I took a trip to the TPIE show, Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition, on Wednesday and it looks to me like the Plant business is doing just fine. I did not hear any bad news and the booths and halls were busy with attendees.
The biggest change over the years for me was not seeing Kerry’s (Kerry’s Nursery) big stand at the entrance where it was hard to miss. Kerry has moved on and it now a consultant for a related industry.
That space is now Costa Nursery territory as they continue to grow and become a bigger and bigger player in the industry.
This is a working show and I saw orders being written and lots of activity. Of course we always see lots of Canadian/Dutch growers that like to come to South Florida in January.
Depending on your role in this business you might be affected by the new Elog requirement that truckers are dealing with. You might find that your delivery schedules have been altered by this regulation that requires trucking companies to electronically monitor the drivers time behind the wheel. On long hauls this could force carriers to either adjust their delivery schedules or add a second driver to maintain the schedule which could affect the cost.
You get to see lots unusual products here and not just flowers like many of the shows I attend.
If your in the plant/ foliage business this is the show for you.
I have put together a little slide show of my time in the halls. Enjoy.
Williee Armellini
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