For the final time in Orlando, the annual International Builders’ Show featured dozens of interesting innovations designed to enhance the experience of both homebuilders and homeowners.
Alternating locations between Las Vegas and Orlando since 2003, the International Builders’ Show, or IBS, is the largest light construction building industry trade show in the United States.
While the event will only take place in Las Vegas starting next year, this year’s show was held at the Orange County Convention Center and began with an opening ceremony highlighted by keynote speaker Emmitt Smith, former Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith.
NFL Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith gives a keynote talk at the opening ceremony of Design and Construction Week on Tuesday, February 17, 2025. The trade show that encompasses the NAHB International Builders’ Show and the NKBA Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, held together at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
The yearly IBS event is put on by the National Association of Home Builders, who recognize outstanding building products and services from companies in nine categories during the Best of IBS Awards.
With over 300 applications in the nine categories, 35 industry and media judges weigh the innovation, functionality, design and friendliness to builders and consumers for each product and award winners on Thursday, the final day of the event. Categories included Best Home Technology Product, Best Indoor Product, Best Outdoor Product, Best Window & Door Product, Most Innovative Building Material Product, and more.
Several window and door innovations were among standout products during the show, including ‘click-to-conceal’ doors from Clopay, North America’s largest residential garage door manufacturer.
With the press of a button — or the switch of a timer —the Clopay click-to-conceal doors can shift from a typical clear glass garage door to an opaque tinted or frosted look for immediate privacy.
“The technology has been around for a while for stationary glazing, but what’s unique with us is getting it into an operable door where the door is moving and the sections are separating,” Architectural Product Representative John Polchin said. “You have to put electricity into that to make it switch.”
Design and Construction Week attendees make their way to the convention floor for the NAHB International Builders’ Show and the NKBA Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, held together at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
A nominee for Best Kitchen & Bath Product, Germany-based Schluter Systems developed its DESIGN-NICHE in 2025 to offer the clean, modern look of a recessed shower niche in a prefabricated, powder-coated aluminum format — no tile required.
“Now a tile contractor doesn’t have to worry about layout and doesn’t have to tie it in, but the shower is only one of the applications,” Sean Carse, Schluter Systems Director of Sales, said. “…You can put it in the kitchen or put it in a backsplash or the front hallway. You can be creative with it a little bit.”
Preventing water from reaching inside the walls of the home was a major focus for several Best of IBS nominees, including the Australia-based Highwood Timber, who received the nod as a finalist for its patented HighFlow Structural Rainscreen Furring Strip.
Designed to ventilate and drain moisture from the wall cavity behind installed siding, the product aims to reduce mold and other moisture-related risks.
Design and Construction Week attendees enter the Home Depot Pro exhibit at the NAHB International Builders’ Show on Tuesday, February 17, 2025, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.(Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Highwood Timber founder Nick Higgins said he came up with the idea after seeing nonstructural ventilation products “cover the market” and, using his background in laminated veneer lumber, decided to create a product of his own.
“I really saw it as an opportunity to simplify that process by making it structural, so that was why we used this material, to give a structural benefit while also draining water away,” he said.
With potential energy efficiency serving as a major asset to potential homeowners, several products nominated as finalists for the Best Energy Efficiency Product award — like the EP Cube from renewable energy company Canadian Solar Inc.‘s independent consumer-oriented brand Eternalplanet —focused on alternative ways to save energy.
The EP Cube is modular residential energy storage system that can retain up to 5.5 kilowatt-hours of energy harnessed from solar panels. The modular batteries can be stacked to retain up to 19.9 kilowatt-hours and enables customers to boost the efficiency of their electricity for self-consumption.
“The beautiful thing about the modularity is that you can get a lower entry cost for the homeowner because they can just start with the solar panels up on the roof and the inverter and they can add the batteries,” Canadian Solar Technical Sales Engineer Mario Gonzalez said. “They can pay a lower amount of money to get into the solar market.”
Design and Construction Week signs outside of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando on Tuesday, February 17, 2025. The trade show encompasses the NAHB International Builders’ Show and the NKBA Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Kicked off by Smith on Tuesday morning, IBS will continue through Thursday as the show nears its final days in Orlando.
Leaving the crowd with a quote from legendary University of Alabama college football coach Bear Bryant at the end of his keynote speech, Smith told attendees they have a responsibility to use their collective talents and innovations to “pay it forward” and create a better future for the next generation of homeowners and homebuilders.
“[Bryant] said that if you have dedication and pride, you will be a winner,” Smith quoted. “The price of victory is high, but so are the rewards.”
Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at jwilkins@orlandosentinel.com or 407-754-4980. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.