NTEA is bulking up the Green Truck Summit during Work Truck Week 2024.
The Green Truck Summit is part of a week of sessions in Indianapolis March 5-8. It also includes the Work Truck Show, NTEA Annual Meeting, Ride & Drive, educational sessions and more.
"Work Truck Week education and training sessions bring in experts from across the global commercial vehicle industry — including chassis and equipment manufacturers, government officials, business consultants, fleet managers and others — to help attendees stay current with trends, technology developments and vehicle changes," says Jennifer Mitchell, NTEA senior director of content development. "WTW and GTS sessions address challenges attendees are facing right now, like grappling with recruiting and training employees, specifying and upfitting alternative fuel vehicles and maximizing productivity."
The Green Truck Summit on March 5 will get 40 more minutes to discuss the commercial vehicle industry's ongoing shift toward zero emissions. A panel of representatives from leading chassis manufacturers will share insights into evolving vehicle technology and the fuel landscape during the new session "Chassis OEMs' Vision for Advanced Vehicle and Fuel Technology."
The panel will include Mark Dickens, chief engineer for next-gen heavy duty and medium duty ZEV trucks, GM Envolve; Gordon Wolverton, zero emissions powertrain technology, Navistar; and Harrison Wessinger, vocational equipment and applications, Isuzu Commercial Truck of America.
The new breakout session will be "Advanced Alternatives: Clean Fuel Deployment," presented by Carl Lisek, director of Drive Clean Indiana. He will explain how Clean Cities technical assistance experts and rural communities are working together to overcome the challenges of deploying clean fuel technologies in small communities.
Also added to Work Truck Week is "Electrified Propulsion Vehicles (xEV) High-Voltage Electrical Safety Standards" on March 6. It will focus on new electric vehicle safety standards and includes information on achieving certification.
Attendees will also be able to hear from OEMs at "Upfitting on EVs: Chassis OEM Perspectives" on March 7. Ray Eyles, chief engineer at Ford Transit; David Roberts, engineering group manager at General Motors Upfitter Integration; and a representative from Stellantis will answer questions about what can and can't be done with a high-voltage battery, application engineering guides, managing battery temperatures and welding procedures.
Work Truck Week will also feature special sessions March 6-7. "Getting Started with Fleet Management" will be March 6 and is designed for new fleet managers or business owners, agency directors, procurement or finance officials serving as de facto fleet managers. It will cover maintenance program design, outsourcing and supplier measurement, managing total cost of ownership and more. It will be presented by Marc Canton, Steve Saltzgiver and Tony Yankovich of RTA Fleet. Another fleet session, "Advanced Principles of Fleet Management," will be March 7.
Leadership consultant Dough Cartland will teach strategies for leading teams in "Generation Next Workshop & Networking Reception: Leading Through Change" on March 6. Ken Taylor will discuss business improvement strategies for truck dealers in "Creating a Roadmap to Increase Truck Dealer Commercial Vehicle Sales" on March 7.
NTEA also developed a series of three workforce development sessions, which are free for all WTW registrants. "Exploring Ways to Maximize Your Talent Pipeline" kicks off the series on March 6, followed by "Empowering the Next Generation: Community Collaboration Opportunities" and "Exploring Careers in Commercial Vehicles" on March 7.
Fifteen manufacturers will hold chassis update sessions, including Bollinger Motors, Daimler Truck North America, Freightliner Custom Chassis, GM Evolve, Hino, International, Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Kenworth, Lion Electric, Mack, Peterbilt and more.
