10-4 Magazine - For Today's Trucker

B2B AT ITS
TRUCKERS GET DOWN TO BUSINESS IN ANAHEIM
(Click here to see the pictures!)

Dubbed as the only true business-to-business trucking show out there, the International Trucking Show (ITS), held September 8-10, 2005 in Anaheim, California, delivered in some ways but missed the mark in others. The business was great, making it worthy of coming back, but the show failed to attract many attendees and the last-minute truck show barely existed. But with a recent partnership with a well-known and very qualified show management organization, next year just might be the year ITS takes off again.

Back in June, the California Trucking Association, who has been the longtime owners and promoters of the International Trucking Show, announced a new partnership with ConvExx, an independent show organizer based in Henderson, NV to handle all of the production of the show. ConvExx is known for producing the annual SEMA Show, the largest automotive aftermarket show in the United States and the fourth largest show in the country. ConvExx got on board a little late to do much this year, but representatives from the company assured us on numerous occasions that next year’s show will be awesome. In a press release, Rob Goliti, President of the CTA, stated, “The California Trucking Association is indeed fortunate to be able to partner with a trade show management company like ConvExx. Their reputation for running professionally managed shows and growing attendance at shows like SEMA puts them at the top of their profession.” But enough of the politics, lets get to the show.

Thursday was a banner day for business – at least for 10-4 Magazine. There was not a lot of foot-traffic at the show, but there was a lot of deals being made. The first day of most trade shows is generally the day that exhibitors walk around and do business with other exhibitors – and ITS 2005 was no different. In fact, we accepted more advertising on that first day than we had at all of the other shows combined throughout the year! And other exhibitors we talked to said much the same. Apparently, this really is a B2B show.

More “business” that was available to attendees came in the form of opportunities to learn. Throughout the show, the CTA offered seminars, workshops and training classes. Topics covered included sensitivity training, BIT inspections, food security, bio-terrorism, accident prevention, driver recruiting, communications technology and more. If you didn’t have time to go to a seminar or opted not to go to any, we urge you to rethink that attitude next year. In today’s competitive business environment, you need to stay educated and up-to-date on what’s happening in your industry. It only makes sense.

Against the wall near the front doors of the show, there were quite a few poster-sized pictures hanging up that had been drawn and colored by young schoolchildren from across the state. These pictures were all trucking-related and depicted big rigs completing many different tasks as well as popular sayings like, “Trucks Move America,” and “Good Stuff – Trucks Bring It!” The pictures were being bid on and sold to raise money for the American Red Cross Katrina Relief fund. We are not sure how much money was raised, but it was a neat idea – especially getting young kids involved.

In our large booth (photo 4), we were lucky enough to have Ed Rocha’s old KW cattle hauler that was featured on our September cover, as well as Greg Dohlen, who everybody knows as our resident caricature artist. Greg drew hundreds of free caricatures throughout the show and entertained huge crowds of people standing around watching. We also debuted a new 10-4 Magazine shirt design at ITS, which featured a beach scene complete with bikini-clad babes, surfer dudes and, of course, a slammed convertible KW with side-pipes. Judging by the response, the shirt was a big hit!

Walking the floor on Friday, we found just about every major OEM in attendance. We were also happy to see and visit with many of our advertisers who had booths at the show. People like Mark Wolnisty from Dispatch Transportation, Nick Gonzalez of Nick’s Tire, Marcello Povolo and Monica De La Cruz from New Alliance, Jessica and Colleen from Transport Pacific, Lee and the gang from Swertfeger’s Equipment, and all the guys from Truckin’ For Kids, including our buddy Jay Sherrel. There were also a lot of our advertisers in attendance walking the show floor. Bob Evans from NTC, Bob Dolan and his crew from the Empire Company, Daniel and Alex from Saint George Insurance and Rod of Rod’s Truck Repair, just to name a few. Previous cover truck owner Al Reid (February 1999) out of Las Vegas just happened to be making a delivery at the convention center, so he came inside and hung out in our booth for a while. And who could forget the “cookie guys,” Frank and Don, who show up at many of the west coast truck shows to harass and flirt with our girls in the booth. But at least they always bring treats with them (hence the name, the cookie guys).

A fairly new product out there that seems to be taking off is hydrogen injection systems. We saw at least four, maybe five, different companies offering similar systems at the show. What seemed like a far-fetched idea at first is now really getting popular as drivers look to reduce fuel consumption anywhere they can. Another booth that had a “buzz” about it was Volvo. Having recently introduced their new VT880 long haul tractor (photo 2), many at the show wanted to crawl inside it and check it out. With its aggressive styling, powerful 16-liter engine with up to 625 horsepower, spacious and functional interior, smooth ride and efficient operation, this rig will surely win over the hearts of many truckers looking to “step up” to the next generation of big rigs.

The truck beauty contest, which was called the Truxhibition, only featured about 15 trucks, and many of them did not come until Saturday. Apparently, the trucks had the option of coming in for all three days or just on Saturday (many opted for the latter, which disappointed some attendees hoping to find show trucks on Thursday and Friday). The awards were handed out on Saturday afternoon. 1st Place was awarded to Mike Maggini of Riverdale, CA and his yellow Pete with green flames. The 2nd Place prize went to Cliff Jennings (photo 3) and his custom International. Cliff came all the way from South Carolina to compete and represent his friends back at 4-State Trucks in Joplin, MO. Taking home the 3rd Place trophy was Joel Fluharty of San Diego, CA. Joel’s red 1993 Pete with black fenders featured ghost flames and lots of shine and lights. All three of these trucks were standing tall, as were many of the rigs competing in the Truxhibition.

There was also plenty of old iron on display. Ed Rocha brought out five or six from his collection, including a beautiful Pete Bubblenose cattle truck and trailer that he just completed (photo 5). Many of Ed’s friends from the Hays Antique Truck Museum brought out their old pieces of history too. It was quite a nice collection. Ed was nice enough to bring his KW down to be in our booth as well. To thank him for that, and to just have some fun with our friends, we hosted a little barbecue on Friday night after the show. And with Ed coming, we made sure not to cook any filthy chicken! Ed brought his wife and some of his truck helpers along with him to join the fun. We were also joined by our new friends (and neighbors at the last two shows) from Getloaded.com, a website dedicated to finding loads for drivers (photo 1). Charlie and his wife, as well as a few others from their booth, came down to the party and we all enjoyed a fun and relaxing evening after a busy day.

Saturday saw an increase in traffic at the show, but not like the surge that overwhelmed us last year on Saturday. All in all, it was a good show. The business end of it was unbeatable, and we always find some fun to keep us going. Hopefully, next year, the show will be bigger and there will be a much larger truck competition. One thing is for sure though – the show will get a new home next year. At the end of the show it was announced that the 2006 show will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on September 28-30. The attendees and exhibitors we spoke to had mixed feelings about having to go into Downtown L.A. for the show, but we’ll just have to wait and see how it goes.

In closing, we’d like to say a special “thank you” to Marja Oxenford at ConvExx and to everyone at the CTA for helping secure our extra booth space at the last minute to allow Ed to bring in his truck and trailer. We hope that this show can grow and prosper over the next few years and continue to provide a great atmosphere for “getting down to business” and for having some fun. Isn’t that what a truck show is supposed to do? We think so! See you in Los Angeles next year.