After Rock Run Industries’ inaugural RV Composition Expo exceeded expectations, the supplier is already planning next year’s event.
The 2025 event will take place Oct. 14-16, at the Michiana Event Center in Shipshewana, Indiana, with a few changes in store.
According to Rock Run Marketing Manager Brandon Esh, he anticipates gaining 50% more exhibitors next year.
He said, “We want to diversify our offerings to make sure that everybody in the RV industry could get something from a show like this.”
The show’s starting time will shift from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.
Manufacturers who attended the 2024 show—including Matt Eppers, Grand Design Transcend and Serenova product manager, and Brodie Delcamp, Keystone Arcadia, Alpine and Avalanche assistant product manager—said they plan to attend next year’s event.
2024 Recap
Design and sales members from manufacturers including Brinkley, Grand Design, Jayco and Keystone walked the Michiana Event Center Oct. 23-25.
Rock Run Industries presented its RV Composition Expo, displaying various design and interior components. The show differed from other OE supplier events in multiple ways, from the suppliers showcasing to the event environment.
Nearly 50% of the 48 suppliers exhibiting displayed woodworking and interior fabricating components. Kitchen and bedroom cabinetry were displayed with furniture mechanisms and Murphy beds.
Eppers said the event was filled with “non-traditional ways of looking at solutions to problems that were kind of on the cutting edge in RVs.”
He said he appreciated seeing locally built and sourced companies.
Eppers said, “It was really impressive to see the amount of innovation that was coming from the Elkhart County community.”
Manufacturers were also able to go through the displays in around three hours. Eppers compared the event with the three to four-day shows that larger suppliers host.
Delcamp was able to walk the show in the morning and return to his office within a few hours. Both Eppers and Delcamp said they valued the efficiency.
According to Esh, many manufacturers attended the show and then returned later with colleagues.
He said, “The exhibitors gave the attendees a great experience and they decided they had to bring their boss back for the next day.”
Esh said he was glad the company had a three-day show to allow manufacturers to return with colleagues.
Although Esh had anticipated 250 attendees, 350 strolled among the booths.
Delcamp said the show had a laid-back feeling and felt more like an open house rather than a pressure-filled sales environment.
Rock Run will provide more details as show plans materialize.
