Automechanika Birmingham 2023 review www.aftermarketonline.net 50 AFTERMARKET JULY/AUGUST 2023 doing a great job.” Another well-known name that had a good show was Arnold Clark Autoparts, as Group Factor Manager Craig McCracken observed: “The show has been absolutely fantastic.” When we were there, visitors were being entertained by a magician, when they were not climbing over each other to take selfies with the Vampire drag racer. Craig continued: “We have showcased our products, and we had 250 sign-ups for our new trade website. By the end of day two, some of those new customers had already placed orders.” One-stop shop LKQ Euro Car Parts had a number of different stands at the show to cover all that they do, and Workshop Solutions Director Bob Wiffen noted: “We've had some great feedback, so it's been really good for us. It's all about dealing with change that happening right now. Some garages tend to believe hybrids and electric vehicles are a long way away, and I keep pointing out 40% of the vehicles sold last year were hybrids.” Head of Support Lee Chapman added: “We're trying to give a one-stop shop to every garage. Via LKQ Academy, we've got courses on anything the garage can possibly need.” Opportunities The training trend for us continued into the third day, which was officially student day, with hundreds of apprentice mechanics brought in from across the country to learn more about the industry. Autotech Recruit used the event to launch its new Toyota Talent Powered by Autotech Academy collaboration. The goal is to help increase the number of technicians working in its 240-strong Toyota and Lexus dealer network. Toyota General Manager Customer and Network Support Greg Culshaw said: “Our retailers across the UK offer outstanding working environments, structured genuine career progression supported with excellent world-leading training. We are therefore excited that these opportunities have now expanded with our initiative.” Autotech Group Managing Director Simon King added: “We will support Toyota’s recruitment objectives and ensure that each intern gets the best possible chance of securing a permanent position and long-term career at the end of the six months.” Future We next stopped by the BM Catalysts stand, where Commercial Director Mark Blinston said: “It’s been a really good show. One focus for us has been new technology, particularly the SCR offering. Our main focus however has been future technology and the development of the MOT. People have no idea what is coming. We are trying to separate out the cold end from the hot end element. Our challenge is to make sure we are ready for it.” Moving over to Melett, Country Manager Tom Irving said: “We have been reaching out to people. We want to make sure we are supplying what people want and what people need. We have been here to learn as much as possible.” We then took a moment to enjoy the comfortable chairs on the WAI stand, and spoke to Director of Commercial Operations Dimitri van Schilt. “We had a lot of visitors, and we were able to introduce new products, including our EV range. We are in a transitional period, and we are looking to the future.” Meanwhile, ISN Europe is looking to the future, while also bringing a name from the past back to life. The company used the show to launch its BALCO range, and through it is offering tyre changers, wheel balancers and wheel aligners. That isn’t to say that was all visitors found on the stand. “Our focus at the show is on Hofmann Megaplan and BALCO, along with Tyre Bay Direct,” said ISN Europe Head of Marketing Rich Swann. “With BALCO,” he added, “we are offering longevity, quality and ease of use.” LAUNCH UK were on a diagnostic kick for the duration of the event, and according to Managing Director Dave Richards it was proving very popular with attendees: “I have barely been able to step off the stand all week,” he observed. “We’ve had incredible footfall, and taken loads of orders for our products.” Some of those on the stand were hoping for a selfie with DPF influencer Jimmy O’Reilly, who was available to interact with the crowd. Over on the SNP Europe stand, Marketing Director Martin Turner said: “It’s been a really great show. It’s the first time we have exhibited at Automechanika Birmingham and I’ve been really pleased.” We then made a stop on the TechMan stand, where Training and Implementation Manager Mickey Wyckes said: “We have met a lot of new businesses, as well as existing customers. We were promoting our new KPI board, with which users can review many areas in the system.” Head-on Looking at what was achieved over the three days of the show, Marketing Director at event organisers Messe Frankfurt UK Alex Jones said: “We are absolutely blown away by how well the show was received. We’re so happy we could play a small part in supporting this wonderful industry tackle their vast and varied challenges head-on.” It was then up to Managing Director Simon Albert to sum everything up: “This was undoubtedly the best Automechanika Birmingham to date – not just because of the quality and number of attendees, but because of the overwhelming positive feedback we have received from exhibitors and visitors alike.” Looking ahead, the UK Garage and Bodyshop Event returns to the NEC 5-6 June 2024, with Automechanika Birmingham 2025 then roaring its way towards us from 3-5 June 2025. There is also the matter of Automechanika Frankfurt 2024, taking place 10-14 September, but that’s a story for another day.
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