No one was sure how the 2016 HPBExpo in New Orleans would turn out. Some thought that many dealers would not show up because of the generally lackluster hearth sales season. Others felt that the draw of the Big Easy might attract numbers to rival the show in Nashville last year.

Unfortunately, the sales woes of the past season won out. But the New Orleans show still proved to be one of the strongest in the last five years. Yes, the numbers were down from the huge rebound last year in Nashville (up by 3,000 attendees). Most results, however, rivaled or exceeded the numbers of the Expos of the last five years, except those of the Music City Expo.

Total attendees were down 16 percent from Nashville, to 6,778, but beat all other shows in the past five years. The number of non-exhibitors was also off, by 22 percent, to 3,766, but that was the second best in the last five years. Although down 14 percent from the Nashville totals, the number of buying entities was at 1,298, beating both the Salt Lake and Orlando shows.

As further indication that the poor hearth season had taken its toll, the number of retail companies attending was down 19 percent to 894, but comparable to all recent shows except Nashville.

At 366, the number of exhibitors easily beat most shows of the last five years, and was only off two percent from the Nashville totals. Total indoor booths were actually up three percent from last year, while the number of outdoor booths continued a continuous slide from 245 in Atlanta to 77 this year, down almost 31 percent from Nashville. That was partly due to many areas of the show offering indoor-burn capability.

There were 95 first-time exhibitors this year, a strong number.

Booth sales confirmed in New Orleans for the 2017 show in Atlanta were up 14 percent in exhibitors and seven percent in booth space.

Last year’s Nashville Expo included an unprecedented upsurge in attendance, but there was little consensus why New Orleans did not continue that growth. Most exhibitors attributed it to the lack of winter weather and low fuel costs this past year. Lower sales equals lower attendance.

Those who did attend apparently brought fewer staff members, as witnessed by lower attendance at educational and certification events. Some exhibitors felt that the strength of the U.S. dollar kept many Canadian dealers from traveling south. Others blamed most of it on an election year and a still moribund economy.

In general, however, most attendees and exhibitors were satisfied with the show and the traffic, although many took note of the lower number of attendees. Some exhibitors were vocal about there being less traffic, but manufacturers such as RH Peterson and Napoleon worked their customers for months prior to the show and as a result they were swamped, an effort that all exhibitors should consider to ensure better show traffic.

The DaVinci from Travis Industries caused attendees to stop and stare.

“We clearly were down in attendance,” admitted HPBA president and CEO Jack Goldman, “but most seemed happy with the show. To quote an old cliché, we had fewer people but we had the quality people. Acquisitions have affected the show and the association more than most realize. Over the past few years, for example, one major company has acquired 35 companies.”

Goldman expects attendance at next year’s Atlanta show to be up “because Atlanta is easier to get to and hotel prices will be significantly cheaper.”

“Traffic was decent, but I wish it had been better,” said Gene Butler, incoming HPBA chairman and owner of The Firebird in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “I thought it would be better than Nashville, but today’s retailers are more cost conscious. This whole retail landscape is rapidly changing. Retailers who don’t come to the trade show won’t survive in this new era. You can’t act like it’s 1995 and survive.”

“We were slammed,” said Brian Richards, owner of Amantii and Sierra Flame. “We usually have customers seeing what’s new, but this year we saw mostly new people.”

“Traffic was down and the show was slow, but our customers were in a good mood,” said Dave Kuhfahl, president of HearthStone.

“Traffic was good and the customers’ mood was good,” said Tom Foy, general manager of Modern Flame. “Customers came by to buy. This was the best show we’ve had in six years.”

“Traffic was down some, but it was a good show,” according to Bob Emmell, vice president of Sales for Selkirk. “Even though some manufacturers didn’t show, their dealers were here looking at the competition’s products. You don’t have to spend $1 million to exhibit. They should have been here.”

“I’m angry at the manufacturers who did not show here,” said Scott Ongley, owner of retailer Lisac’s in Portland, Oregon. “But I am glad that traffic was down because it made it easier to spend time with my suppliers.”

“I’m disappointed at the manufacturers who did not exhibit,” said Pat Braddock, general manager of retailer Kirkland Fireplace, Kirkland, Washington. “It really cheats us on the show. Why should I bring more employees if not everyone is showing?”

The Stûv booth: Its Stûv 16-Z received a finalist award in the Vesta Awards program.

The Peak Season booth at the HPBExpo.

Jack Tombak, retail manager for Advanced Prefab, Ottawa, Ontario, said Canadian dealers needed to be at the show. “Dealers need to touch and feel the products,” he said. “They don’t have to spend extravagantly, and the exchange rate is going down.”

New Orleans certainly proved to be a good and entertaining venue for the show, with wonderful food, great entertainment, a beautiful convention center and good weather – except for one night of rain. Thursday, the first day of the show, was Saint Patrick’s Day, and after strong attendance on that first day, Friday’s traffic was noticeably down (perhaps due to too much green beer and a late night?).

While show traffic was down, two things obviously increased – the large number of exhibiting grill manufacturers, and the increase in Chinese exhibitors, most with small, empty booths.

Government Affairs Update

The push toward energy efficiency “spells doom for gas fireplaces,” especially in California, according to John Crouch, the HPBA’s director of Public Affairs, at Wednesday’s Government Affairs report to manufacturers. With traditional wood fireplaces virtually eliminated in California, and the state’s Cal Green program dictating only direct-vent gas fireplaces, the state’s Zero Net Energy (ZNE) proposed policy now says that every new home as of 2020 must produce all of its needed power as part of the state’s 2019 energy code to be decided in 2017.

Currently, new California homes are being made solar ready, and fireplaces are only being offered as an expensive option, Crouch said. He added that many new housing developments are not even piping natural gas onto the property.

“This proposal could be a model for regulatory use in other states,” he said. He noted that eight states are considering similar programs. “If we lose in California, we lose everywhere.”

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) proposed regulation of all gas products remains pending, according to Barton Day, the HPBA’s attorney for DOE actions. The most controversial issues in the DOE’s pending rulemaking are regulating the efficiency of every gas appliance and banning standing pilots.

“We need quickly to become proactive about making energy conservation what our industry does, and make and document a positive case for our gas products. We need to make the long-haul case for our heater-rated and decorative gas products. The fate of our products depends on this.”

It might have been the colors of the barbecues that caused attendees to stop at the Hestan booth, but they also wanted to inspect the products closely.

The HPBA has formed an Energy Conservation Task Force, and the DOE is playing “wait and see” to see exactly what the industry does before taking further actions.

The CSA Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) in Canada has expressed concern about reported late ignition explosions in gas fireplaces, causing glass to be blown into the room. The HPBA is researching the details of any such incident and is testing the now-required glass barriers to see if they restrict explosion-blown glass.

The HPBA is currently negotiating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the HPBA’s March 2015 lawsuit against the EPA’s New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), according to Dave Menotti and David Chung, the HPBA’s attorneys for EPA issues. At issue are the Step 2 emissions limits of 2.0 gph if tested with cribs and 2.5 gph if tested with cordwood to take effect in 2020, and the confusion as to test methods to be used.

John Crouch, the HPBA’s director of Public Affairs, warned manufacturers who were now testing with cordwood that this method is still up in the air and may be changed. The HPBA is awaiting a response to its lawsuit from the EPA and the Department of Energy. Stays for the current motion are in effect until late May or early June, 2016. If there is no settlement, briefs will be filed in mid- to late-2016 with any decision to be made within nine months to one year, according to Menotti.

The energy bill currently stalled in the U.S. Senate “because of election year politics,” includes $15 million over 10 years for a nationwide wood stove change-out program. A $10 million change-out program is also proposed in California, according to John Crouch. And the EPA’s Kathleen Stewart from the EPA’s San Francisco office, reported that $40 million for a one-year California change-out program is in that state’s proposed July, 2016, budget (HPBA Affiliates should have more information shortly).

The NFPA 211 has been revised to now allow gas logs and repair parts to be installed in fireplaces without having to be certified to that fireplace, and to now be installed by a “qualified agency” which includes hearth dealers and chimney sweeps, according to Tom Stroud, the HPBA’s director of Codes and Standards.

A wave burner set in a Gabion fire table at the Waterstone Fire Tables booth.

The EPA’s Larry Brockman, Residential Wood Smoke Reduction Initiative Team Leader, heading up the agency’s Burn Wise program, reported that, from 2010 to the present, $17 million have been spent in 18 states for wood stove change-outs, and another $7 million have gone for change-outs in Target Air Shed Grants. The EPA’s Burn Wise program is an effort to educate consumers to burn dry cordwood and to properly operate their wood-burning appliances for the best efficiency and lowest emissions.

Pellet Fuels Institute Breakfast

Jennifer Hedrick has left the PFI as executive director for a position with another trade association, but she attended Friday’s PFI breakfast to be presented the association’s Pillar Award for outstanding contribution to the organization’s efforts during her eight-year tenure. While the association searches for a new executive director, the association’s management firm, SBI Management, will handle PFI business.

PFI chairman Stephen Faehner, president of pellet fuel producer American Wood Fibers, reported that the PFI now has 100 members evenly split between fuel producers and equipment/materials suppliers, including 38 new members in 2015. Faehner said the PFI standards program now includes 12 fuel producers operating 21 facilities throughout North America and producing more than one million tons of PFI-qualified pellet fuel.Jennifer Hedrick has left the PFI as executive director for a position with another trade association, but she attended Friday’s PFI breakfast to be presented the association’s Pillar Award for outstanding contribution to the organization’s efforts during her eight-year tenure. While the association searches for a new executive director, the association’s management firm, SBI Management, will handle PFI business.

A presentation on the HPBA’s 2015 pellet sales raised most attendees’ eyebrows. The HPBA’s director of Membership, Affiliates and Research, Kate Fritz, and new manager of Market Research Cameron Downs, reported that 71,000 pellet stoves were shipped last year in the U.S. and 10,000 in Canada, numbers that far exceeded what the audience expected after watching the pellet stove market decline in 2015.

Downs later reported that the 81,000 North American total was the actual manufacturer shipment number from the HPBA shipment report, but that at least one pellet stove manufacturer reported 2015 numbers after not previously reporting shipments in 2014. Those 2014 numbers, by the way, were 76,461 pellet stoves and fireplace inserts in the U.S. and 9,449 in Canada – for a total of 85,910.

Downs also reported that 57 percent of U.S. homeowners have some type of hearth product in their home, and three percent of U.S. homes have a pellet appliance. Of all hearth appliances, pellet stoves have the highest consumer satisfaction rate, according to Downs.

After the recent sales high of 2010, last year’s pellet appliance sales were “down” from 2014, said Downs, but the overall trend is up and the interest and consumer awareness are increasing. Heating fuel prices are a huge market driver as well as are purchase incentives such as tax credits. Downs says the 2015 sell-through at the dealer level was higher than expected.

The 2016 PFI Annual Conference will be held July 24 to 26 at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, a yearly event that has drawn an average of 240 attendees.

Now it’s on to Atlanta, Georgia, for the HPBExpo 2017, March 2 to 4, 2017, in the Georgia World Congress Center. Hope to see you there.

Shannon Sears, general manager of Pacific Energy, answers questions about the Town & Country gas fireplace.