Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Crews at the Buffalo Convention Center downtown have been hard at work putting the final touches on the setup at the Buffalo Auto Show, starting this Thursday and running through Sunday.
Tuesday saw crews continuing to wheel-in and position a number of different vehicles of all makes and models in the showrooms on both levels of the Convention Center.
Excitement at the Convention Center continues to ramp up, especially for those who are no stranger to the annual Auto Show event in Downtown Buffalo.
"It's always fun. It's always cool interacting with all the people that come," said Brandon McCabe, co-owner of Buffalo Car Care Solutions. "We have a booth downstairs as well with our own Corvette and everything like that. We talk to a lot of customers about the services we offer, but then it's also cool to see everyone's excitement over the new cars that the various manufacturers are showcasing throughout the weekend."
"It's a pretty tremendous opportunity, because I think the Auto Show, being one of the largest shows that happens here in Buffalo, it brings people from all over the Western New York region, as well the eyes of the nation are upon us," said John Duberville, director of sales for Hale Expo Services. "Even though we're a a mid-size market, as far as the entire nation is concerned, they watch Buffalo very carefully to see how they put on an auto show. They are very particular on what vehicles come in, what they're doing with those vehicles."
This year's event at the Buffalo Convention Center is also particularly exciting, because it's the first Buffalo Auto Show to take place following the completion of renovations for the front façade of the building and the entry way.
"The last couple of years we've had construction going on, so the public can look forward to having a nicer entry into the facility, heated sidewalks, the new dramatic entry to get into the lobby, and start the process of looking through all these beautiful new cars," said Jeff Calkins, general manager at the Buffalo Convention Center.
Even those helping set up vehicles at the Buffalo Convention Center can't help but feel the excitement in the air for this weekend's Buffalo Auto Show.
"I've been setting auto shows for eight years now, I've been all over the country. It is a beautiful space, it's a little bit tight, but it's exciting that everyone's bringing in this many cars here," said Rob Klein, installation supervisor for Hyundai from the company Czarnowski.
For McCabe and the folks at Buffalo Car Care Solutions, it is their obligation throughout the Buffalo Auto Show to not only clean every car set to hit the showroom floors, but also maintain the cars while the event takes place. McCabe admits there's plenty of preparation that goes into their job over the 7-8 days they work the Auto Show.
"We've got to assemble a proper staff, guys that are gonna show up early, on time, work throughout the day. It's a lot of long hours. Might not think of it, but we're here sometimes for 12-14 hours cleaning the cars, so that's a lot of hours for some staff. But they enjoy it," McCabe said. "It's kind of like a little field trip out of the normal day-to-day grind, so it's a little different, change of scenery. It's definitely pretty fun and enjoyable just to get out of the normal shop every day."
On a normal day, McCabe says his crew has averaged about 45-50 cars being washed in the days leading up to the event. As for the days throughout the show, he estimates his crews will wipe down around 70 cars multiple times a day.
McCabe also enjoys the opportunity at the Buffalo Auto Show to prepare vehicles from the National Guard and New York State Police, which are vehicles they don't get to clean every day.
Meanwhile, McCabe says the facelifts made to the Buffalo Convention Center has definitely helped add some extra value to the Buffalo Auto Show going forward, especially in the facility's main lobby.
"The lobby's the biggest thing probably for us on the inside. It just makes it look that much nicer, and the cars honestly look that much better just with the new lighting and the new flooring, and just way brighter, modern, open," McCae said. "It definitely makes the lobby look a lot more appealing for everyone coming in through those doors."
For Duberville at Hale Expo Services, they are the general service contractor brought in by the Niagara Frontier Automobile Dealers Association (NFADA) to help the move-in, and to set up for the Auto Show.
"What we do is we provide the footprint," Duberville explained. "We lay the carpet, and we handle the labor to help the setup for all the manufacturers bringing in these beautiful displays for all of the wonderful car dealerships that will be displaying their vehicles here during the Auto Show. We are responsible for the loading docks to offload nearly a quarter of a million pounds of freight in two days to load into the Convention Center. We install over 90,000 square-feet of carpeting these cars will be displayed on, that all the guests will walk upon. And we handle the setup of all the booths for the vendors that the guests will be able to experience while they're coming in and seeing the cars while here at the show."
Duberville has long been in preparation for the Buffalo Auto Show with the auto manufacturers across the globe. He says scheduling is a big part of the process, handling all the logistics of the Auto Show and working with the manufacturers over the course of the last six months.
"We schedule very carefully and very thoroughly, we run the streets so we are a tagging and looking at every vehicle coming. The NFADA sets up a carwash in the back of the Convention Center. We actually wash the cars, by hand, then they're brought up into the building, dried off and put into place," Duberville said. "They're sending us floor plans, very detailed floor plans, how they will look, how the electric gets laid down. We have to look at how the building is laid out, where they will best fit in the building. And we actually work with them saying, 'Hey, maybe your backdrop can't work in this particular spot, because you may be blocking a spot that needs to be an egress for guests.' And the manufacturers have been great in helping them modify those floor plans. So we're looking at the space that people are gonna be walking within the next few days six months out to make sure that it's safe for them, the visual opportunity is going to be there for them, and the dealers that are showing off their cars get the best presentation possible."
Duberville admits there's a lot of pressure that gets place on their shoulders to make sure people are seeing the cars in the best light possible at the Auto Show, and that the dealers and manufacturers are pleased with how they are presented.
As for the renovations done to the Buffalo Convention Center, Duberville agrees they have made the new lobby display the cars at the Auto Show beautifully. In addition, the renovations have made his crew's job much easier to get the vehicles into the showrooms a bit easier than in years past.
"They've angled the entry doors, so there's a different entrance into here, giving us opportunity to display the vehicles differently. They've modified the lower room so we can bring cars in more easily, because we bring cars in the ballroom, and there's two other rooms we fill. There's over 400 cars total that we actually put in this building, but the modifications have helped us to bring the cars in more easily, to help people driving through kitchens and ballrooms that are normally where people cook and have wonderful gala dinners," Duberville said. "They're bringing cars through, so they've opened the doorways, made the pathways and egresses better for them to get in that way. So those have been tremendous, and I think the eyes of the nation really see that and how we provide that service."
As for those setting up installation for the different auto manufacturers attending this weekend's Buffalo Auto Show, folks like Klein have a lot on their plates in the days leading up to doors opening to the public.
"We start with a flat slab of cement that they pull electric over, carpet, and then we bring in freight, we set up the displays as they're supposed to be set up. And then we roll cars in, place the cars, apply electric to the cars that need electric applied to them," Klein said. "Then hopefully everything is nice and shiny, polished up by that point that your people come in and take a look at these cars."
Klein feels lucky to have a big team that backs him up when needed for any auto show he's worked. However, he says there are a lot of logistics involved in coordinating which cars are going to be in on time, as well as placing them in a booth and making sure the cars are exactly where they're supposed to be.
"It's a process that I do over-and-over again, and it takes some time and some thought. A lot of times it's just a puzzle when you have other booths that are right next to you that you have to manage with them," Klein explained. "For example, I have two cars in my booth right now that I have to leave out of the way so that two other manufacturers can get their cars into their space. Until they get their car, which one of is sitting on the street that ran out of gas, so we're waiting for someone to bring a gas can. It's that kind of logistics that we have to adjust to. It's a constant adjustment to all the things that go on."
As for Calkins, he says the yearly process of moving vehicles into the Buffalo Convention Center for the Buffalo Auto Show is always an interesting.
"We utilize every open space we can, any open door that we can fit cars through. We even have one entry that will go through part of our kitchen that will get to the lower meeting room. It's always an adventure and it's always fun to watch it get in, but the crew here has really worked on this show for so long, they have it down to a science," Calkins said. "Hale Exposition, the staff from the Auto Show has just really perfected all the techniques of getting these vehicles in. And the vehicles now are smaller, tighter."
Calkins adds the 2024 Buffalo Auto Show has some added significance with it being the first year there's been a full inventory of vehicles since the COVID-19 pandemic. It truly marks the first normal Buffalo Auto Show the Convention Center has hosted since early 2020.
"The public will look forward to not only seeing the improvements to the building, but really seeing a full inventory of vehicles, which was a problem last year due to supply chain management and everything else that caused problems with the dealers," Calkins said. "We have a full inventory of cars and vehicles - hybrid, electric, the normal. It's just a fun year to really jump into this and experience the feel of the new vehicles and what we have to offer."
Where Calkins feels the dramatic difference will be for patrons of the Auto Show this year will be with getting into the building.
"We were proudly displayed on the Buffalo Bills' final game of the year, so it's one of those dramatic entries, and it really showcases the downtown. You enter into the new lobby, and it just is a nice entry into the facility," Calkins said. "The way the auto dealers and Hale have decorated the building from that point in really showcases the space we have, and the lighting, the carpeting. All the decorating that has been done over the last few days really makes it feel like a new facility, even though we are not a new facility. But they've done a great job of really decorating and enhancing the features of the Convention Center."
The 2024 Buffalo Auto Show opens this Thursday starting at 1 p.m. EST and continues through late Sunday afternoon. Tickets for the Auto Show are available for purchase at BuffaloAutoShow.com.
