AAPEX eyes tire service as part of Repair Shop HQ at 2020 show

LAS VEGAS — For years the Global Tire Expo – Powered by TIA (Tire Industry Association) at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas has been the home for exhibiting tire manufacturers, wheel suppliers and tire-service equipment companies.

Now the concurrent Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) wants a piece of the tire business action.

"In recent years, AAPEX attendees have been asking for a section dedicated to the products and equipment they need for balancing, align and service tires," AAPEX organizers said Nov. 5 halfway through the 2019 Expo at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas.

• This story appears on the Nov. 25 print edition of Tire Business.

"More shops than ever are looking for additional revenue streams and expanding into new lines of business — and tires are a smart addition. In response to this demand, AAPEX now offers a special section of the show floor for this growing sector."

The Auto Care Association (ACA) and the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) co-own AAPEX, which is geared to automotive service professionals, auto parts retailers, warehouse distributors, service chains, auto dealers, fleet buyers and engine builders.

Meanwhile, the much larger SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center hosts the tire expo along with sections exhibiting products and accessories for repairing, modifying, tuning and accessorizing vehicles.

Both trade shows restrict attendance to credentialed industry professionals.

"We are creating a new space next year on level 1 (of the Sands Expo) called Repair Shop HQ, where anything and everything that the service professional needs can be found," ACA President and CEO Bill Hanvey announced at the show.

"Several of the show floor sections you're used to seeing will live there, including Tool and Equipment, Mobility Garage and training, plus a brand-new tire section."

Mark Bogdansky, ACA vice president of meetings and events, told Tire Business that the Repair Shop HQ and the new tire section have been in the works for about a year.

"We've been hearing requests for it longer than that," he said.

He said that until now, AAPEX was unable to expand in the Sands Expo space but will be able to starting in 2020, using space created by the construction of the Caesars Forum convention center next door. AAPEX will be expanding into that location as well.

"There will be compelling changes to attract more technicians to AAPEX," Paul McCarthy, AASA president and chief operating officer, said.

"Next year in Repair Shop HQ, you'll find a fully built-out shop on the show floor where service professionals can get real hands-on training. We are enhancing and expanding training to include even more on alternative vehicle technologies, as well as undercar and underhood. We will be bringing in some of the country's leading shop trainers to help us in this endeavor."

Mr. Bogdansky said he "absolutely" expects the expansion to boost the number of attendees and exhibitors at the show next year, especially attracting more technicians and repair shops.

AAPEX 2019 hosted exhibitors on two floors of exhibit halls in the Sands Expo and offered training sessions and presentations in the adjoining lobbies and meeting rooms.

Next year, the international exhibitors housed on the lower level exhibit hall will move to space in the Caesars Forum, with some companies relocating to the upper level exhibit hall, according to Mr. Bogdansky. Attendees will be able to visit Caesars Forum via a pedestrian bridge.

The vacated lower level exhibit hall in Sands Expo will house the Repair Shop HQ.

"We're not looking to fill the whole (level 1 exhibit hall) space the first year. It's a three- or four-year growth plan for us," he said.

"To do training, we're actually going to be creating and building out a shop on the floor with somewhere between four and six bays for people to be able to go in and play with all the different things. So there's a lot going on down there," Mr. Bogdansky said.

"One of the things that we hear from the shops and the technicians who are coming to AAPEX more and more regularly is just how hard it is for them to navigate their way around the show," Mr. Bogdansky said.

"And so we're making this the destination for them to come find everything they need down there in one place and make it easier for them to be able to walk around and find the things that they want for their shops.

"The tire section came about, A, because the shops are saying tires are a big part of our business, and also because we're having a number of tire companies and tire accessory companies who are not able to get into AAPEX, because we just didn't have the room to expand, who are trying to do business at AAPEX. And they are interested in being at AAPEX," he continued.

"So now we have an opportunity for the tire accessory companies that we currently have — they want to be together in a section like this — and for the tire companies and tire accessory companies that want to be at AAPEX — we now have a place for them."

So will AAPEX be competing with the Global Tire Expo for tire industry exhibitors?

"We are not calling on anyone who is currently exhibiting at SEMA," Mr. Bogdansky said. "TIA runs their Global Tire Expo. We are not engaging with TIA. So we are not actively infringing on anything that SEMA is doing.

"If there are companies that we're currently doing business with at AAPEX that want to be down there, that's great. If there are companies that are no longer at SEMA that feel the need to be part of the AAPEX/SEMA week, we welcome them. If there are companies that call us and say, 'Hey, we want to be part of this,' we are certainly going to say, 'Yes.'

"The key is we're not calling anybody who's (at SEMA). And we have a number of companies that exhibit at both shows. So it's not like this is the first time this is happening," the ACA exec said.

"We are doing this to answer the need that companies have asked us to provide. There are companies who we find at AAPEX and they are doing their business at AAPEX and want to be able to be there."

Tom Gattuso, SEMA's vice president of events, told Tire Business: "AAPEX's new tire service component area will add greater value to what is already an amazing Industry Week. As part of AAIW (Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week), the new section will make the SEMA and AAPEX shows the best place to learn and to grow a business."

Mr. Bogdansky said he has received interest from tire manufacturers regarding AAPEX 2020 but declined to name any companies.

"We've had very good conversations. I'm not ready to announce anything yet. But it will be coming," he said.

TIA declined to comment on AAPEX's plans.

According to the 2019 AAPEX Buyer's Guide, there were 88 companies listed under the Tire & Wheel Accessories category, including a dozen or so that also were at SEMA. Noticeably absent from the list were marketers of tire changers, tire/wheel balancing equipment, wheel alignment equipment or vehicle lifts.

AAPEX has drawn about 50,000 registered buyers and 2,500 exhibiting companies in recent years with between 5,400 and 5,600 booths filling about 540,000 square feet of floor space. The Caesars Forum venue will add about 160,000 square feet of exhibit space, Mr. Bogdansky said.