QC home show highlights latest products, trends

Delano White looked like he was a man on a mission Saturday morning, April 27, at the Davenport Spring Home Show. He visited one table after another that featured home service business reps offering a wide variety of goods and services. “We’ve got some bad plumbing in our house. So, I wanted to look around […]

Delano White looked like he was a man on a mission Saturday morning, April 27, at the Davenport Spring Home Show. He visited one table after another that featured home service business reps offering a wide variety of goods and services.

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“We’ve got some bad plumbing in our house. So, I wanted to look around a little. Maybe look for a new bathroom,” said the Davenport man as he looked over a model bathroom on display at the Kohler LuxStone table at the show. Others at the show – which took place Friday through Sunday, April 26-28, at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport – were on their own home service missions. The show was hosted and promoted by Nationwide Expos. Some were looking at businesses that offered new roofs, windows, gutter systems, backyard fences and a lot more. The representatives at the K-Designers table were busy telling customers about their company’s redesign services. The table featured a large sign with the catchy slogan: “A new home at an old address.” By late Saturday morning, several hundred attendees were already going from one table to the next, in search of a company to help them with that next big home project. Andrew Fox of Muscatine, Iowa, was happy to see the crowds. “Right now, I think we have more people here than were here at this time on Friday,” said Mr. Fox, who was at the LeafFilter Gutter Protection System table. He added that he believed Friday’s threats of stormy weather would keep some people at home. The weather was nice enough early Saturday so many would-be customers made their way to the fairgrounds and the home show. The Muscatine man was keept busy with numerous possible customers who stopped by to see his company’s gutter system. He added that one of the reasons he was so popular is his system is relatively inexpensive compared to some of the other home improvement products offered at the show. “That’s not to say this gutter system is cheap. You really do get what you pay for,” he added. In addition to the gutter systems, another busy section at the show on Saturday was Superior Sleep Experience section. The business, which was selling new bed sets, had two beds on display and invited people to stop by and try out the beds. “It’s been a good show for us,” said Allen Kelberlau of Kansas City, Missouri, one of the reps working at the Superior Sleep section on Saturday. “This is the first time we’ve been here, but we do all kinds of shows in this area.” He added that the Davenport show was turning into a good experience for Superior Sleep as the company sold five beds on Friday and more sales were in the works on Saturday. Other business reps also had high hopes for the show. One of them was Garrett Hahn, who was waiting for customers at the Hahn Quarry Products table early Saturday. The Galena, Illinois-based company sells stones for a wide variety of home and landscaping projects. “We saw there was going to be this show in Davenport and wanted to give it a try,” he said. Mr. Hahn added that the weekend’s rainy weather probably helped companies at the show. That’s because many people headed indoors – such as at the fairgrounds – instead of doing outdoor projects. Some of the other companies and services at the weekend show included: Acri Company, Advantage Tree Service, AT&T Mobility, Backyard Vinyl Co., Bath Fitter, Bath Planet of Iowa, Custom Bath & Shower, D&K Home Products, T Mobile, TSR Concrete Coatings Davenport, Veteran’s Choice Contracting and many others. Many of those attending the weekend show liked what they saw indoors, while waiting out the rain. “This is a pretty good show. They have a little bit of everything,” Mr. White added.