Admin
December 17th, 2005, 12:59
LAS VEGAS — There it was, frozen amidst the black curtains. Carved out of ice, its smug nose and tenacious look were something to behold.
I can just hear it now.
The phone rings in the hotel catering office.
“You want me to carve what?”
“A bulldog.”
“A bulldog. You gotta be kidding.”
No, the executives of Mack Trucks were not kidding.
So there it stood, frozen and probably mostly unnoticed amidst the hundreds of men and women dressed in golf shirts of red, yellow, orange (yes, the official line was that the shirts were orange, not pink), blue, black and just about every other color imaginable, all hurrying into the arena-like setting where the evening’s activities were to take place.
Las Vegas was about to experience a Mack attack.
For the first time in several years, Mack Trucks brought together in one room its executives and its sales force to announce a major product release, including the first engine the company had built in more than 40 years
The music was loud, the lights were bright and the hostesses fired up the crowd with interviews from representatives from the various Mack regions, sitting under colored signs that matched their shirts.
Yes, the sign was orange, too, not pink.
Kevin Flaherty, the company’s senior vice president of sales, was the master of ceremonies.
He and the Mack sales force have obviously done a good job this year. The company’s sales are up almost 35 percent over last year.
On this evening, Flaherty looked more like a preacher than a sales leader, and he sounded like one, too, exhorting the troops with one bit of good news after another
One by one, the key Mack executives answered Flaherty’s call to the platform, and one by one they fired up the audience with optimistic statements about the company’s future.
Finally came the announcements everyone had been waiting for.
The hostesses pushed some buttons on the supposed computer panels flanking the stage and the company’s new MP7 and MP8 engines ascended from the ceiling with loud fanfare, liquid smoke and a loud cheer from the crowd.
Moments later the engines returned to the rafters, the computer panels were removed and the company’s brand new Pinnacle on-highway truck and the new models of the company’s Granite and Granite Axle Back construction trucks rolled into the arena, lights flashing and horns blaring
Once the announcements were made, the crowd moved into the exhibit hall to look at more Mack products.
While it may have been the first gathering of such for Mack in years, it was the type of rally that brings an organization together from the boardroom right down the sales floor. It was an opportunity to hear from the front line what the customers need now and want in the future
Hopefully, the scene will be repeated by other OEMs.
And as the evening wore on, the bulldog maintained guard over the proceedings, dropping beads of sweat (well, actually water) now and then.
Mack officials are probably hoping it’s the competition that will be sweating in the days and weeks ahead.
Lyndon Finney
Editor
The Electric Trucker
I can just hear it now.
The phone rings in the hotel catering office.
“You want me to carve what?”
“A bulldog.”
“A bulldog. You gotta be kidding.”
No, the executives of Mack Trucks were not kidding.
So there it stood, frozen and probably mostly unnoticed amidst the hundreds of men and women dressed in golf shirts of red, yellow, orange (yes, the official line was that the shirts were orange, not pink), blue, black and just about every other color imaginable, all hurrying into the arena-like setting where the evening’s activities were to take place.
Las Vegas was about to experience a Mack attack.
For the first time in several years, Mack Trucks brought together in one room its executives and its sales force to announce a major product release, including the first engine the company had built in more than 40 years
The music was loud, the lights were bright and the hostesses fired up the crowd with interviews from representatives from the various Mack regions, sitting under colored signs that matched their shirts.
Yes, the sign was orange, too, not pink.
Kevin Flaherty, the company’s senior vice president of sales, was the master of ceremonies.
He and the Mack sales force have obviously done a good job this year. The company’s sales are up almost 35 percent over last year.
On this evening, Flaherty looked more like a preacher than a sales leader, and he sounded like one, too, exhorting the troops with one bit of good news after another
One by one, the key Mack executives answered Flaherty’s call to the platform, and one by one they fired up the audience with optimistic statements about the company’s future.
Finally came the announcements everyone had been waiting for.
The hostesses pushed some buttons on the supposed computer panels flanking the stage and the company’s new MP7 and MP8 engines ascended from the ceiling with loud fanfare, liquid smoke and a loud cheer from the crowd.
Moments later the engines returned to the rafters, the computer panels were removed and the company’s brand new Pinnacle on-highway truck and the new models of the company’s Granite and Granite Axle Back construction trucks rolled into the arena, lights flashing and horns blaring
Once the announcements were made, the crowd moved into the exhibit hall to look at more Mack products.
While it may have been the first gathering of such for Mack in years, it was the type of rally that brings an organization together from the boardroom right down the sales floor. It was an opportunity to hear from the front line what the customers need now and want in the future
Hopefully, the scene will be repeated by other OEMs.
And as the evening wore on, the bulldog maintained guard over the proceedings, dropping beads of sweat (well, actually water) now and then.
Mack officials are probably hoping it’s the competition that will be sweating in the days and weeks ahead.
Lyndon Finney
Editor
The Electric Trucker