Show History

The field demonstration concept was developed in 1964 to help solve an equipment evaluation and communications problem. Illinois Bell invited 12 trencher manufacturers to demonstrate equipment in the same field, on the same day, in the summer of 1966. The show was recreated on a more formal basis and continued to grow in 1969 and 1972. Manufacturers of many kinds of equipment from across the country were invited to turn the farmland near Elburn, Illinois into a productive three-day utility equipment show. The event moved to DuPage County Fairgrounds for 1975 and 1977. The show grew to such a level that Illinois Bell could no longer manage it. The show was turned over to a professional management firm in 1978 and moved to Kansas City for the 1979 show, and then to Louisville, Kentucky starting in 1987. AEM had provided industry direction and in the late 1980s became the show owner and producer.