2019 Hardscape North America Raises the Bar Once Again
Each year, the Hardscape North America (HNA) joins GIE+EXPO at the sprawling Kentucky Exposition Center for North America’s largest event for landscape and hardscape professionals.
With over 18,000 total attendance at the combined HNA and GIE+EXPO event, hardscape industry presence at North America’s largest landscape expo continues to grow. Contractor attendance at HNA, an Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) event, and GIE+EXPO jumped 12 percent this year, with more than 15,532 landscape and hardscape professionals in attendance.
The Hardscape North America annual event presents a unique opportunity to reach contractors, designers and municipalities with an interest in hardscape industry products and services. A new “Hardscape House” pavilion hosting numerous hardscape demonstrations and the HNA Installer Championship was a popular attraction throughout the event.
Education Courses, Certification Testing and Workforce Development programs at HNA provide enormous opportunities for career growth. Highlights of this year’s education program included sessions on leveraging online reviews to grow a hardscaping business, improving profitability, and a discussion on finding the next generation of hardscape installers. Each session provided participants with ideas they can use right away to make a positive difference in their business.
Dealer-exclusive expo hours, training and networking events received high marks from HNA dealer attendees. Dealers participated in roundtables that were deeper dives into topics including using contractor programs as a business growth tool, inventory control, and drafting new talent into the business. Other sessions included differentiating your business, top-notch customer service, and upselling.
“HNA gets bigger and better each year, reflecting ICPI’s industry achievements and the growing demand for segmental pavement systems, segmental retaining walls, natural stone, and hardscapes,” said Charles McGrath, ICPI’s executive director. “A growing market is creating expanded opportunities for hardscape contractors and dealers, and HNA is North America’s biggest event of the year for these professionals.”
In addition to the trade show floor, HNA featured:
Outdoor hardscape demonstrations in a continuous build format
Numerous installation and business educational opportunities for contractors
A program exclusively geared towards helping dealers and distributors grow their businesses
The Hardscape North America Installer Championships with 13 teams competing from the United States and Canada
The 2019 HNA Hardscape Awards, which honor projects by contractors building residential walkways, patios, driveways, commercial plazas, parking lots, and streets using concrete pavers, clay bricks, segmental retaining walls, and a combination of hardscape products
HNA 2020 is scheduled for October 21-23. For more information, visit www.HardscapeNA.com.