Equipment

Scenes from TMC 21

Sept. 30, 2021

Scenes from the show floor at TMC 21, which took place in Cleveland mid-September.

After nearly a year-and-a-half of lockdowns and virtual conferences, the trucking industry’s maintenance leaders gathered in Cleveland to attend American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council 2021 Fall Meeting & Transportation Technology Exhibition.

TMC reported that twice as many people (2,650) attended the fall event as usual; this was more than half of the typical attendance for the larger spring meeting. Because that event was virtual, the exhibition portion was moved to the September meeting.

During the four-day event filled with technical sessions and product launches, 37 of the industry’s most capable maintenance technicians broke off to compete in the 16 th TMCSuperTech. A tech from the Buffalo, New York, area who works at a Thermo King dealer and competed in each of the previous SuperTechs, Christopher Tate, earned the title of Grand Champion. After winning for the second time, he plans to help judge the competition from now on.

“For the first time in 19 months, it was great to be gathering together, in-person, to carry on the work of the council and celebrate the key role that technicians play in keeping our industry and economy moving,” said Robert Braswell, TMC's executive director. “We're pleased with the turnout for the event, the quality of the educational content, and the strong support we received from our exhibitors and sponsors. It was also great to see TMCSuperTech return and congratulate Christopher Tate on winning his second TMCSuperTech Grand Champion honor."

For those who couldn’t attend, as well as for those who got caught up in refreshing face-to-face discussions they couldn’t see everything, click on the slideshow to see many of the new tools and solutions displayed on the show floor.

About the Author

John Hitch | Editor-in-chief, Fleet Maintenance

John Hitch is the award-winning editor-in-chief of Fleet Maintenance, where his mission is to provide maintenance leaders and technicians with the the latest information on tools, strategies, and best practices to keep their fleets' commercial vehicles moving.

He is based out of Cleveland, Ohio, and has worked in the B2B journalism space for more than a decade. Hitch was previously senior editor for FleetOwner and before that was technology editor for IndustryWeek and and managing editor of New Equipment Digest.

Hitch graduated from Kent State University and was editor of the student magazine The Burr in 2009.

The former sonar technician served honorably aboard the fast-attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723), where he participated in counter-drug ops, an under-ice expedition, and other missions he's not allowed to talk about for several more decades.