MHEDA Convention

Attendees, exhibitors & solutions

Who this event is for

New this edition

• 1

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  The Convention pairs distributor education with a tabletop Exhibitor Showcase where OEMs, racking, battery, telematics and automation suppliers present to dealer principals in a compressed format rather than a large open-floor trade fair.

• 2

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  Dealer and integrator members get closed-door sessions to compare financial and operational benchmarks without supplier attendance, the main reason principals return each year.

• 3

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  Pricing separates distributors and integrators from non-sponsoring suppliers and associates, which shapes who attends the Showcase and how supplier meetings are scheduled.

Industry trends

Key trends shaping this market and its wider industry.

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Frequently asked

Glossary

1

MHEDA

Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association, the US trade body that hosts this annual Convention; its membership spans forklift and lift truck dealers, systems integrators, and the OEM suppliers who sell through that channel, which is why the Arlington programme mixes distributor education with a supplier Exhibitor Showcase.

2

Material handling

The movement, storage, protection and control of goods through warehouses, distribution centres and plants. At the MHEDA Convention this covers everything from a single pallet jack to multi-million-dollar conveyor and automated storage projects.

3

Lift truck (forklift)

Counterbalanced or warehouse truck built to lift and move pallets. Dealers categorise them by class - electric rider, narrow aisle, hand/pallet, rough terrain and internal combustion - and class mix is a recurring talking point in distributor-supplier meetings at the show.

4

Pallet jack

Low-lift truck, manual or electric, used to move pallets at floor level. It is a high-volume, low-ticket item that many MHEDA distributor members stock alongside larger lift trucks and racking.

5

Narrow aisle and very narrow aisle (VNA)

Turret trucks, reach trucks and order pickers designed for high-density racking where aisle width is the constraint. These are core products in the warehouse-optimisation conversations that distributors bring to the Convention floor.

6

Attachment

Forks, clamps, rotators, push-pull or carton clamps fitted to a lift truck for a specific load. Attachment choice frequently decides which truck class a customer buys, and suppliers use the Exhibitor Showcase to demonstrate these configurations.

7

Fleet telematics

Truck and operator data - impacts, utilisation, idle time, battery and maintenance status - used by dealers to sell fleet management contracts. It is one of the service-revenue themes that distributor principals compare at the Convention.

8

AGV and AMR

Automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots that move goods without a driver. Distributors evaluate whether to resell, integrate or partner on these systems, which now sit alongside traditional lift truck lines in the supplier showcase.

9

AS/RS

Automated storage and retrieval systems - shuttles, mini-loads, vertical lift modules - used for high-throughput or high-density storage. Integrator members typically bring these projects to the Convention to source hardware partners.

10

Systems integrator

A company that designs and installs a complete warehouse solution - racking, conveyor, sortation, controls and software - rather than selling a single truck. Integrators are a distinct registration category at the MHEDA Convention alongside distributors.

11

OEM / supplier

The manufacturer of lift trucks, racking, conveyor, batteries or automation that sells through independent dealers. Suppliers attend to meet distributor principals, run one-to-one meetings and exhibit in the Showcase.

12

Aftermarket

Parts, service, batteries, rentals, training and refurbishment sold after the initial truck purchase. For MHEDA dealers, aftermarket margin is often the deciding factor in which OEM line they carry, making it a frequent agenda topic.

13

Racking and shelving

Selective pallet rack, cantilever, drive-in and pick modules that determine storage density. Racking suppliers appear in the Showcase because rack layout and truck type have to be specified together.

14

WMS / WES

Warehouse management and warehouse execution software that directs labour, inventory and automation. Software vendors increasingly exhibit because dealers need a software answer to pair with hardware quotes.

15

Distributor principal

The owner, president or general manager of a material handling dealership. This persona drives the Convention's peer-exchange and benchmarking value, since dealers compare financial benchmarks and OEM line cards behind closed doors.