<font color=red>ON THE ROAD:</font> Combined EXPO/GIE Show to Remain in Louisville Through 2010

The newly combined International Lawn, Garden & Power Equipment Expo and Green Industry Expo will be located in Louisville, Ky., through 2010, says Fred Whyte, president of STIHL Inc. and vice chairman of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, which sponsors EXPO.

In June, the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS), and the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute announced the merger of the two shows. Whyte spoke to reporters Friday at EXPO in Louisville.

“The GIE folks have done an outstanding job with seminars and the education side,” Whyte says. “The merger of these two shows will have a multitude of advantages.” Organizers considered rotating the show around the country, but in the end, Louisville’s close proximity to major highways, airport, and hotels, convinced the organizations to keep the shows in Kentucky, Whyte says. “The people here in Louisville are just extremely accommodating,” Whyte says. He adds that combining the shows should make it easier for exhibitors and attendees alike. “You can only attend so many shows,” he says. “You have to work more efficiently these days.”

In addition, the show requires a minimum of 500,000 square feet indoors. “But it has a lot to do with the outdoor site,” Whyte says, citing the outdoor demonstration areas where convention visitors can test everything from chain saws to skid steers. The amount of indoor exhibition space and outdoor demonstration space is something few other sites in the country can match, Whyte says. Through EXPO, OPEI combines a trade show, educational sessions and entertainment at Louisville’s Kentucky Exposition Center.

Whyte says he’s pleased that booth sales are up 3 percent over last year.