Paccar has announced it will be at next year’s North America Commercial Vehicle with both of its American brands, joining every other major manufacturer at the biennial Expo in Atlanta.
In what could be the final nail in the coffin for the once great Mid-America Truck Show in Louisville, Kentucky, the news that Paccar has committed to Atlanta in 2019 means that all the major brands will be there and there may be no major manufacturers in Kentucky.
NACV, which is run by the German IAA organisation, which also hosts the Hanover Truck Show and Frankfurt Motor Show in alternate years in its home country, focuses on the needs of fleet owners, managers and decision makers as opposed to the owner/drivers and enthusiasts that Louisville attracts.
Now Paccar will exhibit for the first time at NACV with both Peterbilt and Kenworth, joining the other brands that have already announced they’ve committed to Atlanta including industry leader Daimler Trucks North America with it’s Freightliner, Western Star and Fuso brands, Volvo Trucks and its Mack Trucks brand, Navistar’s International and Hino Trucks, to name a few.
NACV says the major truck brands will also be joined by leading trailer manufacturers and top tier suppliers, including Bendix, BorgWarner, Bosch, ConMet, Continental, Cooper Tire, Cummins Inc., Dana, Dorsey Trailer, Great Dane, Hendrickson, Holland, Hyundai Translead, Meritor, SAF Holland, Tenneco, Thermo King, Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co., Wabash and WABCO.
The Atlanta show will be staged at the Georgia World Congress Centre from 28-31 October in 2019.
The organisers claim the Expo has grown since the inaugural event in 2017 and will cover more than 50,000 square metres of net exhibition space in 2019 up from 35,000 net square metres last year. Next year’s trade show is expected to host more than 500 exhibitors up from 439 exhibitors in 2017.
“Since its 2017 launch in Atlanta, the NACV Show continues to impress the industry with its cutting-edge demonstrations of commercial vehicle innovations and technologies,” said Larry Turner, president and CEO of Hannover Fairs USA (HFUSA), the NACV Show’s co-organizer with partner Newcom Media.
“We are excited to expand the event’s footprint and offerings next year, and to continue to focus on the needs of a larger audience of fleet owners, fleet managers, fleet maintenance managers and other key decision makers from across North America.”
More than 15,000 fleet management attendees are expected to visit the show in 2019, or more than double the number of attendees at the inaugural event.
“Again in 2019, we look forward to showcasing the industry’s top OEMs and solutions providers and to featuring new product categories plus a variety of educational and tutorial sessions both on the floor and immediately before the show floor opens every day during the event.”
