MIC: Moderated by MIC President and CEO Erik Pritchard, the MIC Board of Directors got proceedings underway on the first morning with a panel discussion - the first in a sequence of MIC symposium sessions billed by AIMExpo as "Disruptive Thinking." The topics under discussion were as wide ranging as the opinions - though the consensus formed round the importance of the industry coming together, asking the tough questions about where we go from here, and where the next generation of door-swingers are going to come from, and what are they going to want to see in their local powersports store. From left to right - Marc McAllister, CEO Tucker Powersports; Tim Calhoun, Tim Calhoun Powersports; Shawn McLean, BMW; Rod Lopusnak, Triumph; John Hinz, KTM; Derek Brooks, Yamaha; Bill Savino, Honda and Jim Woodruff, NPA.
Marc McAlister: Much of the credit for seeing AIMExpo starting to regain its status has to go to Tucker Powersports. After the 'jury was out' following last year's show, his decision to double-down and invest even more heavily in centering Tucker's dealer appreciation investment on attracting them to AIMExpo has been one of, if not the primary catalyst in seeing the relevance of the show start to recover ground.
Drag Specialties: Just four weeks after the successful Spring NVP New Product Expo at Louisville, the management of LeMans decided to additionally back AIMExpo on the basis that an industry-wide nexus is an important foundation for the market. A market that needs to take every opportunity to shape its own future before the future shapes the market in ways that are not necessarily in the best interests of dealers and vendors alike. From the left: CEO Mike Collins, President of Parts Canada, James Danyluk, industry legend, and Drag Specialties 'lifer' Tom Motzko, VP of Sales Jeff Derge and Chairman Paul Langley; www.dragspecialties.com
SBS Friction: Christel Munk Pederson is leading the Danish manufacturer into a "green and pleasant land" as the first manufacturer to have embraced the 'Better Brakes' regulatory program with transition into manufacturing brake pads with 0% copper, nickel and antimony in a new range of ceramic and sintered brake pad formulations. The results have been spectacular, proving that green manufacturing does not need to compromise performance. This new generation of SBS pads has a similar wear profile to its previous pads, but have an improved sense of grip and performance stability with improved fade performance and coefficient of friction. The SBS brand is supported in the United States by Brands That Shine (www.brands-that-shine.com); www.sbs.dk
Twin Power: Industry veteran, custom bike pioneer, adrenaline junkie and Twin Power Product Manager James Simonelli; www.twinpower-usa.com
