Sokl started working in publishing in the newspaper Dalton’s Weekly, and then moved to Morgan Grampian, which later became Miller Freeman, working as publisher of Auto Trade and commercial vehicle title Transport Week. When the company was hit by the 1991 recession, he was made redundant, which spurred him to form his own publishing company, Crystal Communications.
From there, he launched Garage and Bodyshop Products, which evolved into Aftermarket, which is still published.
Having developed a relationship with the SMMT throughout his career, he was called upon to work on its new venture with the RHA and IRTE, a merged Commercial Vehicle Show, in 2000.
Responsible for sales and marketing of the event, he effectively ran the show, recalls ex-colleague David Crawford, who worked alongside him until Sokl’s retirement in 2015.
“He was always a passionate publishing and exhibitions man,” Crawford added.
He is survived by his wife Bobby and two daughters.