Equip Auto, a premier international trade show for automotive aftersales and services for mobility, is expecting to receive 95,000 professional visitors and host 1200 exhibitors at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from 15 to 19 October 2019.
“Since 2017, Equip Auto has established itself as the unifying meeting for the industry, bringing together all the reference professional organisations,” said Philippe Baudin, Chairman of Equip Auto. “I wish to maintain this commitment so that all visitors have a single event in France, located at the heart of all the major transformations, to meet, exchange, make discoveries and spend an enjoyable time with other professionals.”
Equip Auto organisers say the show has reasserted its ambition to establish itself as the imperative international trade show for aftersales and services for mobility for all vehicles. Positioning itself at the heart of industry issues, the show aims to enables professionals to gain optimal insight into the market by giving them the means to “repair today and prepare tomorrow” – the exhibition’s signature.
Owned by the French Federation of Vehicle Industries and Equipment (FIEV) and the French Bodywork Federation (FFC) while supported by trade body partners, the exhibition says it revolves around three values which make up its DNA: Business, Innovation, Hospitality.
“These three values take the form of numerous actions and new features to enable industry stakeholders to decode the sector’s challenges, find out about current solutions and adopt innovations which are already available to prepare for tomorrow,” organisers said.
For this show edition, organisers aim to balance out visitor flows by focusing on a clear and effective sector organisation to save time and increase contact opportunities on stands. This means each hall will have a specific focus:
- Hall 1: Vehicle equipment, parts and components; Maintenance and distribution networks; Bodywork and painting; Univers VO (Car remarketing), Washing and service areas, lubricants, vehicle care products
- Hall 2.2: Vehicle equipment, parts and components; Maintenance and distribution networks; Services for professionals
- Hall 3: Repairs, maintenance, tools and diagnostics; Tyres, wheel rims and accessories
The organisers are also focusing on having more visible and frequent signage for easier wayfinding, wider aisles to connect the three halls efficiently together, improved entry through hall 3 with direct access from the exhibition centre’s main gate (gate A), and an even balance of leading brands between the three halls.
One of the events relevant to collision repair is Equip Auto’s Bodywork-Paint Village, which will play host to the results and the prize-giving ceremony of the fourth Bodywork-Paintwork Competition. This competition is open to French pilot training centres in the ANFA network in the bodywork and repairs branch, rewarding students who, through their technical and artistic skills, have proven the best in shaping and painting a piece of bodywork.
The International Grands Prix for Automotive Innovation, revolving around seven categories with a gold trophy winner in each of them, is awarded by a judging panel of 48 journalists from 10 countries. Helping boost brand awareness and trigger new business, organisers says the International Grands Prix for Automotive Innovation pay tribute to emerging technologies in aftersales and are acknowledged as a prestigious accolade in many countries, reflecting an international dynamic around the know-how, skills and innovations of firms.
The competition is open to all exhibitors across all sectors represented at the show. The categories are as follows:
- Bodywork equipment and paint
- Lubricants, vehicle care products, washing, roadside services
- Original equipment
- Parts, equipment and components (replacement)
- Tyres – Wheel accessories and services
- Repairs, maintenance, garage equipment
- Services for professionals (IT, software publishers, DMS, management solutions, etc.), services for connected mobility.
Equip Auto will host a gala evening to be held at Collège des Bernardins in the centre of Paris, which will bring together nearly 300 guests for a friendly and festive celebration. The awards for the International Grands Prix for Automotive Innovation will be presented at this evening.