SNOWMOBILE – Ehlert Expands Consumer Show Biz

Ehlert Publishing Inc., the owner of Powersports Business, has made another step into the business of consumer shows with the purchase of American Recreation Unlimited Inc. (ARU) and plans for a future ice fishing show in Green Bay, Wis.
Ehlert Publishing, based in Maple Grove, Minn., completed the purchase in December for an undisclosed amount.
ARU, which was based in Eden Prairie, Minn., operated three consumer shows: the Minneapolis/St. Paul Snowmobile/ATV/
Motorcycle Powersports Show; the St. Paul
Ice Fishing/Winter Sports Show; and the
Minneapolis/St. Paul RV/Camping and Vacation Show.
This acquisition adds a second snowmobile-related show to Ehlert’s portfolio. The company also operates the Big East Snowmobile Show in Syracuse, New York.
“We’ve been looking to expand our presence in the show business for some time. The addition of the three ARU shows to our Big East Snowmobile Show gives us a solid platform to grow our events and conferences division,” said Dick Hendricks, Ehlert’s executive vice president. The acquisition of ARU is one step toward Ehlert’s goal of launching several new shows in the next three years.
ARU staff who transferred to Ehlert Publishing are J.D. Eisenberg, operations manager, and Barry Siewert and Tony Porthan in sales and marketing. Eisenberg will take over as operations manager for the Big East Snowmobile Show as well.
Porthan said shows will be run in their usual manner. Still, he said, there are plans to increase the value for displayers in multiple shows.
ARU was a privately held business owned and operated by Don and Lil Urban since 1965. The Minneapolis/St. Paul Snowmobile show has been in operation for 40 years.