Custom Chrome's 40th Anniversary celebration was held at the historic Hayes Mansion in California's Bay Area.
With wonderful weekend weather and a fabulous location helping set the stage, the 40th Anniversary celebration of
Custom Chrome hit a high water mark of success for the company in terms of dealer, vendor and industry VIP participation. Custom Chrome brought together an international group of vendors and dealers to help mark this historical milestone and the return of the Custom Chrome Dealer Show.
Held at the beautiful Hayes Mansion in San Jose, CA, Custom Chrome treated attendees to a weekend of food, fun and music, coupled with a relaxing location in the heart of the city.
Guests enjoyed a fabulous and low-key opening reception on Friday night where many got to reconnect with industry friends and associates. There was a definite air of anticipation from the crowd as to what the return of the Dealer Show would be like.
Saturday saw a gorgeous Northern California day dawn with Custom Chrome CEO and President Holger Mohr giving his opening remarks to a group of industry-leading vendors. Keeping it short and to the point, Holger stated the aims and objectives of the weekend.
“I have been asked many times when we were going to bring back the Dealer Show and quite frankly, we were not going to do that until we could do it right,” Holger stated, “We are now in a position to do The Show the way it should be done and I am proud of everyone at Custom Chrome for working so hard to get us to this point.”
“Our mission this weekend is to be your preferred partner when it comes to distribution and the dealers preferred partner when it comes to buying aftermarket parts. Helping them make the best decisions in regards to stocking products distributed through Custom Chrome is our goal,” Holger continued.
Vendors filled the Show Hall for Custom Chrome's 40th anniversary celebration.
The vendors must have taken these words to heart as Custom Chrome enjoyed a weekend that saw impressive numbers in both quantity of orders written and dollar amounts of each written order. Many dealers expressed real optimism about having a strong season in 2010. Dealers were also turning out in large numbers for the vendor education seminars held in the conference center’s breakout rooms.
“For me, the seminars are such a valuable learning tool. There are so many products in the market that it’s difficult to keep up with everything. However, having CCI’s vendors directly discuss products and answer questions helps me ultimately deliver better service to my customers,” says Josh Soto of Josh’s Boars Nest in Oceanside, CA.
Next to the seminar rooms was the Custom Chrome 40th Anniversary Exhibit which drew large crowds throughout the weekend. A timeline displaying historical artifacts of the company’s history with an exhibit featuring two separate timeline walls, each over 75 feet long and covered in catalog covers, calendars, print ads, and photos documenting the history of Custom Chrome was a popular attraction. Included were many promotional items used as giveaways, past dealer displays and the many prototype and proprietary parts created through the years.
Guests also enjoyed personal tours of the Custom Chrome headquarters in nearby Morgan Hill. Dealers, vendors and VIP’s were treated to a scenic bus ride from the Hayes Mansion to Morgan Hill to tour the brand new facilities that house office operations and R&D.
Says Steve Veltri, VP of Sales and Marketing, “We really couldn’t be more pleased with the turnout, from the amount of business written this weekend to the positive dealer feedback. We knew going in that bringing back the Dealer Show would prove successful but we have been overwhelmed with the amount of success.”
Saturday night brought the group to the convention center’s main ballroom for a meal reflecting Custom Chrome’s global reach. The dinner featured fare from the four corners of the world; America, Asia, Germany and Tuscany. Mohr gave a heartfelt and humorous opening speech to the assembled crowd, thanking everyone who has ever done business with or worked for Custom Chrome in any way during these past 40 years.
The overflow crowd was then treated to a retrospective video of the past 40 years of Custom Chrome history. The video was so well received that at numerous times during its broadcast, the crowd yelled and applauded as images of people, places and historic events in Custom Chrome history flashed on the screen.
“It really was not just a retrospective of Custom Chrome but of the modern history of the V-Twin industry,” said Kyle Rinehart of Rinehart Racing. “Watching that video taught me just how instrumental Custom Chrome has been to the growth of our industry and how intertwined the two really are.”
The culmination of Saturday evening’s festivities was a champagne toast given by the entire Arlen Ness family. Ness, themselves celebrating 40 years in the industry, joined Mohr onstage to kickoff the party and salute the 40-year partnership between the two companies.
Sunday saw another day of enthusiastic dealers engaging with vendors and Custom Chrome sales staff with numerous meetings and seminars. With the show drawing to a close, Veltri choose the moment to announce some much anticipated and questioned news.
“Please make arrangements with your representative for the 2011 Custom Chrome Dealer Show!” Veltri was heard saying over the PA system, “This truly is the return of the Custom Chrome Dealer Show not just for 2010 but moving forward into the future.”
With that, the stage is set for the Custom Chrome Dealer Show to become an annual event once again.
