LAS VEGAS – A record-breaking number of exhibiting suppliers and independent heavy-duty distributors participated in the 10th annual Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW ’15) in Las Vegas, according to HDAW organizers CVSN, HDDA and HDMA. The annual conference was held Jan. 26-29 at The Mirage in Las Vegas.

More than 2,400 aftermarket industry leaders attended the three-day conference, including over 1,800 supplier and 590 distributor executives. Available booth spaces for exhibitors at the HDAW Product Expo sold out more than a month prior to the start of the event, with 514 booths purchased in total, resulting in broken attendance records for the HDAW conference.

“HDAW ’15 provided an exceptional opportunity for suppliers and distributors to come together, for the 10th time, to network and to support the independent heavy duty aftermarket industry,” said John Bzeta, HDAW ’15 co-chair and president & CEO of Fleet Brake. “The impressive growth in HDAW participation suggests that the value and importance of HDAW to the heavy-duty aftermarket industry continues to rise as we make every effort each year to improve the conference.”

“The theme for HDAW’15 was ‘Elevate Your Business,’ and every aspect of the week was centered around taking our industry’s aftermarket to the next level,” said Emily Poladian, 2015 co-chair and managing director, Asia, for Firestone Industrial Products Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. “The education sessions were very well-attended and received, the product expo traffic was consistently heavier from start to finish over previous years, the numerous networking sessions were expanded this year and the One-on-One meetings were extremely popular as always. My conversations with industry colleagues all mentioned how impressed they were with this year’s attendance and genuinely believe that the event continues to get better every year, making the HDAW’15 event the best one yet.”

More than 800 people attended the opening general session as Tony Alessandra presented ”The Platinum Rule,” which was developed as a relationship strategy for building customer and employee loyalty. Attendees learned how to spot the clues that help them “read” other people and accurately determine their behavior style.

Six Robblees’ was named the 13th annual Truck Parts & Service Distributor of the Year, sponsored by Minimizer and Meritor. The award was presented by Truck Parts & Service Editor Lucas Deal, Meritor Vice President, Aftermarket and Trailer Craig Frohock and Minimizer’s Director of Corporate Accounts Steve Hansen, and was accepted by Six Robblees’ President Andy Robblee.

The 2015 Heavy Duty Industry Hall of Fame Award was presented to Pete Joy, head of sales and marketing at Phillips Industries, by Gary Meteer, director of global commercial products for IHS Automotive. Joy was recognized for the impact he has had in the evolution of the independent aftermarket industry and as one of the early leaders of the HD Aftermarket Suppliers Council, which helped establish HDAW as a premier venue for independent aftermarket participants.

Four education seminars were held during HDAW’15: “The Platinum Rule,” presented by Dr. Tony Alessandra of Assessments 24×7 LLC; “Leadership Best Practices for the ‘New’ Supply Chain,” presented by Dirk Beveridge of 4th Generation Systems; “Elevating Sales Systems Using Analytics & CRM (Customer Relationship Management),” presented by Randy MacLean of Waypoint Analytics; ”The High Performance Selling Edge,” presented by Don Hutson of U.S. Learning.

The annual All-Industry Reception and Pinewood Challenge, sponsored by Minimizer, proved again to be an exciting event for all 23 race participants.

Winners of the Pinewood race were:
1st place – Dorman Stealth, Dorman Products
2nd place – Triangle No. 2, Triangle Suspension
3rd place – Bendix 4 Second Stop, Bendix CVS

Winners of the Concours D’elegance (Best designed and best looking trucks):
1st place – Dorman Contributor, Dorman Products
2nd place – Kingfish, Truck Supply Company of S.C.
3rd place – Oilsands Express “Crane,”  Fleet Brake

This year, HDAW invited The Wyakin Warrior Foundation to participate in the event, to teach attendees about their great work and raise awareness for their cause. Todd Monroe, executive director, said, “Between the Meritor cause marketing campaign kick-off with its $50k ceiling, and the support in cash, checks and pledges provided during the three days, HDAW’15 is shaping up to be a $100K event for the Wyakin Warrior Foundation’s cause. On top of the monetary piece, there have been media opportunities, additional invitations to be a part of other associations’ annual meetings and conferences, offers to be professional mentors for our warriors, and significant interest in hiring Wyakin Warriors by several companies. Huge show of support from a wonderful industry!”

HDAW16 will be held Jan. 25-28, 2016 at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.