The International Tire Exhibition & Conference (ITEC) has enlisted the assistance of eight industry veterans to help develop an extensive aftermarket/distribution education program for North America’s largest tire show set for Sept. 21-23 at Cleveland’s I-X Center.
“These individuals who form our Advisory Council are key to the success of the exhibition,” says Ray Evans, chairman of the distribution component of the conference. “The Advisory Council is helping us develop a program that will focus on issues of importance to the industry today. With that information, we are creating a curriculum that promises to be ‘hands-on.’ These learning sessions will deal with rising costs of conducting business, new government regulations, the Internet and many more topics.”
Members of the Dealer Advisory Council include:
Ross Kogel Jr., president, Tire Wholesalers Inc., Troy Mich.; Ron Lautzenheiser, owner of two Big O Tire stores and two Grease Monkey franchises, Ft. Collins, Colo.; Steve Disney, consultant, Louisville, Ky.; Dennis Leipold, owner/president, Leipold Tire, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio; Peggy Fisher, president, TireStamp Corp., U.S. headquarters in Troy, Mich.; David Cosco, chairman, Integra Tire, Edmonton, Alberta; Paul Hyatt, owner, Superior Tire, Scarborough, Ontario, and past president of TIA; Craig Knarich, owner of Pit Crew Tire, Palm Harbor, Fla.
ITEC also will include its traditional manufacturing-oriented program activities chaired by Harold Herzlich, former director of tire engineering and product safety at Pirelli Armstrong Tire and ITEC’s conference chairman since 1994.
