Friday, February 24, 2012YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Mahoning Valley is in the midst of an economic resurgence not felt in years, and auto dealer Chuck Eddy wants to be out in front.
"It feels good," says Eddy, president of Bob and Chuck Eddy Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Austintown. "Businesses are starting to become more active in the commercial end of things and they're starting to upgrade their fleets."
The recent uplift in the economy – and the auto industry in general – convinced Eddy that now would be the perfect opportunity to showcase Chrysler's commercial and fleet lineup to businesses, public agencies and other organizations considering new purchases.
That's why his company organized what it calls the 2012 Ohio Regional Business Expo, an invitation-only event at the Covelli Centre that begins today at 3 p.m. and continues Saturday.
Eddy says the expo is one of the first of its kind in the country. In October, he and other Chrysler dealers attended an event out West that displayed Chrysler and majority owner Fiat's latest commercial and fleet models.
"They held an expo for all their dealers and showed the vehicles they would have available," he says. "They anticipated an uptick in the economic environment, and Chrysler has gotten much more involved in the commercial business."
Eddy says he took the expo idea and adapted it to the Mahoning Valley market. "I thought we need to bring this back to Youngstown, only on a smaller scale, because we're starting to see an economic lift."
To help stage the expo, Eddy secured partnerships with Chrysler, Ally Financial – the automaker's financing arm that has a commercial division – Motor Trend magazine, and the dealership's upfitter company, Zoresco.
Chrysler and Motor Trend executives will be on hand Friday and Saturday to answer questions at the invitation-only event, Eddy says.
"We've invited about 12,000 businesses," Eddy reports, "from florists to electrical contractors to construction companies and everything in between."
Eddy projects a "few thousand people" to show up. "If there's a small business that didn't get invited and wants to come, let us know and we'll get you registered."
The expo will showcase utility trucks and heavy-duty pickups such as the Ram, as well well as speedy fleet vehicles such as the Dodge Charger, a favorite among police departments across the country, he says. There's even some room for smaller passenger vehicles such as the Fiat 500, while other Chrysler and Jeep brands will be on hand as well.
Initially, Eddy envisioned the show to be broken up into separate events in different banquet centers. But by coincidence, the Covelli Centre happened to be available from Feb. 24 and 25. "So, everybody came together to do something really nice for the Mahoning Valley and northeast Ohio."
Entertainment, food and gift packages are part of the showcase, Eddy notes. "We're looking forward to a nice couple of days, doing something for small business and fact that things are starting to look better for the Valley" -- and Chrysler.
"We were trying to survive and make it through a bankruptcy," he recalls, referring to the government-backed Chrysler bankruptcy in 2009. "Over the last few years, since Chrysler reorganized with Fiat, we've had 21 months of year-over year consistent lifts."
Chrysler finished 2011 with profits of $183 million, and reported a 40% improvement in sales during January 2012 compared to a year earlier.
"February looks like it's going to be the same," Eddy says. "That means people are considering our product and buying it for less than half the incentive package we used to have."
Domestic auto dealers across the country are doing well, he adds. "I think it's a tribute to the American auto worker, I think it's a tribute to the American leadership running the O.E.M's, and the auto dealers," he says. "You've got the best of the best surviving right now."
In particular, Eddy's Chrysler dealership is doing well, in part because of increased demand for trucks and vehicles used in the oil and gas industry, he says.
"We're seeing people involved in the shale industry buying trucks," such as vans, box trucks, utility trucks and flatbeds. Mostly, he says the demand is coming from those who supply and support the industry, and need to upgrade their fleets. "A lot of them are going out of town, up to the Dakotas," he says.
"We didn't realize that lift was going to come, so we didn't order the trucks that we needed to. Now, everybody is getting caught up, and they're coming in and buying them."
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.