The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey (AASP/NJ) announced that the Bodywork Bowl Collision Repair Skills Competition will once again take place on the trade show floor at the NORTHEAST 2023 Automotive Services Show March 17-19 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, N.J.
On Saturday, March 18 during the show, collision repairers will be able to compete against their peers in one of three categories — estimating, painting or welding — for a chance to take home a $500 cash prize.
“NORTHEAST is at the top of my list when it comes to industry events, and this competition gives us a chance to recognize the collision professionals who roll up their sleeves and get down to business every day in the shops welding, painting and writing estimates,” said Jerry McNee, president of the AASP/NJ. “Their skills deserve to be celebrated, and this chance to compete against their peers allows us to do exactly that.”
“I’m grateful to my good friend, Burl Richards, and the Auto Body Association of Texas for coming up with this great idea and helping us implement our own version of the competition at NORTHEAST. Associations are all about bringing shops together because there’s strength in numbers, and when multiple groups come together to share ideas and strategies like this, it makes the entire industry better and stronger. I can’t wait to see how the Bodywork Bowl grows in 2023 and beyond.”
Estimators will demonstrate their skills using CCC-sponsored estimating equipment to write off of an estimate originally produced by Collision Advice’s Mike Anderson, through collaboration with CCC. Winners will be selected by a team of judges, including Anderson and Danny Gredinburg of the Database Enhancement Gateway. Painters will test their talents by spraying panels and demonstrating blending techniques with the use of virtual spraybooths and guns, sponsored by AkzoNobel, while body techs will apply seam sealer and demonstrate their aptitude for welding on equipment sponsored by Chief Automotive Technologies; Collision Equipment Consulting, Inc.; GYS/Chisum USA; Pinnacle Automotive Equipment; Reliable Automotive Equipment; Solidus Equipment; and Spanesi Americas. The painting and welding competitions will also be judged by high-profile industry experts who will be announced soon. The winner in each category will receive $500.
AASP/NJ is grateful to the multiple vendors that have already committed to sponsoring the inaugural Bodywork Bowl. Thousands of industry professionals attend NORTHEAST every March to take in all there is to offer on the show floor and in the classrooms where national-level education by some of the industry’s finest will be presented. Sign up for classes and bring a friend for free at aaspnjnortheast.com/education.
Pre-register now for a free badge to attend the show at aaspnjnortheast.com, and stay tuned for the chance to sign up to compete in the very first Bodywork Bowl.
For more information on AASP/NJ, visit aaspnj.org.
