NASHVILLE — The North American Trailer Dealers Association (NATDA) Trailer Show™, organized by Trifecta Collective and held at the Music City Center Aug. 27-29, broke records in net square footage, attendance and exhibitor-count this year.
According to the NATDA, the event featured its largest show floor to date, which extended from the sold-out exhibit hall and into the venue’s lobby for the first time.
More than 4,000 attendees visited the show and more than 700 North American trailer dealerships were represented in 2024, and it featured more than 310 exhibitors.
Andria Gibbon, CEM, Executive Director of the NATDA, shared that the trailer industry’s success in the COVID-19 era, when it served as an essential business, and beyond is a key growth factor and helped the event see a record-breaking edition in 2021 and exponential growth afterwards.
“Dealers are understanding that in order to grow their business, they need to come to the show. They need to make the connections, they need to sit in the education sessions, and I think exhibitors are recognizing that more dealers want to come, so more exhibitors want to be there. So, I think it’s just this organic growth based on what’s happening in the industry itself,” Gibbon said. “Those connections that our members make on-site are invaluable to them.”
Gibbon asserted that the NATDA remains committed to a personal approach and is dedicated to helping its members succeed.
“We have always been a part of the trailer industry family, and so it’s really important for us to maintain that, regardless of how big we grow,” Gibbon explained.
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A Meaningful Connection Point
Also, the NATDA rebranded and expanded a previous product showcase into the new Innovation Showcase Awards. According to Gibbon, every exhibitor was able to fit into at least one category, encouraging participation. Attendees could easily vote by scanning QR codes and many products featured in the showcase were raffled off.
“It was truly successful and it’s also starting to really highlight the innovation and the technology in the industry,” Gibbon said, adding that the awards tie directly into the NATDA’s upcoming new event, Trailer Tech Expo Powered by NATDA™, with the award recipients set to be featured in a winner’s row.
The Trailer Tech Expo is designed to be an immersive event focused on innovation and technology in the trailer industry. The event will provide an extensive hands-on curriculum and allow dealers and their staff to interact with and explore new products and technologies to enhance their dealerships.
The inaugural Trailer Tech Expo will be held Feb. 25-27, 2025, at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center and is sponsored by Dealer Spike and Novae.
New Features
A new education track titled TOW TALKS featured casual discussions between trailer professionals and opened to the crowd for questions and answers to allow for personalized learning.
The event also introduced an official all-show welcome party — it had previously hosted an attendee-only welcome happy hour — which was Nashville backyard barbeque themed.
New partnerships were integrated at the show this year, including one with Insperity, which offers HR services and more to NATDA members, and another with Competitive Edge, which completed exhibit evaluations. The association plans to work with Competitive Edge to create an exhibiting-with-excellence-style program in the future.
“As a membership association, we try to provide as many benefits as we can throughout the year. We are really behind building out these dealerships for success,” Gibbon said.
Looking Ahead
The NATDA announced recent leadership updates to help position it for further success: Corey Langley was promoted to the role of Director of Exhibits and Partnerships, Arianna Ramer joined the organization as Operations Manager, Michelle Caluag was hired as Marketing Communications Manager and Pam DiCara returned to the association as Finance Manager.
Trifecta Collective, LLC also announced staff enhancements: Joe Carroll was promoted to the role of Chief Financial Officer and Adam Bernard joined the organization as Vice President of Finance.
The 2023 edition of the NATDA Trailer Show will be honored for being one of the 100 largest U.S.-based trade shows from last year at the upcoming TSE Gold 100 Awards & Summit.
Learn more about the NATDA Trailer Show here.
