Article by Dan Shell, Senior Editor, Power Equipment Trade

Through parent company Hatton-Brown Publishers and our other publications, the staff of Power Equipment Trade attends a lot of trade shows and events. And while there are some massive timber industry trade fairs in Europe that will give Equip Expo a run for its money, the lawn and garden industry’s biggest event in Louisville is pretty much by far the largest and most comprehensive trade show we attend each year in the U.S.

We’ve watched the event grow and develop for more than three decades as the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) has operated it: Our first year to attend and exhibit at what was then the International Lawn, Garden & Power Equipment Expo was 1991. The four-day event was held at the height of summer in late July, and since we had just bought Chain Saw Age earlier that year (and were already looking to finesse a publication name change to reflect coverage of the broader lawn and garden industry), we wanted to make a good impression on our new audience—so we wore suits and ties in the sweltering summer heat.

Even then, we could quickly see the Expo’s singular position as a force for the whole industry. A “controversy” developed at the show in 1991 when landscapers and pro equipment users were allowed to attend on the last day, unsettling some as the event had been primarily a dealer-distributor show since its inception in 1984.

The one day turned to all days soon enough, and the addition of the landscaper commu- nity provided a big boost to Expo growth: The landscaper community had developed its own fall trade event, the Green Industry Expo (GIE), that mixed traditional trade show booths and products (and that really tried to emulate the Louisville show’s unique demo area in various venues) with a heavy dose of seminars and presentations related to professional certifications.

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