Landscape and Irrigation is read by decision makers throughout the landscape and irrigation markets — including contractors, landscape architects, professional grounds managers, and irrigation and water mgmt companies and reaches the entire spetrum.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/602685
GIE+EXPO Soars to New Heights POST-SHOW RECAP GIE+EXPO was held October 21-23, 2015 in Louisville, Ky. The following is an overview of the major announcements from the show. NALP HOLDS COMMUNITY SERVICE EVENT IN LOUISVILLE Approximately 75 volunteers — including National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) contractor members, NALP student members and YouthBuild volunteers — took part in a community service event in Louisville, Ky. The day kicked off at Saint Vince DePaul (SVDP) Louisville with lunch and a project/ safety briefing at which time the volunteers were split into two groups. The majority stayed on site at SVDP and spread out doing landscape installation, maintenance, mulching playgrounds, hardscaping, and tree pruning. The remaining volunteers went to Shelby Traditional Academy where they installed raised plant beds. Once the beds were installed, some of the younger Shelby students joined the volunteers to plant some vegetables. Lead sponsors were GIE + EXPO and John Deere; supporting sponsors were Stihl and Syngenta. JOHN DEERE LANDSCAPES REBRANDS AS SITEONE LANDSCAPE SUPPLY John Deere Landscapes rebranded as SiteOne Landscape Supply. With more than 460 locations in 44 states and five Canadian provinces, SiteOne is the largest wholesale distributor of landscape supplies in North America. "As SiteOne, our vision is to leverage the passion and knowledge of our 2,700 dedicated associates, along with our commitment to excellence in product offerings and service delivery, to make our customers the most successful landscaping professionals in the green industry," said Doug Black, chief executive officer of SiteOne. SiteOne offers an extensive array of product lines for green industry professionals, including wholesale irrigation, outdoor lighting, nursery, landscape supplies, fertilizers, turf protection products, grass seed, turf care equipment and golf course accessories. SiteOne associates offer expertise to help professionals operate their landscape businesses professionally and profitably. "Though our name has changed, we're still the same knowledgeable and service-focused landscape supply company that our customers have come to know and trust," said Black. MAKITA EXPANDS ITS PROFESSIONAL TOOLBOX Makita opened up its toolbox to the power equipment market at GIE+EXPO with an expanding range of solutions for landscaping, hardscape applications, forestry and related maintenance. Included are efficient MM4 4-stroke engine products, easy- starting MM2 2-stroke chain saws, and the world's largest cordless equipment/tool lineup powered by an 18V Lithium-Ion slide-style battery. GIE+EXPO also marked the re-integration of Makita U.S.A. and Dolmar power equipment. "Makita is giving landscapers, hardscape contractors and forestry professionals more solutions than any other manufacturer with efficient 4-stroke and 2-stroke engines, corded and cordless power equipment, and a range of accessories that help professional landscapers and contractors solve problems and be more efficient," said Dennis Stauch, vice president and general manager, outdoor power equipment, Makita U.S.A. Since 1991, Dolmar has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the Makita Corporation, and Makita has successfully sold Makita- branded power equipment including power cutters, chain saws, blowers, trimmers and other models. As of October 1, 2015, Makita U.S.A., Inc. is now fully responsible for the Dolmar products throughout the U.S.A. This integration gives users a combination of Dolmar professional 2-stroke chain saws, Makita MM4 4-stroke engine products, and more than 100 18V LXT and 18V X2 LXT (36V) solutions including a growing range of cordless power equipment. Makita is delivering MM4 4-stroke engine power equipment, including backpack and handheld blowers (model BBX7600N, right), a mist blower, string trimmers, brush trimmers, hedge trimmers, edgers, telescoping pole pruners and couple shafted products. For hardscape applications, Makita created the world's first 4-stroke engine power cutter with the 14-inch EK7651H. These efficient 4-stroke engine solutions go beyond exceptional tool performance, as they require no fuel mixing so users require only one gas can for all their power equipment. Our look back at the industry's biggest event 8 November/December 2015 Landscape and Irrigation www.landscapeirrigation.com