2017 Marks NELMA’s 36th Year of Exhibiting at the LBM Expo!

The 2017 Lumber and Building Material Expo, sponsored by the Northeast Retail Lumber Association (NRLA) was held February 15-17 at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence.  This year marks NELMA’s 36th consecutive year that NELMA has exhibited at this important regional lumber retailer event. lbm 2017

Matt Pomeroy, NELMA’s Director of Inspection Services, staffed the “See the Stamp, Trust the Quality” exhibit at the show.  The most popular give-aways at this show continues to be the Eastern White Pine Grade Swatch and Pattern Booklet, in addition to NELMA’s Membership Directory + Buyer’s Guide.  Matt noted that these items have become well known by the region’s lumber retailers, receiving comments from visitors such as “I absolutely love these things, I show them to my customers all the time”, and “I hope you never stop making these!  They are so helpful when trying to describe the grades to a customer.”

See the Stamp - NRLA 2017“The resources NELMA maintains online, such as our Standard Grading Rules and our Product Locator for sourcing mills and wholesalers received additional high marks in discussions with retailers at the show,” Matt reported.  “It’s great to hear feedback from this critical target audience for NELMA’s Outreach Programs, both positive in nature and in addition to construction suggestions for future promotional items.”

NELMA Exhibits at International Builders’ Show

As part of the Softwood Lumber Board’s continued promotional support of “appearance” grade products, NELMA once againIBS participated  within the Wood Naturally exhibit at the 2017 International Builders’ Show (IBS), held January 10-12 in Orlando, Florida.  This annual event was spread over two massive convention halls with approximately 80,000 in attendance.  Exhibits spanned over 569,000 net square feet of floor space, with more than 1,500 manufacturers and suppliers.

The 20’x30’ Wood Naturally exhibit provided a marketing focus on softwood products of various species manufactured in all regions of the country.  This included Eastern White Pine (NELMA), Southern Pine (Southern Pine Council), Western Species (Western Wood Products Association), and pressure-treated products (Western Wood Preservers Institute).

IBSNELMA encased its exhibit counter with panels of popular Eastern White Pine patterns as an attractive discussion starter with visitors.  Edge & Center Bead, V-Groove, and the ever popular “Shiplap” provided a focal, touch-and-feel backdrop to talk about the design trends of using wood in home construction.  NELMA’s Grade Swatch and Pattern Profile booklet supported these discussions.

“In addition to our visibility in front of this important customer audience, our participationIBS Editors also provided excellent opportunities to engage targeted consumer and trade press that attend the show.  Appointments with editors and publishers set up by NELMA’s PR Agent, Kim Drew, multiplied our exposure and ability to discuss the variety of products and applications of northeastern softwoods produced by members of the Association”, reported Jeff Easterling, President of NELMA.

This event is by far the largest builder/contractor audience for NELMA’s promotional activities during the year.  The Association would like to thank the Softwood Lumber Board for their support which allows NELMA’s participation in large national trade events, such as IBS, that would otherwise not be feasible!

 

VIP Passes Available for Upcoming ABX Show in Boston!

Drop by and see NELMA at exhibit space No. 535 at the 2016 Arcitecture Boston Expo (ABX), to be held November 15-17 at the Boston Convention Center.  This is the largest regional event for architects that draws more than 5,000 design professionals from New England and the northeast.  Real wood is typically a scarce item on the show floor, reinforcing the need for exhibiting before this very important customer group2016 ABX Logo

NELMA has received a number of VIP Free Passes for members to attend the Expo any of the three days:  Tuesday, November 15 from 11am to 6pm, Wednesday, November 16 from 11am to 6pm, and Thursday, November 17 from 11am to 4pm!  Just call the NELMA HQ Office at 207-829-6901 or email us at info@www.nelma.org to receive your VIP Pass.

We hope you take this opportunity to join us in Boston!