Equip Exposition 2026 planning brief
- Equip Exposition runs October 20-23, 2026 in Louisville.
- The organiser promotes a 30-acre demo yard and nearly 1,100 booths.
- Public access runs 12 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, and until 2 p.m. indoors or 1 p.m. outdoors Friday.
- Published badge pricing spans $25 to $120, with $170 Equip Academy and $20 Dealer Breakfast add-ons.
- Indoor space starts at $25.60 per square foot for larger member booths, while initial outdoor demo space is $1.65 per sq. ft.
- Mike Holmes opens the keynote programme Wednesday at 11 a.m.
Why Equip Exposition combines indoor buying research with a 30-acre test yard
Equip Exposition 2026 runs October 20-23, 2026 and pairs indoor product research with a 30-acre demo yard. The organiser promotes nearly 1,100 booths, so the event serves both comparison shopping and hands-on evaluation rather than treating the outdoor area as a side attraction.
Which contractors, dealers and arborists fit the Louisville audience
The published audience spans contractors, dealers, designers, arborists, manufacturers, and industry creators. Tree Care Arena adds live demonstrations and practical business insights, while the organiser says the co-located events register more than 30,000 people. The fit is strongest for teams selling equipment, software, services, training or distribution support into those roles.
What happens from Tuesday reception through Friday closing
The event calendar runs October 20-23, 2026. Public access is 12 PM to 5 PM Wednesday. Thursday runs 9 AM to 5 PM. Friday runs 9 AM to 2 PM indoors and 9 AM to 1 PM outdoors. Tuesday centers on the welcome reception rather than trade-show access.
How 18 indoor hours and 17 demo hours shape a three-day plan
Wednesday public access is 12 PM to 5 PM, Thursday is 9 AM to 5 PM, and Friday indoors is 9 AM to 2 PM while the yard ends at 1 PM. That yields 18 indoor hours and 17 outdoor hours. Separate assignments preserve coverage without double-counting overlapping time. See the event planning method
How the Kentucky Exposition Center footprint is divided
Kentucky Exposition Center sits at 937 Phillips Lane in Louisville. The combined show occupies 1.3 million square feet indoors, while badge pickup is distributed across four locations: North Wing, South Wing B, West Wing Lobby and West Wing Pavilion. Those anchors are more useful than treating the venue as one undifferentiated hall.
Which Louisville routes reduce time lost in transit
The venue is positioned at I-65 and I-264, and Louisville International Airport uses the code SDF. Equip's event shuttles are free. Friday's airport route runs 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM outside the North Wing. Travel planning should distinguish hotel routes from the airport route.
How the $25, $30, $60 and $120 badge tiers work
The published badge range is $25 to $120. The standard schedule lists $30 for Early Bird, $60 from September 11 through October 19 and $120 during show week. Equip Academy is a separate $170 add-on, so education and trade-show admission should remain separate budget lines.
Which badge, refund and demo rules change access
Show-floor access begins at age 12+, while equipment demonstrations require age 16+ and a valid driver's licence. Trade-show passes are non-refundable, and no cancellation or refund is allowed after September 25, 2026. Badge pickup requires a valid driver's license or passport.
Why official housing and shuttle routes belong in the same decision
The Louisville Housing Bureau is the official hotel reservation company. Equip also runs free shuttles between selected hotels and Kentucky Exposition Center. Friday hotel service runs 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM. The practical hotel choice therefore depends on the published route, not only distance or room rate.
When teams should arrive and leave Louisville
Wednesday's opening keynote begins at 11 AM, while Kentucky Exposition Center badge desks open at 8 AM. Friday's indoor floor runs 9 AM to 2 PM, and the airport shuttle runs 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Arrival before Wednesday morning and departure after assigned meetings protect usable floor time. See the event planning method
What nearly 1,100 booths and the category mix cover
The organiser promotes nearly 1,100 booths across a mix that includes software, robotic mowers, battery systems and engines. Irrigation, landscape lighting and hardscapes sit beside UTVs, skid steers and chain saws. The directory is therefore a cross-category research tool, not a single-equipment list.
How the Equip app narrows a large floor plan
The free Equip app provides venue maps, directions, the education schedule and the exhibitor directory. That directory sits inside a combined 1.3 million square feet of indoor exhibits, so category filters and saved sessions reduce unnecessary walking. The app can organize a route, but it does not establish who will take a meeting.
Where Mike Holmes, Tree Care Arena and Equip Academy fit
Mike Holmes is the announced opening keynote speaker, scheduled for Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at 11 AM. Tree Care Arena supplies live demonstrations and practical business insights through Davey Institute and Academy Trained. Equip Academy then carries the wider paid education programme.
Which meeting windows avoid the keynote and evening events
Dealers receive a Wednesday preview from 9 AM to 12 PM, but the 11 AM keynote overlaps that window. General attendance is 12 PM to 5 PM Wednesday. Thursday offers an uninterrupted 9 AM to 5 PM floor block. Meetings should be placed around those published constraints rather than guessed gaps.
How the contractor and dealer mix affects audience fit
Equip names contractors, dealers, designers, arborists, manufacturers and industry creators as its audience. The organiser says 80% have final purchasing say or buying influence and reports more than 30,000 registrations across the co-located events from 50 states and 50+ countries. Those are organiser claims, not audited buyer counts.
How to build a target list from the product taxonomy
Account selection can start with three published product clusters: software, robotic mowers, battery systems and engines; irrigation, lighting and hardscapes; and UTVs, skid steers and chain saws. Matching CRM accounts to those clusters produces a narrower list than treating every landscape or equipment company as equally relevant.
What the free Equip app can and cannot do
The Equip app is free to download and includes maps, directions, the full education schedule, the exhibitor directory, giveaways and saved sessions. Four physical badge-pickup locations remain outside that planner workflow. The app supports navigation and scheduling; the reviewed page does not describe exhibitor badge capture, export fields or CRM transfer.
Where planning stops and badge capture begins
The free app is documented for venue maps and directions, education, exhibitors and saved sessions, while booth packages include two complimentary badges per 100 square feet. As of September 25, 2026, the reviewed official pages do not connect those planning functions or badge allotments to a current exhibitor capture product, so the boundary cannot be named more precisely.
What indoor and outdoor exhibit space costs before services
Indoor rates range from $25.60 per square foot for larger OPEI-member space to $33.10 for smaller eligible nonmember space, plus a $50 booth fee. Outdoor demo space is $1.65 per square foot up to five times the indoor area, then $10.00 per square foot beyond that allowance.
How many reps are needed across the three floor days
Public indoor access runs 12 PM to 5 PM Wednesday, 9 AM to 5 PM Thursday and 9 AM to 2 PM Friday. At B2Brain's 31 scans per day productive-rep benchmark, one rep across three days represents 93 scans; two represent 186. Staffing still depends on booth coverage and booked meetings. See the event planning method
What is verified about Equip's official capture product
The reviewed 2026 sources document a free planning app with venue maps and directions, plus two included exhibitor badges per 100 square feet. They do not identify a current-edition lead-capture vendor, order form, device price or scanner package. As of September 25, 2026, naming an official capture product would therefore exceed the evidence.
Which scanner fields and export limits remain unpublished
Equip publishes a free planner with venue maps and directions, plus two included exhibitor badges per 100 square feet. The current pages reviewed through September 25, 2026 do not state which fields a scanner returns, whether notes work offline, how licences are shared, or which exports and CRM connections a capture package includes.
Why a named badge-scanner comparison is not supportable
Current official material confirms the free app, venue maps and directions, and two complimentary badges per 100 square feet. It does not prove a 2026 scanner at vendor-proof level 1 or 2. A named scanner-versus-B2Brain comparison would invent the organiser side, so the structured comparison uses On your own.
What evidence is missing before selecting a capture stack
Equip publishes $25.60 per square foot for larger member space, $1.65 for the initial outdoor allowance and two complimentary badges per 100 square feet. A capture-stack decision still lacks a verified scanner price, ordering deadline, device allowance, offline behavior, export format and permission model. Those missing inputs prevent a product-selection calculation.
Which fields distinguish contractor, dealer and distributor conversations
Equip's audience includes contractors, dealers, designers, arborists and manufacturers. Product groupings span software, robotic mowers, battery systems and engines; irrigation, landscape lighting and hardscapes; plus UTVs, skid steers and chain saws. A useful record distinguishes company role, application, current equipment, buying authority, service constraint and next action.
How to protect lead quality across indoor and outdoor contacts
The 30-acre demo yard creates product trials that may follow or precede an indoor conversation. Dealer preview runs 9 AM to 12 PM Wednesday. Thursday runs 9 AM to 5 PM, and the Friday yard runs 9 AM to 1 PM. Matching repeated contacts prevents a trial and booth visit from becoming duplicate leads.
When Friday leads should enter follow-up
Friday indoor exhibits run 9 AM to 2 PM. B2Brain's lead-decay benchmark is about 85% within two hours and about 9% after one week. The first routing checkpoint is 4 PM on October 23, with unresolved records reviewed again by 2 PM on October 30. See the event planning method
Which verified costs support booth math without invented ROI
Verified exhibit inputs include $25.60 per square foot for larger OPEI-member indoor space, a $50 booth fee, $1.65 per square foot for the initial outdoor allowance and $10.00 per square foot beyond it. Freight, services, travel, staffing, ACV and conversion inputs are not established here, so no ROI figure is invented.