industrial machinery · Louisville
The Utility Expo 2027Exhibitor guide: booth costs, dates and deadlines in Louisville
Under a 100-foot airport ceiling: The Utility Expo 2027 booths in Louisville
- Event dates
- October 5–7, 2027
- Exhibit hall
- October 5–7, 2027 (Tue–Wed 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Thu 8:30 a.m.–2 p.m.)
- Venue
- Kentucky Exposition Center, Louisville
4.9 star client rating10,000+ booths built3,000+ exhibitors servedSince 2015
Quick answers
The Utility Expo 2027 in 30 seconds
The short version for The Utility Expo exhibitors. Sources for each The Utility Expo figure are further down the page.
- When is The Utility Expo 2027?
- October 5–7, 2027, at Kentucky Exposition Center, Louisville.
- When does the Utility Expo exhibit hall open?
- October 5–7, 2027, Tue–Wed 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Thu 8:30 a.m.–2 p.m.
- How big is The Utility Expo?
- 22,600+ attendees, 1,084 exhibitors (2025 edition).
- What does Utility Expo booth space cost?
- $22.00 per sq ft AEM member, $31.50 non-member, 2027 rates, paid to the organizer.
- What is the all-in cost of a 10×20 booth at Utility Expo?
- $7,500 – $15,000 for a Purple rental in Louisville: design, graphics, lighting, install and dismantle. Utility Expo bills space and show services separately.
- For The Utility Expo, what is the next exhibitor deadline?
- Phase 2 hotel requests close; Phase 1 credit card guarantee due: November 2, 2026.
Official The Utility Expo 2027 links: The Utility Expo 2027 floor planThe Utility Expo 2027 hotelsThe Utility Expo 2027 booth space
Everything about The Utility Expo 2027 in one place
The Utility Expo 2027 fact sheet
| Official name | The Utility Expo 2027, North America's utility construction trade show |
|---|---|
| Event dates | October 5–7, 2027 |
| Exhibit hall dates | October 5–7, 2027 (Tue–Wed 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Thu 8:30 a.m.–2 p.m.) source |
| Venue | Kentucky Exposition Center 937 Phillips Ln, Louisville, KY 40209 |
| Organizer | Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) |
| Size (2025) | 22,600+ attendees · 1,084 exhibitors source |
| Who attends | Utility owners and executives, fleet managers, buyers, project managers, operators and maintenance crews from electric, water, gas, telecom and renewable work |
| Next deadline | Phase 2 hotel requests close; Phase 1 credit card guarantee due: November 2, 2026 source |
| Nearest airport | Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) |
| Hotels | Maritz, the official hotel provider for The Utility Expo 2027, with free show-day shuttles from select block hotels Official hotel page → |
| Official website | theutilityexpo.com |
Official Utility Expo resources
The show in pictures
Inside The Utility Expo: 2015
Real photos from past editions of The Utility Expo, shared by the people who took them under open licenses. Tap a photo to see it larger.
The Utility Expo 2027 calendar
The Utility Expo 2027 dates and deadlines
These are the dates the organizer has published for Utility Expo, listed in order and linked to the pages that state them. The next date is highlighted.
- Phase 2 hotel requests close; Phase 1 credit card guarantee duePriority exhibitors source
- Priority hotel request site opens for Phase 3 (20 to 49 priority points)Priority exhibitors source
- Phase 3 hotel requests closePriority exhibitors source
- Phase 3 credit card guarantee due or rooms may be releasedPriority exhibitors source
- Final 50 percent space payment due; later applications pay in fullExhibitors source
- The Utility Expo 2027 opens, 8:30 a.m.Attendees and exhibitors source
- Final show day, closing at 2 p.m.Attendees and exhibitors source
01 Purple at The Utility Expo 2027
Under a 100-foot airport ceiling: The Utility Expo 2027 booths in Louisville
We plan Utility Expo lots so an operator can climb into your excavator or bucket truck and your sales lead can close at a table ten steps away. At the Kentucky Exposition Center we draw every boom height under the airport's 100-foot limit and file the floor plan AEM requires.
- Oct 5–7 · Kentucky Expo Center
- 1,084 exhibitors in 2025
- Outdoor lots by the airport
What makes The Utility Expo different, and how we build for it
The Utility Expo is where utility crews test before they buy.The Association of Equipment Manufacturers holds it every two years at the Kentucky Exposition Center, and the 2025 show drew more than 22,600 registrants and 1,084 exhibitors across 1.5 million net square feet of indoor halls and outdoor lots. Buyers come to drive the machines: AEM reports that 55 percent of attendees said a demo shaped their purchase decision. The 2025 show featured the Quick Pitch Showcase and the HDD Rodeo, alongside Field Classrooms, the Safety Luncheon Symposium and NUCA's National Equipment Operators Championships. Because the grounds sit beside Louisville's airport, the 2025 rules kept every crane and aerial lift outdoors under a 100-foot ceiling.
Spec sheets by model, total cost of ownership, uptime and dealer support, and a seat to compare quotes on trenchers, aerial devices and trucks they have just driven.
Seat time in the cab or the bucket, controls they can try themselves, and a product person who has run the machine on a real underground or line job.
Proof that a tool or technology cuts time on electric, water, gas or telecom work, safety data for their crews, and a follow-up plan for a fleet trial.
Your team in Louisville
One project manager, two shops, the whole Utility Expo build
We build in our own production shop in Fishkill, NY, and our Las Vegas hub, ship to the Kentucky Exposition Center, and install with our own project manager on the floor and vetted local labor. Predictable 30–45-day turnarounds, secure storage and pre-show QA.
Your staff walks onto the Utility Expo floor and the booth is already lit and stocked. You just show up.
Inside The Utility Expo 2027
Rules that shape your Utility Expo booth
Because the Kentucky Exposition Center sits near Louisville's airport, outdoor signs, flags, balloons, cranes and aerial lifts stay under 100 feet, and boom and jib heights go on a submitted floor plan (2025 rules). We draw every machine at full reach.
Standard booths under 20 feet deep stop at 10 feet, corners and perimeters at 15, peninsulas and islands at 20; machinery has no limit and towers over 12 feet need stamped drawings (2025 rules). We engineer and stamp to suit.
Any vehicle or gas-engine tool shown indoors needs battery cables disconnected and taped, a locking or sealed gas cap and less than a quarter tank, with no fuel stored in the building (2025 rules). We schedule the drain before move-in.
Exhibitors demonstrating with aggregates or concrete must stop dust and keep all material inside their space, and outdoor lots must be left in original condition with restoration billed by KEC (2025 rules). We fence, cover and clean the dig area.
Every outdoor exhibitor and every indoor exhibitor with 1,000 square feet or more submits a dimensioned floor plan and waits for written approval; in 2025 it was due August 1. We draft and submit it for you.
Programs worth planning for
A free listing for exhibitors' live demonstrations, shown to registered and prospective attendees before and during the show so operators can plan their time on your lot.
At the 2025 show, 30 small, mid-sized and new-to-show companies pitched their products at a pre-show media breakfast, while 20 manufacturers debuted new equipment and technology on the floor.
A horizontal directional drilling competition at the 2025 show; PG&E Team #2 won in 50 minutes 20 seconds, and the top three crews earned free admission to the 2026 HDD Rodeo.
The 2025 show ran 90-minute jobsite-style Field Classrooms and a Safety Luncheon Symposium and sold more than 700 education tickets; the 2027 site lists 28 practical training sessions.
The Utility Expo is the biennial utility construction show in Louisville, 1,084 exhibitors in 2025; choose it over World of Concrete when your buyers dig, bore and lift for electric, water, gas and telecom work and want to drive the machine first. Line up Utility Expo against every industrial machinery show we build for →
02 Booths & pricing for The Utility Expo 2027
Popular booth sizes at The Utility Expo
Outdoor space at The Utility Expo starts at 1,200 square feet in 2027. In the 2027 priority process, outdoor exhibitors and indoor requests of 400 square feet or more with 20+ priority points got a virtual space-selection appointment. We recommend a 20×20 indoor island or a 30×40 outdoor lot for any running equipment.
A tool, safety or software booth: hand tools or locators on a pegged wall, a test bench for meters and detectors, and a counter for scanning badges, all within the 10-foot height rule.
Pictured: SunUs, a Purple inline booth
See 10×20 rental booths →
Multiple product lines, a small meeting nook
Shown: a Purple inline booth for Han Song
See 10×30 rental booths →
An indoor island with a compact trencher or vacuum excavator on a low plinth, a hanging sign rigged by the show's service contractor, a spec wall and a small meeting table.
Shown: TM AI Corp, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×20 rental booths →
An indoor island with a service truck body opened up for inspection, a parts and attachments wall, a demo video loop and an enclosed office for fleet pricing.
Shown: Senzani, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×30 rental booths →In Purple's Utility Expo price
- Design and a 3D rendering for The Utility Expo, revised until it is right
- Structure, graphics printed for Utility Expo, counters and storage as specified
- Lighting and in-booth power distribution for Utility Expo
- Installation and dismantle in Louisville, run by our project manager on the floor
- Show-service orders and deadlines for Utility Expo, tracked on your behalf
What The Utility Expo and its contractor bill
- Exhibit space (paid to Association of Equipment Manufacturers)
- Material handling / drayage, if the The Utility Expo space rate leaves it out
- Electrical service, internet and rigging at the Kentucky Exposition Center
- Booth cleaning, and union labor where the Kentucky Exposition Center requires it
Rates to plan with for The Utility Expo:
- Indoor space $22.00 per sq ft AEM member, $31.50 non-member, 2027 rates source
- Outdoor space $3.40 per sq ft member up to 10,000 sq ft, $2.80 above; $5.90 non-member, 2027 source
- Outdoor minimum 1,200 sq ft, 2027 source
- Drayage About $125 per cwt, 200 lb minimum, 2026–27 planning figure
Before you sign, your proposal already estimates each of these show charges, so the Utility Expo total is on paper.
Each price is an all-in 2026 rental range for design, structure, graphics, installation and dismantle; we quote custom builds project by project. Want an exact number for Louisville? Use the booth cost calculator or the 2026 booth cost guide.
Send the show, your booth size and what the space needs to do. Expect a reply within one business day and, usually within a week, a rendering and a fixed proposal for The Utility Expo. No charge.
Your team walks into a lit, stocked Utility Expo booth. You just show up.
03 Built by Purple
Built by our team: booths to compare for Utility Expo
Case study · KLEEMANN
KLEEMANN at an industrial technology exhibition
Digital simulations, real product showcases and a floor plan that guided visitors from first step to last, in an interactive booth for a global elevator manufacturer.
KLEEMANN guided visitors from product to simulation to conversation; at The Utility Expo the same path runs from a running excavator to a fleet pricing table.
Read the KLEEMANN case study All case studies →“Purple Exhibits made us look good. The booth was one of the nicest displays in our section of the convention center and generated a lot of positive comments from both customers and industry peers. Their attention to detail, professionalism, and willingness to go above and beyond made a huge difference.”
Kimberly Owens, Brand Manager, Owens Products · read more client reviews
Trusted by exhibitors including
04 Designing for utility construction equipment, truck body, tool and jobsite technology manufacturers at The Utility Expo
Four things we get right for The Utility Expo exhibitors
1Draw every boom under 100 feet
The Kentucky Exposition Center sits beside Louisville's airport, so the 2025 rules capped every crane, boom, flag and balloon outdoors at 100 feet and asked for boom and jib heights on the floor plan. We draw each machine at full extension on your lot plan and file it with the outdoor plan AEM requires.
2Give the demo its own fenced ground
Utility buyers come to dig, bore and lift. We fence a working area inside your lot, route visitors to a viewing line outside the swing radius, contain spoil and dust as AEM's 2025 dust rule demands, and leave the ground as we found it, because KEC billed any restoration under those rules.
Keep indoor structure at 10, 15 or 20 feet
AEM's 2025 rules set indoor structure heights by booth type: 10 feet for standard booths under 20 feet deep, 15 feet for deeper corner and perimeter spaces, 20 feet for peninsulas and islands, with no limit on the machine itself. We design walls and towers to those numbers and stamp anything over 12 feet.
Build a seat between demos
AEM counts over 70 percent of attendees planning to purchase as a result of the show and 83 percent with purchase influence. Between dig cycles we give them shade, chairs and a table outdoors, or an enclosed office indoors, so a fleet manager who just drove your trencher can talk numbers before the next demo.
Concept rendering
Every The Utility Expo proposal includes a rendering like this
The 3D view shows layout, graphics, lighting and product positions before we cut a panel, and we revise it until the Utility Expo booth is right. Pictured: a Purple concept for Bonak.
Start my Utility Expo conceptFloor at a glance
Where you could be at The Utility Expo 2027
The Utility Expo splits between the Kentucky Exposition Center's indoor halls and its outdoor lots, with space placed by product category. New indoor space is under construction for 2027, so the final footprint is not confirmed yet.
Indoor halls
Standard, corner, perimeter, peninsula and island booths, with structure capped at 10, 15 or 20 feet by type and no height limit on the machines (2025 rules).
Our advice Indoors your exhibit competes with trucks parked next to it, so we put the hanging sign and the brand above the cab line and keep the front of the booth open.
Outdoor lots
Lots from 1,200 square feet up, priced per square foot for 2027; under the 2025 rules each outdoor exhibitor got one service vehicle and booms and flags stayed under 100 feet.
Our advice We grade your lot plan around the swing radius of each machine, put the tent on a raised deck, and keep the service vehicle parked inside your space.
Lot K
The only area where telephone poles may be set below ground; on hard surfaces poles are not allowed (2025 rules).
Our advice If your demo needs a set pole for line work, we ask AEM for Lot K at your space appointment and plan the anchor and setting gear with you.
05 Kentucky Exposition Center · Louisville
Logistics for The Utility Expo 2027, handled
Under the 2025 rules, the Kentucky Exposition Center was its own material handling contractor for The Utility Expo, indoor and outdoor, AEM ran machine move-in for the outdoor lots, every carrier checked in at the on-site marshalling yard first, and outdoor exhibitors could unload with their own branded equipment inside their space. Hanging signs went up only through Fern Expositions, rigged from structural steel. Kentucky has been right-to-work since 2017, and our project manager leads the build with vetted local labor once we are registered as your exhibitor-appointed contractor. Purple's planning figure for KEC drayage is about $125 per hundredweight, 200-pound minimum.
Hall rules, drayage estimates and freight deadlines for the building that hosts Utility Expo are in our Kentucky Exposition Center exhibitor guide.
What Purple handles
- Outdoor and indoor floor plans with every boom height drawn
- EAC registration and certificate of insurance for AEM
- Tents, decks, fencing and dust control for live digging
- Fern Expositions rigging plots for hanging signs
- Marshalling yard check-in and KEC material handling
- Our own project manager on the lot from move-in to move-out
Your Utility Expo timeline, from move-in back
Final 50 percent booth space payment due to AEM: May 28, 2027. Applications after this date pay in full; we need your signed-off design by then so floor plans and boom heights are ready to file.
Design sign-off for Utility Expo is due by late spring 2027.
- Now to January 2027Priority hotel phases run through the January 12, 2027 credit card guarantee; we plan footprints for the lot or hall you are assigned.
- Spring 2027The Exhibitor Resource Center opens in March; design sign-off with machine heights, weights and power fixed.
- May 28, 2027Final 50 percent space payment due to AEM; floor plans, rigging plots and boom heights prepared for filing.
- July to August 2027Production in Fishkill, NY over 30 to 45 days: tents, decks, fencing, graphics and counters built and test-fitted.
- Move-in in the days before October 5, 2027Outdoor lots and indoor halls on their target dates; our project manager and vetted local labor install.
- October 5–7, 2027Show days, then dismantle after the 2 p.m. Thursday close and freight to storage or your next show.
Purple's planning timeline for The Utility Expo. We confirm the official move-in, freight target and order deadlines for the Kentucky Exposition Center against your booth when you book; they come from your exhibitor kit and assigned schedule.
Print the Utility Expo budget & deadline sheetTravel to The Utility Expo 2027
Getting to The Utility Expo 2027: airport, hotels and parking
Fly in
Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF)
Stay
Maritz, the official hotel provider for The Utility Expo 2027, with free show-day shuttles from select block hotels
Park
Free show-day parking in 2025 in the lots south of KEC, which has over 23,000 spaces
Travel facts from theutilityexpo.com.
The Utility Expo by the numbers
The Utility Expo year by year
How The Utility Expo 2027 compares with other industrial machinery shows
The industrial machinery shows closest to The Utility Expo on the calendar, with the latest size each organizer has published. Each show name opens our industrial machinery exhibitor guide for that show.
| Show | Dates | City | Latest published size |
|---|---|---|---|
| FABTECHFABTECH event partners: AWS | September 13–16, 2027 | Chicago, IL | 42,000 attendees · 1,700+ exhibitors (2025) |
| ASM Heat TreatASM International and the ASM Heat Treating Society | October 5–7, 2027 | Columbus, OH | – |
| The Utility ExpoAssociation of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) | October 5–7, 2027 | Louisville, KY | 22,600+ attendees · 1,084 exhibitors (2025) |
| CAMXAmerican Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) and the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) | October 18–21, 2027 | Anaheim, CA | ~6,000 attendees · 500+ exhibitors (2025) |
| Turbomachinery & Pump SymposiaTurbomachinery Laboratory | October 18–21, 2027 | Houston, TX | 4,800+ attendees · 320 exhibitors (2025) |
| Equip ExpositionOutdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) | October 19–22, 2027 | Louisville, KY | Nearly 30,000 attendees (2025) |
| MT Series SOUTHEASTSME | October 19–21, 2027 | Greenville, SC | 5,000 attendees · 300 exhibitors (2025) |
| Motion + Power Technology ExpoMotion + Power Manufacturers Alliance (MPMA) | October 26–28, 2027 | Detroit, MI | 4,425 professionals with ASM Heat Treat · 170 exhibitors (2025) |
| MT Series SOUTHWESTSME | November 2–4, 2027 | Dallas, TX | 150 exhibitors (2025) |
| AMI Plastics World ExposApplied Market Information LLC (AMI) | November 10–11, 2027 | Cleveland, OH | 5,453 attendees · 352 exhibitors (2025) |
The Utility Expo exhibitor questions
Questions exhibitors ask us before The Utility Expo
How much does an outdoor lot at The Utility Expo 2027 cost?
Two bills: AEM's space, which for a 1,200-square-foot outdoor minimum is $4,080 at the 2027 member rate of $3.40 or $7,080 for non-members at $5.90, and our build. A tent, deck, fencing and graphics for that lot usually fall in the $16,000 to $40,000 rental range. Indoors, a 20×20 custom island runs $50,000 to $120,000.
What are the key 2027 deadlines for exhibitors?
AEM's final space payment, the remaining 50 percent, is due May 28, 2027, and applications after that date pay in full. The remaining priority hotel phases close November 2 and December 7, 2026, with the last credit card guarantee due January 12, 2027, and the Exhibitor Resource Center opens in March 2027. We need design sign-off in spring to file floor plans in time.
Can we rent a booth for The Utility Expo?
For an outdoor lot the rental is usually a tent or canopy, a raised deck so customers stay out of the mud, fencing, flags and a meeting area with furniture. Indoors it is a frame booth with fabric graphics and lighting. Either way we quote rental, trucking and both labor days as a single fixed number, and the structure comes back to us after Thursday.
Can our own staff set up our booth at the Kentucky Exposition Center?
Kentucky is a right-to-work state, and the 2025 rules let outdoor exhibitors load and unload with their own branded equipment inside their space. Freight that arrives by carrier still went through KEC as material handling, and any outside builder must register as an exhibitor-appointed contractor with insurance on file. We take care of both.
How tall can our booth and equipment be at The Utility Expo?
Indoors, structure tops out at 10 feet for standard booths, 15 feet for corners and perimeters and 20 feet for peninsulas and islands, while products and machinery have no limit (2025 rules). Outdoors, everything stays under 100 feet because of the nearby airport, and cranes or aerial lifts need boom heights on an approved floor plan.
What does drayage cost at the Kentucky Exposition Center?
Under the 2025 rules KEC handled material handling itself for The Utility Expo, billed on incoming weight with rates set by arrival date and service. For Louisville crates we budget roughly $125 a hundredweight in 2026 and 2027, and a single small carton still bills as 200 pounds. Your own cars, pickups and vans unloaded free at the docks after marshalling yard check-in.
Can we run live equipment demos at The Utility Expo?
Demos are the point of this show, and AEM lists them free on its Demo Scheduler. The 2025 rules: keep debris and dust inside your space, guard equipment, lower every machine to transport position each night and leave the ground undamaged. Indoors, engines stay disconnected with fuel under a quarter tank.
Can we reuse our Utility Expo booth at other shows?
We design the outdoor kit (tent, deck, fencing, flags) to travel to World of Concrete in Las Vegas, the ARA Show or Work Truck Week, and the indoor walls to fit a 10×20 or a 20×20. Between shows we store it, refresh graphics and repair what the mud and the move-out did to it.
Do you handle Fern Expositions and AEM orders?
We do. We register as your exhibitor-appointed contractor, file the certificate of insurance, submit the outdoor or 1,000-square-foot indoor floor plan, and order hanging signs, rigging and services through Fern Expositions, the show's service contractor in 2025. You get a copy of every order and each filing date.
When is The Utility Expo 2027?
Tuesday, October 5 to Thursday, October 7, 2027. Exhibits open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday and 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday. The show runs every two years in odd years; the 2025 edition ran October 7–9, 2025.
Where is The Utility Expo 2027 held?
At the Kentucky Exposition Center, 937 Phillips Lane, Louisville, across indoor halls and outdoor lots. AEM says new indoor exhibit space is being built at the center for 2027 and that the updated show footprint is not confirmed yet. Maritz runs the official hotel blocks, with free shuttles from select hotels on show days.
How many people attend The Utility Expo?
The 2025 show counted more than 22,600 registrants from all 50 states and 59 countries and 1,084 exhibitors from 15 countries on more than 1.5 million net square feet. The 2023 show had over 21,000 attendees and more than 900 exhibitors. Attendance for 2027 is not confirmed yet.
How do we get a booth at The Utility Expo 2027?
Apply to AEM with a 50 percent deposit. Companies that applied with deposit by June 5, 2026 earn priority points, two per year of AEM membership plus one per 100 square feet taken in 2025, and those with 20 or more points picked space in virtual appointments. Later applicants are placed first come, first served by application date and product category.
Before you sign for Utility Expo
Five questions to ask any exhibit builder for The Utility Expo:
- Does the proposal list every fee, including the show contractor's bills?
- Who actually builds it for The Utility Expo: your shop or a subcontractor?
- Will your project manager be on the floor at the Kentucky Exposition Center for install and dismantle?
- What does the rental include, and what is billed by Utility Expo?
- Where does the booth go after The Utility Expo, and what does storage cost?
Common situations
Already own a booth? Your existing booth gets refreshed graphics and repairs, then we ship it to Louisville, install it and store it between shows. You keep the structure you paid for and bring it to The Utility Expo.
Exhibiting from outside the US? We are your team on the ground in Louisville: freight to the advance warehouse, show-service orders, installation and storage, with one project manager answering your emails in your time zone.
Short on time? A rental with your graphics can be ready for The Utility Expo in two to three weeks. We tell you on the first call what is realistic before Utility Expo.
Get a proposal
Tell us about your Utility Expo booth
What happens next
- You get a reply within one business day, asking about your products, goals and footprint at The Utility Expo.
- Your Utility Expo concept rendering and fixed proposal usually arrive within a week. Every fee on paper upfront, in full, for your Utility Expo booth.
- We build in 30–45 days, ship to the advance warehouse and install before the hall opens.