Attendance at AED’s Annual Meeting & CONDEX Jan. 16-18 in Las Vegas increased 17 percent compared with last year’s convention, association officials said last week. Distributor, manufacturer and service company attendees from the United States, Canada and abroad totaled 3,000, the second largest in AED history.

“The 2007 Annual Meeting surpassed last year in every category we measure,” said Toby Mack, president of AED. “Registrations were up sharply, on-site registrations were at an all-time high, and CONDEX exhibitors increased.”

One of AED’s highest-rated speakers of all time, Ken Schmidt, again spoke about how he helped transform Harley-Davidson from the brink of bankruptcy into a thriving global company.

The AED University Managers Conference was again held in conjunction with AED’s Annual Meeting. This two-day event provided specialized education for sales, rental, parts and service managers. Speakers included Ron Slee, Walter McDonald, Todd Youngblood and Dan Kaplan.

Next year’s annual meeting & CONDEX will be held in Chicago, January 10-12, 2008.