AKRON, Ohio — While the attendance numbers were not all that bad, TIA and SEMA officials say they have a lot of work to do to enhance the SEMA Show experience for tire exhibitors and attendees alike. 

At left: TIA Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield, SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting and SEMA Vice President of Communications and Events Peter MacGillivray meet with U.S. tire trade press.

Vowing to work to get tire companies “engaged” in the show, TIA says it has to accept blame for the fall-off in tire company exhibitors.

Those were the main messages delivered by officials of both SEMA – in a rare visit to Akron, Ohio – and TIA, which held a special press conference for tire industry media yesterday.

On hand from SEMA was Chris Kersting, president and CEO; Peter MacGillivray, vice president of communications and events; and Tom Myroniak, vice president of marketing and market research. Representing TIA was Executive Vice President Roy Littlefield; President Wayne Croswell, and Richard Porter, director of marketing communications.

Kersting noted that attendance for the recently completed 2009 show exceeded 120,000 people, but was still down about 15 percent compared to 2008. And the number of exhibiting companies – 1,750-plus in 2009 – was off 12 percent to the prior year.

At the same time, Myroniak noted that even while overall show attendance was down in 2009, those registering for the Tire, Wheels & Equipment (TWE) section of the show have steadily increased in recent years, rising from 4,379 registered buyers in 2005 to 5,237 this past year.

The TWE section itself is now the second largest of the SEMA Show, with 290 exhibitors, SEMA officials said.

One of the big voids was the absence of a number of major tire companies from the 2009 show floor, a problem TIA and SEMA officials said was a primary focus. Some of those missing from the 2009 show were long-time SEMA regulars like Toyo, Yokohama, Kumho and Goodyear, others were fairly recent in their return like Continental, and others like Bridgestone and Michelin were intermittent exhibitors over the past decade.

TIA has already started working on addressing the issue. Croswell has sent letters to all of the tire companies, inviting them to participate in a series of focus groups to gain a better understanding of their concerns and show goals, and how TIA and SEMA can address those needs. Further, TIA is holding other meetings to look at ways to enhance the show for attendees, and is considering a wide range of options – including how the specific needs of commercial tire exhibitors can be better met at a show like SEMA.

“I think it’s really important that we get the manufacturers back and engaged,” said Littlefield. “Dealers come to meet with the manufacturers, and dealers are coming to the show. One company that didn’t exhibit this year told me that 30 of their largest customers were at the show and they weren’t. And he regretted that.

“Those manufacturers have to be engaged and a lot of that I blame on TIA,” he stated flatly.

Part of the problem, Littlefield suggested, may have come from TIA’s past history of trying to hold a wide range of shows, and issues surrounding the consolidation of the association into what is now TIA.

“Through all of that the one constant was the SEMA Show,” Littlefield said. “And I think that caused a problem with some of the manufacturers who don’t view it (the SEMA Show) as a tire show. And they want to get that identity back. I think TIA is in a better position now than 10 years ago, and we have been doing a lot of very positive things. I think we are better positioned now to make this a tire show. I have to give SEMA credit; whenever we went to them they responded. And maybe we just didn’t do enough.”

“Those suppliers have to believe that is their show, and I’m not sure right now that they believe that,” he continued. “We want to make that a true tire hall.”

SEMA officials at the event said that nothing is out of the realm of possibility, and TIA and SEMA both vowed to work harder to assist commercial tire exhibitors gain greater benefit from their participation. (Tire Review)