By Stu MacKay, with counterpoints by Molly MacKay Zacker, both of MacKay & Company.
SM: On the heels of another Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW), the issue of who gets permission to exhibit and to attend again surfaced. For as long as most of us can remember, individuals and other entities with any sort of umbilical relationship to a vehicle-producing entity cannot be considered independent and were not invited.
MMZ: However, the lines are becoming more blurred as dealerships are now members of buying groups and these members ARE allowed to participate at HDAW.
SM: So what, actually, does “independent” mean?
It apparently doesn’t mean that any company that sells to the original equipment market doesn’t get painted with the OEM brush. And it apparently also doesn’t mean that any of these same supplier companies who sell to the aftermarket parts distribution arm of these same OEM companies get the brush treatment as well. Independent means not-affiliated with an OEM, working on the vehicles, but having no direct connection with any vehicle manufacturer. We think.
Everybody in the heavy-duty aftermarket — regardless of the shingle hanging out front — is dependent on the OEM side of the business.
MMZ: No argument!
