Visitors to the 30th Annual Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo took a few days’ vacation from the recession. While many sectors of the economy still struggle, positive signs were abundant at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.
The 2010 Expo, Feb. 24-27, drew 8,784 individual attendees representing 3,921 companies, up by 3.7 percent from last year’s company count, which was dragged down by the recession. I talked to many (not all) exhibitors during three days on the show floor. Scout’s honor, not one that I spoke with gave a downbeat report on business activity.
Not everyone said, “This was our best Expo ever,” although some did. Mostly, the 494 exhibiting companies reported that traffic was high and serious buyers and prospects were the dominant species in the hall.
It should come as no surprise, then, that attendees were upbeat, too. A few that I talked to mentioned challenges they still face, but they were optimistic in their outlook – willing to invest in what they saw as better times ahead.
Of course, an event like the Expo tends to attract the best people in the industry: the already successful and the up-and-comers. Those are the people whose energy and investments in the long run will drive the industry ahead.
One great addition to the show was the Roe-D-Hoe equipment operating competition put on by NOWRA. There were always people in the bleachers, some of them operators waiting their turns, and others just curious about activities like excavator basketball, golf and bowling. The winning times in the competition were simply amazing.
By next year I hope more Pumper & Cleaner attendees discover the incredible dining spots on Louisville’s Frankfort Avenue and the “restaurant row” of Bardstown Road. I joined a group of COLE Publishing writers and editors at Porcini on Frankfort. They serve fabulous Italian food there, not to mention excellent steaks. Looking around the crowded dining room, I didn’t recognize any faces from the Expo.
In 2011 it would be nice to see more of our crowd exploring the Louisville attractions outside the downtown district.
