Automotive Service & Repair Week (ASRW) is pleased to report 2012 was a solid event for industry professionals, with well-attended key events, compelling education and a world-class trade show floor.
ASRW featured 237 exhibiting companies, with 43 new exhibitors and 16,652 attendees.
“By all standards and measurements, ASRW 2012 was a successful event,†stated Ron Pyle, ASA president. “We continue to adjust the content and activities to best meet the needs of today’s repair professional. And we’re pleased with the recent news that our Orlando event earned ASRW a spot on TSNN’s “Fastest 50†list of trade shows. The industry continues to support our decision to rotate the show around the country, and we look forward to delivering an even stronger show next fall in Las Vegas.â€
Success stories from the week in New Orleans have surfaced from both exhibitors and attendees.
“As a first-time exhibitor at NACE, this show was extremely successful in showcasing our charging stations to this service-driven market,†stated Paul Mecca, Kwikboost.
Bobby Likis, nationally syndicated car-talk host of “Bobby Likis Car Clinic,†reflected, “ASRW is a must-attend for automotive service technicians and shop owners who want to proactively deliver best-of practices and products to their customers. Car Clinic, Ricardo Engineering (designers of the Extreme Boost Direct Injection [(EBDI) engine) and the Renewable Fuels Association (the voice of American ethanol producers) were all first-time exhibitors at CARS 2012.â€
ASRW 2012 featured several new functions: a new collision repairer-only forum, called The Assembly; and the Mechanical Management Symposium, a day-long education program specifically for mechanical service and repair shop owners.
The opening general session and keynote address was again sponsored by DuPont Performance Coatings. Author and business turnaround expert Dick Cross engaged a standing-room only audience with his easy-to-understand, relatable style of running a business, leaving participants with ideas they could implement immediately after returning from the show.Â
ASRW also hosted the 2nd annual Multi-Shop Owner (MSO) Symposium, which doubled in size from 2011 with more than 250 attendees and 14 sponsoring companies.
Attendees concur ASRW is where significant business takes place, and consistently comment on the professional atmosphere of the event, as well as their strategy behind attending.
“The reason we attend ASRW every year is because NACE provides a ‘one stop shopping place’ for all of our auto body product needs. It is well organized and this was a successful event for us,†said Jeanne Silver and Brett Holman, CARSTAR Mundelein.
“It [ASRW] was just what I needed. I am now back in my shop implementing changes,†said Rod Zimmerman, Capital City Automotive.
ASRW 2013 is scheduled for Oct. 16-19 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev.
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