SEMA, AAPEX bring wealth of knowledge to Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — Independent tire and auto repair shop owners planning to attend the 2021 SEMA Show and/or AAPEX in Las Vegas the first week of November will have a broad array of educational and marketing presentations available at either or both events.

Under the SEMA Show umbrella, visitors will have educational opportunities organized by the Specialty Equipment Market Association itself as well as by the Tire Industry Association (TIA) and SEMA's various councils, including the Wheel & Tire Council (WTC), during the show's Nov. 2-5 run.

The concurrent AAPEX will be held Nov. 2-4 at the Sands Expo and adjacent Caesar's Forum Conference Center. AAPEX is co-owned by the Auto Care Association (ACA) and the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA), the light vehicle aftermarket division of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA).

SEMA

The SEMA Show educational program kicks off Nov. 1 — ahead of the trade show's opening — at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), North Hall, with 14 seminars and concludes Nov. 5 with the SEMA Cruise parade of vehicles from the trade show and SEMA Ignited.

The trade show itself runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 2-4 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 5. The LVCC is expanded this year with the addition of the 1.4 million-sq.-ft. West Hall, which will house exhibitors from the Restyling & Car Care Accessories, Powersports & Utility Vehicles, and Truck, SUV & Off-Road sections, SEMA said.

COVID restrictions

Visitors to the LVCC will be required to wear a mask while indoors, according to protocols announced in late September by SEMA and based on prevailing COVID-19 indicators and trends in Clark County, Nev., at that time. SEMA and LVCC said they will adhere to the safety measures required by state and local health authorities.

Masks will not be required at SEMA Show features located throughout the LVCC's outdoor spaces, which cover over 1 million square feet.

Those planning to take in this year's AAPEX will have to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative COVID PCR test in order to gain entry to the event, according to the event's organizers, which said said they are evaluating the potential for onsite testing for those unable to be vaccinated or to obtain a negative PCR test prior to the show.

In addition, they noted that — while subject to change — Nevada requires masks for all indoor events in Las Vegas.

Historically, AAPEX has featured about 2,500 exhibiting companies. AAPEX buyers include automotive service and repair professionals, auto parts retailers, independent warehouse distributors, program groups, service chains, automotive dealers, fleet buyers and engine builders.

As for the SEMA Show, all educational opportunities organized by SEMA and TIA are being held at the LVCC in the North Hall or South Hall.

Tire Industry Association / Global Tire Expo

TIA's offerings, in the South Hall, include:

Nov. 2:

• Automotive at 10: Top 10 Tips for Technicians — 10-11 a.m. in Room S226. TIA's training team will discuss 10 things every tire tech should know and understand, such as torque and clamping force (RIST), vehicle lifting, plus-sizing, inflation safety and demounting, mounting and inflation, etc.
• Truck Tires at 10: Road Service Safety — 10-11 a.m., Room S227. A panel of tire service, health and safety professionals will look at all aspects of roadside service safety, including driver education
• Tires at 2: Successful Tire Dealers Share Their Secrets --- 2-3:30 p.m., Room S226. The recipients of the industry's top awards --- Modern Tire Dealer Tire Dealer of the Year, the Tire Business Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award winner and the Tire Review Top Shop winner --- will make brief presentations on what makes them successful and then participate in an informative question and answer session with the audience.

Nov. 3

• Automotive at 10: Preventing Ride Complaints — 10 to 11 a.m., Room S226. Speakers from Hennessy Industries Inc. and Hunter Engineering Co. will join TIA's training team to provide attendees with tips on addressing noise, vibration and harshness concerns and how they can use these tips to diagnose, repair and hopefully avoid comebacks altogether.
• Truck Tires at 10: Impact Wrench Technology — 10 to 11 a.m., Room S227. This session will address the 1-in. impact wrench debate and discuss the new generation of cordless impact wrenches.
• Management at 2: Training Technicians & Service Advisers with Micro-Learning and Artificial Intelligence — 2 to 3 p.m., Room S226. This session is a mobile teaching platform that optimizes delivery efficiencies via artificial intelligence driven adaptive micro learning. Five-minute daily training sessions identify knowledge gaps and deliver tailored instruction that can eliminate these.

In addition, TIA will be holding several events on Nov. 1 at its headquarters hotel, the Cosmopolitan, including:

• annual membership meeting, from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m.
• Industry Honors Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and
• Gala Centennial Evening, celebrating 100 years as a trade association, starting with a reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m., followed by an Anniversary Program from 7:30 to 10 p.m.

TIA also is the promoter of the Global Tire Expo, which occupies the ground floor of the LVCC's South Hall and encompasses exhibitors in the tire, wheel, tire/wheel servicing, etc. industries. The number of exhibitors shown on the floor plan as of early October was down over 40% versus 2019, the last time the show was held.

On Nov. 2 at 10 a.m., shortly after the show opens, SEMA market research executives Gavin Knapp, Matt Kennedy and Kyle Chang will present "SEMA State of the Industry" in Room N258.

A full list of SEMA education offerings is available at sema21.mysstaging.com.

Wheel & Tire Council

The WTC has put together its own program of events of interest to tire and wheel distributors, including a return of "The Stage," an open forum on the ground floor of the South Hall, featuring leading industry figures.

The WTC has scheduled six sessions at The Stage during the first three days of SEMA '21. The Stage events will take place at the Members Lounge South:

• Meet the new SEMA board of directors — Nov. 2 at 11 a.m., with Brian Reese, Larry Montante and Kyle Flicker. Incoming WTC Chairman Todd Steen, director of business development at Jackson Marketing Group, will moderate.
• Meet the WTC team — Nov. 2 at 3:30 p.m., with Mike Lusso, sustaining engineering manager, Hennessy Industries, Tyson Boyer, sales director, Dill Air Controls; and Mr. Steen. Steve Swanson of Carlstar Group will moderate.
• Five things you need to launch a product — Nov. 3 at 11 a.m., with Eric Morley of Blue C Advertising and Kathryn Reinhardt of 4 Wheel Parts.; Mr. Steen will moderate.
• Regulations and stipulations — Nov. 3 at 4 p.m., with Stuart Gosswein, senior director, federal government affairs of SEMA; Mr. Boyer will moderate.
• Impact of wheel changes on ADAS-equipped vehicles — Nov. 4 at 11 a.m., with Kaleb Silver, director of product management - systems technology · Hunter Engineering; and Mr. Lusso.
• E-Commerce, direct-to-consumer strategies — Nov. 4 at 4 p.m., with Chris Ripper, director of sales and marketing at Merchant Automotive L.L.C., and Mike Welch, CEO of American Tire Distributor Inc.'s Tirebuyer.com online tire sales platform; Mr. Steen will moderate.

AAPEX

At AAPEX, the exhibition areas at the Sands Expo and Caesars Forum will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and, for the first time, will include Repair Shop HQ, an area on Level 1 dedicated to the vehicle service center.

An expanded Tool and Equipment section and the Mobile Heat Transfer/Heating/Air Conditioning section also will relocate to Level 1. This area also will feature four training theaters, a new tire section and a section for diagnostics/telematics.

The new section also will feature "Joe's Garage," a working shop with eight bays, lifts, vehicles and a source-capture vehicle extraction system with product and equipment demonstrations.

The shop will feature demos of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) calibration and service, as well as undercar and underhood equipment. For front counter staff, product demos will include shop management software, customer relationship management programs, digital inspection software, website design and integrated and text-to-pay solutions.

AAPEX 2021 will kick off Nov. 2 with a "state of the aftermarket" presentation by ACA President Bill Hanvey and AASA President Paul McCarthy, followed by a buyers' panel of CEOs representing retail and warehouse distributor buyer companies.

Roundtable participants will include: Corey Bartlett, president and CEO of Automotive Parts Headquarters; Sue Godschalk, president of Federated Auto Parts; Tom Greco, president and CEO of Advance Auto Parts; Kevin Herron, president, U.S. Automotive, Genuine Parts Co.; Gregory Johnson, CEO and co-President of O'Reilly Auto Parts; and Bill Rhodes, president and CEO of AutoZone. Schoenbart, CEO of NPD Group, will moderate.

AAPEX 2021 will include three general sessions and numerous educational training session during the week.

On Nov. 2, Nathan Shipley, executive director, industry analyst for NPD Group's Automotive Aftermarket division, will present "Aftermarket Outlook 2022," covering trends in general retail and the aftermarket over the last six months and how they will impact 2022.

On Nov. 3, Todd Campau, associate director, aftermarket solutions at IHS Markit, will present "5 Trends in 5 Minutes," with an overview of key industry trends and insights affecting the global vehicle aftermarket.

On Nov. 4, Akshay Singh, partner, PwC Strategy&, and Carlos Thimann, director, PwC Strategy&, will present "The Impact of New Technologies on the Aftermarket Industry." This session will focus on a recent study that analyzed the impact of CASE technologies on the growth of the U.S. aftermarket through 2030.

Educational sessions will cover technician and management topics, including g ADAS systems, diagnostics, digital inspections, hybrid and EV vehicle service, sales strategies, workforce issues, hybrid and EV vehicles and how women can thrive in a male-dominated industry.

Other events include:

• Women In Auto Care will present awards at 4 p.m. on Nov. 3 to the 2021 Women of the Year and the recipients of the Automotive Communications Awards.
• The Young Auto Care Network Group (YANG), a community of the Auto Care Association geared toward the under-40 industry professionals will host its YANG Regional Meet-Up at 5 p.m. on Nov. 2.

On a less positive note, the Automotive Industries Association (AIA) of Canada has canceled its 2021 Canada Night event that was scheduled Nov. 2 during AAPEX.