NTEA, the Association for the Work Truck Industry, has decided that with less than five months until Work Truck Week and the COVID-19 pandemic still not under control, holding the event in-person in Indianapolis would not be feasible for 2021. Lockdowns across the country began shortly after the last event, which includes the Work Truck Show and Green Truck Summit, held at the Indiana Convention Center March 3-6, 2020.
A joint statement from the association’s Board of Directors Chairman Peter Miller and NTEA President & CEO Steve Carey explained that: “The health and safety of our attendees, exhibitors and staff” was the “driving factor” and because of the tight restrictions due to the pandemic, the evet organizers “cannot confidently ensure attendees, exhibitors and industry stakeholders will be able to accomplish their goals or get what they need (and rightfully expect) from Work Truck Week.”
A virtual event is currently not planned to replace the seminal event for the vocational segment, though NTEA said the group is currently exploring alternatives help educate and connect industry stakeholders. The next Work Truck Week is expected to return to Indianapolis March 8-11, 2022.
The Advanced Clean Transportation Expo, which was set for mid-May, retooled to a series of digital presentations and a virtual trade show held from August to November.
“Working closely with our Fleet Planning Committee, we designed an approach that provides consistent ‘bite size’ modules that will be presented in a regular cadence, about every-other-week,” said Erik Neandross, the CEO, Gladstein, Neandross & Associates, which produces the ACT Expo. “This approach allows our fleet leadership teams to easily accommodate their participation in their busy schedules as they would a normal meeting, thereby allowing them to continue to run their businesses on a day-to-day basis.”
The American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition, slated for Oct. 24-27 in Denver, was also broken unto two virtual chunks—Oct. 19-23 and Oct. 26-28.
The IAA Commercial Vehicles event, held every two years in Hanover, Germany in late September, was also canceled with no virtual events to replace it. That event will return in 2022.
