Hunter Engineering
How Hunter Engineering Leverages MATS to Accelerate their Equipment Sales Cycle
Hunter Engineering is a world-renowned leader in the wheel service equipment industry, specializing in the design and manufacture of high-precision aligners, balancers, tire changers, and vehicle lifts. Operating in over 140 countries, the company serves a vast spectrum of the transportation sector, from local tire repair shops to massive global logistics fleets. Central to Hunter’s long-term marketing strategy is its storied partnership with the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS). For Hunter, MATS is not just a trade show; it is a critical sales and engineering hub where the physical validation of complex technology meets the traditional trust-based culture of the trucking industry.
Drew Harris, Region Manager, Hunter Engineering
Challenge:
Hunter Engineering is a world-renowned leader in the wheel service equipment industry, specializing in the design and manufacture of high-precision aligners, balancers, tire changers, and vehicle lifts. Operating in over 140 countries, the company serves a vast spectrum of the transportation sector, from local tire repair shops to massive global logistics fleets. Central to Hunter’s long-term marketing strategy is its storied partnership with the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS). For Hunter, MATS is not just a trade show; it is a critical sales and engineering hub where the physical validation of complex technology meets the traditional trust-based culture of the trucking industry.
Solution:
Selling high-ticket capital equipment presents a unique set of hurdles. As Drew Harris, Region Manager for Hunter Engineering, observes, these machines are “not inexpensive,” and customers are often hesitant to invest without seeing a physical proof of concept. Furthermore, Hunter faces the logistical challenge of global fragmentation; reaching customers across “all nooks and crannies of the world” requires immense resources. While the company maintains a 1,000-person field organization that sees customers daily, demonstrating the full capability of large-scale equipment like heavy-duty alignment racks and diagnostic wheel balancers within the tight confines of a customer’s shop can be restrictive.
Results:
The presence of Hunter Engineering at MATS delivers a quantifiable and immediate return on investment. The show serves as a high-volume conversion engine where capital equipment moves from “consideration” to “purchase” on the spot. Harris notes that measuring success is “easy” because the team is actively “taking orders here at the show.” Beyond immediate revenue, the show provides a live laboratory for Hunter’s 100+ in-house engineers, who capture real-time customer feedback that directly influences the next generation of product development. This consolidation of global sales outreach allows Hunter to consult on hundreds of businesses efficiently, securing market leadership through a unique blend of modern engineering and traditional “face-to-face” salesmanship.
Flipping the Funnel for Equipment Sales
In an era increasingly dominated by digital transactions, Hunter Engineering recognizes that the purchase of complex manufacturing and engineering equipment remains deeply rooted in personal relationships. Drew Harris emphasizes that face-to-face time is “everything” for the business, particularly when dealing with customers from vocational schools, government facilities, and large-scale logistics fleets. By participating in MATS, Hunter creates a physical destination that allows for the genuine, in-person interactions necessary to build trust and close high-level deals.
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The MATS booth serves as an immersive environment where customers from all over the United States, Canada, and beyond can see “that big, huge, expensive machine” and instantly grasp the ROI it offers for their specific business. This physical verification is the essential bridge that moves a customer from interest to a finalized handshake deal.
This strategy effectively centralizes Hunter’s 1,000-person field organization, bringing the most technical and specialized representatives directly to a global audience. While field teams utilize demo trucks and trailers to reach customers in their own shops, MATS offers a scale that cannot be replicated on the road. The show provides a unique opportunity to address “equipment challenges that they’re facing in their neck of the woods” by demonstrating solutions live and in person. Because “everything is bigger in the truck industry,” the sheer size and reach of MATS allow Hunter to showcase its entire lineup—from tire changers to brake lathes—ensuring that every segment of the industry finds a solution tailored to their operational needs.
Real-Time R&D and High-Velocity ROI
Beyond the immediate sales activation, Hunter Engineering treats the MATS show floor as a live laboratory for collaborative engineering. The company employs over 100 engineers who manufacture everything in-house in the United States, but the most critical innovations often stem from direct conversations with the end-user. Harris describes a dynamic feedback loop where customers observe a live demonstration and provide immediate suggestions, asking, “what if instead of that piece, we had it here?” These conversations provide “tremendous value,” allowing Hunter to learn about real-world physical challenges in real-time. This feedback is funneled directly back to the engineering team, ensuring that Hunter’s product roadmap is always one step ahead of industry requirements.
This collaborative spirit is underpinned by a results-oriented approach to sales. Hunter Engineering drives immediate action by implementing live promotions and offering special financing deals exclusive to the show. The booth functions as a high-level business consultancy where reps help small repair operations and massive logistics companies plan their capital investments for the year. By taking orders and conducting in-person deals, Hunter bypasses the friction of long-distance negotiations. Harris concludes that the most compelling reason to be at MATS is the sheer volume of these quality interactions, where the team can shake hands and answer questions, effectively consolidating a year’s worth of global networking into three high-impact days of business.
Conclusion:
The long-standing partnership between Hunter Engineering and the Mid-America Trucking Show illustrates the unmatched power of physical presence in the capital equipment market. By leveraging MATS 2026 to humanize their high-tech engineering through “face-to-face” sales, Drew Harris and his team have solidified Hunter’s status as an industry anchor. The ability to flip the sales funnel, capture real-time R&D insights, and execute direct sales on the show floor provides a competitive advantage that digital channels simply cannot match. As Hunter prepares for future milestones, MATS will remain the essential stage where their “best and brightest” connect with the global trucking community to drive the future of wheel service technology.
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