GLAS 2017 – The best show yet!
GLAS proves once again why it is the premier event for the horticulture trade industry in Ireland.
2 August 2017
On July 20th 2017, the Garden Landscape and Amenity Sportsturf trade show returned to the Citywest events centre and hotel in Saggart, Co Dublin, to bring together the very best of the horticulture trade industry in Ireland and the UK.
The event which showcased a sold-out show of 145 exhibitors focused on its core value of bringing together market and industry leading professionals.
Under one roof from 9am to 7pm just under 1,000 people attended the show from all areas of the business-to-business horticulture trade industry.
According to the exit polls from GLAS 2017: 94% of exhibitors surveyed described their participation as “worthwhile” or “very worthwhile”, while 99% of visitors confirmed their attendance as “worthwhile” or “very worthwhile”.
The Learning Theatre
A key feature of the GLAS trade show was The Learning Theatre. Proudly supported by Bord Bia, the learning theatre saw five industry leading professionals present lectures on a wide range of horticulture, trade specific topics.
Edwin Meijer of Garden Connect provided a packed, specially designed, theatre with an invaluable insight into securing customers via the internet with his talk on “7 ways to get more customers via the internet”.
Dr Clare Sampson and Neill Helyer discussed the crucial topic of Smart, Safe, and Sustainable Pest Control; Grace Binchy from Bord Bia provided an invaluable insight into consumer behaviour attitudes and influences which drive their decisions around the purchase of plants and garden products in Ireland today.
Lastly the Learning Theatre came to a close with Joe O’Meara from Groundwater Dynamics discussing 21st century drainage solutions for greenkeeping professionals!
Best new Plant, Best new Product
An exciting aspect to GLAS is its celebration of the new and of the future. This year the winner of the New Product was: Hygeia’s Green Force – Lawn Gold and the winner of the New Plant award was Kelly’s Nursery with the Escallonia Laevis “Pink Elle”.
“These trade shows and in particular GLAS, are a really nice way to get exposure to retailers that we want to reach; independent garden centres would be a really important sector for us to reach and we can do that here.” said Elisha Daniels the marketing manager with Hygeia Garden Care, who won best product at GLAS 2017.
“To win best product at GLAS gives us great confidence in a product that we already really believe in anyway, but to get recognition from adjudicators here at GLAS gives us even greater confidence to sell it to our retailers and buyers.” she continued.
Angela Slevin, Sales and Marketing with Kelly’s Nursery said: “It is fantastic [to be at GLAS]. It is great to get out and meet everybody in the industry, having a meet and greet and catching up with so many people I know from the industry is great, altogether it is a great day and there is a great buzz about the place.
“So far the plant has been growing outside, it is looking great, we have had no problems with diseases, flowering perfectly even with the rain and weather we have been having.” she concluded.
Best in Show Trade Supplier, Best in Show Horticulture
GLAS 2017’s exhibitors put a massive effort into designing their stands at the event but two exhibitors stood out from the rest.
The winner of Best in Show Trade Supplier was Sanctuary Synthetics and the winner of Best in Show in Horticulture went to O’Connor nurseries.
Geraldine, head of Sales with O’Connor nurseries said: “Being at GLAS it means we have the opportunity to meet all of our customers as well as our suppliers who come here, to showcase our stock.”
That we won best stand in horticulture is even more brilliant; we were shown appreciation for what we do. Jim O’Connor is quite well known for his quality plant display and Anne O’Connell who does all of our added value, designed, planned and executed our stand so a big thank you to her.”
Sportsturf Village & Machinery Park
The Irish Institute of Sports Surfaces Sportsturf Village is now an established feature of the event, connecting suppliers and specialists in this sector to a targeted list of invited sportsturf and parkland professionals.
The expanded area featured: Mowing Equipment, Aeration Equipment, Fertilisation Supplies, Drainage Systems and Techniques, Line-marking, setting out equipment for GAA, FAI, and IRFU pitches.
The Machinery Park brought another striking element to the GLAS trade show with the event hall filled with impressive machinery for all wants and needs in the horticulture, landscape, and sportsturf maintenance industry.
Some of the exhibitors confirmed for the Sports Surfaces Village and Machinery Park for 2017 included:
CAFRE Greenmount, Dublin Grass Machinery, Etesia, GardenFX, Gripple, Groundwater Dynamics, ICL, Irish Grass Machinery, Irish Institute of Sports Surfaces, Martyns Grasslawns, MG Seed Company, NAD Sports, and XL Horticulture.
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