Schmitz sells 3,156 vehicles at IAA

Feb. 1, 2005
THE IAA Commercial Vehicle Show held every two years in Hanover is unlike any truck show in the United States. It is a long show (shortened this year

THE IAA Commercial Vehicle Show held every two years in Hanover is unlike any truck show in the United States. It is a long show (shortened this year to only eight days), and each day is long. Besides the nine-hour days the show is officially open, many visitors continue to be entertained with food and drink and good conversation after hours.

Exhibitor companies are not looking for just sales leads — they are looking for sales. Schmitz Cargobull, Europe's largest truck/trailer manufacturer, sold 3,156 vehicles before the show closed on September 30. The buyers came from all over Europe, including many visitors from the new EU member countries. Schmitz presented itself as a European player with a complete range of products and services. Schmitz national sales specialists were there to help foreign visitors and address them in the visitors' native language.

Schmitz estimates that about 80,000 of the 250,000 visitors to the IAA visited the Schmitz Cargobull stand. The Schmitz stand inside the trailer hall occupied 1,500 square meters (16,140 sq ft), not counting the trailers and equipment shown outside the hall in open-air exhibits.

Schmitz Cargobull was one of 157 manufacturers of trailers, truck bodies, and containers that exhibited at the IAA in September. The number of exhibitors was 1,370 from 40 countries.

About the Author

Paul Schenck | Senior Editor