Drag Specialties
Milwaukee NVP Product Expo
September 6-7, 2025
The annual Drag Specialties NVP Product Expo at Milwaukee, WI. is now the kick-off industry event for the coming year's new product and dealer marketing cycle.
It was staged again at the Baird Center, Milwaukee in September, for the second time since it relocated from the smaller Frank Lloyd Wright inspired Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison.
As the market eyes its immediate and long-term future with tariff triggered downturn concerns the overwhelming sentiment among vendors was two-fold. First that, in all probability, the inconsistency of the tariff program's implementation so far will likely continue and that while instability is the enemy of all businesses, the final outcomes may not be as draconian as the worst-case scenarios that are being presented.
Second, that whatever the effects and outcomes of the current slew of issues facing all businesses and international trade, the full picture is likely still 12-months away from resolving.
That is not a very useful suite of perspectives, but it is one that commends doing the business that can be done in the hope that it will turn out better than feared. Being prepared for the worst is not a reason to not make the most of the door swings the industry generates in the meantime.
Unsurprisingly, of equal concern to the tariffs issues is the fate of Harley-Davidson. The year end 2024 fiscals and results for the first two quarters of 2025 do not paint a pretty picture but, to judge by what was seen at the Drag Specialties Product Expo neither of those, or the other concerns in the market, have slowed the all-important R&D investments in new and updated products.
New product investments took at least three years to start showing signs of recovery following the 2020 Pandemic crisis, but, so far, the momentum seen last year among Drag Specialties diverse vendor community has not yet been slowed.
Attendance numbers and Drag Specialties' own take on the weekend had not yet been released at the time that this edition went to press but look out for some new product reports in the October edition of AMD and further news to come in subsequent months.
Foe what it's worth, our anecdotal impression was of very good dealer attendance at an excellent show that was just as well organized as we've all become able to expect – kudos to the organizing team!
