Bob Bissler

Senior Editor

Bob Bissler is Modern Tire Dealer's senior editor. He began his interest in the automotive industry as a teenager helping his brother work on drag race cars, and after high school he worked in his other brother's body shop.

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Mike Manges

Senior Editor

Mike Manges is Modern Tire Dealer's senior editor. He is a three-time International Automotive Media Association award winner and holds a Gold Award from the Association of Automotive Publication Editors. He also edits MTD's acclaimed Commercial Tire Dealer section, as well as The Kovach Tire Report, MTD's sister publication. Mike has traveled the world -- including Asia, Europe and North America -- in pursuit of stories.

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More observations from the 2010 SEMA Show

By: Mike Manges

How do you know you're at a successful trade show? When attendees are still walking the aisles less than four hours before it's scheduled to end.

That's the scene this afternoon at the Global Tire Expo - Powered by TIA/Specialty Equipment Market Association Show in Las Vegas.

With less than four hours to go before the "final bell," people are still checking out tires, garage equipment, tire shop software, tire repair materials, custom wheels and a myriad of other products.

That's a major improvement over the last two years, when on the final afternoon of the show you could drive a tank down the main aisle and not bump into anybody. Here are some more random observations from this year's SEMA Show:

* Tires are still king. A number of tire companies -- including Hankook Tire America Corp., Falken Tire Corp., Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Hercules Tire & Rubber Co., Greenball Corp., Nexen Tire America, Balkrishna Industries Ltd. and others -- used the show as a vehicle to launch and/or display new products. Hankook even previewed three new concept tires at its booth.

* Attendees love equipment demos. Tire and garage equipment manufacturers like Hennessy Industries, Hunter Engineering Inc., Corghi and others drew some serious crowds to their booths with live equipment demonstrations.

* Seminars focused on real-world issues. The Tire Industry Association sponsored and staged several seminars that focused on real-world business management strategies. I attended a seminar that discussed the importance of establishing a drug and alcohol use policy at your business, and it was full of practical ideas that dealers could implement. I'd like to see more of this next year.

This was a very important year for the SEMA Show. I like what I've seen. How about you?

Related Topics: SEMA Show 2010