WHEN it comes to sales promotion, a truck equipment distributor in Florida has discovered that drive-aways are not just for trucks equipped with snowplows.
SIA Truck Bodies of Largo, Florida, reached into the playbook of snowplow distributors, putting together a combination golf outing, and dinner February 13 that attracted 153 people.
The event — a meeting of the Central Florida Ford Truck Club — was co-hosted by SIA and Ford's Power Stroke diesel, according to Stan Coveleskie, president of SIA. Approximately 80 Ford dealers belong to the club.
The 30-plus trucks, each powered by Power Stroke diesels, were equipped with a variety of commercial truck bodies and truck equipment. After the day's activities, the dealers drove the vehicles that the SIA shop equipped. The Seminole Lake Country Club in Saint Petersburg was the site of the event, which attracted Ford dealers from throughout the company's trade area.
“Primary reason for meeting was to get out information on the new Power Stroke diesel engine.” Coveleskie says. “They added more horsepower, more torque, and made it EPA compliant with emissions standards through 2006. At the same time, they improved fuel economy and reduced noise levels.”
SIA Truck Bodies is a full service one-stop shop that can handle specially fabricated truck body designs. Don Keegan, a former NASA design engineer, is part of the engineering staff that designs the custom truck bodies that SIA produces.
“We realize it does not take a rocket scientist to design truck bodies,” Coveleskie says. “However, we do have one on staff.”
Located on more than four acres of fenced land, SIA Truck Bodies is family owned and operated. The company has been at its current location since 1990. Employees average 15 years of experience, and eight years of tenure.
The distributor represents Ford Motor Company as an authorized Ford Truck bailment pool.
In 2000, SIA formed a joint venture, Florida's Body Company, with General Truck Equipment in Jacksonville, Florida. In 2002 Truck Equipment Sales of Mobile and Dothan, Alabama, joined Florida's Body Company. The venture now consists of three companies with a total of six facilities.