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ASA Changes the Face of Industry WeekLAS VEGAS - The Automotive Service Association (ASA) has announced the creation of Automotive Service & Repair Week (ASRW), which will make its debut in November 5-8, 2008 during Industry Week in Las Vegas. As part of this initiative, ASA will bring the Congress of Automotive Repair & Service (CARS) and the International Autobody Congress & Exposition (NACE) together under one roof to create one industry-wide event that includes both the collision and mechanical segments of the automotive service and repair industry.
(Photo - Pamela Miller)
"This is a watershed moment for the automotive service and repair industry," notes Ron Pyle, ASA president and chief staff executive. "Our longstanding CARS and NACE events will be even better with expanded opportunities for education, training and networking. ASA and Hanley Wood Exhibitions (HWE), which will manage ASRW, have a 25-year history of working together to produce high-quality industry events. ASRW will cater to the repair shop owner, manager and technician - and any group that relies on these professionals and the products and services they use to stay successful."
Co-location brings synergies to trade professionals and vendors For many years, both NACE and CARS were previously held at separate locations. Starting next year, NACE and CARS will be co-located at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. While each event will retain its own identity, the broader banner of ASRW will drive and promote to both the exhibitor and attendee segments of the industry that its focus will be on the shop owners and technicians who perform mechanical and collision service and repair."It feels a little like going back to the future for us," said Galen Poss, president, Hanley Wood Exhibitions. "Co-locating these two events as part of a broader initiative to create an industry wide event for the automotive service and repair industry makes perfect sense. Every new technological innovation brings not only the mechanical and collision repair segments closer together but also the industry as a whole. We believe that the co-location is one of those cases where 1 + 1 will add up to more than 3."
"We believe there is a pent-up demand for bringing the all the streams together," echoed Pyle. ASRW will bring together professional buyers and sellers of automotive products and services in one venue that includes both education and trade show activities. Importantly, vendors will be able to position themselves in the mechanical or collision side of the exposition or, if they prefer, in the transition zone in-between. Pyle added that he expects ASRW will grow to include activities for other organizations, industry segments and events with the goal of creating a "mega" service and repair event that will touch all aspects of the automotive service and repair industry.
Fusion drives opportunities Reactions from industry organizations that work with automotive trade professionals to bring quality products and services to consumers are already embracing ASRW. They recognize that the initiative extends the reach of both the buyers and sellers. Initial industry feedback from key organizations and industry segments has been extremely positive and validates the need for an umbrella event for manufacturers, insurance representatives, information service providers, and service and repair professionals."We are excited about the integration of NACE and CARS into a single forum at Automotive Service & Repair Week in 2008," says Bob Tschippert, senior vice president, Automotive Specialty Markets, Zurich Direct Underwriters. "Combining these two events will allow for a higher level of synergy and collaboration between the two industries. Zurich Direct Underwriters supports ASA and this effort to provide a venue for a combined automotive service and repair industry event. We see this as a great opportunity for our service and repair customers to learn from each other by sharing best practices and proven efficiencies. We look forward to 2008 and participating once again with ASA at ASRW."
"Toyota Motor Sales USA is very pleased to show support for ASRW in 2008. We have long supported NACE and CARS, and look forward to this expanded opportunity to support both shows and the service and repair industry overall," Jerry Raskind, Toyota's wholesale development manager. "ASRW will allow us additional ways in which we can partner with the independent service and repair segment, and will be a welcomed event as we plan ahead for next year."
"ALLDATA is thrilled to hear that NACE and CARS will be combined in the same venue in 2008. The fusion of these shows demonstrates how vehicle technology has blurred the boundary between the mechanical and collision worlds. This change will bring new excitement to the combined shows, and will be advantageous to both exhibitors and attendees alike. Automotive professionals in all areas of the industry will benefit," said Jeff Lagges, president of ALLDATA LLC.
"One of the things we've done at AutoZone that past few years is to focus on our commercial business," stated Bill Rhodes, AutoZone Inc. CEO stated. "We believe that it is incredibly more efficient for the two [CARS and NACE] to be together - not only for our organization's members, but also the industry as a whole.
Traction for techs "Operationally, the combined event will allow both of the collision and mechanical audiences to enjoy an expanded and ever increasing level of service and programming opportunities," noted Poss, who added that several members of the HWE team had worked with ASA in the mid 1980s to create the name, logo and first four CARS events."We have history, familiarity and affinity for the mechanical sector of the service and repair industry and our team is tremendously excited to have the opportunity to once again work together," added Poss. ASRW will help attendees to leverage relationships, fuel the sharing of knowledge across disciplines and expand the educational opportunities that matter for mechanical and collision professionals interested in moving their businesses forward with sustained profitability.
The increased size of the show will dictate a need for more educational sessions and the benefits to attendees will include more opportunities to find topics or subjects best suited to their specific needs," said Bill Hass, vice president for Training at ASA. "I expect we will see considerable crossover in the sessions as many topics will be valuable to either segment of the service and repair community, like vehicle technology sessions and many disciplines of business management education."
"Both CARS and NACE will retain their identities at ASRW and will remain specifically focused on the conference and exhibition needs specific to each group," Poss stated. In addition, the joint event should produce excellent dividends where industry crossover and a combined message are warranted and required."
"Mechanical shops who have traditionally attended CARS will be pleased to know the event they have supported will be able to expand and offer a wider variety of networking and educational opportunities," added Pyle. "'Best practices' migration will flourish and accelerate in this environment. From my perspective, attendees and vendors will benefit from the co-location of events by being exposed to the broader service and repair industry."
