GANAPerspectives, USGlass, September 2010

Volume 45, Issue 9 - September 2010

GANAPerspectives

Something New for the Glazing IndustryAt the BEC Conference

by Bill Yanek

While the Glass Association of North America’s (GANA) Building Envelope Contractors (BEC) Conference is still six months away, we are already gearing up for the largest contract glazing event of the year. BEC 2011, to be held March 27-29, 2011, at the Paris Las Vegas Resort, will deliver targeted sessions on topics that impact the contract glazing industry at large and contract glaziers specifically. These issues range from insurance and legal issues to best business practices and economic outlooks from industry leaders in the glass and aluminum industries.

In 2011, there will be one significant addition to the BEC Conference, the BEC Conference Trade Show. While GANA’s contract glazing members attend the conference for quality targeted educational programming, peer networking and to learn about new products and technologies that will be coming down the pipeline to their companies, GANA’s supplier members attend for the opportunity to share information about their products and services with the contract glaziers. At past conferences, those opportunities have been squeezed between a cup of coffee, a lunch plate, one of the large networking receptions or a client dinner at a fine Vegas eatery. Now this opportunity will be enhanced for both supplier and contractor.

Previewing the Trade Show
At the 2011 BEC Conference and trade show, GANA members will have a new opportunity to provide quality information about their companies’ products and services, while still allowing the contract glazing members the necessary and vital time in the educational sessions to learn about key non-product topics of interest to their business and bottom line. The BEC Conference and trade show will feature a mixture of 10- by 10-foot booths and 10- by 20-foot booths (offered to GANA members at a discounted rate). All booths will include a tabletop, two chairs, wastebasket and electricity, if required (all the tools needed to properly share with a potential customer). There will be no overlap between the conference’s educational sessions and the trade show, with a dedicated seven hours of show time that allows conference attendees breaks from the sit-down sessions to walk through the show area and learn more about the new products available for their use in upcoming projects. Furthermore, the educational sessions remain as full and valuable as in previous years.

While the BEC Conference and trade show provides a valuable and much-requested new addition to a successful overall conference, booth space already has been selling quickly. If you are a GANA member and you are interested in educating the contract glazing industry about your company and products, contact the GANA office at 785/271-0208 or visit us online at www.becconference.com to fill out the online booth request form. If you aren’t a GANA member, consider joining the voice of the glazing industry on our website at www.glasswebsite.com to take advantage of this and many other opportunities.

Our offerings to GANA members continue to evolve and be enhanced. Now, more than ever, it is a great time to be involved with GANA.

Bill Yanek is executive vice president of GANA. Mr. Yanek’s opinions are solely his own and not necessarily those of this magazine.