Opportunities abound to thrive at EXPO 2005
Published in: Outdoor Power Equipment
Date: 9/1/2005
Dan Ariens, president & CEO of Ariens Company, Brillion, Wis., is the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute’s (OPEI) chairman for the 22nd annual International Lawn. Garden & Power Equipment Exposition (EXPO 2005). Sponsored by OPEI, EXPO 2005 will take place Friday, Oct. 14, through Sunday, Oct, 16. in Louisville. Ky., at the Kentucky Exposition Center. On June 25, Ariens updated his fellow OPEI members about the show during the association’s 53rd annual meeting in Key Biscayne, Fla. Excerpts from that presentation are as follows:
Good morning! I am very excited to be your EXPO 2005 chairman! OPEI and our show management team have made significant and very positive changes to EXPO. We also have had a very large number of our exhibitor partners “step up to the plate” with new features, events, seminar programs, sponsorships and concerts!
However, before I get into those details, I want to talk briefly about the physical changes that are happening at the Kentucky Expo Center and how it will improve your industry trade show. First of all, this new, gigantic wing will give us the opportunity to place all exhibitors in one hall for the first time. Excitement is sure to increase with almost 150 new exhibitors, larger booths that many of you have already reserved, and the ability to place key areas like registration and the new Dealer Club right on the exhibit floor. In addition, the new two-story conference center will give our industry associations and exhibitors state-of-the-art rooms of various sizes to hold expanded meetings and education programs. We already have several major OEMs looking to hold their dealer meetings in conjunction with future EXPOs. This new space will give us endless opportunities as we strive to broaden our product and activities base!
Our lawn and landscape professionals and dealer attendees have been asking for October dates for years, and we finally have been able to secure those preferred dates starting in 2005. That means that OEMs can bring their entire new product lines because most will have already hosted their own dealer meetings. Your customers want to see what’s new, and they want to receive a personal invitation from the company that they represent.
How about this year we give them what they want? When you go back home next week, make sure your team takes the time to set measurable and attainable EXPO goals. Then, work with our management firm, Sellers Expositions, to develop the best methods for your company to reach those goals. We all need to show new products and make EXPO part of our marketing and sales process.
Now, what’s new!
1. Briggs & Stratton is sponsoring Rocktober, our opening night party. The Briggs Bluesbusters band with President John Shiely on rhythm guitar will open for Paul Revere and the Raiders on Friday. This new Friday night event will be open to all attendees and exhibitors and will include hearty appetizers and “adult beverages” and networking. The reception portion of the evening is sponsored by our friends at the Greater Louisville Convention Bureau and the Kentucky Exposition Center.
2. Yard & Garden, Commercial Dealer, Outdoor Power Equipment and Power Equipment Trade magazines are teaming up with OPEI to host a new, free dealer seminar series on “Excellence in Service.”
3. The new LandsConference will be a series of online and onsite continuing education tracks for golf course superintendents, landscapers, sports turf pros, arborists, and parks and recreation managers. We are very happy to announce that these tracks will be accredited by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Certified Crop Advisor, Department of Pesticide Regulations, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, the Irrigation Association, the International Society of Arboriculture, and the Sports Turf Managers Association.
4. The Charlie Daniels Band will headline ExpoFest on Saturday after the show closes. This event is free for all attendees and exhibitors, and is sponsored by some company called Ariens.
5. New signage, sponsored by Husqvarna, will include the new aisle signs in the exhibit hall, lanyards for attendees and exhibitors, plus attendee badges. This type of sponsorship is great for the show as it helps defray production costs. That means a better bottom line, which allows OPEI to continue the many fine programs that have been detailed over the last two days.
6. Another new event in the works is a national chain saw carving competition with the finals taking place at EXPO. Nine finalists will compete at EXPO 2005 for the right to be called “The National Champion!” Echo, a long-time supporter in the art of chain saw carving, will be the sponsor.
7. Ferris Industries is organizing EXPO’s “Run with the Winners” to benefit the WHAS Louisville Crusade for Children. This new event will take place Saturday morning and will be open to all attendees and exhibitors. A 5K run Saturday morning sounds good to me. How about you?
8. Additional features this year include OPEI’s Dealer Back Porch Education Series; Kohler’s Brat Fry in the demo area; Golfdom magazine’s Seminars for Golf Course Superintendents; Power Equipment Trade and Turf magazines’ “Trucks of the Industry Giveaway;” Stihl, Ariens and Yard & Garden’s Dealers in Excellence Awards; the Snow and Ice Pavilion, sponsored by the Snow and Ice Management Association; the New Products and Innovations Showroom, sponsored by Turf magazine; and our popular Lawn and Landscape Seminar Series, sponsored by OPEI.
For more information about EXPO 2005, visit www.expo.mow.org or call Sellers Expositions at (800) 558-8767 or (812) 949-9200.
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