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6 September 2016 Landscape and Irrigation www.landscapeirrigation.com VIEWPOINT Editor John Kmitta | jkmitta@epgmediallc.com EDITORIAL STAFF Group Publisher David Voll Associate Publisher, Editor John Kmitta (763) 383-4405; jkmitta@epgmediallc.com Products Editor Steve Noe (763) 383-4407; fax (763) 383-4499; snoe@epgmediallc.com PRODUCTION TEAM Art Director Jean Blackmer Production Manager Karen Kalinyak ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVES: EAST Chris Pelikan Senior Account Manager Phone: (763) 383-4408 cpelikan@epgmediallc.com MIDWEST Peggy Tupper Senior Account Manager Phone: (763) 383-4429 ptupper@epgmediallc.com WEST Leslie Palmer Senior Account Manager Phone: (763) 383-4460 lpalmer@epgmediallc.com DIRECT MAIL LIST SALES MeritDirect, Jim Scova, (914) 368-1012; e-mail jscova@MeritDirect.com REPRINT SERVICE Robin Cooper, e-mail rcooper@epgmediallc.com CIRCULATION For subscription inquiries and customer service questions, please call (845) 856-2229, or fax (845) 856-5822 customerservice@epgmediallc.com business hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. EST EPG Media & Specialty Information 10405 6th Ave. N., Ste. 210 Minneapolis, MN 55441 www.landscapeirrigation.com P u b l i s h e r ' s N o t i c e : W e a s s u m e n o responsibility for the validity of advertising claims in connection with items appearing in Landscape and Irrigation. Commercial product names are used for the convenience of the reader. Mention of a commercial product does not imply endorsement by EPG Media & Specialty Information, or preference over similar products not mentioned. GIE+EXPO Goes Beyond Convention If the amount of Louisville hotel rooms that were already booked by early July for Green Industry & Equipment Expo (GIE+EXPO) 2016 (Oct. 19-21) is any indication of show attendance, the event is going to be a jam-packed success. And it's no wonder. The event continues to push its boundaries in size, scope and even in the range of industry professionals that it attracts. The fi rst GIE+EXPO took place in 2007 when PLANET (which has since been re-branded as NALP) and PGMS combined their show, Green Industry Expo (GIE), with OPEI's show, which was called the International Lawn, Garden and Power Equipment Expo (EXPO). Like EXPO, GIE+EXPO is held annually in Louisville, Ky., due to it's centralized location, exhibit fl oor space, and, most importantly, it's massive outdoor demonstration area just outside the exposition center doors. The event continued to expand in 2010 when the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute agreed to co-locate its Hardscape North America (HNA) show with GIE+EXPO. The co-location of HNA brought an entirely new element — and market — to GIE+EXPO with the addition of the increasingly popular outdoor living design-build segment. GIE+EXPO 2015 drew more than 21,000 people from around the world, which represented an 11-percent increase over 2014, and HNA also had record attendance with a 4-percent increase over 2014. The footprint of the 2015 show was 1.35 million square feet — over 30 acres — making it one of the largest trade shows in the United States. And the event continues to expand in 2016. There will be approximately 750 exhibits throughout the Kentucky Exposition Center and the adjacent 19-acre outdoor demonstration area. Most exciting for us at Landscape and Irrigation is the inaugural UTV University, which will be held the fi rst day of the show, October 19 (see page 16). The UTV University educational sessions are being produced and conducted by our parent company, EPG Media, through its Powersports Business magazine. The Utility Task Vehicle (UTV) industry continues to grow, with more than 400,000 UTVs sold in the United States in 2015. UTV University will be the home for powersports dealer training at GIE+EXPO. According to Kris Kiser, president and CEO of OPEI, the addition of training sessions at GIE+EXPO for UTV dealers is a sign that this market segment is coming of age. Including UTVs in the mega trade show makes sense, added Kiser, because UTV safety standards are managed collaboratively with OPEI as the trade association representing the utility market. GIE+EXPO 2016 is also adding a Golf and Sports Turf Management Conference, and there are many more new and exciting features and attractions in store. So, for more information about GIE+EXPO, HNA, LANDSCAPES 2016, UTV University, and everything else Louisville has to offer this October, please enjoy our annual show preview section (beginning on page 12).