Federated-KOI cavalcade sets record attendance

STAUNTON, Va. (Jan. 23, 2015) — Federated Auto Parts and its long-time member KOI Auto Parts recently held their 55th annual Cavalcade of Customs and Training Expo in Cincinnati to the tune of a record crowd.

The event, Jan. 9-11, saw an increase in attendance of over 19 percent from the previous year's record crowd, Federated said.

“The 55th annual Cavalcade of Customs was a big hit with the general public as well as our service technician customers,” said Dave Wesselman, president of KOI Auto Parts. “We offered a little bit of everything from custom cars, hot rods and live music to an extensive line-up of technical training and workshops. We also held a student day that had participation from 12 Cincinnati-area schools.

“We want to thank all the participating vendors and everyone who came out and enjoyed the show for making this year's Cavalcade the best ever.”

During the vendor trade show, KOI offered 32 types of training workshops for a total of 81 sessions. A record-setting 754 service technicians, shop owners and shop managers attended multiple training classes taught by instructors from Federated/KOI vendor partners, according to the companies.

New for this year, KOI hosted Federated Car Care Program classes as well as shop management classes presented by Fisher Auto Parts. Before the show officially opened, KOI also hosted a student day event for more than 320 local vocational school students and their teachers, who heard from various speakers in the industry and were able to tour the car show before it opened to the public.

Federated said the show's vendor area was opened up exclusively on Jan. 8 to KOI store managers, regional managers and outside sales people so key personnel could speak with the 68 participating supplier partners and learn more about their product offerings.

NASCAR legend Kenny Schrader, a longtime Federated spokesman, and Kevin Byrd, co-host of Two Guys Garage on MAVTV, made celebrity appearances in several of the training classes, employee meetings and also signed autographs on the show floor.

Cincinnati-based KOI serves almost 20,000 customers including professional repair garages, collision centers, car dealerships and individual customers through 72 store locations. In business for more than 60 years, KOI has been a Federated Auto Parts member since 1987.

Federated, with headquarters in Staunton, is one of North America's largest auto parts distribution and marketing organizations.