Cheap Moves: Keep on Truckin'

Despite steadily rising transportation costs, in some cases fueled by high gas prices, some exhibitors still manage to move on the cheap.

At the Mid-America Trucking Show, held March 25-27 at the Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky., most exhibitors merely drove their exhibits onto the convention center grounds. And thanks to AK Specialty Vehicles, even exhibitors at shows unrelated to trucking can do the same.

The heavy equipment on exhibit at MATS, mostly truck parts and vehicles, would ordinarily cost a pretty penny to have shipped. But because the moving companies are the exhibitors, costs obviously are kept to a minimum.

Even the high cost of gas, said Bill Yost, vice president of national account sales for the Landstar Carrier Group, a MATS exhibitor, is "not really a factor for us" in determining how much to transport.

In addition, many of Landstar's drivers, referred to as "business capacity owners," own their rigs, which they clean and drive to compete in the event's annual Paul K. Young Memorial Truck Beauty Championship.

Jeff Hall, general manager for general contracting firm George E. Fern, said the move-in isn't as easy as it looks. "Given their size, there are only a few doors that we can bring these vehicles in," Hall explained. In addition, most exhibiting firms construct large displays around their trucks. On the plus side, there are no marshaling yard issues.

As for shows outside of the trucking industry, AK Specialty Vehicles offers a unique solution. Their custom-made trailer trucks can be driven onto convention center floors and set up without the use of an outside exhibit transport service. Dave Kite, specialty-trailer sales manager for AK, said the product cuts down on moving costs for exhibitors by an average of 20 percent. "It's not a tear-down-and-throw-out," he added. "You can make it last 10 years."

ADC Telecommunications bought a portable showroom made by AK. "We constantly update the inside, but we haven't replaced one in a couple of years," explained Tyler Hanson, marketing and tradeshow specialist for ADC. In ADC's case, the vehicle is sometimes used as an off-the-tradeshow-floor adjunct but other times, like when ADC goes to SUPERCOMM, the trailer itself is driven right on to the tradeshow floor. The self-contained exhibit/transportation unit certainly saves on transportation fees, but also on labor costs, with setup – performed by exhibit staff – taking a mere 30 minutes.

Beyond that, the trailer keeps interested attendees focused on the product at hand. "Once you get your client in your four walls, he's not looking at other booths," Kite said. "You have his undivided attention."