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I'm just back from ProConnect Multifamily 2022, where MULTIFAMILY Design+Construction and our parent company, SGC Horizon, hosted 130 Multifamily Developers, Architects, Designers, Contractors, and Product Manufacturers for 3 days of lively and informative meetings at the Ritz-Carlton, Dallas.
The Ritz-Carlton is the very same venue where we hosted our last "live" ProConnect Multifamily on – check out these dates – March 8-10, 2020. We finished up as the Covid-19 pandemic was closing the hotel and everything else in Texas and the U.S.
This was our 27th ProConnect, where we bring product specifiers – Developers, Architects, Interior Designers, and Contractors – together with Building Product Manufacturers for confidential 1-to-1 meetings (20 min. each) to discuss upcoming Multifamily projects and how the Manufacturers' products and services may provide solutions.
The mini-discussions generate a hum that reverberates throughout the ballroom, and you can feel the excitement in the air. Attendees and Vendors told me they like the the compressed information exchange – "a very good use of my time," is how they put it.
ATTENDEE ROUNDTABLES EXAMINE SUPPLY CHAIN, RECRUITMENT PROBLEMS
Two groups of ProConnect Attendees (15-20 per group) related their concerns about supply chain disruptions and difficulty recruiting qualified design, engineering, and construction professionals, as well as trades workers and administrative staff.
Supply chain complaints centered around cabinetry and appliances. There were reports of cabinet suppliers breaking down units to reduce shipping costs, then having the cabinets reassembled on the job in the U.S.
One Attendee said that a major appliance manufacturer could only offer stainless steel kitchen appliances. "That's a problem when you've designed the kitchen with white cabinets," said this particpant.
A Developer with more than 2,500 employees said the firm had 500 openings. Several Attendees said that "poaching" was occurring at a rate unheard of in the AEC and real estate sectors.
4 MORE PROCONNECT EVENTS FOR 2022
– ProConnect SUSTAINABILITY: June 20-21, Hotel Sofitel, Chicago – contact Robert Reed, 630-845-1285, rreed@sgcmail.com for more information. LEED Fellows, Chief Sustainability Officers, WELL APs, Fitwel Ambassadors, and other "Climate Action Champions" meet with manufacturers to discuss sustainability, wellness, resilience, and ESG issues.
– ProConnect SINGLE FAMILY (2): Sept 25-27, Renaissance Hotel, Nashville – contact Dan Gardner, 989-860-7930, dgardner@sgcmail.com.
– ProConnect MULTIFAMILY II: Oct 26-28, Loews Coronado Resort, San Diego – contact Dan Gardner, 989-860-7930, dgardner@sgcmail.com.
– ProConnect EDUCATION (K-12 to University): Dec 4-6, Andaz Resort, Scottsdale AZ – contact Robert Reed, 630-845-1285, rreed@sgcmail.com for more information.
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