfaces


Neat looking sink by Gemstone


Gene in action at his Green fabrication class.


Dan at Laser Products gave me this headset to hold on your cell phone to be handsfree.  :)


All I can say is, "Wow".


Wall cladding by Dupont


Wall Cladding by Las Vegas

A few stats:

There were just under 700 registrations for the show. Between 50-100 registered but didn't show up -- my guess is they got caught in one of the many storms crossing the nation. We have no idea how many Composites attendees walked the show since they got free admission with their Composites pass, which did not go through our registration. My guess is it was around 50 people.

Most conferences had between 30-40 people in the audience. The last day of the show attendance fell to more like 20-25 people per conference.

The Dream Sweeps Giveaway Drawing gave out a lot of prizes, which included: A a case of caulk from Color Rite, a sink from Domain, 2 Gorilla Grips from Monument Toolworks, 8 sets each of a case of adhesive, an applicator gun and the stone repair kit from ITW Plexus, a $500 gift certificate from Integra Adhesives and a trip for two to Spain from Cosentino. A big thank you goes to all of our generous sponsors!!!!!

Most of the design awards went to concrete countertop entries, although Gene won the Green award and Sterling Surfaces won the best commercial installation and Best of Show.

There were about 150 at the Super Bowl Party at Ricardos on Sunday afternoon. All the chips and salsa you could eat and a buffet dinner at halftime. It was a smashing success.

The Networking Luncheon was a sellout. In fact we ran out of food and tables, but the Mandalay Bay staff quickly stepped up to the plate (another pun, groan) and made the necessary arrangements.

ISFA Awards:

Associate of the Year: Colonial Saw
Innovator of the Year: David Cranke of Interfab
The Envision Award: ITW Plexus
Fabricator of the Year: Thierry Delles, CREA Diffusion
Hall of Fame: Richard Christ

And for the record, SANDY MILROY did a fabulous job putting this all together. She was ably assisted by Meg of the ISFA staff. Next time you talk or email with either of them, please thank them for a superb performance.

heres some of my pics