The Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association (HDMA), the commercial vehicle division of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), recently announced a seventh successful year of the HDMA Internship Program held at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW), Jan. 27-30 in Dallas. Twenty-four students from Northwood University took part in this year’s program.
The HDMA Internship Program, supported by Northwood University, provides opportunities to bring graduate and undergraduate students to HDAW, where these pre-screened, interns are paired with executives in the commercial vehicle industry. Interested students sent in a completed application with essay, and finalists were selected for an in-person interview. Once accepted and prior to HDAW, students and sponsors were paired based on the student’s interests and strengths, as well as the sponsoring company’s culture.
Of the 24 interns at HDAW, five were paired with distributor sponsors, 15 with supplier sponsors, two with buying groups, and one with HDMA. The interns included four graduate students from the DeVos School of Management, 13 seniors, one junior, two sophomores, and three freshmen, majoring in aftermarket, marketing and advertising, automotive management or finance.
The 2020 HDMA Interns were sponsored by Action Truck Parts, CRW Parts, CVSN, Dayton Parts, DENSO, Dorman Products, Eaton, Fras-le, Haldex, HDA Truck Pride, Hendrickson, Indian Head Industries, Meritor, Midwest Wheel Companies, Minimizer, Northwest Drive Train Service, Phillips Industries, Pressure Systems International, SAF-Holland, SKF, Vander Haag’s, VIPAR Heavy Duty and WABCO.
At HDAW 2020, interns participated in Heavy Duty Aftermarket Dialogue (HDAD), the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Representative Council (HDMRC), the Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT) reception, One-on-One business meetings, Supplier Product Sales Trainings, the HDAW Product Expo, and the Service Opportunities & Learning Day (SOLD!) program. Their responsibilities at the event focused on working with their sponsoring companies during the full HDAW conference program, attending HDMA intern debriefing meetings, and networking with supplier and distribution management.
Since 2014, this HDMA program has facilitated 84 qualified intern introductions to the commercial vehicle industry through HDAW. Fifty-five of the students have graduated from Northwood University, and 25 of them are currently working with HDMA member companies.