New NACV Truck Show Has Opened Strong

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Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT)  /  September 27, 2017

ATLANTA – The numbers are not all in yet, but given preliminary figures and his own expert sense of how shows go, one of the organizers of the North American Commercial Vehicle Show was ready to declare it a solid success at the end of the third of its four-day inaugural run here at the Georgia World Congress Center, despite some exhibitor comments about light attendance.

In a Sept. 27 interview with HDT, Larry Turner, president and CEO of Chicago-based Hannover Fairs USA, said that he “wasn’t surprised” that the show floor seemed “settled down” by that mid-afternoon. He attributed that to the “ebb and flow” of attendees into different areas of the exhibit hall. “There are a lot of folks concentrated in some of the larger booths, including where cafes are set up, and that impacts the flow of attendees and the look of the show floor.”

While show management won’t release its final attendance figures until next Monday, Turner said that they’re looking to come in at around 10,000 attendees. “That’s not including roughly 5,000 exhibitor personnel and 243 members of the media.” He noted that some 20% of the attendees have been “walk-up registrations, including more today,” which suggests word of the new show is still getting out.

On Monday, which was open only to VIP guests of exhibitors and the media, "we had very good meetings, and today as well," Berend Bracht, president and CEO at Bendix, told HDT Tuesday, the first day the show floor was open to all attendees. "The foot traffic at the show seems to be a little low, but the people that are coming are the right people, the decision makers, technically very competent people, so it has been good that way. And of course we are here to support our OEs."

Turner pointed out that the NACV Show was “never intended for 50,000 people.” He said it is “not open to the public.” Rather, its primary registration effort was focused on attracting attendees who “own five or more trucks, with [individual] owner-operators welcome as well. The vast majority of attendees are from private and public fleets. We were not looking to compete with the Mid-America Trucking Show,” he added. “They have their [own niche], and we think we can coexist.”

He also said that registration had been helped by enabling exhibitors to invite their customers for either the Sept. 25 “VIP Day” or for another day at the show. Over 60% of the exhibitors invited customers, according to Turner.

“There are also industry suppliers in attendance,” he pointed out, “including some who are here to evaluate the show [for when it returns in two years]." As Bendix's Bracht also noted, Turner said the show offers “a secondary audience” in that there is “a dynamic among suppliers here, as occurs at IAA [the mega truck show held biennially in Hannover, Germany]. That is, smaller suppliers are interacting with the Tier One suppliers and OEMs” on the show floor.

Speaking of that space, Turner said the exhibition’s 365,000 square feet of net exhibition space was sold out for this first edition. For its 2019 return, the organizers will “probably contract for a second hall here, so we can grow exhibit space by 30 to 40%.”

He added that the show organizers have been “happy with the decision to hold it here in Atlanta since our first site visit two years ago. We liked the facility and its room for expansion and we liked the [nearby] downtown hotels and their attractive rates.”

As for feedback, Turners said it’s been “positive from almost all the exhibitors. They have commented they like that we achieved our intent of making it easy for fleet attendees to get with their suppliers” in spacious booths. "And we’ve heard from exhibitors and attendees that they can take their time — by not fighting crowds — to stop and spend time with exhibitors. Some attendees said they came because they could see all the major suppliers were here.”

One large truckload fleet maintenance exec at the show told HDT that the show was "superb on technology." He appreciated the focus of many exhibitors on connectivity and predictive technologies. "This is what we need today to help with driver turnover and mitigate costly time wastes in a driver's clock," he said. "It also helps me as a maintenance executive to move to less costly planned maintenance events. Those first to technology that works, will win." And it seemed that he felt this show's focus on tech would help attendees do that.

The show is managed jointly through the North American Commercial Vehicle Show Partnership formed by Hannover Fairs USA, a subsidiary of German trade show operator Deutsche Messe, and Newcom Business Media, organizer of the Canadian-based Truck World and ExpoCam trade shows.

The NACV Show is slated to return to Atlanta for its second outing from Oct. 28 to 31, 2019. It’s being held in alternating years from the Deutsche Messe-hosted IAA Commercial Vehicles show that's held in Hannover, Germany, during “even years.” 

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From Deutsche Messe, the truck and component makers all got what they wanted, a professional North American truck show on the same international level as the IAA show in Hannover. Very impressed.

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Inaugural NACV Draws Top Fleet Execs, Praise

Transport Topics  /  September 28, 2017

ATLANTA — North American truck makers and their customers wrapped up the first of a new option for shopping for and even buying Class 8s, with manufacturers producing large, elaborate displays for a limited number of high-probability buyers: top fleet executives.

The North American Commercial Vehicle Show ran here Sept. 25-28 for nearly 10,000 attendees who traipsed across 379,300 square feet of exhibits in the Georgia World Congress Center to check out what’s available in the truck market today and what’s planned for in the coming years. Five of the seven heavy-duty truck brands were the stars, but there were also top-tier suppliers to answer questions about their products.

Trucking executives who spoke to Transport Topics said there was more shopping than buying, but shopping of consequence.

U.S. Xpress Enterprises is preparing for the truckload carrier’s 2018 truck buy, some 1,500 to 2,000 tractors.

“I’m in the middle of negotiations,” said Max Fuller, the company’s chairman. “We’ll complete this in the next three-to-six weeks,” he said, adding that his two-day visit was “extremely useful.”

Fuller said he visited with truck, engine, transmission and tire makers. Then he looked into air disc brakes. “It’s a good place to compare products,” he said.

Marten Transport Chairman and CEO Randolph Marten said, “It reminded me of the Hanover [Germany] show last year, where it was all set up with everything they made.”

He said he did not go to buy vehicles, but that there was time for detailed conversations with supplier executives.

In just one day there, Marten said, he met with three truck makers, major producers of refrigeration units Thermo King and Carrier Transicold, and some others. His Mondovi, Wis.-based company is the fifth-largest refrigerated carrier in North America.

“If you wanted to know something, you could get it answered,” Marten said.

Bill Reed, CEO of Skyline Transportation in Knoxville, Tenn., also attended for one day and said he shopped for trucks that emphasize driver amenities. He said he was “impressed” with the event and that it offers benefits for both sides.

“I could do a lot of comparison shopping, and the OEMs had all of their customers in one place,” Reed said, referring to original equipment manufacturers. He did not make any purchases during the show, but Reed said he’ll be buying trucks during the first quarter of 2018 and the NACV visit will help with the process.

NACV is scheduled to run in odd-numbered years and was set up as an alternative to the larger, older Mid-America Trucking Show that convenes annually in Louisville, Ky.

“For a first edition, we’re happy but not satisfied. We know there are improvements to be made,” said Joe Glionna, president of NewCom Business Media, the Canadian half of the joint venture that created the NACV.

The other partner is Germany’s Deutsche Messe, with U.S. arm Hannover Fairs.

The show had 452 exhibitors who occupied 441 booth spaces. Some corporations with multiple brands put more than one exhibit in a booth. Glionna said he did not quite get the 10,000 visitors that he was hoping for, but “came close.” Final attendance figures will be published Oct. 2, he said.

“We are extremely happy with the turnout of the show,” said Jeff Sass, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Navistar Inc. “We had the right customers there, heavy booth traffic and were proud to be a part of the inaugural year of this show. We’re already looking forward to 2019.”

“The goal of the show, I think, is really excellent, in terms of connecting with fleets and connecting with customers,” said Jon Morrison, president of Wabco Holdings’ Americas division.

Except for a new Navistar vocational model, all of the trucks on display had been introduced before the show, but Glionna said he expects that to change.

“Some of the plans for new trucks are three or four years in the making,” so synchronization with 2017 NACV was not possible, he said. “But two years from now we’re definitely going to see truck and innovation launches,” Glionna said.

As for innovation, there was consistency on what will come: autonomous, connected and electric vehicles.

Connectivity has made the most progress so far, with all truck makers emphasizing in-truck telematics as one of the most important tools for not just preventive maintenance, but predictive fixes and improvements. Freightliner, Mack, Navistar, Volvo and Western Star all mentioned it.

Electric vehicles are coming, all manufacturers said, but Class 8 highway tractors might take the longest. Medium-duty trucks, such as Class 6 or Class 7 models mentioned by Navistar, seem more likely to come first.

But a Daimler executive said his company would like to one day make and sell a “Cascadia-E” electric tractor.

Manufacturers said workable battery packs are becoming less expensive and less bulky over time due to much research.

The autonomous angle was couched in terms of systems that assist drivers, rather than replace them.

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Editorial: The First Swing at Bat

Transport Topics  /  September 28, 2017

The inaugural North American Commercial Vehicle Show was marked by big swings from truck manufacturers, both in terms of their displays, and in what they had to say.

Electricity was in the air at Daimler’s events, as electric power for the trucks of tomorrow — and today — was the hot topic. Those in attendance at a party the company hosted the night before the show kicked off were given an early peek at this theme, as Martin Daum, head of Daimler’s global truck and bus business, said that his company is researching how to extend the operating range and hauling capacity of heavy-duty, electric-powered trucks.

The next day, during a 90-minute press event designed to mimic a morning news show — complete with a pair of hosts, guests and correspondents — the company showcased, among many other things, an electric-powered version of the Canter medium-duty cabover from Daimler’s Mitsubishi Fuso brand. Dubbed eCanter, the truck will soon enter duty with UPS Inc. and a selection of New York-based organizations. A Daimler rep noted during the Sept. 25 show-within-a-show, the next generation is already under development.

Navistar Inc. is also getting in on the electric action, announcing that it is developing a Class 6/7 electric truck, but at NACV it focused its introductions on more conventional products, unveiling a new medium-duty model and announcing that it will work with new corporate partner Volkswagen on a new line of global, big-bore engines. The announcement of the engine pact is an important next step for the company, following the launch earlier this year of a new proprietary engine. And the debut of the new truck is the latest in a succession of product launches for the company. All of this is part and parcel of Navistar’s march to recover from its recent financial troubles, and the flashy press event it hosted at NACV showed that it’s ready to make some noise.

Both Volvo and Mack showcased the new models they’ve recently launched, taking big swings at an on-highway market that has been dominated by their rivals, while also laying claim to the regional and vocational segments that have traditionally been strengths.

The fact that all of these companies had new trucks to tout at the show (Paccar Inc. was not present) is indicative of the exciting times we’re living in, and of the fortunate timing of this inaugural NACV. It’ll be two years before we see if show organizers — and exhibitors — can recreate this kind of excitement. But for the first time at bat, we’d call NACV a hit.

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Daimler, Volvo Execs Praise Inaugural NACV Show

Transport Topics  /  October 2, 2017

ATLANTA — North American executives from Daimler Trucks and Volvo Group offered an early post-event endorsement of the North American Commercial Vehicle Show just ended.

The show, scheduled to run here in odd-numbered years, was designed to hook up original equipment manufacturers and top fleet executives.

“The vision for NACV was to create a forward-looking show focused on technology for our industry and create an opportunity for our customers, dealers and partners to interact and learn about future products and industry trends. Based on the comments I heard from our customers we have accomplished this goal and have a solid foundation to build upon in years to come,” said Richard Howard, senior vice president of sales and marketing for DTNA.

“Our measure of success of the show will be the quality of those most-important interactions and relationships with both our valued current and new customers,” Howard said.

Sept. 25-28 was the first-ever NACV Show, held at the GeorgiaWorldCongressCenter. Show management said Oct. 2 that 6,000 attended NACV.

Magnus Koeck, vice president of marketing and brand management for Volvo Trucks North America, said the event “proved a good venue for connecting with many of our valued customers and showcasing our new VNL and VNR models for a broader audience for the first time.”

“It’s clear that fleets are eager to begin introducing our new trucks and integrated technologies to their operations to boost their fuel efficiency, driver productivity, safety and uptime,” Koeck said.

Howard said the event was a major production.

“We truly pulled out all the stops for NACV — and this was the first year ever we combined all brands to showcase products together with our Daimler family. With the combination of Freightliner, Western Star, Fuso, Thomas Built Bus, Detroit, Mercedes-Benz Vans, aftermarket, and our financial services organization, we created a showcase of our complete product line like we’ve never done before,” he said.

“Our goal was to ensure that visitors to NACV were not only connected with our products in the booth, but also we created an environment to connect with each other by offering the Connect Café where our guests could grab a coffee, snack, or lunch. Additionally, we hosted special ‘TEC Talk’ sessions for our customers to engage directly with senior engineering leadership from Freightliner and Detroit to experience our cutting-edge technology, efficiency and connectivity,” Howard said.

“Thanks to so many customers wanting to check out our new Mack Anthem model, the traffic and overall energy in our booth at NACV was outstanding,” said John Walsh, vice president of global marketing and brand management for Mack Trucks, also a part of Volvo Group.