March/April 2023 News
Winners of the 18th Annual ICF Builder & People's Choice Awards
The winners of the 2023 ICF Builder Awards were announced in person at an awards ceremony on January 18 at World of Concrete. We appreciate everyone who attended and voted in the People’s Choice Awards. The ICF Builder Awards are the most prestigious awards to be given to the many fine projects constructed in recent years using ICFs. This year, we received a plethora of entries in nine categories with a 28% increase over 2022 and 124% increase over 2021. So to be in the top three of any category is truly an amazing feat. We also continued to open up the voting to the public for the People’s Choice Awards. We received more than 9,000 votes, nearly double the amount of responses from last year — a great turnout! Turn to page 11 in this issue for more about each of the top 27 projects. www.icfmag.com/builderaward-winners
Strongest IBS Attendance in 10 Years
Nearly 70,000 home building professionals from around the globe, the largest attendance in 10 years, filled the exhibit halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) hosted the NAHB International Builders’ Show (IBS), the largest annual light construction show in the world, January 31 through February 2. IBS exhibit space totaled more than 600,000 net square feet, where more than 1,300 exhibitors displayed the latest in building products and technology. www.buildersshow.com, www.nahb.org
Pre-Pandemic Attendance at WOC
Informa Markets’ World of Concrete, the world’s largest trade show fostering the growing concrete and masonry construction industries, concluded its 49th annual 2023 event with 48,009 registered professionals, heavy foot traffic on the show floor, and more than 120 countries in attendance. WOC took more than 587,000 net square feet of the convention center, with both indoor and outdoor spaces full of product displays, demonstrations, and competitions. Notable highlights included a record-breaking auction for the Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program. This year WOC also offered more than 160 technical sessions, including hands-on training, safety expertise, and business development. Noted new additions to the 2023 education program were eight concrete basics and leadership courses presented in Spanish, a revamped three-hour comprehensive concrete repair track, and new workshops focusing specifically on women in construction. www.worldofconcrete.com
Fox Blocks Announces New Spanish Integrated Learning Center
Fox Blocks, an Insulated Concrete Form manufacturer, announced the much-anticipated Spanish Integrated Learning Center, the first fully online installer course in the industry. Learners will sign up for a free account at spanish.foxblockstraining.com and register for the Primary Installer Course. Learners can complete the course at their own pace when they have time. The course includes 20 modules and provides downloadable workbooks for each of the four sections. Those who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and wallet card. An estimated 75% of construction workers in the U.S. speak Spanish, so this new resource offers a place for Spanish speakers to train and receive certification for installation of Fox Blocks Insulated Concrete Forms.
www.foxblocks.com
