The Work Truck Show
North America’s largest gathering of vocational trucks and transportation equipment, The Work Truck Show 2012 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis features more than 550 exhibitors showcasing Classes 1-8 trucks, chassis, bodies, components and accessories.
Thousands of work truck professionals, including fleet managers, equipment buyers, maintenance personnel, manufacturers, distributors and dealers attend the annual Work Truck Show to interact with peers, meet with suppliers, get answers to technical questions and visit exhibits. Industry suppliers also use the event to introduce new product innovations.
Former President George W. Bush will be the keynote speaker at The Work Truck Show 2012. President Bush will speak at the President’s Breakfast and NTEA Annual Meeting, offering insights into the challenges facing our nation in the 21st century and other timely issues.
NTEA Convention
The Work Truck Show 2012 is held in conjunction with the 48th NTEA Annual Convention. Established in 1964, NTEA, the Association for the Work Truck Industry, represents nearly 1,600 companies that manufacture, distribute, install, sell and repair commercial trucks, truck bodies, truck equipment, trailers and accessories. Buyers of work trucks and the major commercial truck chassis manufacturers also belong to the association.
The NTEA Convention serves as the educational component of The Work Truck Show, featuring more than 60 educational sessions for owners, managers and employees from truck equipment suppliers, upfitters, fleet managers and truck purchasers. Session topics on the agenda include:
• State of the Industry Overview – The NTEA Perspective
• Changing of the Guard: Millennials and Generational Differences in the Workplace
• Demystifying Weight Distribution and Payload Calculations for Work Trucks
• Government Regulatory Implications for the Work Truck Industry
• Learning to Avoid Costly Truck Frame Modification Errors
• What is the Future Economic Landscape for the Work Truck Industry?
• Optimizing Work Truck Body and Equipment Specifications
• Why Should I Care About Vehicle Certification?
• Build Your People Strategy First
• Ensuring Your Next Truck Chassis Matches the Job Requirements
• The Future of Fleet Operations
• The Ins and Outs of Lean for the Truck Equipment Industry
• Making Vehicle Investment Decisions Using Life-Cycle Cost Analysis
• Old Rules/New Tools: Staying People-Focused Using Today’s Technology
• Spec’ing Your Next Truck Powertrain for Optimum Efficiency & Performance
• The Next Generation of Work Truck Telematics
Chassis updates are on the NTEA agenda. Participating truck manufacturers include:
• Chevrolet & GMC Commercial Trucks
• Ford Commercial Trucks
• Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation
• Freightliner Trucks
• Hino Trucks
• International Truck
• Isuzu Commercial Truck of America
• Kenworth Truck Company
• Mack Trucks
• Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America
• Nissan North America
• Peterbilt Motors Company
• Ram Trucks
• Western Star Trucks
Green Truck Summit
Jointly produced by NTEA and CALSTART, the Green Truck Summit is also held in conjunction with The Work Truck Show. Technical experts, government officials, industry leaders and early adopter fleet managers come together at the Green Truck Summit to unveil recent developments in sustainable technologies and new commercial truck applications. Presenters share practical advice on fuel efficiency, firsthand information on building green fleet programs, and critical advances in engine and fuel technology.
United States Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Ph.D., will give the keynote address at the 2012 Green Truck Summit. Dr. Chu is a distinguished scientist and co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Physics. As Secretary of Energy he is charged with helping implement President Obama’s agenda to invest in clean energy, reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create new jobs.
Educational sessions at the Green Truck Summit include:
• Trends in Work Truck Technologies and Fuels covering upcoming changes that will affect the vocational truck industry, new clean technologies and fuels, and new vehicle efficiency and emissions standards.
• Gaseous Fuels: A Successful Alternative
• Work Truck Electrification: Leveraging the Ultimate Clean Fuel
• Watching the Bottom Line: Technologies for Increasing Fuel Efficiency and Eliminating Fuel Waste
Roadway to Fuel Independence and Air Quality Improvement in North America and Globally will be the subject of an address by Russell Musgrove, managing director of FedEx Express. Musgrove will provide insights based on his global company’s experience using sustainable technologies.
Recently announced regulations (scheduled to take effect in 2016) and details about how companies can prepare to meet them will be the focus of A New Generation of Clean Work Trucks: Understanding the EPA and NHTSA Joint Greenhouse Gas and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Work Trucks by a panel of experts from EPA and NHTSA.
Green Truck Summit sessions showcase new technology and provide information on reducing fuel consumption, improving fleet management, comparing clean technology options, funding clean vehicles and more. Green truck technology is also highlighted in the CALSTART Clean Technologies and Fuels Pavilion. In addition, exhibitors with products that improve fuel utilization, are environmentally friendly, use recycled materials and/or support environmentally sustainable practices are profiled throughout the hall as part of the Green Product Showcase.
Green Truck Ride-and-Drive
A popular highlight of The Work Truck Show is the Green Truck Ride-and-Drive. Featuring 21 commercial vehicles that incorporate advances in hybrid technology and alternative fuel applications, the Ride-and-Drive will include a variety of work trucks, including cargo and service vans, pickup trucks, dump trucks, shuttle buses, walk-in vans, tree-trimming trucks, utility trucks, box trucks, cutaways and more.
This year’s event includes an equally wide range of environmentally friendly drive systems, including CNG, propane, battery-electric, extended range electric, ultra-clean biodiesel, bi-fuel CNG, electric hybrids (series and parallel), and hydraulic hybrids. Some of the vehicles will feature lightweight and aerodynamic technologies. Equipment demonstrations of electric PTOs and similar technologies also will take place.
Cutting-edge technologies and energy-efficient vehicles available for ride and drive attendees are being provided by:
• Altec Industries
• BAE Systems
• Cummins Crosspoint
• Electric Vehicles International
• Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation
• Freightliner Trucks
• Hino Trucks
• IMPCO Automotive
• International Truck
• Isuzu Commercial Truck of America
• Kenworth Truck Company
• Knapheide Manufacturing Company
• Leggett & Platt Commercial Vehicle Products
• Lightning Hybrids
• Motiv Power Systems
• Peterbilt Motors Company
• Propane Education & Research Council (PERC)
• Ram Trucks
• Reading Truck Body
• Roush CleanTech
• Smith Electric Vehicles
Work Truck Show App
Now available for most mobile devices, The Work Truck Show App enables users to access the show floor plan, browse educational sessions, view and schedule appointments, and find exhibitors that are featuring products in the New Product Spotlight and Green Product Showcase programs. Scan the QR code at http://www.ntea.com/worktruckshow/index.aspx?id=25950 or visit www.guidebook.com/getit with a smartphone or device.
Industry Affair
The Work Truck Show 2012 is produced by NTEA and is supported by leading organizations:
• American Public Works Association (www.apwa.net)
• Association of Indiana Counties (www.indianacounties.org)
• CALSTART (www.calstart.org)
• Canadian Transportation Equipment Association (www.ctea.ca)
• Clean Cities – U.S. Dept. of Energy (www1.eere.energy.gov/cleancities)
• Clean Vehicle Education Foundation (www.cleanvehicle.org)
• Green Truck Association (www.greentruckassociation.com)
• Heavy Duty Representatives Association (www.hdra.org)
• Indiana Association of County Commissioners (www.indianacountycommissioners.com)
• Indiana Association of Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors (www.iaphcc.com)
• NAFA Fleet Management Association (www.nafa.org)
• National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (www.naftc.wvu.edu)
• NTEA (www.ntea.com)
• Natural Gas Vehicles for America (www.ngvamerica.org)
• Ohio Contractors Association (www.ohiocontractors.org)
• Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association (www.onla.org)
• Propane Education & Research Council (www.propanecouncil.org)
• Rocky Mountain Fleet Management Association (www.rmfma.org)
• Service Specialists Association (www.truckservice.org)
• Snow & Ice Management Association (www.sima.org)