In 1990, the outdoor power equipment industry staged its own show at Kempton Park Racecourse in direct competition to the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) Show which had moved from Windsor to Peterborough. Furthermore the dates in the first week of September not only clashed with the IOG Show, but also the SPOGA/GAFA show in Cologne.

Organised by a consortium of manufacturers including Stihl, Hayter, Allen and Kubota under the banner of the Garden Machinery Association (GMA), the event was launched at a special GMA Conference at Telford in 1988 chaired by John Humphreys.

Many manufacturers were unhappy at the move to Peterborough and wanted the show to remain in the vicinity of Windsor. The event was to be organised by international show organisers Andry Montgomery who had built the EXPO Louisville show into the fourth largest exhibition in the US, and this was to be a UK version.

So the 1st International Lawn, Garden and Outdoor Power Equipment Exhibition Show, for short the GMA show, was scheduled for Sunday 2 to Tuesday 4th September 1990 at Kempton Park. (some irony given the recent change of name for the IOG to GMA!)

The show was to be located within vast tented exhibition halls erected in-field at the Surrey Racecourse. Originally planned to cover 15,000 square metres, bookings soon meant it was eventually extended to 30,000 square metres (over 70 acres).

175 exhibitors were signed up for the GMA show, but with the last day coinciding with the first day of the IOG show more than 40 companies (including Etesia, Ford New Holland, Hayter, Lely, Ransomes and Toro) decided to attend both shows. Others such as John Deere, Jacobsen, Lloyds and Turner decided to stay with the IOG.

When the gates opened at 9.30 at Kempton Park on Sunday 1 September in sunny weather, there was a sizeable crowd waiting to come in. Attendance certainly held up during the first two days, but naturally dropped on Tuesday with many making the journey to Peterborough.

The exhibition space was professionally staged and certainly on a par with anything that the NEC could offer. There was also a number of industry specific events during the three days including a GMA Dinner on the first evening, an engine repair championship over three days sponsored by Briggs and Stratton, Tecumseh and Kohler and the presentation of 8 categories in the Dealership ‘90 Awards by British Lions and Wales rugby star, Gareth Edwards.

The show also marked the debut of Countax. The company had designed and built a prototype model in just 6 weeks under the initial brand of Komak which would be ready for the 1991 season.

In a pre-internet age, this magazine also produced a Show Daily giveaway magazine with updated pictures and copy taken by road 80 miles back to Salisbury each evening, where it was plated and printed overnight – and couriered back to Kempton next morning by 8.00am.

AFTERMATH
In the immediate aftermath, the 1st GMA Show was deemed a success and plans put in place to increase the scope of the show the following year to add more professional equipment. However, by September 1990, with the 1991 show already planned, it was clear that many manufacturers were conflicted.

The cost of staging effectively an indoor show, outdoors, was colossal and manufacturers began to question the rationale of two shows. Those in the professional market wanted to meet end users whilst the domestic manufacturers aimed at meeting and recruiting new dealers.

By February 1991, organisers Andry Montgomery had signed up fewer than 30 exhibitors and susequently announced the cancellation of the show. This was against a background of a very poor season and recession in the country which left many opting to only attend the IOG – or give shows a miss that year.

This opened up a discussion with Intergarden Promotions, the organisers of the GLEE show at the NEC which eventually resulted in a separate section being integrated into GLEE.

In our editorial, we wrote “In hindsight it was wrong to try and take on the IOG and SPOGA/GAFA which only served to dilute both exhibitors and visitor numbers. The major lesson has to be that the industry is not big enough, nor strong enough to warrant a stand-alone event - and it should not kid itself that it is important enough to challenge establish competitors head-on”

The first Dealer Awards were launched at the 1990 GMA Show and presented by British Lions and Wales rugby star Gareth Edwards.  Pictured are Derek Belcher (Handys), Gareth Edwards, Alan Garlinge (A J Garlinge), Bob Taylor (SCC Mowers),  Barry Bartram (Bartrams), Chris Hodgkinson (Invicta Motors), Richard Thompson (Evesham Journal), Roy Ashwell (Sponsor Ransomes Consumer) and Mike Hadley (Mower Grinding and Trading)