The road to IRE 2026

By Emma Peterson. 

Learn how the IRE team builds a show experience tailored to the roofing industry. 

It might be hard to believe, but 2026 is just around the corner! And kicking off the new year in style is the annual International Roofing Expo (IRE), happening January 20-22, 2026, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. To learn more about the behind the scenes of creating a premier roofing and exteriors event of such a tremendous scale, Karen Edwards sat down with Brandi McElhaney and Rich Russo, IRE show manager and director, respectively, for an episode of Roofing Road Trips®. 

Rich opened the conversation by sharing the purpose and mission of IRE. He shared, “IRE is the heartbeat of the roofing industry. It's the gathering place. It's the community. It's where everybody gets to see old friends and meet new friends...It is really the annual hub for innovation, education, networking and fun.”  

Planning an event of this magnitude is a challenge in and of itself, but even bigger is the challenge to keep the show evolving and growing with the industry! Rich explained, “Every year, we have a blank canvas, and we really start from scratch. One thing that helps us keep a finger on the pulse of the industry is our partnership with the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA). They are amazing partners, and we work directly with them on content. They help us know what critical challenges everybody's facing in the industry, like workforce development and mental health awareness.” 

And to help narrow their focus even more, the IRE team works with advisory boards. Brandi shared, “Our education is a great example. We get so many submissions and in our regular conference program we have 45 slots. So, we have a very, very strong advisory board who looks over every submission and we meet to discuss, ‘Hey, what are the latest trends? Who's the hottest speaker,’ and things like that. We rely heavily on them and that's part of our success.” 

The result of all of this collaboration and countless other professionals lending their expertise is a show that truly represents the roofing industry of today. Rich explained, “We try to look at what the hot buttons are, what keeps professionals up, what they want to see more or less of and we put all that together...The goal is for them to walk into the IRE experience, not just any trade show.” 

Listen to the rest of the episode to get a sneak peek of what to expect from IRE 2026! And if you haven’t already, make sure to register for the show.