Published September 2007

See More of the Industry

By Ted J. Rulseh (page 47)

The Kentucky Exposition Center gives the 2008 Pumper & Cleaner Expo more exhibit space than ever, in a floor plan designed for attendees’ convenience.

You have not seen the environmental service industry until you see the 2008 Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky., Feb. 27 to March 1.

For years, the Expo exhibits jammed the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville. Yet, even as show space expanded from year to year, exhibitors’ booth spaces were limited, and dozens of potential exhibitors were left out because there was simply no room for them.

Now, the lid has been lifted. The Expo in Nashville never saw more than 440 exhibits. The 2008 Expo will have more than 500, in 640,000 square feet of show hall. And that still leaves plenty of room to grow.

“In Louisville, we can offer a more complete array of equipment and technology than we ever could before,” says Julie Gensler, trade show coordinator with COLE Inc. “It will be exciting to see companies that had been on a waiting list for years getting a chance to display their products.”

Just one big room

The Kentucky Exposition is one of the ten largest public facilities of its kind in the United States, with more than a million square feet of climate-controlled space. It is a world-class venue and home to some of the largest shows in the Midwest, including the Mid-America Trucking Show, the International Construction and Utility Equipment Expo, and the National Farm Machinery Show.

Even better, all of it is on one level. For attendees, that means no more fumbling with multiple floor plan maps and running up and down stairways or escalators to see all the exhibits.

All the equipment will be in one big hall with clearly marked aisles. To make navigation even easier, an electronic floor plan system will be available in kiosks and on a web site. You’ll be able to search for a specific exhibitor or for a category of products (such as portable restrooms or inspection cameras) and see the exhibit spaces in the floor plan light up onscreen.

More tires to kick

Not only will there be more space — there will be a great deal more to see. Taking advantage of the bigger space, many long-time exhibitors have upsized their booths substantially. That means they can bring along equipment they used to have to leave at home, and display things in interesting ways, with plenty of room to walk around. You can find a list of exhibitors registered so far at www.pumpershow.com.

Seminars, meetings, shows

The Exposition Center is also convenient for seminars and meetings, with 35 meeting rooms and a 600-seat auditorium. Expo education sessions will be conveniently located near the exhibit hall, easier to find than in recent years in Nashville.

The facility also includes Freedom Hall, an indoor arena that seats more than 19,000 for concerts, sports contests, and a wide variety of other events. The facility covers some 400 acres and includes 19,000 lighted parking spaces. All told, the building can accommodate more than 73,000 people.

“We’ll have everything not only under one roof but in a much more convenient setting,” Gensler says. “Even though the space is much bigger, attendees will be able to see what they want to see more easily than before.”

You can learn more about the Exposition Center at www.kyfairexpo.org. Look for more details about the 2008 Expo in future issues of this magazine. The early registration fee of $40 applies until Jan. 25, 2008. Registration at the door is $60. To find out more, or to register, visit www.pumpershow.com, or call 800/257-7222.