HighGrove Partners just returned from the Green Industry & Equipment Expo (GIE+EXPO) in October at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
The show has an enormous footprint. This year the GIE+EXPO encompassed more than 1.3 million square feet — nearly 30 acres or 27 football fields — making it the largest ever for this megashow, already one of the biggest trade shows in the United States.
GIE+EXPO draws all segments of the lawn, landscape and outdoor power equipment industries. This year, there were almost 20,000 in attendance. Hardscape North America, a national association for hardscape professionals that co-locates with the GIE+EXPO, also had record attendance.
Landscape professional attendees like HighGrove Partners were up 7 percent from last year, attending many workshops and sessions, covering a range of landscape and business management topics—from developing a management team to building a solid employee to setting business performance benchmarks.
Coming away from a show like this, we at HighGrove Partners learn a tremendous amount about business and industry trends to help advance and better our company and our operations.
Here’s a look at some of the commercial landscaping trends we discovered at the show that we’ll be seeing on Atlanta commercial properties in 2015 to keep you ahead of the season.
Landscape Lighting For Commercial Properties Is Back
Landscape lighting for commercial properties is growing in popularity as lighting designs become more creative.
In high-end retail centers and new mixed-use developments, downlighting to create a moonlight effect and artistic lighting fixtures create landscape lighting that not only provides safe passage and keeps intruders at bay, but also brings an artistic element to the entire space.
Wifi For Commercial Property Landscapes Is Essential
Is there anywhere one can go today and not get connected to the Internet?
Wireless hotspots are not just a nice addition, they are expected—and Atlanta commercial properties are no exception.
In a commercial office park, today’s workers want to get outside to enjoy the weather in an outdoor patio or park space and work. In a retail center, today’s shoppers want to check out the latest deals and coupons on their smartphones as they’re making purchases.
Commercial Properties Are Embracing Smart Water Management
Smarter water management on commercial properties, including the use of smart irrigation controllers; better valves, spray heads and nozzles; targeted irrigation techniques like drip irrigation and even weather stations, can all help improve the efficiency of how water is delivered to plants, trees and turf on a property.
What’s more, these measures save water and deliver an impressive ROI. Water savings and money savings is a nice win-win for commercial property managers today.
Commercial Landscaping Trends: Working To Exceed Client Expectations
At the GIE+EXPO, HighGrove Partners learns a lot about new landscape techniques and trends, but company executives also learn a lot about new business trends. From building an effective work culture to managing jobs in a timely fashion to exceeding customer service expectations, we are constantly learning to improve our business. We can share the trends we learn to help you improve your business efficiency as well.
HighGrove Partners believes in educating ourselves and our clients. We are members and leaders in many green industry associations—our CEO, Jim McCutcheon, is currently president of the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), one of the associations that puts on the GIE+EXPO.
We also belong to many real estate associations, including the Building Owners & Managers Association and the International Facility Management Association. We are active in these associations because we believe in being involved in order to learn and grow as a business.
Call us at 678-298-0550 or use our simple contact form for a free consultation!
Last modified: June 2, 2021
