The annual Work Truck Show — held March 5-8 in Indianapolis — again drew record attendance.
The 2019 event attracted 14,256 industry professionals from 28 countries to the Indiana Convention Center, reported the National Truck Equipment Association, which produces the show.
Attendees and exhibitors who spoke with Service Truck Magazine concurred almost unanimously that the show was extremely busy, with first-timers typically calling it “overwhelming.” While one exhibitor did take a contrary view that the show wasn’t as busy as in the past, he didn’t wish to go on the record with any negative comments about the event.
The approximately 500 exhibitors included dozens of manufacturers of service truck bodies and accessories such as compressors, cranes, and welders. And many if not most of the show visitors came to check out what those exhibitors had to offer.
New exhibitor impressed
Blair Vrcan, product manager for commercial engine-driven products with Lincoln Electric, attended the show for the first time and found it “very overwhelming.” It was also Lincoln’s first time as an exhibitor. In fact the company was part of a New Exhibitor Pavilion that made its debut.
“This is an awesome event,” said Vrcan, whose only previous trade show experience was at Fabtech, which focuses on welding, fabricating, and metal forming. “The NTEA have been so kind to us in walking us around, showing us what we need to know. They helped us out even getting current information on the service truck industry. They’ve been awesome hosts.”
Blair Vrcan (left) and Katie Powell staff the Lincoln Electric booth in the New Exhibitor Pavilion at the 2019 Work Truck Show.Photo: Keith Norbury
The Lincoln booth also had a special visitor during the show — Juan Ibarra of the Discovery Channel’s Gold Rush reality series. “We were also able to spend some time with him yesterday at a customer event,” Vrcan said.
Her colleague, Katie Powell, had attended a few other trade shows but nevertheless found the Work Truck Show overwhelming and exciting. “This one is a little bit bigger than some of the other ones I’ve been to. But it’s really cooling seeing the actual application, the trucks, the service trucks. It’s a very new industry for both us in the field.”
The New Exhibitor Pavilion set up across the hall from the main exhibition floor. That was because the show had already “maxed out its traditional display space,” said a news release from the NTEA. A few other displays, such as a welding simulator and a welding robot, were set up in the Hoosier Hallway.
Bagful of business cards
Tiffany Brummett of Wil-Ro Inc. based in Gallatin, Tenn., watches over the company’s booth in the New Exhibitor Pavilion.Photo: Keith Norbury
Also in the New Exhibitor Pavilion was Wil-Ro Inc. based in Gallatin, Tenn.
“It’s been amazing. We’ve been surprised by all the traffic that we’ve seen,” said Tiffany Brummett, who works in business development. “People have been showing up early coming in here and it’s been great. We’re thrilled to be here.”
She only joined the company six months earlier. So the show proved to be a great place to meet potential new upfitters, distributors, and dealers.
“I’ve got a bagful of business cards and lots of follow up to do when I get back in the office on Monday,” Brummett said. “I’ve made a lot of connections. And I will say one of the most beneficial things is being able to put a face with a name. A lot of times we talk with people over the phone or by email. And you have no idea who that person is. So when you actually get a chance to see them, it’s a real connection that is invaluable.”
Diverse industry
The 2019 show also featured an inaugural Manufacturer and Distributor Innovation Conference, as well as the Green Truck Summit and Fleet Technical Congress. The latter two moved to the JW Marriott, one of the downtown Indianapolis hotels that connect via walkways to the convention center. The occasion also featured dozens of educational sessions and press conferences, as well as the annual President’s Breakfast.
The highlight of this year’s breakfast was new NTEA board chairman Wm. Craig Bonham sitting down for a conversation with National Football League legends Peyton Manning and his father, Archie Manning.
Steve Carey, the NTEA’s president and chief executive officer, said in the news release that NTEA staff, board of directors, and partners work hard to make the show “as smooth and productive as possible.”
“This is a diverse industry, and our stakeholders have many different needs, from improving operational efficiency to knowing how to specify the right truck for the job or figuring out which powertrain is most appropriate for a specific application,” Carey added. “The growth and success of the show rests on helping our exhibitors and attendees meet those needs, through education, networking and the opportunity to share equipment innovations.”
Like a time capsule
Eric Norman, an account manager with Auto Truck Group, has been in the industry for two decades and attended many Work Truck Shows.
“It’s always good to see what technology is now out — what’s being pushed, what’s new,” Norman said. He also likes to revisit exhibits and imagine how they would have looked 10 years ago.
“It’s kind of a time capsule too at times,” Norman said.
This time around, “right out of the box,” three groups of students visited the Auto Truck booth. “And I got to tell them all about how cool our company is and the stuff we get to build and how much opportunity there is in the industry,” Norman said. “So I’m having a ball.”
Auto Truck marketing account manager Monica Stellwag, meanwhile, was attending her first Work Truck Show.
“My impressions are wow,” Stellwag said. “There are so many things to see, so many awesome products that are out in the market. So it’s been a fantastic opportunity.”
Steady crowd
Attending his fifth Work Truck Show was Mac Blais, director of marketing for Dakota Bodies of Watertown, S.D.
“The crowd definitely seems bigger and more steady this year,” Blais said. “I don’t what they did differently to promote it but definitely is a good year. Nice and busy. Good steady crowd.”
Visitors to Dakota’s booth came from all over the country — north, south, east and west, he said. “It’s definitely good diversity there.”
Craig Longstreth, president of Warner Bodies, has attended the show for the last eight years. This year, Warner sought and obtained a booth in a more central location.
“It’s working well. Traffic’s been great,” Longstreth said.
He has noticed attendance has picked up the last few years. He was concerned leading up to this one that, with the industry booming, attendance might slump.
“I know a handful of customers that normally attend the show were not here this year just because of the amount of work that they have,” Longstreth said. “They just couldn’t get away from the operation to attend. So I was a little concerned that the show might be down a bit from an attendance standpoint but it doesn’t seem to be. It seems to be stronger this year.”
Innovation aplenty
Making his sixth Work Truck Show appearance was Todd Hannum, director of sales and marketing for Auto Crane, a subsidiary of Ramsey Industries that manufactures service cranes and service bodies.
“It’s been pretty busy,” Hannum said. “There’s a lot of guys innovating here. We’re innovating. A lot of people are innovating in the industry.”
Hannum noted a keen interest from customers about new chassis, such as new lines that Chevrolet recently introduced.
Anne Fortin, digital marketing specialist, and Tod Gilbert, company president, hold a press conference at the VMAC Global Technology Inc. booth at the 2019 Work Truck Show.Photo: Keith Norbury
Tod Gilbert, president of compressor-maker VMAC Global Technology Inc., guessed that 2019 marked his 13th Work Truck Show.
“It’s been great,” said Gilbert, whose company is based in Nanaimo, B.C. “There’s been lots of good interest, great conversations. We’re always looking for ideas from our customers and seeing what we can do next.”
Aside from announcing new products — such as its HVAC System for VMAC Multifunction that’s designed to eliminate job-site truck idling — VMAC had one other special announcement at the show. The company, whose initials stand for Vehicle Mounted Air Compressors, had just learned that Deloitte had named it one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies.
“Fun conversations”
Luke Van Wyk of Thunder Creek Equipment touts the company’s new lube truck.Photo: Keith Norbury
Luke Van Wyk, vice-president of Thunder Creek Equipment, said the show has been excellent.
The company, based in Pella, Iowa, has exhibited at three or four shows, although this is the first time it displayed its new lube truck.
“We’ve brought trailers here in the past, lube trailers especially but the truck has been a great opportunity for us to show here,” Van Wyk said. “It’s been been very well received and we’re finding a lot of opportunities here.”
Over all, the industry is busy right now, with a “good energy,” he said. That’s reflected in the show traffic.
“Both the quality and quantity of people that we’re talking to have been really good,” Van Wyk said. “And it’s fun to be here with the new product and show new things. It garners a lot of interest for us and we get to have a lot of good, fun conversations.”
Ralph Kokot, CEO of Vanair Manufacturing Inc., has been attending NTEA conventions for probably 39 years — long before they evolved into what has become the Work Truck Show, and well before he bought Vanair in 1997.
“I find the show to be lots of traffic, high-quality personnel coming through the booth,” Kokot said. “We’ve been busy from start to finish during the day, and its been a very good show — one of the better ones actually.”
First impressions
Brad Kohler, meanwhile, was attending his very first Work Truck Show. In fact, he was new to the industry, having only joined the Tulsa Winch Group as an outside sales rep a couple of weeks earlier.
“I’m getting around to meeting everybody,” said Kohler, who previously worked in pharmaceuticals.
He described the show as “very well put together, very nice, (and) a lot bigger than I thought it would be.”
Andrew Wood, a regional after sales manager with Hyva Corporation, was also new to his company, since last July, although not to the work truck industry. He previously worked for truck upfitters Custom Truck and Equipment, the Auto Truck Group, and Fleet Body Equipment.
A veteran of about seven Work Truck Shows, Wood noticed “a lot of foot traffic” this time around. He attributed much of that to interest in Hyva’s new service truck crane being launched at the show. The crane “has been a very popular product for us. so we’re excited about that,” he said.
His colleague Sandeep Ramakrischman observed that attendance at the Hyva booth was “much better than last year,” which was his first Work Truck Show.
Show winds down
On the final day of the show, when the crowds typically thin out, Darrell Doom and Jacob Bostic of Southern States Cooperative checked out a Pal Pro 43 service body on display at the IXS Coatings stand.
“It’s been a good show, really good show,” said Doom of his third visit to the event. “Better than last year, a lot better.”
The cooperative, headquartered in Richmond, Va., has a fleet of about 500 service trucks, and about 4,000 trucks in all, they said.
“It’s been a great experience. I was glad I was able to make it,” said Bostic, who was attending the show for the first time.
He was most impressed with the vast size of the show and the array of vendors. “You get to see a little bit of everything,” Bostic said.
Jennifer Heller, chief operating officer for Future Line Manufacturing of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, offered high praise for the show’s audience.
“I’ve been really impressed with the questions coming out of the industry,” said Heller, who recently rejoined Future Line after a 15-year absence. “Hearing how people are expanding their businesses right now is extremely exciting.”
The 2020 vision
The NTEA, which marked its 55th anniversary in 2019, had always held a small trade show with its annual convention. But those shows were modest until the year 2000, which the NTEA now regards as the first true Work Truck Show.
So in 2020, the Work Truck Show will celebrate its 20th anniversary when it returns to Indianapolis March 3-6.
“We have a lot of positive momentum going into our 20th anniversary event next year,” Carey said in the news release.
That momentum should prove invaluable as the triennial ConExpo-Con/Agg heavy equipment show will return to Las Vegas the week after the 2020 Work Truck Show. With close to 10 times the attendance of the Work Truck Show, ConExpo has been known to steel some of the thunder from its smaller rival.
— Keith Norbury