Detore: Tire industry coming to a device near you

AKRON — The city listed in this dateline tells it all. In other years, our Tire Business team would be preparing to head to Las Vegas to bring you all the news and highlights from the SEMA Show.

We all know how that turned out.

Instead, our luggage sits empty, unpacked, as the majority of us continue to work from our homes.

Still, SEMA and its sister show, AAPEX, will go on virtually, and the beauty of that is you can participate from your home or shop, without having to sift through airport security, overcome jet lag, fight crowds or resist the temptation to play the slots.

You can find a list of some of the top virtual SEMA and AAPEX seminars here.

Several other SEMA-related events will go on virtually as well.

The events kicked off Oct. 27 when the Tire Industry Association (TIA) held its annual membership meeting. That's when TIA's outgoing president, Brian Rigney, president of Dill Air Controls Products L.L.C., handed the gavel over to incoming president Dan Nothdurft of Tires, Tires, Tires.

TIA will hold a scaled-down version of its Tire Industry Honors program that recognizes some of the tire industry's leaders on Nov. 2 from noon to 1 p.m. EST.

Messrs. Rigney and Nothdurft will speak, while TIA CEO Roy Littlefield and TIA Director of Government Affairs Roy Littlefield IV will provide a legislative review.

In addition, yours truly will present the 2020 Tire Business Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award, which for the last 27 years has recognized an independent tire dealer or retreader in North America who, during the past year, has made significant contributions to the betterment of his or her community through charitable and/or public service work. You won't want to miss the surprise our winner has in store for viewers.

That won't be your only chance to hear from our Humanitarian Award winner.

I will have the pleasure of discussing the winner's humanitarian efforts — as well as how he or she has achieved success in the tire industry — during a special livestream that we will bring you that week.

The hour-long event will be held Thursday, Nov. 5 at 2 p.m. EST. As is the case with every one of our editorial livestreams, the event is free, and viewers will have the chance to ask questions directly to our guest.

You won't want to miss that one. Without betraying this person's identity, this year's Humanitarian Award winner has some fascinating stories.

And you also should check out our "Ask the Experts" livestreams that also will be held that week. Here's a rundown, by day (all times EST):

Monday, Nov. 2, 12:30-1 p.m.: "Why the Tire Industry Must Change"

Dan Molloy, Jeff Tucker and Neal Maier from Molloy Sales and Development Group discuss why dealers should change their thought process going into the future, as new thinking and distinctions can open the door to increased productivity.

Tuesday, Nov. 3, 12:30-1 p.m.: "Don't Lose Customers or Extra Sales — OEM Wheels, Easier than You Think"

Billy Eordekian of 1-800EveryRim OEM Wheels offers a plan on how to increase sales and retain customers by pushing the sale of OEM wheel replacement.

Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2:30-3 p.m.: "Specialty Tire Sales During a Pandemic"

John Inchiostro and Joe Inchiostro of St. Louis Wholesale Tire will update the state of the specialty tire segment, current supply challenges brought on by the pandemic and the outlook moving into 2021, while offering advice to minimize the effects on business to emerge stronger than ever.

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 12:30-1 p.m.: "Trends in Tires and How to Repair Them"

Brent Klomparens of Tech Tire Repairs will clear up some misinformation in the market regarding the repairability of sound-suppression tires, being developed to combat road noise generated by electric vehicles.

Be sure to register for as many of these events that you can. Since you can't physically attend SEMA this year, the industry is bringing it right to your home instead.