Registration Now Open for NATDA Convention

May 21, 2010 by RV Business · Leave a Comment

Registration is now open for the North American Trailer Dealers Association (NATDA) 2010 Tradeshow & Convention, which will be held Sept. 10-12 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky.

The 2010 Show will feature VIP events for members, NATDA University and more. Visit the NATDA website at www.natda.org or click here for more details and to see who’s exhibiting.

This is the only show for light and medium use trailer dealers and the only industry event that brings together manufacturers, vendors and dealers for this industry.

Filed Under: Breaking News
Tagged: North American Trailer Dealers Association

NATDA to Hold 2nd Annual Convention Sept. 12-14

August 27, 2009 by Bob Ashley · Leave a Comment

natda-logo1 Some 1,500 people representing trailer dealers, manufacturers and suppliers are expected to attend the 2nd Annual North American Trailer Dealers Association (NATDA) Trade Show and Convention Sept. 12-14 at the Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC) in Louisville, Ky.

“We also expect to have quite a bit of walk-through traffic,” said Amy Rubenstein, NATDA co-founder and vice president.

Rubenstein reported that more than 300 dealers, 46 trailer manufacturers and 115 suppliers have registered for the show. Dealers of any stripe — automobile, RV, boat and the like — are invited to peruse the show for free, although only those who are registered can attend NATDA’s nearly two dozen educational seminars.

Rubenstein and President Andy Ackerman founded the for-profit NATDA in March 2007. The organization represents commercial trailer retailers and earlier this year became an affiliate of the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM), largely comprised of cargo trailer builders.

NATDA membership is open to dealers who sell light-and medium-duty trailers with GVWRs of less than 26,000 pounds. About 1.25 million units were sold last year at an average price of about $30,000, Rubenstein said.

With the theme “Back to Basics Bootcamp,” NATDA will present more than 20 educational workshops over three days on subjects that include retail and wholesale financing, federal regulatory compliance, operating profitable parts departments, managing service department operations and selling in a stressed economy.

“Trailer dealers haven’t had any (formal industry) education prior to the association starting,” Rubenstein said. “We want to give them additional knowledge about what is out there, and for a lot of dealers, this is the first time they’re seeing potential products face-to-face.”

As with its RV-industry cousin, the trailer industry has faced financing issues during the past year. One related upshot is the fact that a company that promoting “buy-here, pay-here” retail financing will introduce a program for trailer dealers during the trade show.

“That will give dealers something to think about as the economy recovers,” she said. “I think the program will be very popular. Like everyone else, we want to stimulate the economy and get some sales going in our industry.”

2nd Annual NATDA Trade Show Set for Sept. 12-14

August 5, 2009 by RV Business · Leave a Comment

The North American Trailer Dealers Association (NATDA) 2009 Trade Show and Convention set for Sept. 12-14 at the Expo Center in Louisville, Ky., is focused on bringing the trailer dealers, manufacturers and vendors together for three days of trade show, education, workshops and parties, according to the trade group.

The inaugural show in 2008 hosted 117 exhibiting companies and was battened by 268 trailer dealerships. This is the only show in North America that offers education, training, products and services geared specifically for the trailer dealers, according to a NATDA release. It has quickly become the “must attend” event for the trailer industry.

In the past, manufacturers and vendors would have to search to find the right dealer to sell their product line to. “We will bring more potential dealer prospects to a manufacturer or vendor in a three-day period than they could ever reach out to on their own,” the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based association said.

New for 2009 is the Manufacturer/Dealer Meetings.

“I have been asked to speak at many manufacturer meetings, and besides being very costly to put on, many are filled with vendors and guest speakers to provide education for the meeting. Our idea was for manufacturers to be able to host a 2-3 hour meeting to discuss the “meat and potatoes” topics that deal directly with their own dealer base, and leave the guest speakers, and education to us,” said Andy Ackerman, president and co-founder of NATDA.

“Having dealer meetings during the convention is a great convenience since the dealers will already be there for the convention. We want to encourage interaction between the dealers and manufacturers at the show,” said Ackerman.

Currently Aluma, Carry-On, United, Diamond C, Platinum Coach, and a few others will be hosting their dealer meetings during the NATDA Trade Show & Convention. With the addition of this new program NATDA fully expects in excess of 500-plus trailer dealerships at this year’s show.

The three-day event will consist of dealer education, manufacturer and vendor displays, product demonstrations, workshops and receptions. This show will even host technology vendors with software systems like finance programs, dealer management systems and even trailer rental software programs.

Dealer education has been a very hot topic of conversation and it will be a focal point of the convention. The days of a dealer making a living by just selling trailers are quickly coming to an end. Dealers are starting to run their operations more like the auto industry, meaning sales, parts, service and finance are all departments within the dealership that need to be held accountable to achieve profit.

“Dealers have had no where to turn for education and training and that is exactly what we will provide” said Amy Rubenstein, NATDA’s vice president and co-founder.

The manufacturers displaying units at the show are: