By Monika Earle

	The rollers are being resurfaced on the SEMA Garage’s dyno.
	Using the SEMA Garage’s new 3D printer, members are able to print durable products in up to nine different materials as large as 16x14x16 in.

SEMA council and network members recently gathered at the SEMA Garage, where they received an advance preview of some of the upgrades and improvements being made to the product development center in Diamond Bar, California. Since opening less than two years ago, the 15,000-sq.-ft. facility has served as an industry resource to help manufacturers develop products quickly and cost effectively.

The SEMA Garage is currently undergoing renovations and will include upgraded equipment and new technology that will better serve the industry’s needs.

“The SEMA Garage has proven to be a valuable resource to the industry,” said Mike Spagnola, SEMA vice president of OEM and product development. “We are excited to build upon the success that we’ve seen and bring new, upgraded equipment to the Garage.”

Among the new tools and equipment that will be available at the SEMA Garage include:

• 3D Scanner: Your engineers, quality control and analytic departments will be able to create and obtain custom scans on the products of your choice. An upgraded scanner (FARO Edge ScanArm HD with rapid point cloud collection) features improved resolution with greater accuracy, reducing the product development cycle from months to weeks.

• 3D Printer: Create, print and test physical models of your products before investing in production costs. Using the SEMA Garage’s new 3D printer (Fortus 450mc 3D production system), members are able to print durable products in up to nine different materials as large as 16x14x16 in.

• Emissions and Dyno Lab: SEMA members will be able to obtain emissions certification and test performance products in the purpose-built lab that is being renovated to include the newest and most advanced tools, including state-of-the-art AVL equipment, new dyno and lab upgrades. Everything, including expert staff who work as advocates for members, is available to assist members and streamline the certification process.

• Training Center: Whether members want to hold sales meetings, film training videos or host a customer appreciation celebration, the training center will serve as an ideal location. Situated on the second floor of the SEMA Garage, the space is being expanded to accommodate a larger group, and new A/V equipment will offer members greater options for their presentations.

Renovations are scheduled to be completed by August 2015. In the meantime, the photo studio—which includes a photo cove large enough to accommodate a full-sized vehicle—is available for use. Expert staff are available to keep members seeking emissions certification and exclusive member Measuring Sessions continue to be scheduled.

For details about the SEMA Garage, contact Rachael Salazar at rachaels@sema.org or visit www.semagarage.com.

By Monika Earle

	The rollers are being resurfaced on the SEMA Garage’s dyno.
	Using the SEMA Garage’s new 3D printer, members are able to print durable products in up to nine different materials as large as 16x14x16 in.

SEMA council and network members recently gathered at the SEMA Garage, where they received an advance preview of some of the upgrades and improvements being made to the product development center in Diamond Bar, California. Since opening less than two years ago, the 15,000-sq.-ft. facility has served as an industry resource to help manufacturers develop products quickly and cost effectively.

The SEMA Garage is currently undergoing renovations and will include upgraded equipment and new technology that will better serve the industry’s needs.

“The SEMA Garage has proven to be a valuable resource to the industry,” said Mike Spagnola, SEMA vice president of OEM and product development. “We are excited to build upon the success that we’ve seen and bring new, upgraded equipment to the Garage.”

Among the new tools and equipment that will be available at the SEMA Garage include:

• 3D Scanner: Your engineers, quality control and analytic departments will be able to create and obtain custom scans on the products of your choice. An upgraded scanner (FARO Edge ScanArm HD with rapid point cloud collection) features improved resolution with greater accuracy, reducing the product development cycle from months to weeks.

• 3D Printer: Create, print and test physical models of your products before investing in production costs. Using the SEMA Garage’s new 3D printer (Fortus 450mc 3D production system), members are able to print durable products in up to nine different materials as large as 16x14x16 in.

• Emissions and Dyno Lab: SEMA members will be able to obtain emissions certification and test performance products in the purpose-built lab that is being renovated to include the newest and most advanced tools, including state-of-the-art AVL equipment, new dyno and lab upgrades. Everything, including expert staff who work as advocates for members, is available to assist members and streamline the certification process.

• Training Center: Whether members want to hold sales meetings, film training videos or host a customer appreciation celebration, the training center will serve as an ideal location. Situated on the second floor of the SEMA Garage, the space is being expanded to accommodate a larger group, and new A/V equipment will offer members greater options for their presentations.

Renovations are scheduled to be completed by August 2015. In the meantime, the photo studio—which includes a photo cove large enough to accommodate a full-sized vehicle—is available for use. Expert staff are available to keep members seeking emissions certification and exclusive member Measuring Sessions continue to be scheduled.

For details about the SEMA Garage, contact Rachael Salazar at rachaels@sema.org or visit www.semagarage.com.

	Applications for the 2015 SEMA Launch Pad, Presented by YEN will be accepted through July 3, 2015. For more information, and to apply, visit www.sema.org/launch-pad.

Amanda Gubbins

SEMA’s Launch Pad competition, now entering its third year, is designed to give automotive innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs under the age of 40 an industry platform for their budding businesses. Applicants from SEMA’s Young Executives Network (YEN) first submit a video introduction to their product or service. A task force of peers carefully evaluates each submission to narrow down the top 10, who advance to a social media voting round. Ultimately, the final five pitch their business plans at the SEMA Show, where a judging panel selects the winner of a comprehensive prize package.

Shawn Chartier participated in the 2014 competition and took his business into the top 10. Custom Offsets LLC is an online gallery of vehicle photos, showcasing custom-wheel installation options for different makes and models.

“People can come out to our website and add their vehicle, but they’ve got to add all of the specs of the wheel sizes, the tire sizes, the suspension information, if they did any modifications as far as trimming and all of that,” Chartier explained. “And we made it so that people can very quickly use filters and search that entire gallery.”

Nearly a year ago, when Chartier applied for Launch Pad, the website included about 2,000 vehicles. He recalls that the site averaged 1,000 views per day. Users also had the option to purchase the wheels and tires through the website, which netted about $100,000 each month. Today, Custom Offsets has greatly increased all of those numbers: 5,000 vehicles, 10,000 daily site visits and $500,000 in sales each month.

Chartier attributes much of this growth and credibility to the Launch Pad competition. In the early days, he saw online chatter questioning if the company was real or not.

“We put the SEMA logo on our website immediately when we became members because we were just really proud to get to the point where we could show that we were a legitimate business, and that we were here to stay. And putting that in front of people, we started to see those questions go away because it just helped establish that we were legitimate,” he said.

While Custom Offsets did not make it to the final round of the competition, Chartier says the experience was worth it for the feedback he gained. Each of the top 10 contestants was invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with the judges following the live competition, allowing them to learn from industry veterans.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day work and keep working on selling wheels and tires and keep working on improving the website—but sometimes you’ve got to step back and also play CEO. Think about where the business is going in the next one to three years and who we want to be when we grow up,” said Chartier.

Chartier also competed in “Shark Tank,” and hopes there will be more competitions in store for Custom Offsets in the future—experiences, he says, keep the company thinking about the big picture.

Applications for the 2015 SEMA Launch Pad, Presented by YEN will be accepted through July 3, 2015. For more information, and to apply, visit www.sema.org/launch-pad. For more information, contact Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org.

	Applications for the 2015 SEMA Launch Pad, Presented by YEN will be accepted through July 3, 2015. For more information, and to apply, visit www.sema.org/launch-pad.

Amanda Gubbins

SEMA’s Launch Pad competition, now entering its third year, is designed to give automotive innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs under the age of 40 an industry platform for their budding businesses. Applicants from SEMA’s Young Executives Network (YEN) first submit a video introduction to their product or service. A task force of peers carefully evaluates each submission to narrow down the top 10, who advance to a social media voting round. Ultimately, the final five pitch their business plans at the SEMA Show, where a judging panel selects the winner of a comprehensive prize package.

Shawn Chartier participated in the 2014 competition and took his business into the top 10. Custom Offsets LLC is an online gallery of vehicle photos, showcasing custom-wheel installation options for different makes and models.

“People can come out to our website and add their vehicle, but they’ve got to add all of the specs of the wheel sizes, the tire sizes, the suspension information, if they did any modifications as far as trimming and all of that,” Chartier explained. “And we made it so that people can very quickly use filters and search that entire gallery.”

Nearly a year ago, when Chartier applied for Launch Pad, the website included about 2,000 vehicles. He recalls that the site averaged 1,000 views per day. Users also had the option to purchase the wheels and tires through the website, which netted about $100,000 each month. Today, Custom Offsets has greatly increased all of those numbers: 5,000 vehicles, 10,000 daily site visits and $500,000 in sales each month.

Chartier attributes much of this growth and credibility to the Launch Pad competition. In the early days, he saw online chatter questioning if the company was real or not.

“We put the SEMA logo on our website immediately when we became members because we were just really proud to get to the point where we could show that we were a legitimate business, and that we were here to stay. And putting that in front of people, we started to see those questions go away because it just helped establish that we were legitimate,” he said.

While Custom Offsets did not make it to the final round of the competition, Chartier says the experience was worth it for the feedback he gained. Each of the top 10 contestants was invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with the judges following the live competition, allowing them to learn from industry veterans.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day work and keep working on selling wheels and tires and keep working on improving the website—but sometimes you’ve got to step back and also play CEO. Think about where the business is going in the next one to three years and who we want to be when we grow up,” said Chartier.

Chartier also competed in “Shark Tank,” and hopes there will be more competitions in store for Custom Offsets in the future—experiences, he says, keep the company thinking about the big picture.

Applications for the 2015 SEMA Launch Pad, Presented by YEN will be accepted through July 3, 2015. For more information, and to apply, visit www.sema.org/launch-pad. For more information, contact Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org.

	Applications for the 2015 SEMA Launch Pad, Presented by YEN will be accepted through July 3, 2015. For more information, and to apply, visit www.sema.org/launch-pad.

Amanda Gubbins

SEMA’s Launch Pad competition, now entering its third year, is designed to give automotive innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs under the age of 40 an industry platform for their budding businesses. Applicants from SEMA’s Young Executives Network (YEN) first submit a video introduction to their product or service. A task force of peers carefully evaluates each submission to narrow down the top 10, who advance to a social media voting round. Ultimately, the final five pitch their business plans at the SEMA Show, where a judging panel selects the winner of a comprehensive prize package.

Shawn Chartier participated in the 2014 competition and took his business into the top 10. Custom Offsets LLC is an online gallery of vehicle photos, showcasing custom-wheel installation options for different makes and models.

“People can come out to our website and add their vehicle, but they’ve got to add all of the specs of the wheel sizes, the tire sizes, the suspension information, if they did any modifications as far as trimming and all of that,” Chartier explained. “And we made it so that people can very quickly use filters and search that entire gallery.”

Nearly a year ago, when Chartier applied for Launch Pad, the website included about 2,000 vehicles. He recalls that the site averaged 1,000 views per day. Users also had the option to purchase the wheels and tires through the website, which netted about $100,000 each month. Today, Custom Offsets has greatly increased all of those numbers: 5,000 vehicles, 10,000 daily site visits and $500,000 in sales each month.

Chartier attributes much of this growth and credibility to the Launch Pad competition. In the early days, he saw online chatter questioning if the company was real or not.

“We put the SEMA logo on our website immediately when we became members because we were just really proud to get to the point where we could show that we were a legitimate business, and that we were here to stay. And putting that in front of people, we started to see those questions go away because it just helped establish that we were legitimate,” he said.

While Custom Offsets did not make it to the final round of the competition, Chartier says the experience was worth it for the feedback he gained. Each of the top 10 contestants was invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with the judges following the live competition, allowing them to learn from industry veterans.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day work and keep working on selling wheels and tires and keep working on improving the website—but sometimes you’ve got to step back and also play CEO. Think about where the business is going in the next one to three years and who we want to be when we grow up,” said Chartier.

Chartier also competed in “Shark Tank,” and hopes there will be more competitions in store for Custom Offsets in the future—experiences, he says, keep the company thinking about the big picture.

Applications for the 2015 SEMA Launch Pad, Presented by YEN will be accepted through July 3, 2015. For more information, and to apply, visit www.sema.org/launch-pad. For more information, contact Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org.

	Applications for the 2015 SEMA Launch Pad, Presented by YEN will be accepted through July 3, 2015. For more information, and to apply, visit www.sema.org/launch-pad.

Amanda Gubbins

SEMA’s Launch Pad competition, now entering its third year, is designed to give automotive innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs under the age of 40 an industry platform for their budding businesses. Applicants from SEMA’s Young Executives Network (YEN) first submit a video introduction to their product or service. A task force of peers carefully evaluates each submission to narrow down the top 10, who advance to a social media voting round. Ultimately, the final five pitch their business plans at the SEMA Show, where a judging panel selects the winner of a comprehensive prize package.

Shawn Chartier participated in the 2014 competition and took his business into the top 10. Custom Offsets LLC is an online gallery of vehicle photos, showcasing custom-wheel installation options for different makes and models.

“People can come out to our website and add their vehicle, but they’ve got to add all of the specs of the wheel sizes, the tire sizes, the suspension information, if they did any modifications as far as trimming and all of that,” Chartier explained. “And we made it so that people can very quickly use filters and search that entire gallery.”

Nearly a year ago, when Chartier applied for Launch Pad, the website included about 2,000 vehicles. He recalls that the site averaged 1,000 views per day. Users also had the option to purchase the wheels and tires through the website, which netted about $100,000 each month. Today, Custom Offsets has greatly increased all of those numbers: 5,000 vehicles, 10,000 daily site visits and $500,000 in sales each month.

Chartier attributes much of this growth and credibility to the Launch Pad competition. In the early days, he saw online chatter questioning if the company was real or not.

“We put the SEMA logo on our website immediately when we became members because we were just really proud to get to the point where we could show that we were a legitimate business, and that we were here to stay. And putting that in front of people, we started to see those questions go away because it just helped establish that we were legitimate,” he said.

While Custom Offsets did not make it to the final round of the competition, Chartier says the experience was worth it for the feedback he gained. Each of the top 10 contestants was invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with the judges following the live competition, allowing them to learn from industry veterans.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day work and keep working on selling wheels and tires and keep working on improving the website—but sometimes you’ve got to step back and also play CEO. Think about where the business is going in the next one to three years and who we want to be when we grow up,” said Chartier.

Chartier also competed in “Shark Tank,” and hopes there will be more competitions in store for Custom Offsets in the future—experiences, he says, keep the company thinking about the big picture.

Applications for the 2015 SEMA Launch Pad, Presented by YEN will be accepted through July 3, 2015. For more information, and to apply, visit www.sema.org/launch-pad. For more information, contact Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org.

	Applications for the 2015 SEMA Launch Pad, Presented by YEN will be accepted through July 3, 2015. For more information, and to apply, visit www.sema.org/launch-pad.

Amanda Gubbins

SEMA’s Launch Pad competition, now entering its third year, is designed to give automotive innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs under the age of 40 an industry platform for their budding businesses. Applicants from SEMA’s Young Executives Network (YEN) first submit a video introduction to their product or service. A task force of peers carefully evaluates each submission to narrow down the top 10, who advance to a social media voting round. Ultimately, the final five pitch their business plans at the SEMA Show, where a judging panel selects the winner of a comprehensive prize package.

Shawn Chartier participated in the 2014 competition and took his business into the top 10. Custom Offsets LLC is an online gallery of vehicle photos, showcasing custom-wheel installation options for different makes and models.

“People can come out to our website and add their vehicle, but they’ve got to add all of the specs of the wheel sizes, the tire sizes, the suspension information, if they did any modifications as far as trimming and all of that,” Chartier explained. “And we made it so that people can very quickly use filters and search that entire gallery.”

Nearly a year ago, when Chartier applied for Launch Pad, the website included about 2,000 vehicles. He recalls that the site averaged 1,000 views per day. Users also had the option to purchase the wheels and tires through the website, which netted about $100,000 each month. Today, Custom Offsets has greatly increased all of those numbers: 5,000 vehicles, 10,000 daily site visits and $500,000 in sales each month.

Chartier attributes much of this growth and credibility to the Launch Pad competition. In the early days, he saw online chatter questioning if the company was real or not.

“We put the SEMA logo on our website immediately when we became members because we were just really proud to get to the point where we could show that we were a legitimate business, and that we were here to stay. And putting that in front of people, we started to see those questions go away because it just helped establish that we were legitimate,” he said.

While Custom Offsets did not make it to the final round of the competition, Chartier says the experience was worth it for the feedback he gained. Each of the top 10 contestants was invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with the judges following the live competition, allowing them to learn from industry veterans.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day work and keep working on selling wheels and tires and keep working on improving the website—but sometimes you’ve got to step back and also play CEO. Think about where the business is going in the next one to three years and who we want to be when we grow up,” said Chartier.

Chartier also competed in “Shark Tank,” and hopes there will be more competitions in store for Custom Offsets in the future—experiences, he says, keep the company thinking about the big picture.

Applications for the 2015 SEMA Launch Pad, Presented by YEN will be accepted through July 3, 2015. For more information, and to apply, visit www.sema.org/launch-pad. For more information, contact Bryan Harrison at bryanh@sema.org.

The automotive aftermarket owes quite a bit to hot rodders. While, technically, the industry existed prior to the street scene of the ’50s, it was hot rodders who sparked the explosion of innovative performance and appearance products that now characterize the heart and soul of the automotive specialty-equipment market.

They made tinkering with, modifying and personalizing cars cool, catapulting the industry into the $33-billion powerhouse it is today. And although the industry has since grown and broadened to encompass a dizzying array of products and trends in countless categories, hot rodding has hardly faded from the scene.

The automotive aftermarket owes quite a bit to hot rodders. While, technically, the industry existed prior to the street scene of the ’50s, it was hot rodders who sparked the explosion of innovative performance and appearance products that now characterize the heart and soul of the automotive specialty-equipment market.

They made tinkering with, modifying and personalizing cars cool, catapulting the industry into the $33-billion powerhouse it is today. And although the industry has since grown and broadened to encompass a dizzying array of products and trends in countless categories, hot rodding has hardly faded from the scene.

The automotive aftermarket owes quite a bit to hot rodders. While, technically, the industry existed prior to the street scene of the ’50s, it was hot rodders who sparked the explosion of innovative performance and appearance products that now characterize the heart and soul of the automotive specialty-equipment market.

They made tinkering with, modifying and personalizing cars cool, catapulting the industry into the $33-billion powerhouse it is today. And although the industry has since grown and broadened to encompass a dizzying array of products and trends in countless categories, hot rodding has hardly faded from the scene.