At final count, the premier Canadian trade/consumer show and conference for plumbing, hydronic heating and water quality-Focus-CIPHEX Ontario 2004, held in Toronto March 4-6, drew more than 6,000 visitors. Focus-CIPHEX Ontario 2004, hosted by the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating (CIPH), featured 165 exhibitors in 300 booths.

The largest group of trade visitors-15%-came from the plumbing sector. They were followed by 13% from the heating business, 12% from hydronic heating and 9% each from kitchen and bath, and air conditioning. Compared to CIPHEX'99 Ontario, contractor registration increased by 18%, wholesaler registration was up 17%, engineer registration increased by 9%, and kitchen and bath designer registration was up by 106%. New promotions targeting water treatment dealers and renovators helped increase overall attendance by a massive 24% to more than 6,000 visitors. The visitors had formidable buying power. Sixteen percent spend more than $10 million annually, 6% spend between $5 and $10 million, and 21% spend from one to $5 million.

More than 1,100 visitors took part in the conference program, featuring sessions on plumbing, hydronics, water quality and sales presented by leading speakers from across North America, including PME's frequent contributor John Siegenthaler, Richard Trethewey and Kimberley Seldon.

Torontonians had the opportunity to make their opinions known by participating in Toronto's Best Bathroom Contest. The winner was "C Lounge," located at 456 Wellington Street West. The owners of C Lounge received an official certificate and commendation from the show organizers. The presentation ceremony received extensive coverage in the daily newspapers and on radio and television. At the other end of the scale, there was Toronto's Worst Bathroom Contest. Consumers submitted photographs of their "pre-renovation" bathrooms. A panel of industry judges picked Deborah Fong's bathroom as the "winner," and she was awarded more than $4,500 in home improvement products from American Standard and Moen.

More than 3,000 industry delegates are expected to attend CIPHEX West 2004 at the Roundup Centre at Stampede Park in Calgary Nov. 2-3. The event attracts trade visitors from across western Canada and the Northwestern United States who come to see all that's new from the industry and meet and do business with close to 200 exhibiting companies.

Information on CIPHEX West 2004 can be found at www.ciphexwest.ca.