The 2011 Trade Show List

By Brian Birch

I spent three great days in Louisville, KY last week at the annual GIE+EXPO show. This is a well run, well attended show, and over the course of the week I met with some members, potential members, and some of our key suppliers in the industry. I listened as these people told me how they think and feel related to the state of our industry today, and what their challenges and success are moving into 2011.  I also got a chance to get feedback from these folks related to how we are doing as a staff and as an association.

With some good questions and some simple observations, I learned a great deal about the state of the landscaping/snow industries just by being there, including:

1. Most contractors seemed more optimistic this year than they were at trade shows I attended last year. I spoke with many folks who are growing in snow, and who felt the landscaping side of the business was coming back.
2. There continues to be a strong emergence of new products and services in our industries, there were numerous new exhibitors and some exhibitors that launched 2-3 years ago whom are still sustainable. This tells me our market is relatively strong overall and is weathering the economic challenges well.
3. There is still a huge need amongst professionals to connect and interact, and share ideas. This conveys an optimism about the future that is heartening, as most of these interactions were less complaint parties and more spirited discussion over cocktails.
4. Many of the manufacturers I spoke with were optimistic about the year, and felt good about demand overall. 

Why do we continue to travel to shows like this? As a staff, SIMA does everything it can to stay out in front of our members and suppliers at trade shows. Here is our list of trade shows we plan on attending in 2011 (in no particular order):

14th Annual Snow & Ice Symposium, Schaumburg, IL (our show!)
Landscape Ontario Snow Symposium, Milton ON
MGIA Snow Conference, Novi, MI
Minnesota/Northern Green Expo, Minneapolis, MN
Landscape Ontario Congress, Milton, ON
Mid-Am, Chicago, IL
CENTS Show, Columbus, OH
New England Grows, Boston, MA
ProGreen Expo, Denver CO
MGIA Coference & Expo, Novi, MI
NTEA - Work Truck Show, Indianapolis, IN
International Parking Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
Indiana Green Expo, Indianapolis, IN
Iowa Nursery & Landscape Association Annual Convention, Ames, IA

As you can see, with only a staff of 5, we do everything we can to keep in touch in-person with our stakeholders. We look forward to spending time with our members during these trade shows, as they are our greatest asset. Feel free to share in the comments section your thoughts on how you will approach trade shows in 2011, and recommend any other good shows we don't have listed here!