The Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association (HDMA), the heavy-duty division of MEMA, has announced the expansion of the Heavy Duty Business Forum (HDBF) to the India and EU markets, with HDBF India and HDBF EU.
Founded in 1977, the Heavy Duty Business Forum is a North American top executive discussion group that meets semi-annually in the U.S. HDMA formed in 1983, and was initiated by the members of HDBF when a need for industry and government advocacy became essential for their heavy-duty businesses.
The purpose of the HDBF is to provide peer networking opportunities and a platform for discussion among senior executives of HDMA member companies. Meeting agendas are developed by an elected board of governors for the forum, meetings are managed by HDMA senior staff, and includes participation by anti-trust counsel during each HDBF meeting.
Each HDBF meeting regularly includes presentations and discussions with executives from major OEMs, aftermarket organizations, as well as fleets and end-users during the very popular "voice of the customer" segments of each meeting. Market forecasts are provided by a range of expert economists and market research firms, and a member-only moderated discussion named "How's Business?" is the most popular element of each meeting.
With the further globalization of the supply chain, the majority of HDMA member companies have expanded their manufacturing operations into major global vehicle markets. HDMA first expanded with HDBF Asia in 2015 in Pudong/Shanghai, China. The next meeting of HDBF Asia will be November 8-9 meeting in Wuxi, China.
Based on HDMA member input, HDBF recently expanded into the India and EU markets with initial meetings in both world regions held in Spring 2018. Both new forum's next meetings are scheduled in the Fall of 2018, in Mumbai, India, and Frankfurt, Germany, respectively.
"The India and Europe Forums are forming based on HDMA member feedback and the need to continue to advance our member's interests in these regions of the world. The purpose of the global expansions of the Heavy Duty Business Forum is for executives of HDMA member companies running operations based in India and the EU region to meet and discuss the key trends and issues affecting their businesses in each market," states Tim Kraus, President and COO of HDMA. "Our goal as a member-driven association is to meet our member's growing global needs by providing discussion groups like the Heavy Duty Business Forum in the areas of the world in which they operate."
