ELKHART, Ind. – This year’s Open House Week attracted not one – but two – exhibitions where aftermarket suppliers were able to showcase their wares for dealers attending an event that has historically been focused on RV manufacturers showcasing their newest models for dealers and taking orders.
At the BAL/ Norco facility across the street from Forest River’s large exhibit at its Dynamax plant on County Road 6, the company pitched several tents and hosted about 16 fellow suppliers including ADCO Products, Demco, Equal-i-zer Hitch (Progress Mfg.), Fleming Sales / Outdoors Unlimited, Icon Technologies, Maxx-Air, MORryde, Thetford and Norcold, Reese, Samlex, Suburban, Tekonsha, Torklift and Winegard. This was BAL/ Norco’s fourth year to sponsor the event, which it calls the Supplier Showcase.
John Hawkins with BAL said he was pleased with attendance at his company’s event, held from Monday through Wednesday. “Traffic has been great,” he said Wednesday.
A torrential downpour deluged Elkhart on Tuesday night, but Hawkins was particularly pleased that BAL/ Norco’s exhibitor tents were spared from any serious damage.
Exhibitors at the Supplier Showcase said they were pleased with their dealer traffic. Brad Vander Pol with Demco described foot traffic as steady and estimated it was on par with previous years. A few new dealer contacts were made, but mostly it was great to connect with existing customers, he said.
Meanwhile, Joe Santos with Reese estimated that traffic at his booth on Tuesday was the best in the three years that he has attended the Supplier Showcase.
At the other end of Elkhart, near the Thor Industries’ exhibit at the RV/MH Hall of Fame, West Coast marketing firm CIRV Inc. hosted a multitude of suppliers under a giant white tent on a 2- to 3-acre plot of land on Executive Parkway. The event – which was new this year – billed itself as the RV Suppliers & Vendors Exhibition. It ran from Monday through Thursday morning.
As of Wednesday afternoon, CIRV’s Randall Jeremiah estimated that upward of 700 people, representing a mix of dealers, distributors and RV manufacturers, visited exhibitors under the big tent. Traffic ebbed and flowed during the event, with some of the best attendance happening Tuesday afternoon, according to Jeremiah.
Exhibitors were mixed in their reactions to the RV Suppliers & Vendors Exhibition. A few, speaking confidentially, expressed disappointment, saying the event fell short of their expectations. Others were a bit more upbeat in their assessment.
John Haymond with subprime lender Medallion Bank said he made some good contacts and the event was fine for a first-year event, but said he hoped efforts to attract more dealers would be stepped up if event is held again next year. He said he was pleased with the position of his booth toward the front of the tent, which gave him some good opportunities to talk with dealers entering the exhibit.
Wolfgang and Elke Nickel, North American distributors for European supplier Froli, a provider of OE and aftermarket bedding systems for the RV and marine markets, said they were happy to be able to showcase their products with an audience that may not be overly familiar with them. They acknowledged that traffic was uneven during the event but said they still felt like they were able to make some good connections with dealers.
Open House Week wound down on Thursday morning. While neither suppliers nor manufacturers share figures arising from orders placed during Open House Week, a general consensus from sources at the show is that business done would be roughly on par or perhaps down just a bit from last year’s record-setting sales.
