RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – The Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association and MacKay & Co. have announced the participants for the heavy-duty distribution panel, one of the three Industry Expert Discussion Panels to take place as part of the Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue (HDAD) conference, on Jan. 21, 2013, at The Mirage in Las Vegas. HDAD immediately precedes Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week 2013.
Participants in the heavy-duty distribution panel will include three representatives of the various elements of the channel: a national distributor, an independent distributor and a large truck dealer.
“We are anticipating a vigorous and insightful discussion to emerge from the group that we have selected for this panel,” said Stu MacKay of MacKay & Co. “These are industry leaders with decades of firsthand knowledge of how the heavy duty aftermarket responds under various economic climates. Their experience and collaboration should really yield some valuable takeaways for the audience."
John Bzeta is president and CEO of Fleet Brake, one of North America’s leading independent distributors. Headquartered in Alberta, Canada, his company is fully involved in the truck parts business, including the “Oil Patch” area of western Canada, servicing the demand of both the trucking fleets and oil field vehicles. John was co-winner of Truck Parts and Service Magazine’s Distributor of the Year for 2011.
Duane Kyrish, recipient of the International Dealer of the Year award, is the owner of Longhorn International Trucks, headquartered in Austin, Texas, with an award-winning truck leasing business, Longhorn Idealease. Under his leadership, Longhorn has grown to 105 employees, two dealer locations and has received the Circle of Excellence Award a total of 27 times.
Lee Stockseth is president and COO of FleetPride, America’s largest HD distributor, with more than 250 locations in 45 states. Stockseth has more than 29 years of experience in the HD industry and has held a variety of executive positions at FleetPride since joining the company in 1998. FleetPride has had a solid record of growth in the industry since forming in the late 1990s.
“We believe that this panel of HD Parts distribution leaders will generate a lot of interest and a great deal of discussion,” says Tim Kraus, president and COO of HDMA. “Audience participation has been the hallmark of every Dialogue program and this panel will most certainly raise thought-provoking questions from our members and guests. None of the panelists are known for holding back on their opinions; it should be an outstanding session. ”
The day-long conference will also feature a heavy duty supplier discussion panel as well as a panel from the perspective of fleet owners, scheduled between two expert presentations; the North American Economic Outlook to be presented by Dr. Bob Dieli of RDLB Inc., followed by the Heavy Duty Industry Forecast presented by Stu MacKay of MacKay & Co. The conference will include breakfast, two breaks and a luncheon, each intended to facilitate networking with industry peers, as well as conference books containing presentation materials.
Registration for HDAD’13 is open for the new conference and can be completed on the HDMA website, www.hdma.org.
