S2:E1 Coffee Conversations - What to Expect at IRE 2021

By Lauren White, RCS Assistant Editor.

Learn more about safety protocols, the date change and events to look forward to for IRE 2021.

RoofersCoffeeShop® (RCS) kicked off our second season of Coffee Conversations with Ray Giovine, group director for the International Roofing Expo (IRE).  Ray spoke with Heidi J. Ellsworth, RCS partner, about the upcoming IRE and what to expect in April.

Ray is familiar with the roofing and construction industries as he was previously the vice president of sales and marketing for Hanley Wood, a real estate media firm which serves the construction industry.  In January, Ray joined Informa, which is the largest trade show organizer in the world.  “Informa Markets, which is the segment that we work in, is the global events division and we organize over 500 trade shows around the world, including B2B events in 15 markets in over 40 countries.  We produce 250 shows specifically in the United States,” Ray shared.

As the leading international events, intelligence and scholarly research center, Informa serves a variety of industries including health and nutrition, finance, fashion, construction and more.  “IRE is the number one event for the roofing and exterior construction industries,” said Ray.  “We bring the professional community together to provide them with up-to-date industry knowledge and to see the largest selection of products and services.

This three-day event, which was scheduled for February 2021, has been moved to April 14-16, 2021.  The expo will still take place in Las Vegas, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.  Ray shared that the event was postponed to “...Ensure that everybody has a productive and a relaxed environment...and we felt it was the right choice for the community and the industry.  We just wanted to give our exhibitors and visitors a little bit of extra time to be comfortable attending a trade show.”

While the dates have changed, the education sessions, events and booths remain the same.  The conference program has over 40 educational sessions and the expo hall will showcase more than 500 brands displaying the latest products and services in roofing and exterior construction.  Additionally, IRE will still have the annual community service day, welcome party and a keynote speaker.  Last year, Charlotte Jones of the Dallas Cowboys was the first-ever female keynote speaker at IRE.

As people plan to attend IRE 2021, many are curious about safety in regard to the coronavirus.  IRE and Informa are updating protocols as guidelines and mandates continue to change.  Informa implemented Informa AllSecure, which is their approach to “ensuring the highest standards of safety, hygiene, cleanliness and quality for all of our operating events,” according to Ray.  “As we get closer to the show we’ll have more specific details regarding onsite procedures because they’re constantly changing and being updated.”  Health and safety information for the IRE is being updated frequently on the IRE website and more information regarding onsite procedures will be available as the show gets closer.

Learn more about IRE 2021 by watching the full Coffee Conversation.