SHOW REPORTS: Karbelt Delivers High Performance Show

Karbelt Speed & Custom once again put on a good show for performance shops and suppliers.

One of the notable changes this year was the elimination of separate technical seminars. As Karbelt general manager Randall Perks explains, this was to enable the visitors to spend more time on the show floor. “The guys who were giving the seminars are all available on the floor anyway, so we thought it would work better if we just let the visitors seek out the people on the show floor and get the technical information they wanted one-on-one. This is a highly qualified trade event so we wanted to make sure that the visitors could spend as much time on the show floor as possible.”

It’s a strategy that seems to have worked well.

“Show orders exceeded last year’s numbers. This was without doubt our best show ever, from a sales standpoint.”

While engine parts continue to be a very strong category for the performance distributor, Perks says that growth in the sport compact market has been encouraging.

“Our sport compact products were very strong. It’s by no means a huge segment for us right now, but it’s got huge growth which I have to be pleased about.”

Overall the success of the show is good news for this segment of the aftermarket.

“I think this bodes well for the season to come,” says Perks.