McElroy Metal is one of the most established manufacturers of metal roofing, siding, and substructural components in North America. At IRE 2026, the largest edition of the show in its history, they arrived with a booth built to match that standing. After years with an aging exhibit, McElroy Metal partnered with Featherlite Exhibits, a STAR Exhibits brand, to redesign their presence from the ground up: more traffic, more interaction, and more conversations converted into qualified leads. It worked.
Vision for McElroy Metal at IRE 2026
McElroy Metal entered the redesign process with a clear mandate: build a booth worthy of the brand:
- Replace an aging exhibit with a space that actively generates traffic and starts conversations
- Put physical product samples in attendees' hands to showcase tactile quality
- Create a defined environment for relationship-building and deeper sales dialogue
- Solve the operational realities of a multi-day large-format show: storage, flow, and function
- Build a reusable platform that performs across McElroy Metal's full trade show calendar
Featherlite trade show display solution
A hands-on product experience that stops traffic.
The centerpiece of the redesigned exhibit is a set of physical product mockups, standing seam profiles, exposed fastener panels, and wall systems that attendees can touch and evaluate firsthand. At a show where contractors and distributors are selecting materials they'll stake their projects on, that tactile experience proved to be a significant differentiator. The mockups consistently drew foot traffic and extended dwell time, giving McElroy's team more opportunities to open conversations with the right buyers.
A conversation area built for relationship development.
One of the most impactful additions to the redesigned booth was a structured conversation area, a defined space for the kind of dialogue that drives real trade show ROI. Prior booth configurations hadn't prioritized this type of engagement space. The new layout made it a feature, and at IRE 2026, it was rarely empty. Sales staff had a natural, professional environment to move beyond introductions and into substantive discussions with contractors, distributors, and specifiers.
Impact of McElroy Metal's trade show display:
The redesigned exhibit produced clear, measurable results at IRE 2026. Leads were up more than 20% over prior years — a direct indicator that the new booth's combination of product engagement, traffic-drawing mockups, and a defined conversation area was working as intended. The conversation area, a first for McElroy Metal, stayed active throughout the event, reflecting both the quality of foot traffic drawn in and the exhibit's ability to move attendees from curiosity to conversation. The McElroy Metal team characterized the project as a strong investment — validated not just by the numbers, but by the day-to-day experience of working in a booth that finally matched the scale and ambition of the brand.
Results of the Featherlite system included:
- 20%+ increase in leads over prior years
- A first-ever dedicated conversation area that remained consistently active throughout the show
- Hands-on product mockups that drove foot traffic and extended attendee dwell time
- Functional built-in storage that simplified day-to-day show floor operations
- A reusable exhibit platform built to travel across McElroy Metal's full trade show calendar
"Featherlite has been fabulous to work with; the whole team. We've had this booth for two or three years and we've been really happy with the investment."
- Kathi Miller, Director of Marketing and Sales Training
