If you’re reading this, you probably didn’t make it to NACE | CARS this year in Anaheim. If you did, you know what I’m going to say: it was the best NACE | CARS I’ve been to in years. The number of exhibitors was the highest in many years, and the training was unparalleled.
Let’s start with the exhibitors. It has been a long time since all the automobile manufacturers have been present. This year, they all had significant presences and staff on the show floor. This is a milestone for the collision repair industry. They create and build our vehicles, and who better to keep us up on recent technologies? (More on that later). Additionally, the floor was full of innovation and technology, everything from state-of-the-art repair items to technology items and systems to make your shop more efficient and profitable. Take a look in the pages of BodyShop Business to review many of these products in our Product Showcase section each issue.
From a training perspective, the offerings were staggering. Each day had so many offerings it was difficult to decide which session to attend. There was truly something there for everyone. From legislation to I-CAR classes, one person couldn’t possibly catch them all. As I mentioned before, the OE involvement was very intense. In today’s world of sophisticated design and materials, the automakers play an integral part in keeping us in the collision repair space informed. Each day, the manufacturers had multiple sessions on all of their new technologies and techniques. This level of information is simply not available in any other one place.
Today, things are moving at a very fast pace. Change is inevitable, and we must stay with it in our industry. Telematics, collision avoidance, legislation and vehicle sophistication are only a few of the hurdles to overcome in our businesses today. I for one am glad ASA is committed to bringing us events like NACE | CARS to keep us all informed.
