Cannafest 2019 – With AutoPot

Czech please! If Cannafest were the food of a restaurant we’d definitely pay the bill before leaving. It’s a delicious autumnal treat! “The largest cannabis trade show in the world”! So who better to mop up the rich gravy of Cannafest’s enthusiastic attendees, powerful businesstypes and astounding exhibitors than AutoPot’s very own hunk of artisan bread, Dave Gulliver. Intent on absorbing all he could, our aforementioned International Sales Manager sallied forth into the Prague show’s magnificent 18,000 m2 dish of cannabis cultivation expo excellence.

Cannabis trade shows exchange blows as to primacy in size on any number of defining criteria. Whatever the headlines, Cannafest is a seriously big deal in terms of attendance, exhibitors and business done. Now in its 10th year the show pulls north of 30,000 visitors to see way north of 270 exhibitors from 27 variously oriented countries.

We were exhibiting as well as appreciating at Cannafest and come Friday morning it was time to unleash the AutoPot beast in the PVA Expo Prague Letnany. Like all the best mythical creatures, AutoPot Watering Systems get involved in myriad crazy adventures, often with a different set of key players each time. Our systems are cast alongside an ever-changing array of nutrients, substrates, light sources, tents and supplementary tech by innovative horticulturalists the world over. Hence we like to show visitors to our trade stands just how our tech combines with that of the pantheon of hydro titans. To these ends Prague saw us join forces with Mill’s, Budbox, Cropmaster LED and BubbleGen by Custom Hydro. Top quality integration ensued with our stand boasting a comprehensive repository of growing knowledge. A deeply satisfying experience for any visitor.

Who were those visitors? Well if you think you know ‘canna expo people’ you might need to think again. True, we certainly did draw a lot of attention from international cannabis cultivators, keen to find new tech to serve the burgeoning legal markets for their products. Invariably there was interest from individual, independent hobby growers who were intrigued by the systems’ potential – that’s always gonna happen! However we were also delighted to welcome aboard a number of veg/hobby horticulture professionals and commercial reps keen to break AutoPot in their various countries of origin. We saw strong interest from Portuguese, Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian and Israeli horticultural sectors to name but a few.

The veg-horticultural contingent were not only commercial growers but stockists too. This continues the now longstanding trend of traditional horticulture crossing over to hydro in order to take advantage of high-yield, low-overhead technologies, whether for commercial growing or the greenhouse/home growers market.

Dave’s toasted more successes than Breville so it came as no surprise that the tie-ups secured in Prague begat a significant sampling of “the cultural life”. After a whirlwind tour of the Museum of Decorative Arts – for home tips, and the Beer Museum – for home tipsy, Dave alighted at the Kafka Museum to contemplate “Existential Space and Imaginary Topography”. Heavy salad. He particularly enjoyed “Piss”, a statue outside the museum, what has two bronze blokes widdling into a pool and whose appendages one can control to write water messages via SMS. Talk about draining your credit. Existentialism did not end there. Dave subsequently bobbed off to let down his non-existent hair with a lovely meal courtesy of Erith, a boogie in a salubrious night spot and Halloween party to go with – big thanks to Pete for his hand in that one. Hi’s and thanks also to Mills, GroTek Nutrients, Budbox, Biobizz Dan the (fascinatingly) Organic man and BubbleGen who lit up Dave’s trip, post-show.

As with all standards, Cannafest must be upheld and we’re very much looking forward to future prospects in Prague. Thanks to all who made it possible, smooth and enjoyable. See you next time!