What do arborists, tropical plant nurseries, cattlemen and citrus growers all have in common? They are all dedicated to defending plants from natural threats while promoting their ability to thrive. January is a busy month for trade shows for these professionals as they gather to discuss and explore innovative and efficient solutions for how to discourage insects like the gypsy moth and white fly along with aggressive competitor plants like broadleaf weed from damaging crops and making it harder for them to thrive.
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In the second half of January 2017, Chemical Containers’ sales team attended four different trade shows along the east coast from a variety of industries focused on plant health. Sid Sutton and Pepe Ortiz were at the Tropical Plant Industry Expedition (TPIE) in Ft. Lauderdale, FL from January 18th through January 20th. Kieth Hollingsworth took part in the Florida Cattlemen’s Institute Trade Show in Arcadia, FL and Tom Duffy attended the Connecticut Tree Protective Association (CTPA) in Wallingford, CT on January 19th. Then, from January 25th to the 26th, Sutton and Chris Rhoden were at the Florida Citrus Show in Ft. Pierce, FL.
The TPIE was a beautiful show, as always, with a large variety of attendees from all over the world. Sutton and Ortiz enjoyed the opportunity to meet with a lot of nursery plant growing professionals who were especially interested in the Rears 500 Gallon Power Blast Sprayer with Gun on display at the booth. A common area of discussion with customers was about options to deter whiteflies. Our Admire control unit was available at the booth for visitors to see how it helps growers achieve the exact amount of dosing needed per plant, giving them the exact control they need over how many ounces are applied and only in the areas required.
At the CTPA’s annual meeting and trade show, Duffy had the chance to reconnect with old friends and meet new customers in the arborist industry. There were more than 800 people at the one-day meeting, from large and small companies, many of whom were looking at everything from full size sprayer trucks and skids to Mix and Fill sites that our company custom builds. With the worry over increasing infestation of gypsy and winter moth caterpillars, many tree care professionals who spoke with Duffy were interested in finding out more information about our sprayer equipment that would make it easier for them to apply material to control these insects. Based on listening to their concerns, Duffy aimed to help customers pick the equipment that would best fill their application needs.
Hollingsworth’s booth at the Florida Cattleman’s Institute Trade Show featured some of our sprayer and weed wiper equipment particularly helpful in caring for pastureland. Customers who stopped by to see what we have available were attracted to the pasture wiper trailer we build that’s helpful in applying herbicide in fields to wipe out broad leaf weeds. We also had a sprayer on display that fits onto a pasture mower in addition to small spot sprayers that allow for easy targeted application.
The following week at the Florida Citrus Show, Sutton said that there was a great turnout at the event even with all the low blows the citrus industry has endured this past year between the damage from hurricane Matthew and the ongoing issues from greening and postbloom fruit drop. The customers who met with Sutton and Rhoden had great questions about how our sprayers could help support grove trees’ health and wanted to know more about the injection units we specialize in that were made to help give new trees a strong start.
Thank you to everyone who joined us at these key agricultural and nursery grower events. We’re privileged to have the ongoing opportunity to offer innovative equipment to customers at these shows that give them efficient options in their ongoing quest to provide the best care for plants. More importantly, it’s inspiring to see how much dedication these professionals put into researching and collaborating with each other to responsibly handle new and ongoing issues while nurturing crops, large and small.