With the early April Lordco Auto Parts 35th Annual Tradeshow in the books—another strong year for this selling show—we look at what makes the Vancouver, B.C. event such a cornerstone of Canada’s aftermarket.

CHAT Media’s Vancouver-based Hannah Ryder Ross was on the scene in Vancouver for conversations from the show floor at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) that attracted some 10,000 attendees—many transported in by Lordco from all over B.C. and Alberta–and more than 300 exhibiting brands.

Ian Coates, Vice-President, Sales, for Lordco, says that as positive a response as the show generates, Lordco continually looks for ways to improve it.

“When I think about the trade show, it’s really about evolution. The initial trade show that we held was in our warehouse at the time. We had specials on pallets. And, here we are now,” he says, pointing to the expansive PNE Coliseum venue. The show now fills the PNE Coliseum and Agrodome buildings.

“We’ve been in this building for some time now, but we’re always looking to evolve. We’re always looking to make the experience better. So even though we’ve gotten bigger and more grand in scale we’re always trying to tweak things.”

Beyond the exhibitor booths, a perennial attraction are the many feature vehicles on the floor. Lordco has developed a strong connection to the motorsport industry on the track and on the water.

The “No More Money” outlaw drag boat run by Langley-based MacKillican Motorsports is newly built this year and was the focus of a lot of attention.

Driver Joey MacKillican says the Lordco connection goes beyond just dollars and cents.

“Lordco has been with us for quite a few years. They’ve stepped up this year while I’m building this new boat. They’ve become the title sponsor, and they were gracious enough to help me with the wrap.

“This is my main focus and it’s hard to be in Canada as we do all our racing in the States. It’s nice to have a company in my backyard that’s backing me and willing to see the benefit I can bring to them. They still find value in me, whether it’s my social media, my YouTube, the displays at the shows, that kind of thing. So, I want to give back to Lordco like they give back to me.”

Exhibitors were happy with the flow of attendees, but even more so with the quality of the conversations.

Andrew Connor, Director of Canadian Market Sales for Dorman Products Canada, says that the show provides some real two-way conversations.

“Definitely the conversations are very good. I have come away with seven or eight new product ideas. Which is what we’ll have on the table next year. That’s one of the reasons why we do the show. It’s a selling show for Lordco, but for us it’s product ideas.

“I’m still always surprised at the number of people who don’t know about certain products.” He points to Ford Transit Hub Rotor and Caliper Bracket bolts as an example, and how a customer responded. “This guy gets so excited about that! We’ve had them for five years!”

Of course there was no escaping the interest in Canadian options, it’s the two-way conversations that are valuable.

“There’s a high engagement to buy Canadian,” said Shannon Spano, Vice-President of Sales, Wakefield Canada, makes of Castrol products in Canada. “So, the conversations were, I would say, more topical this year because of the political climate. And so there’s a lot of support for a Canadian owned and operated company with a strong brand of course. And just lots of conversations about their businesses, which is always helpful as well so we can understand them and how to help their businesses work.”

Rob Whittaker, Director, Business Unit Manager, ITW Global Brands Canada, provider of Permatex products, agrees on the importance of being able to communicate directly with shop level professionals, a key reason the show is so valuable to vendors.

“We’re directly connecting with Lordco customers, the service providers, the technicians who do the work. We can pass along our quality products and knowledge to help them do a better job. (And) let them engage with us on new technologies, how they can help their customers and improve service.”

Ian Coates says that ensuring visitors and exhibitors have a great experience is the key. As one of the few true selling shows, getting the right visitors in is key, but other creature comforts aren’t overlooked. He jokes that this year’s “big news” at the vendor meeting was that the little donuts were going to be available starting at 1 p.m. instead of 5 p.m.

But the attention Lordco pays to small details like that points to where the show is heading in the future.

“And we’re here in the 35th year and, you know, what is the 36th year going to look like? Well, we’re going to continue to evolve, we’re going to continue to improve the show.”