ICUEE is the Demo Expo
Published in: Transmission & Distribution World
Date: 8/1/2005
The International Construction and Utility Equipment Exposition (ICUEE) is set to stage one of its most successful shows of 2005. Known as the Demo Expo, the exhibition will feature more than 1 million sq ft of exhibits for hands-on demonstrations of the latest equipment, technologies, products and services for the utility/construction industry. ICUEE 2005 will be held Sept. 27-29, 2005, at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., a central location chosen for the convenience of the show’s U.S. and international attendees.
ICUEE 2005 will also feature expanded education opportunities, including the co-location of a special Underground Construction Technology (UCT) educational program, plus informational exchanges and networking, all designed to help attendees enhance their productivity and make qualified decisions for business growth.
Some 15,000 industry professionals with electric, sewer/water, phone/cable, gas, general construction, public works/government and landscaping jobs are expected to attend the three-day exhibition.
Exhibits: New Product Area
In response to attendee feedback, ICUEE 2005 will present a “new product” display of the latest industry technological advances. Almost 70% of attendees surveyed from the last ICUEE, held in 2003, indicated they look specifically for new products and innovations, and this special area will highlight companies with offerings new since the last show.
A hallmark of the ICUEE exposition is the opportunity for attendees to actually operate equipment in demonstrations simulating real-life working conditions. ICUEE 2005 has expanded its outdoor demonstration area for in-ground work applications, and the show’s outdoor exhibit space also highlights “equipment in action” demonstrations of aerial and other aboveground machines. Exhibits at ICUEE 2005 will be segmented into “product concentration” areas to help attendees easily find the companies and products of most interest to them.
Education: Expanded Sessions
ICUEE 2005 will offer more than triple the amount of education that was presented at the last show. New is the co-location of a special UCT educational program to provide attendees with high-quality education targeting the underground infrastructure industry and complement the show’s aboveground sessions.
Attendees at ICUEE 2005 can take advantage of more than 40 learning sessions. Industry experts and case studies will focus on the latest technological, operational, safety and regulatory issues and trends affecting the utility and construction industry. Education will be offered all three days of the show, during the morning, to provide attendees with plenty of time to also visit the show’s exhibits.
In addition, UCT will conduct two special educational programs just prior to the opening of ICUEE 2005. These will combine classroom time with field training/demonstrations and include an advanced horizontal directional drilling (HDD) “training school” and a workshop on pipe bursting.
The HDD school includes an afternoon session September 25, followed by a daylong program September 26, and culminating with field demonstrations the morning of September 27. The “pipebursting workshop” is a one-day program to be held September 26.
The HDD school is aimed at both the seasoned driller wanting a refresher course as well as the novice seeking to improve knowledge and capabilities. The pipebursting workshop will help contractors and utilities learn more about this growing trenchless method and its application to their work.
For all UCT classes, industry professionals can earn continuing education units or professional development hours, plus receive certificates of completion for the HDD school and pipebursting workshop.
ICUEE 2005 Online
ICUEE 2005 website visitors will find the latest details on exhibits, education and other show features as well as information about the host city of Louisville. Attendees can also use the show website to register for exhibits and seminars and make hotel reservations.
The ICUEE 2005 website features a “Virtual Trade Show,” which provides detailed “Demo Expo” exhibitor information to help attendees plan their visit to the show and includes a company/product locator searchable by exhibitor name, product, booth number, company description or keyword as well as detailed exhibit floor plans. The show’s “My Expo” planner will save attendees’ time on-site by helping them assemble pre-show a targeted list of the exhibitors and products they want to focus on, and download a floor plan of exhibitor booth locations.
Once at ICUEE 2005, attendees will be able to more easily navigate the show grounds and quickly find the products and companies they’re looking for through the product-concentration layout of the exhibits.
In recognition of ICUEE’s growing international attendance, selected website information is available in Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian.
Getting Around at ICUEE 2005
Expanded exposition hours will be in effect for ICUEE 2005. The show will still span its traditional three-day, Tuesday-through-Thursday timetable, but show hours have been extended to provide attendees with almost an additional half-day to spend on the exhibits floor without sacrificing extra days away from the office or jobsite. ICUEE 2005 show hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on September 27 and 28, and 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on September 29.
ICUEE History
Since its inception in 1964, the demonstration concept has been a defining characteristic of the ICUEE exhibition. From its humble beginnings as a modest equipment demonstration by one company in an Illinois farm field, ICUEE has grown to become a leading demonstration exposition and one of the largest exhibitions of any industry in the United States.
The show is owned and produced by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the North American-based trade and business development group serving the international off-road equipment manufacturing industry.
ICUEE traces its beginnings to 1964 when Illinois Bell invited 12 trencher manufacturers to demonstrate equipment on the same day in the same field in Elburn, Illinois, as a means of solving an equipment evaluation and communications problem. The event was a huge success and continued to grow through the late 1960s and early 1970s. Because of its increasing size, Illinois Bell dropped sponsorship and it was run by a professional exposition management firm. The event continued to be known as the “Elburn Show.”
The show took its current name in the late 1970s. One of AEM’s forerunner groups provided industry direction and in the late 1980s bought the show and began functioning as its sole owner and manager. The show moved to Kansas City, Kansas, in the late 1970s and to its present home of Louisville, Kentucky, in 1987.
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