Event co-chairs Jean Gregoire, president of Marmon Heavy Duty Brakes Group, and Michael Keller, vice president of Category Management & Sourcing at FleetPride, say using HDAW to support the independent aftermarket was a no-brainer. As the industry’s biggest and most influential event, it’s a showcase for the parts business.
And for an industry always in need of new, young talent, the co-chairs say they hope to leverage the event’s excitement as much as possible and show attendees of the career potential found across the independent aftermarket.
“One thing we talked about is there’s no school for what we do, unfortunately,” says Gregoire. “This is a great industry, it’s a great place to work and make a living. But it’s not known to many people … As [the industry] adds more gray hairs, not less, it’s important for us to communicate what we do and show people the opportunities.”
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HDAW will expand its internship program this year to do just that.
Introduced nearly a decade ago, HDAW regularly hosts nearly two dozen aftermarket students from Northwood University each January. Sponsored by aftermarket businesses, each student receives a complementary registration for the event and spends the week shadowing their sponsor, supporting HDAW programming and networking with attendees.
This year’s program will keep that framework but has expanded its student pipeline, with representatives from five schools scheduled to attend the event. The co-chairs are enthusiastic about the expansion.
“I’m thrilled to see we’re expanding to more schools. We need to get the word out that this is a fun industry — a great industry — where you can work with great people and make a great living,” says Keller. “The aftermarket, it’s not something people always think about. But once they get exposure to it; it’s impressive to see how many really lean in.”
Gregoire agrees.
“Hopefully if [the interns] can see our industry first-hand, they’ll go back home to their schools and talk about it, and that will be a domino effect to bring people into the industry.”
Also bringing people back to HDAW is the event agenda, which this year will feature two exciting new features. One is Wednesday night’s Heavy Hitter celebration at Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers. The co-chairs say the event will mirror last year’s incredibly well received trip to AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Next is the inaugural Women in Leadership award. This new program was designed to recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements and contributions of women leaders within the commercial vehicle aftermarket sector.
The co-chairs are thrilled about the award, stating it’s great for HDAW to recognize the importance and influence women have on the industry.
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“Historically this has been a male-driven business but it doesn’t have to continue to be,” says Gregoire, who also helped secure HDAW keynote speaker, female fighter pilot Kim Campbell. “Showing support for women in our industry may convince more people to join.”
Adds Keller, “The industry continuing to become more diverse allows us to bring different thought processes into the business and that helps all our companies.”
Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week will run Jan. 20-23, 2025, at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas. For more information about the conference, and to register, go to the event website. TPS will have more about HDAW’s keynote speaker and new event features in the weeks leading up to the event.