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With the U.S. economy on the mend and everyone hopeful this year will finally be "the year" when the construction industry's recovery takes hold, thousands in the wood flooring industry
will convene at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., next week to participate in the National Wood Flooring Association's 2012 Wood Flooring Expo. Taking place from April 10-13, this is the only convention in the world dedicated exclusively to wood flooring, and this year's show has been completely relaunched.
The full Expo schedule is packed; here is a glance at the highlights you won't want to miss:
- Tuesday, April 10: Things officially begin at 3 p.m. with a slate of business and technical seminars. At night, the Opening Party will kick off at 6 p.m., and the Expo's signature drink -the Harley Floorbanger, named by T&L Distributing's Jerry Kuehn-will be served.
- Wednesday, April 11: During the opening session at 9 a.m., former Harley-Davidson executive Ken Schmidt will deliver the keynote address with a discussion on brand building and customer relations in the wood flooring industry. After four tracks of educational seminars beginning at 11 a.m., the Expo trade show floor will be open from 2-6 p.m.
- Thursday, April 12: The day starts with an Industry Issues Forum at 8 a.m., continues with more educational seminars beginning at 10 a.m., and culminates in the Awards Luncheon at noon, during which the prestigious Wood Floor of the Year awards will be given and industry leaders recognized. That event will be emceed by HGTV's Carter Oosterhouse, and afterward attendees can have their picture taken with him. Next, the trade show floor will open at 2 p.m., and then the Closing Party-during which a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and thousands of dollars in other prizes will be given away-will start at 5 p.m.
- Friday, April 13: The NWFA Certified Professionals Inspector Symposium will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
More than 200 exhibitors will be displaying products on the trade show floor each day, and thousands will be in attendance. Alongside the trade show on Wednesday and Thursday, there will be a full slate of technical demos, during which thousands of dollars in prizes will be given away.
To help attendees manage the schedule, the NWFA has released a mobile app, which can be downloaded here.