2015 GIE+EXPO set to eclipse last year’s record-setter

As this file photo from an earlier GIE+EXPO illustrates, the tradeshow’s huge indoor exhibition area is just the beginning. There’s lots to see outside and sponsors say this year’s outdoor demonstration area will be the largest ever.
Photo: GIE+EXPO

With nearly 200 new exhibitors, more extensive participation from previous exhibitors, a 14-percent increase in pre-registered attendees and exceptionally high registrations for dealer and contractor-education programs, it appears this week’s GIE+EXPO – co-located with Hardscape North America (HNA) – is on track to blow out last year’s record-setting event.

The annual tradeshow opens with “Dealer Day” on Wednesday and to all industry participants Thursday and Friday at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. The event is sponsored by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, Professional Grounds Management Society and the National Association of Landscape Professionals (formerly PLANET).

HNA, meanwhile, will be at least 13 percent bigger than last year based on exhibitors and pre-registered attendance.

Continuing education appears to be a major goal of many attending this year’s GIE+EXPO, as workshop registration is up 40 percent from last year.

All told, GIE+EXPO and HNA combined will feature more than 850 exhibits, indoors and out.

HNA, which first co-located with GIE+EXPO five years ago, has agreed to co-locate through 2018. In 2016, HNA will relocate to the North Wing, enabling GIE+EXPO to move the Dealer Resource Pavilion onto the show floor. That, in turn, will provide space for GIE+EXPO and HNA exhibitors to expand.