International Builders' Show Wrap Up

Formica Corporation had a great time at the 2012 International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Orlando, February 8-11.  For those of you who stopped by our booth, it was great to see you!  For those souls who experienced the show from their desktops (or who bypassed our booth, shame shame!), this recap of our IBS activity is for you.

Product Launches

We expanded our 180fx® Collection with five new sweeping exotic granite and bold quartzite patterns in neutral tones.

The excitement for our new patterns was equally matched with the buzz surrounding our new IdealEdge™ decorative edges suitable for curved, clipped or 90-degree corner installations.  Their ability to curve and encase all sides of a countertop surface eliminates the telltale sign of laminate — the brown seam.

In addition, we launched the Formica® eChip™ app – available free for the iPad and packed with features that make it easy to find the perfect Formica® Brand Laminate, 180fx®, DecoMetal® and Formica® Solid Surfacing pattern.  The eChip™ is fully loaded with information for each swatch, including finishes, applications, tech specs, a size/grade guide and more.

Check out what Consumer Reports and BobVila.com had to say about our launches.

Celebrity Appearances

Although we felt our new products were the stars of the show, we were still a bit star struck by the celebrity appearances in our booth.

Gary Sullivan, fellow Cincinnatian and host of At Home with Gary Sullivan, broadcast from our booth on Wednesday and Thursday.  He interviewed Mitch Quint, President of Formica Corporation North America, about IdealEdge™ and Mark Johnson, FAIA, on the Cool Energy House.

You can listen to Mitch's interview here and Mark's interview here.

Mark and Theresa Clement, hosts of MyFixitUpLife, came to our booth on Thursday.

They brought with them Paul Dimeo and Tracy Hutson from Extreme Makeover Home Edition...

...and Norm Abram and Rich Trethewey from This Old House.

In addition to media celebrities, we were honored to be surrounded by the best and the brightest industry professionals during a kitchen and bath TweetUp held in our booth on Wednesday.

Formica® Brand Product Spotted at the Show

Our booth was hopping, though when given the opportunity, we walked the show to visit industry contacts and to see our product installations.

Mastercraft Cabinets featured a beautiful vignette with the new 180fx® Dolce Vita.

Outside of the convention center walls, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America Program-sponsored Cool Energy House featured both FSC® Certified Formica® Brand Laminate and e Series Solid Surfacing.

To see more about Formica Corporation at IBS, visit our IBS albums on Facebook and Pinterest.  Mark Johnson also gave us a wonderful post-show treat by creating a fantastic Pinterest board dedicated just to our IBS happenings.   Special thanks to Mark—we appreciate what he does for the industry and encourage you to follow him @MarkJohnsonFAIA.