GlassBuild 2026 Excels in Las Vegas with Expanded Offerings

The 2026 event, held Sept. 23-25 in Las Vegas, met that anticipation and excelled, offering several first-time opportunities to elevate the trade show and the industry it serves.

"This year we knew we needed to focus on the attendee experience at GlassBuild America 2026,” said Lakisha A. Woods, CAE, president and CEO of show host National Glass Association (NGA). “It’s the industry’s preeminent annual event, and we must continue to expand upon it to grow engagement and help our attendees find value and grow their businesses.”

Attesting to the event’s growing popularity and expanding reach, GlassBuild America 2026 set a new Las Vegas show record for exhibit space. The show brought together 535 exhibiting companies, including 94 first-time exhibitors, across a record 201,350 net square feet of exhibit space.

The event drew nearly 9,200 registrants from all 50 states and Puerto Rico, as well as Canada, Mexico, and 61 other countries. Attendee engagement was strong throughout, including a sold-out Opening Celebration at Allegiant Stadium.

To ensure that the event has something to offer everyone across the supply chain, NGA has responded to attendee feedback by continually expanding the show’s offerings, growing GlassBuild America from an exhibit-centered trade show that appealed mainly to the industry’s purchasers of goods and services, to an event that offers advice on growing their business, provides continuing education, informs attendees of new technologies, and helps fill the pipeline with a diverse population of future glaziers.

To address the pipeline, GlassBuild hosted 250 local CTE high school students, illustrating that NGA is as dedicated to building the future of the industry as to helping it thrive in the present.

The students participated in skills challenges, used virtual reality to simulate installing glass on skyscrapers, learned how glass is fabricated and connected with industry professionals.

A challenge the industry faces lies in a lack of visibility for the glass and glazing industry among CTE students. The hands-on experience gained at GlassBuild America 2026 helped open the students’ eyes to the wealth of opportunities in glass.

2026 also marked the first time GlassBuild America offered keynotes, an Opening Celebration, and the Innovation Lounge, a wide range of programming that illustrates NGA’s commitment to providing relevant programming for people in all facets of the industry and creating the spaces for the connections and collaborations people show up for year after year.

The keynotes themselves provided a microcosm of the expo’s depth, offering three distinct viewpoints:

1. Entrepreneur, founder of FUBU, and star of ABC’s Shark Tank Daymond John kicked off the keynotes, bringing his celebrated business acumen to the fore to discuss goal-setting, value propositions, and how to learn from business mistakes.
2. Noted economist Connor Lokar of ITR Economics presented his construction and economic forecast, with insightful advice on how to maintain and grow one’s business in today's challenging economic environment.
3. Cannon Design’s Executive Director, Barbara Bouza, former president of Walt Disney Imagineering, tied everything together with her big-picture AEC industry perspective as an architect.

NGA illustrated its deep commitment to diversity and inclusion in the industry with the continuation of its popular Women in Glass leadership breakfast. What began five years ago as a small gathering has quickly blossomed into one of GlassBuild America’s signature and most anticipated events, with an estimated 500 attendees. It’s a powerful symbol of NGA’s commitment to women in glass, and has already inspired many chapters to develop their own goals for women’s participation.

This year also saw the first-ever Innovation Lounge, a dynamic, curated showcase highlighting technologies that are reshaping and transforming the built environment. The lounge spotlighted advancements in artificial intelligence, architectural glass, robotics, next-generation technology platforms, and sustainability.

Educational offerings included Main Stage sessions covering succession planning, use of social media, codes, products, and much more. Some American Institute of Architects–accredited sessions offered continuing education credits to architects, helping broaden GlassBuild America’s tent even farther into the AEC community.

Plans are already underway for GlassBuild America 2027, October 26–28 in Orlando, Florida. Learn more at GlassBuildAmerica.com.