In 2018 it was time to take the company to the next level. We reserved a booth at SEMA with plans to show off our new product line of bell housings for a variety of diesel engines and transmissions. At the time Chad and Kerrie were the only full time employees, with Jason Byrge working part time in the assembly room. Knowing SEMA would require more help to man the booth, we reached out to friends and family. Chads father John McKinney, friends Chris Stephens, Keith Kodet, and Steve Tolle also volunteered their time.
With the help of Fleet Graphics in Centerville Ohio a tradeshow booth was designed and quickly put together. Our main focus was showing off physical products bolted to actual transmissions and engines. The booth had a 2-71 Detroit diesel, a Cummins R2.8 crate engine, Tremec T56 6 speed, AX15 5 speed, Toyota H42 4 speed, and a Dodge NV4500 transmission.
Two days prior to SEMA check in we packed up our Duramax 2.8L van and a UHaul trailer and hit the road. The trip went smoothly and we arrived in Los Vegas to begin the unloading. SEMA is an amazing machine. The manpower they have to make it come together is amazing. As we were a first year vendor we had a 10x10 booth in the auxillary tent area. It worked out really well as we parked next to the door near our booth. For folks not familiar with SEMA, it is seemingly miles of isles full of vendor booths, they stage arrival times based on your booth location in a huge convention center. They have additional outside booths and displays to maximize the exposure. Due to pure luck our booth was directly across the isle from Shelby Performance which drove a lot of foot traffic to our area. We spoke with countless companies and customers thru the week and realized the potential of our companies future path.
Look for us at upcoming SEMA shows with new and exciting products.