The Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network (CVSN) announced that beginning next year, the association’s annual spring meetings will be held in conjunction with Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW). The next HDAW is scheduled for January 21 through January 28, 2008, at The Mirage Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas.
“The committee assigned to consider the various options for the CVSN spring conference did a great job,” says Robyn Spitzke-Kent, executive vice president, Fort Garry Industries and current president of CVSN.
Ken Duval, president, Canadian Wheel and incoming president of CVSN, headed the committee. “While our Fall Annual Business Forum will remain focused on industry initiatives, our spring meeting fits very well into the format of HDAW,” he says. “Everyone involved worked tirelessly toward a solution that both strengthens CVSN and helps HDAW achieve its goal of an all-industry, all-organization, independent heavy-duty aftermarket conference.”
The HDAW leadership team persistently pursued a CVSN partnership in the annual event. By bringing the group into the fold, HDAW leadership hopes to bring distributors, supplies, the media, education and solution providers together in one venue, creating a consolidated, comprehensive annual industry meeting.
“We have held strong HDAW conferences the past two years,” says Jerry Weis, president, Ott’s Friction and HDAW 2008 chairman. “But it’s time to beef-up our lineup by adding many of the real power-players in the heavy-duty aftermarket.”
CVSN members will join the conference in prominent leadership roles. The association will be a sponsor of HDAW 2008, and then will become an organizer in 2009, along with the Heavy Duty Distributors Association and the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association. HDAW organizers own the event and are responsible for the overall conference and production.
CVSN was formed in 2006 by the merging of the Council of Fleet Specialists and the National Wheel and Rim Association. It is North America’s largest distributor-governed association.
