|
|
The GIC/GIE, a national conference and show for lawn and landscape professionals presented by the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) and the Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS), had been held in early November since its inception in 1990. The EXPO, an equipment show owned and operated by OPEI, had expanded its traditional dealer audience to make room for contractors and had been held the last weekend in July for its entire existence.
In June, PLANET, PGMS and OPEI announced the merger of the two shows. Beginning in 2007, the GIE/OPEI Expo will debut in Louisville, Ky., at the Kentucky Exposition Center. GIC/GIE averages 5,000 attendees and the OPEI show generally attracts about 25,000. Though there is a little overlap in attendees at the two shows, many are predicting growth due to the union of EXPO’s three-day 20-acre outside demonstration area with GIC/GIE’s comprehensive educational and networking opportunities (In the past while EXPO featured a three-day-long exterior exhibit, GIC/GIE only featured a one-day demo).
“This is a great opportunity for us to bring our industry more together,” says John Gibson, PLANET president. “If managed right, it will create a new excitement among our board,” adds PGMS Executive Director Tom Shaner. “It can tend to get stale if you’re doing the same thing year after year. The merged show will help us get the word out that this is a great place to come to do your buying, get your education and do some networking all at once.”
Sellers Expositions currently manages the EXPO and will manage the new larger exhibition based on a partnership agreement between the GIC/GIE and OPEI boards. GIC/GIE show staff will remain involved with show planning through the transition.
The GIC/GIE board is a standalone board and includes three representatives from each of the three associations that created the GIC/GIE (PLANET – which was formed by the Associated Landscape Contractors of America and the Professional Lawn Care Association of America – and PGMS). The GIC/GIE board has always voted by a “rule of seven,” meaning all final decisions require seven out of nine votes “so one association can’t come in and say, ‘We want it this way,’” Shaner explains, sharing that this is expected to continue with the merger to “keep everybody honest and working for the good of GIE.”
Financial arrangements between the two groups were not released, nor was the penalty that the GIC/GIE will face for canceling its contracted Indianapolis show planned for 2007. GIC/GIE retains ownership of its name.
The length of the partnership also was not officially released, but the show is expected to remain in Louisville through 2011, according to Dan Ariens, president of Ariens Co., Brillion, Wis., and OPEI board member and EXPO chairman. “We put a whole year into studying and looking at other venues,” he says. “Our critical need was to have a full-time outdoor exhibit so demonstrations could be done at leisure vs. taking place only at one time period or during one day. When you factor in this along with the growing size of the show, there aren’t a lot of location options.”
EXPO is currently the 10th largest trade show in the nation, Ariens adds, pointing out this merger could move the new show up to eighth or ninth place with the larger attendance and square footage. Louisville as a location seems to be the natural partner in making this growth happen, says OPEI President and CEO Bill Harley.
While Louisville “is a great city,” Shaner says, “there certainly will be conversations about if it’s right to stay in the same place every year. Convention center rates are more than 50 percent better in Louisville than in other cities, so right now Louisville just makes sense.”
“Most successful shows across the world do end up in the same location year after year,” Ariens adds. “We want to keep costs low to drive attendance. Location comes down to how easy it is to get in and out – Louisville is a location many can drive to comfortably.”
That is certainly the case for exhibitor Dow AgroSciences, headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., only a two-hour drive from Louisville. According to Mark Urbanowski, Dow’s senior marketing specialist, turf, ornamental and technical products, despite the convenience factor, “a truly national show might benefit from moving locations each year.”
PLANET and PGMS both bring their established conferences to the new GIE/OPEI Expo, and both organizations hope to continue to strengthen their education.
Manufacturers also feel positive about the merger. Ariens looks at the originally planned 2007 EXPO and GIC/GIE shows, scheduled less than 10 days apart and within 200 miles from each other, as an example of the ideal situation this merger brings. “For exhibitors, the attendance will be much larger and the types of attendees will be of a higher caliber,” he says. “Plus, having all attendees at one venue reduces the cost of being part of two trade shows. It also brings new excitement for new product introductions to one large show each year.”
In terms of making predictions about the new show’s growth, Urbanowski says, “it’s too early to tell how successful the show will be, but if the associations feel this is best for the industry, we will ultimately be supportive of that. Each company goes to a tradeshow with a different purpose. The key thing for us is that we get face time with the decision-makers who buy and use our products. If EXPO offers that and we get more of the same type of attendees we see at GIE, then the show will work for us.”
As the industry gets used to the new GIE/OPEI Expo, there’s already talk of new niche groups entering the show. “It’s our responsibility to help educate the show producers on what other products and services will be able to attract a national audience here,” Shaner says. “There are going to be some learning curves. Let’s not pretend that tomorrow this will be best show in world. But we’ve got our fingers crossed. We think we’ve got a winner and are hoping for the best.” --Cindy Code, Nicole Wisniewski and Marisa Palmieri
Explore the September 2006 Issue
Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.