10-4 Magazine - For Today's Trucker

MARCH 2007 TRUCKER TALK
35 YEARS OF TRUCK SHOW FUN
By Writers and Owner Operators Rod & Kim Grimm

Most sports wait until the end of the season for the “big game” or championship, but like NASCAR, the truck show season starts with the biggest and the best. A couple weeks ago, NASCAR kicked-off their season in Florida with the Daytona 500, and in just a few more weeks, the truck show season will begin in Kentucky. Every year in March the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) rolls into Louisville like a runaway freight train – and it’s been doing it since 1972.

Rockwood Products founder Carl Carstens says, “MATS is the biggest and the best.” Driver and writer Dave Sweetman said, “MATS is the granddaddy of them all. It has taught everybody else how to do a truck show.” But it hasn’t always been that way. In 1972 Paul K. Young formed a private management group to create the largest and most diversified trucking show in the U.S. That first show occupied only a portion of the West Wing of the original Kentucky Exposition Center. With only 80 exhibitors and 4,000 attendees, one can only try to imagine a MATS show that small when you have today’s show to compare it to.

By 1991, 650 exhibitors occupied half a million square feet of space and 35,000 attendees passed through the doors. 1996 celebrated the Silver Anniversary for the show, which featured 55,000 visitors. In 1997 they hit the million square foot mark, hosting 1,058 exhibitors in all that space. The 2006 show broke all records with 1,144 exhibitors, spread out over one million square feet inside and 200,000 square feet outside, and 80,291 attendees.

I talked to Ray Hartwell with Caterpillar in Peoria, IL about some of the early shows. Ray began attending the show in 1975. Up until 1983, the CAT booth was only 20’x30’. In 1984 the company recognized the event as a national show and began to increase the size of their booth every year. Today, they feel comfortable in a 70’x90’ space. Ray is in charge of getting everything organized for the show, ordering badges, booking rooms and everything else that goes along with it. He told me that 20 years ago he needed 21 badges for CAT representatives at the show, while today they now need 187. CAT uses MATS to showcase new products, promote new concepts and have press conferences. And they aren’t alone – MATS is known as “the place” to debut new products.

Most (if not all) of the major truck and trailer manufacturers have used MATS to debut new models and new products. The MATS show has also been the birthplace of lots of things trucking. Kenworth was the first manufacturer to assemble a board of drivers and use their input in developing their next generation of trucks – and Louisville was their yearly meeting place. The Studio Sleeper was one of the results of the discussions held at these meetings. The Trucker Buddy Program was also born at one of these Kenworth Driver’s Board meetings in 1993. Another birth MATS can take credit for is Rockwood Products. Chatting with company founder Carl Carstens, he told me the story.

Back in 1993, Carl was a trucker who had just bought one of the first East aluminum step deck trailers to ever be built. His trailer was used in the booth at the MATS show. Carl headed to Louisville to pick it up, but when he got there he decided to enter his 1985 extended hood Peterbilt in the competition. A lot of people at the show commented on his dash. Carl’s Pete had what’s called a Corvette dash, but it was the way he had accessorized it that made it really special. When the show ended, Carl picked up his new trailer and headed toward home. But along the way, he began thinking about all the comments he’d heard about his custom dash and wondered if he could turn it into a business. Well, we all know the answer to that! He never hauled a load on that trailer, and sold it to a friend a few months later. The shop that he used to keep that Pete in became the shop where he created all those wonderful stainless pieces you probably see on your dash today. And MATS can be thanked for that. Aren’t you glad that Carl attended that show? Be sure to stop by the Rockwood booth (#3020) and say “hello” to Carl. He’s a great guy.

In 2004, Bryan Martin of 4-State Trucks unveiled his “Outlaw” truck at MATS and started a revolution. Complete with black stacks, a custom billet grille, primer-looking paint, no extra lights, real bullet holes and headlights mounted on the bumper, this truck got a lot of attention from the crowds – so much attention, it was the catalyst that started the annual Big-Rig Build-Off the very next year. Back then, the Chrome Shop Mafia was just an idea and a small website.

The first build-off was held in 2005. The folks at Elizabeth Truck Center in Elizabeth, NJ brought out their orange and red “Beast” and narrowly beat out 4-State’s white and lime green “Mobsled” entry (which today sits high atop two poles outside their store in Joplin, MO). And we all know what happened from their – the “Boyz” went on to become famous (and very popular) with their hit show on CMT, Trick My Truck, and the custom truck building market exploded.

Overdrive held the first Pride & Polish show in 1990 at MATS. In 2001, shortly after Paul K. Young passed away, Bud Farquhar was invited by Tim Young to organize the truck beauty show outside and it was named the Paul K. Young Memorial Truck Show, in honor of the man that founded MATS. That year, they held two shows – the Paul K. Young Memorial Truck Show and the Stars & Stripes Championship Series. Contestants in the Stars & Stripes series finale, which had qualified at designated events in 2000, competed for a $30,000 top prize.

Always trying to raise the bar in competition and be as fair as possible, Bud told me that they took two days to train the judges this year and that each competitor will be given a sheet listing what the judges will be looking for and judging on. And to all you contestants out there this year, keep this in mind – whether you win or lose, you’ll have one of the cleanest rigs on the road after the show (for a little while at least).

Les and Veleta Barnhardt, the founders of Panelite, shared with me that the first show they attended in Louisville was in 1985. In that booth, they displayed light bars and several pictures of trucks. In 1986 their booth grew to include a black Peterbilt. Veleta said, “We’ve watched the show grow.” Their business has grown, too, and now their booth displays as many as seven fully decked-out trucks. Panelite is a proud sponsor of the Paul K. Young Memorial Truck Show and all of the other Stars & Stripes events throughout the year.

Everybody liked Paul K. Young. Dave Sweetman remembered how approachable Paul was and how much he cared about the drivers and exhibitors. Paul wanted everyone who attended the show to have a good time and get their money’s worth. He took care of issues personally and was very hands-on with the exhibitors. In 1996, Gary & Lisa Pons had their 1981 Pete and limited edition 80th Anniversary 1994 Black Chrome Utility trailer on display inside the show in the Quaker State booth (this combination was featured on the cover of the December 1995 edition of 10-4 Magazine if you can remember that far back). Gary asked Paul personally for permission to let Buster (the couples friendly Rottweiller) be inside with them. Permission was granted for Buster, but the Mack Bulldog had to stay out – “He had too much attitude,” said Paul.

Toby Young, President of Exhibit Management Associates, Inc. told me, “We are very proud of where we’ve come from and where we’re going as a show. The support of the trucking industry has been the driving force behind our success and we are very proud to have such a great family of attendees and exhibitors. It is that unending support that has allowed us to achieve so much in the past 36 years.” I think the family part of that statement says so much. This is the third generation of Young’s to be working on this show, and they don’t just sit in an office somewhere – they walk the halls, talk to people and get involved in everything that is going on. The Young family is committed to making this show bigger and better each and every year.

If you’ve never been to Louisville in March and attended the MATS show, make this the year! Come and see for yourself the granddaddy of truck shows. If you’re looking for anything special for your truck, this will be the place to find it. You can also find 10-4 Magazine on display at MATS (Booth 8560). Stop by to say “hello” and get a free poster or buy a t-shirt or hat. Let’s see if we can make this the year they break the 100,000 mark for attendees! If you want more information on the history of MATS, or if you want to see a list of scheduled events happening this year, visit their website at www.truckingshow.com.