It’s been called both the Manhattan of the Southwest and the cowboy
capital. It’s the second largest city in Texas; and those Texans
who call it home feel quite secure about their superiority to
other cities, calling it the "Cadillac of Texas towns."

It’s a town that ranks third in the United States as headquarters
for Fortune 500 companies, one of only two cities in Texas with
a weekly rodeo and a town with more shopping centers and retail
space per capita than any other U.S. city.

It’s Dallas – the birthplace of the frozen margarita, the home
of the notorius bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde, and the site of
the 16th annual International Autobody Congress and Exposition
(NACE).

Held Dec. 3-6, this year’s NACE promises to be bigger and better
– like everything in Texas. More than 35,000 collision repair
professionals, 2,700 exhibit booths and 650 exhibiting companies
are expected to stampede the Dallas Convention Center.

So round up your doggies and move ’em out as the world’s largest
collision repair event heads to the cowboy capital.

Congress Seminars

Congress seminars are included in full Congress Registration packages,
Thursday one-day, Friday one-day and Saturday one-day packages.
Individual Congress Seminar tickets aren’t available for purchase.

Management

• Move Into the Winner’s Circle … Creating and Implementing
  a Successful Marketing Plan

Thursday, Dec. 3, 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 4, 10:45
a.m. to 12:15 p.m. A panel of experts will discuss the latest
advances in today’s technology-driven marketplace and share the
components necessary to create a successful marketing plan.

• Increasing the Value of Your Business

Thursday, Dec. 3, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 5, 8:30
a.m. to 10 a.m. This panel discussion will identify the key
elements necessary for increasing the profitability and value
of collision repair facilities. The discussion will focus on the
importance of conducting and understanding a financial analysis
of your business, ways to control expenses, what computer programs
add value to your business and much more.

• Breaking the Bottlenecks Through Improved Production

Thursday, Dec. 3, 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 4, 10:45
a.m. to 12:15 p.m. This course focuses on how to indentify
inefficiencies and create improvement in production flow and scheduling,
as well as performing repairs more efficiently. Attendees will
learn how to break through the bottlenecks that commonly strangle
a shop’s productivity and how to develop systems that increase
revenue.

• Benchmarking … Do You Measure Up?

Thursday, Dec. 3, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 5, 8:30
a.m. to 10 a.m. This session will help you understand how
your facility measures up against the very best. If focuses on
the importance of determining your facility’s strengths and weaknesses
and using that information to formulate a business plan that will
help your operation succeed.

• Exploring Today’s Business Communication Technology

Thursday, Dec. 3, 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 4, 10:45
a.m. to 12 p.m. This session will explore the Internet as
a valuable tool in today’s busy collision repair facility and
as a source of new revenue. Developed to explore real-world applications,
this session will include the future of business communications,
pertinent applications for e-mail, on-line banking and the security
of your financial information.

• Compensating Your Technicians … Are You the Driver or
  a Spectator?

Thursday, Dec. 3, 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 4, 10:45
a.m. to 12 p.m. This session will provide insight into pay
systems related to profits and production, benefits such as 401K
plans, insurance coverage, bonus structures, paid vacations, options
in employee-paid benefits and much more.

Technical

• Estimating Systems: Where the Rubber Meets the Road!"

Thursday, Dec. 3, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 5, 8:30
a.m. to 10 a.m. Representatives from major estimating-system
providers will be on hand to share everything from the latest
technology to the newest features and benefits to expect in the
future. Members of the panel will ask the audience to indentify
the most important features to be included in tomorrow’s estimating
systems.

• Focusing on the Facts: Exploring the Use of Bonding Adhesives

Thursday, Dec. 3, 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 4, 10:45
a.m. to 12:15 p.m. This panel discussion – comprised of OEMs,
adhesive manufacturers and collision shop owners – will address
which applications benefit the most from gluing and why some applications
don’t benefit at all. They’ll also discuss safety, liability and
the effects of panel gluing on labor time.

• Digital Imaging … Turning Pictures Into Profits!

Thursday, Dec. 3, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 5, 8:30
a.m. to 10 a.m. This session will focus on the importance
of conducting a cost vs. benefit analysis to determine if implementing
a digital imaging system is right for your shop. You’ll also learn
how digital imaging can streamline and improve your business,
explore the latest advancements in technology and discuss the
development of standards.

• Using Salvage Air Bags … Risk or Reward?

Thursday, Dec. 3, 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 4, 10:45
a.m. to 12:15 p.m. A panel of experts, representing all aspects
of the issue, will discuss the best practices, as well as the
ethics and liability of used or salvaged air bags.

Industry

• Recommended Paint Standards … Take the Checkered Flag!

Thursday, Dec. 3, 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 4, 10:45
a.m. to 12:15 p.m. This panel of paint manufacturers will
discuss the key issues of recommended paint standards, focusing
on how to get the standards recognized, the single-stage vs. two-stage
process, how to maintain factory warranties, procedures for blending,
de-trimming and more.

• Consolidation: Taking the Inside Lane

Thursday, Dec. 3, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 5, 8:30
a.m. to 10 a.m. This discussion will focus on the critical
points to help you understand and re-evaluate your business. Learn
the importance of understanding cash flow, earnings before taxes
and market share. Find out what consolidators are looking for
and what effects consolidation has on your employees, your reputation
and your business relationships.

• DRPs … Moving Out from Under the Caution Flag

Thursday, Dec. 3, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 5, 8:30
a.m. to 10 a.m. A panel of experts will address the best sources
for DRP relationships; how to get involved with DRPs and maintain
a long-term, productive and profitable relationship; how to build
trust in the relationship; and whether concessions should be part
of the relationship.

International

• Collision Repair … A Global Industry

Thursday, Dec. 3, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. This symposium
brings together some of the world’s leading collision repair experts
who will share their unique international industry knowledge,
discuss the key issues in each of the key market areas and analyze
the possible impact of the seemingly difficult path toward globalization.

Lunch at NACE ’98

• Mexican Fiesta Feast; Friday, Dec. 4, 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Texas BBQ Cookout; Saturday, Dec. 5, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
• Lunch tickets are included in full Congress Registration packages,
  Friday one-day and Saturday one-day packages. Individual lunch
  tickets are also available for purchase.

Keynotes

• Friday Morning Keynote
• "Larry King Really Live," Dec. 4, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
  Larry King will deliver the Friday Morning Keynote Address. As
  a result of King’s years behind the microphone, in front of the
  camera and in the company of celebrities and newsmakers, King
  has a wealth of amusing and poignant anecdotes to share.
• Saturday Morning Keynote
• "If Enough People Care," Dec. 5, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30
  am. Peter Ueberroth – president of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic
  Organizing Committee, Major League Baseball’s sixth commissioner
  and "Time" magazine’s 1984 Man of the Year – will deliver
  the Saturday Morning Keynote Address. His message emphasizes that
  the people, businesses and organizations that will be competitive
  in the future are the ones serving as today’s agents of change.

• Saturday Afternoon Keynote
• "The Rise & Fall & Rise of Harley-Davidson,"
  Dec. 5, 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Ken Schmidt – the primary caretaker
  of Harley-Davidson’s corporate image enhancement – will deliver
  the Saturday Afternoon Keynote Address. With his background in
  advertising and public relations, Schmidt will provide a glimpse
  into the inner workings of the American advertising industry.

• Sunday Morning Keynote
• "Pursuit of Excellence," Dec. 6, 8:30 a.m. to 10
  a.m. Lyn St. James – one of the top race-car drivers in the world
  – will deliver the Sunday Morning Keynote Address. She relays
  the triumphs and struggles that made her the person she is today
  and reveals the drive that pushes her toward her goals.

• Preceding St. James’ address will be a special performance
  by The Texas Boys Choir.