MATS 2011 – 40 Years of The Largest Heavy-Duty Trucking Event In The World
The Mid-America Trucking Show is more than a tradeshow. It is the annual forum for the heavy-duty trucking industry, providing face-to-face interaction between industry representatives and trucking professionals. Attendees are driven to MATS because they can efficiently research the latest products and services to provide their business with a competitive edge. Exhibitors participate in MATS to effectively introduce new offerings, increase brand awareness, promote products and connect with suppliers, customers, and prospects.
Steve J / CEO - President / Marvin Johnson & Associates, Inc.So we get to see a lot of our clients walking through during the day, and it works out good. That’s the reason we have so many salesmen here… because you get to see a lot of clients.
MATS is where the industry comes together, where attendees network with Fortune 500 companies, where media outlets from around the world go to report on the business of trucking, and where trucking business gets done.
It's common knowledge that if you want to conduct business in the trucking industry, you have to be at MATS.
Show History
1973
The Mid-America Trucking Show began in the early 1970's, when a private management group was formed by Paul K. Young, to create the largest and most diversified trucking show in the United States of America. The first Mid-America Trucking Show was held in 1972 with 80 Exhibitors and 4000 visitors in attendance. The show occupied a portion of the West Wing of the original Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center.
1984
Since that time, The Mid-America Trucking Show has grown steadily, first filling the West Hall of the mammoth KY Fair & Exposition Center, then expanding to the larger East Hall. The show continued to grow throughout the 80's spilling over to auxiliary Hall A, then also into auxiliary Hall B.
1991
With the completion of the new South Wing of the KY Fair & Exposition Center in 1991, The Mid-America Trucking Show was able to meet what had become an overwhelming demand for space. Almost half a million square feet of space was taken up by 650 Exhibitors and more than 35,000 people attending in just three days, making it the largest Trucking Show in the Western Hemisphere!
1994
The next major growth phase of The Mid-America Trucking Show occurred in 1994, when the South Wing Phase II expansion was immediately filled by the Show. 160,000 square feet of exhibit space was added, along with additional outside exhibits.
1997
The 1997 Mid-America Trucking Show once again expanded to meet the ever increasing demand. The show's expansion into the West Wing of the KY Fair & Exposition Center gave Mid-America 1,000,000 square feet of show space hosting some 1058 exhibiting companies!
2000
The 2000 Mid-America Trucking Shows was the largest trucking show ever seen in the Western Hemisphere with over 70,000 registered Attendees from every state in the union and 44 countries.
2002
The 2002 Mid-America Trucking Show proved to be a tremendous success for the trucking industry and especially for the 980 companies that exhibited. The show included a wide array of companies and products with Exhibitors from 47 states and 9 foreign countries. Once again, the aisles of the show stayed grid locked from show opening to show close with a final attendance total of 68,164 Attendees.
2006
The 2006 show marked the next major growth of the show as the South Wing C Expansion project was completed adding approximately 160,000 sq. ft. of Class A exhibit space, bringing the show to well over 1 million square feet of exhibit space throughout the South, West, East and Pavilion. This addiitonal space seemed to vanish as quickly as it came on-line. The expansion enabled the 2006 show to break all previous records for attendance, number of exhibiting companies, and total square footage. By the close of the show, 1,144 Exhibitors had occupied more than 1 million sq. ft. indoors and 200,000 sq.ft. outdoors; showcasing the latest products and services to a record breaking 80,291 trucking professionals from around the world
2008
In 2008, the East Wing of the Kentucky Exposition Center was completely demolished and the new North Wing was erected in its place. The North Wing renovation project provides a more modern Class A exhibition space with higher ceilings, fewer support columns, and a widened path from the South Wing/East Hall. In addition, the renovation project included an overhead pedway to allow those parking in the rear of the facility to access the 35,000 sq. ft. North Wing Lobby without walking through the North Wing. The new wing made a significant impression on Attendees and Exhibitors alike as 1,174 Exhibitors and 76,563 trucking professionals participated in the largest heavy-duty trucking event in history. In fact, MATS 2008 set the record for Exhibitor participation and demolished the previous record for size of show by more than 50,000 sq.ft.
Show Dates & Hours
| March 31st, 2011 | |
| Thursday | VIP 10AM - 1PM General 1PM - 6PM |
| April 1st, 2011 | |
| Friday | 10AM - 6PM |
| April 2nd, 2011 | |
| Saturday | 9AM - 4PM |