There we were, Wednesday, October 13th, 2021. By all accounts, it felt about the same as any other Powertrain Expo setup morning, although we knew it wasn’t. We had known for weeks that attendance would be low. The hassle of traveling, mask mandates, and a general reluctance over COVID fears kept about 70% of our usual guests from attending. Still, that Wednesday morning felt about normal.
It wasn’t until I stepped onto the show floor that I felt the impact of a COVID Expo. Missing were the booth spaces of our larger exhibitors. I could easily see from one end of the show floor to the other. “This isn’t the ATRA show,” I thought to myself. But it was.
It reminded me of a similar show back in 2001. It was in Providence, Rhode Island, one month after the 911 attacks. We all had the jitters from not knowing what to expect from the exhibitors and attendees. It became a smaller event, with a lot of cancellations and no-shows, but the people who came had a great time. “Maybe we’ll see the same thing here,” I thought to myself.
As the afternoon unfolded, people began showing up, getting their registration materials, and finding their way to the seminar rooms. Rodger Bland, managing Editor of GEARS, and I had the kickoff sessions for the management track, and as the people began filing in, we got that sense of, “Yeah, this is great!” The people were excited to be there. While Rodger was speaking, I got a chance to sneak over to the Tech seminar and felt the same energy. It was beyond that of a typical Expo; the people were excited to be there and grateful that ATRA came through.
Friday afternoon, the opening of the show floor had a similar air. Smaller, yes. Less traffic, ok. But a term I heard repeated from many exhibitors was “steady.” I know “quality over quantity” is an overused phrase, but that rang true with many exhibitors.
Last but not least was the Friday night reception hosted by Capital Core. Again, smaller in numbers but excellent in presentation, and we all had a great time. And it turned out that it was so similar to the show in 2001.
But we’re not finished! So many wanted to attend but couldn’t. We knew that going in and didn’t forget you. We arranged to video-record each technical and management seminar presentation and will make them available soon. Engineer Chris is busy putting the finishing touches on the production, and it’ll become available this month. What a capstone to the 2021 year! On behalf of ATRA, thank you for helping all of us make it through this year. It’s a new day, and I’m so proud to be part of this industry.
So, what now? We’ll get right to work on next year’s program, and don’t be surprised if we share something different for 2022.
