2024 EQUIP EXPO REVIEW
2024 EQUIP EXPO REVIEW
According to OPEI , more than 28,000 people registered for Equip Expo which would be a record for them . I went back and was looking at attendance numbers in 2010 ; there were around 17,000 attendees . You ' re talking 10,000 additional people . I don ' t know what it means in terms of the breakdown of landscape contractors versus dealer attendees ; it ’ s primarily landscape attendees . At times on Thursday , it was tough to get from one end of the show to the other .
Hansen : To me it felt less crowded than last year by Thursday afternoon and definitely on Friday . I didn ' t spend a lot of time outside so I can ' t talk about that . I ' m glad you brought some journalism to this discussion and brought up the activities off the show floor , plus the historical numbers ; thank you for doing that .
Best happy hour event at the show ?
Hansen : I give this one to Stihl for having a mini-Octoberfest celebration in their display complete with German beer and sausage . That place was crowded Kmitta : I stopped in the Echo social media lounge in the main entry area . That gives me a chance to speak with some of the landscape contractors on Echo ’ s advisory panel . Otherwise , when it comes to non-product events , I always carve out a little time to visit the Mutt Madness area .
As a dog person , I like to sneak over there and see this dog-adoption event in conjunction with Kentucky Humane Society .
Who should go to Equip Expo ?
Kmitta : In terms of whether this is a product demo event or a business event , I would say both and that ' s the appeal of it . With the 30-acre outdoor demo area , you have the chance to test drive anything you want . On the flip side , it ' s also a business event for making connections and having meaningful conversations . Personally each year I look forward to seeing all of our industry peers and a lot of friends I ' ve made over the past couple decades . It ' s kind of everything : the equipment , the connections , the education , and it ' s tough to take in everything
Hansen : You ' re right that this show has a little bit of everything and you can ' t do it all . To me , it ' s business over product demo . Here ' s why I say that ; the companies with
This is a show for talking to people , as Echo executives demostrate in the company ’ s display area .
displays inside and outside bring so many people , such diversity of staff , that if you want to talk to a salesperson or an engineer or if you ' re a dealer and you have logistics issues or whatever it might be , the right person is probably there and you can get a minute or two with them . It ' s amazing the things you can get done in person at this event . The product demos are great , but how much can you really learn in a short demo ride in the dirt . This event is for dealers and it ' s for business owners who want to talk business . As a landscape business owner , you might be there for the business side while your crews demo products . Just make sure you plan out what you want to see .
Any non-event recommendations for people visiting Louisville ?
Kmitta : I ' ve always liked the Louisville Slugger Museum . I like the Muhammad Ali Center and museum . Lots of bourbon tasting if you ’ re into that .
Hansen : Stay downtown if you can . Kudos to the event organizers for the opening night party at Churchill Downs ; pretty amazing to see that historic venue . For food options , I had an amazing dinner , with my contacts at Constellation software , at Jeff Ruby ' s Steakhouse downtown , and that ’ s a great experience . Highly recommend that spot .
www . OPE-Plus . com December 2024 OPE + 23