THE National Truck Equipment Association held its 38th annual convention and The Work Truck Show just down the road from Disney World, but there was nothing Mickey Mouse about this gathering.
From March 6-8 at the Orlando Convention Center, a record number of exhibitors (441) displayed their latest products for the commercial truck market in an exposition covering 155,000 net square feet.
Included in that number were 12 of the world's leading truck manufacturers: Dodge Division of DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Co, Freightliner LLC, General Motors Isuzu Commercial Truck, MG Trucks, International Truck & Engine Corp, Kenworth Truck Co, Mack Trucks, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America, Peterbilt Motors Co, Sterling Truck Corp, and Workhorse Custom Chassis.
Although attendance was down from last year's record draw in Baltimore, the event attracted more international attendees than ever before. This year's attendance came from 37 countries, up 54% from 2001.
“There's no doubt that this year's event was the place to be for the best mix of commercial truck and transportation equipment and educational resources,” NTEA executive director Jim Carney said. “The record number of exhibitors meant more products, services, and expert technical knowledge were available for attendees. The Work Truck Show 2002 was a great forum for company decision-makers to do business with sellers.”
Kent Grist, Commercial Body Corp in San Antonio, Texas, took over as president of the association during the convention. He assumed the office as the term of Pete Jones, Crysteel Manufacturing, expired. The association also welcomed new members to its board of trustees. Menno Eby, president/owner of M H Eby Inc in Blue Ball, Pennsylvania, was elected as a distributor trustee. Jim Kraschinksy, president of Stahl/A Scott Fetzer Company in Wooster, Ohio, won a spot as a manufacturer trustee.
The Work Truck Show 2003 is scheduled for March 3-5 in Atlanta, Georgia, and will be held alongside the 39th Annual NTEA Convention (March 2-5). Registration for The Work Truck Show 2003 opens in September.