Coverings set attendance records this year with 28,000 attendees to view 1,100 exhibitors from 90 coun- tries in 465,000 sq. ft of space. It’s notable that contractor/installer attendance skyrocketed 36% over last year’s show in Chicago, and 12% over the 2015 Coverings edi- tion in Orlando. Growth was up 9% over last year’s Chicago show and 10% over Coverings ’15 in Orlando. The Conference program was robust, with over 65 scheduled free conference sessions that ran the gamut of industry-related topics. The contractor/installer segment made up 12% of all attendees, out- pacing attendance from the retail- er, manufacturer, fabricator and A&D segments. So maybe it’s not surprising that membership in the NTCA rose at Coverings as well, with 30 con- tractors signing up for member- Recap: COVERINGS 2017 Record-setting attendance punctuates Coverings ‘17 Contractor/Installer segment attendance grows by 36%; NTCA signs up 30 new members Enjoying the evening with a happy group at the LATICRETE Tile Geeks event. L to r: Paul Luccia; Rod Katwyck; Mike Sima; Joe Kerber; Dan Hecox; Ed Siebern; John Mourelatos; and Becky Serbin. Tile of Spain con- sultant Ryan Fasan offered his Rethink/ Redefine trend report that touched on major style direc- tions for tile made in Spain. 66 TileLetter | June 2017