By Ashley Reyes

Carter Anderson is the SEMA Young Executives Network’s (YEN) newest Spotlight member. Anderson is the marketing manager at Keystone Automotive Operations—a leading distributor and marketer of specialty automotive equipment and accessories. Learn more about him, including what allows him to keep growing professionally, in his Q&A with SEMA.

SEMA: What is the best advice you have ever received?

Carter Anderson: Never Stop Learning.

SEMA: What keeps you in the industry?

CA: The constant change. This allows me to continually grow professionally, experience more within the industry, push my comfort zone and ultimately have more fun.

SEMA: Where can you be found on a Saturday?

CA: On my Harley heading to Downtown Dallas for brunch.

SEMA: How do you prepare for an important meeting?

CA: Prepared with an agenda, ready to offer solutions and equipped with an extra pen for the individual who forgot theirs.

SEMA: If you could go to lunch with one industry leader, living or dead, who it would be?

CA: Elon Musk, because why not?

By Ashley Reyes

Colby McLaughlin is this week’s SEMA Professional Restylers Organization (PRO) Volunteer Spotlight member.

McLaughlin is a PRO select committee member and president of Trim Illusion Inc. Check out his video to learn more about his experience volunteering for SEMA and what inspires him about the automotive restyling industry.

SEMA: What inspired you to pursue a career in restyling/manufacturing?   

Colby McLaughlin: My passion for cars started when I was younger. Going to Woodward and the Dream Cruise in Detroit, I loved how every car was unique. Despite being a hobby for my dad, my parents wanted me to pursue higher goals for my career. I wanted to prove that just because my desire to be in restyling didn't mean that I was going to be stuck in a path with no potential for growth. There are so many opportunities in our segment. Whether you want to be a photographer, journalist, executive or technician, the demand is high.

SEMA: Why did you decide to volunteer for PRO? How has it or will it impact you?

CM: PRO is full of incredibly driven and intelligent people. They’re the front line pushing to better our industry. I wanted to not just network with similar manufacturers, but also our customer base that volunteer. It has not only increased our sales but also strengthened relationships that wouldn’t happen during office hours.

SEMA: What advice do you have for someone pursuing a career in the automotive aftermarket?

CM: Keep your mind open to the opportunities. This industry is evolving exponentially. Finding a mentor early can be difficult, but will come naturally if you’re with the right company. Having mentors in my life has helped me tremendously; it’s helped me grow both as a person and in business.
My personal passions are cars and business, so I am constantly reading about both.  

SEMA: What is your dream vehicle?

CM: My dream vehicle would be a ‘67 Camaro. You would find me cruising on a beach.

SEMA: What is the best advice you have ever received?

CM: My first mentor, in the inside of the first book he sent me, wrote on front page, “In order to be a great manager, you must first be a great leader.” As simple as it sounds, it shaped my mindset to be in the front leading, rather than sitting back and managing.

SEMA: What keeps you in the industry?

CM: Being around like-minded people with an unending passion for our industry.

SEMA: On a Saturday, where can you be found?

CM: You can find me playing Uno by the pool with my amazing wife.

By Ashley Reyes

The SEMA Businesswomen’s Network (SBN) named Tiffanie Hartenstein as this week’s #SheIsSEMA Spotlight Member. Hartenstein is the CEO of Oracle Lighting, which manufactures designer lighting products and technologies for the automotive powersports, motorcycle and marine markets.

SEMA: What is most challenging part of running your business or job?

TH: Keeping our teams motivated and communication flowing throughout all departments. We are lucky to have top-notch staff this year, which makes it a bit easier. Keeping our team's morale high is key to providing the best service possible to our customers.

SEMA: How many years have you been in the industry and what was your first industry job?

TH: This was my first industry job. Our business was very small when it started so there were no titles. My husband, who founded Oracle Lighting, and I wore all the hats. We were sales, shipping, customer service, marketing, product development, all at once, between the two of us. Thankfully now we have a large and talented team of people who can take over each of these departments.

SEMA: What are three qualities that got you to where you are today? How have these qualities benefited you?

TH: Stamina, resilience and faith. Building and growing a successful business is a monumental task. The saying “heavy is the head that wears the crown” really fits how I felt over and over again during the past 15 years. Thankfully I have the stamina to stick through the difficulties and resiliency to bounce back if we take a hit. I have always carried unbreakable faith that our business will be successful. There is never any doubt that we cannot achieve each goal we set.

SEMA: Being a woman in the industry, what have been your biggest challenges and accomplishments? Do you have a specific situation that comes to mind?

TH: There have been many challenges as a woman in this male-dominated industry. I see these same struggles for the females in my sales and customer service team as well. Unfortunately, we come in contact with men who prefer to speak with another male, assuming that we cannot answer their question with the same depth of knowledge. Thanks to SBN pushing for female advocacy in our industry, I've seen this improving greatly in the past few years.  

SEMA: Who are your role models or mentors in the industry? How have they helped you along the way?

TH: I think Donna Foulger is a great role model in the industry. As the first female inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame, her presence was felt as an important part of SEMA's established growth. Her faith and dedication to build something that could last through generations is inspiring.

SEMA: Have you always wanted to work in the automotive industry? What keeps you here?

TH: As much as I love this industry, I didn't know it until I was in it. The automotive enthusiast culture is fast-paced and ever-changing. I love the innovation and family feel of our industry.

By SEMA Editors

Mobil 1 has purchased the title sponsorship of the PRI Road Tour’s TV Show, which is broadcast on Speed Sport TV.

PRI has been traveling across the country, visiting motorsports businesses from coast to coast, while collecting, generating and distributing content to help promote the racing community.

Mobil 1 is powering the Road Tour by providing the OE-recommended oil during the cross-country trip. The Road Tour's official vehicle—a Mercedes Sprinter van—uses Mobil 1 oil, and the last stop on the tour is one of Mobil 1’s other partners, Toyota TRD’s facility in Costa Mesa, California, Friday, December 18.

For more information, visit the PRI Road Tour website.

By Fredy Ramirez

SEMA eNews highlights new products from industry companies each week. To have your product considered for upcoming issues, send product press releases to editors@sema.org.

Polyvance Hood Repair Kit

Polyvance announces the availability of its Kenworth T880 hood repair kit. The repair kit is designed to create a repair that is stronger than the original. The kit includes two custom-cast aluminum cups that fit over the bulges in the hood where the struts mount. The cups are bonded to the hood over a very large area using a two-component methacrylate adhesive. The kit includes two kits of the adhesive, one for each cup.

800-633-3047
www.polyvance.com
PN: Vary

FTI Performance Gen 3 XPM

FTI Performance introduces the Gen 3 XPM billet bolt together torque converter line. Each piece in the converter is designed to be interchangeable to make it self-tunable and features multiple options for various components.

Multiple options for the billet stators are available for roots blowers, screw blowers, nitrous, N/A, Pro Charger, and turbo. The customer has a choice between spragless and sprag combinations. The billet front cover is constructed to fit all flex plate combinations (bolt patterns) including HEMI.

386-736-5816
www.ftiperformance.com
PN: Vary

Hooker BlackHeart Stainless-Steel Exhaust

Hooker BlackHeart announces the introduction of its Stainless-Steel Exhaust for the ‘87–95 Jeep Wrangler YJ. The system is designed to work with GM LS, Gen-V LT or Gen 3 Hemi engine swaps and be compatible with any stock type rear suspension system as well as bigger wheel and tire assemblies and/or bolt-on lift kits.

866-464-6553
www.holley.com
PN: Bh13226

Flowmaster American Thunder Header-Back Exhaust

Flowmaster launches its American Thunder exhaust system for the ‘67–‘72 Ford F-100/F-250/F-350 2-wheel drive V8 trucks without a side mounted auxiliary fuel tank. The exhaust system comes complete with a built-in H-pipe crossover and all mandrel-bent 2.50-in. 409 stainless steel tubing that is engineered to help maximize the flow of the exhaust pulses for better performance and the added durability of stainless steel. This system comes with your choice of three tailpipe exits, straight out the rear, side exit behind each rear tire, or dumped behind the rear tires. The system includes all hardware necessary for an at home installation. Fits both short and long wheelbase trucks.

866-464-6553
www.holley.com
PN: 817938

McLeod Racing Frictions & Steels Kit

McLeod Racing introduces its 2020 mid-engine Corvette C8 Transmission Frictions and Steels Kit. Each kit contains frictions and steels for the TR-9080 DCT 8-speed. Handling up to 1000 HP, the kit is manufactured to improve shift performance and provides a fit with no binding. The kit is constructed to provide heat dissipation under heavy loads and maximum heat sink.

714-630-2764
www.McLeodRacing.com
PN: Vary

Amsoil Synthetic Diesel Oil

AMSOIL introduces its synthetic diesel oils engineered to meet the demands of diesel engines in smaller, half-ton pickups and other passenger vehicles. Available in 0W-20 and 5W-30 viscosities, the oil is constructed to provide protection and performance with up to 6X better wear protection than required by a leading industry standard.

800-777-7094
www.amsoil.com
PN: Vary

By SEMA Editors

Platinum status represents SDC manufacturers that have achieved the pinnacle of product data by putting in the extra effort to provide resellers with the most complete data sets available.

Learn more about the SDC at www.semadatacoop.org.

Maximize Battery Life With BEX Series Battery Chargers

Battery extenders keep your battery at full charge on a continuous basis. Batteries not kept at full charge become sulfated, whereas maintaining stored batteries at full charge maximizes battery life. The BEX series battery chargers are fully equipped with sophisticated circuitry that will safely charge and maintain batteries without overcharging.

The BEX series chargers are versatile battery chargers with a compact ruggedized composite shell that makes them safe to set and forget on all of your household vehicles. This is perfect for any motorcycle, boat, snowmobile, car, truck, RV, and lawnmower. Prevent premature battery failure with the BEX-1500, BEX-3000, or BEX-5000 from AutoMeter.

HushMat ’55–’57 Chevrolet Tri-Five Sedan Sound Deadening and Thermal Insulation

HushMat’s ’55–’57 Chevrolet Tri-Five Sedan sound deadening and thermal insulation material is designed to make every type of vehicle cool, quiet and comfortable to drive and enjoy.

HushMat is an easy to install, USA Made material that molds, forms and adheres to your vehicle’s surface. No tools, glues and or special equipment needed to install HushMat. Simply peel and stick. HushMat has invested thousands of hours over the past 15 years measuring vehicles to create a Year, Make and Model specific portfolio of 365,000 part numbers.

HushMat insulates firewall, floor pan, tunnel, doors, roof and trunk. HushMat even provides installation templates to show where each piece is placed. We have taken the guess work out of “how much material do I need.” Visit www.hushmat.com or call 913-599-2600.

ZyBar 16-oz. Midnight Black Finish (part no. 11016)

ZyBar 16-oz. Midnight Black Finish (part no. 11016) high-temperature heat dissipation coating is designed to reduce radiant heat, reduce under-hood temperatures, offers outstanding corrosion resistance, provides lasting color stability under the most extreme engine conditions and extends the life of your components. ZyBar is rated to internal temperatures well in excess of 2000 F. 

ZyBar is a single component, durable polymer coating that far out performs ceramic paints, wraps and heat tapes. ZyBar is spray applied inside and outside the component. ZyBar treats manifolds, headers, turbo housings, exhaust, brakes and intakes. ZyBar is a thin .001-.0025 film coating that is either oven cured (2 hours at 450 F) or air cured (120 hours). Builders, jobbers, dealers and specialty coating operations interested can contact 913-599-2600 or visit www.zycoat.com.

By SEMA Editors

What are the winners in digital marketing doing? Are they using a secret “growth hack” to scale? Most likely no. Winners are doing the “hard things” in marketing well.

Join this session to discuss what the hard things are and how the winners are leveraging these to achieve success.

When: January 14, 2021, 12:00 p.m. (PST)

Register for Digital Marketing in 2021: What the Winners Are Doing

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

On November 30, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) implemented new regulations designed to prevent workplace exposure to COVID-19 and prevent outbreaks. The new rule applies to employers of all sizes, with the exception of workplaces with only one employee, employees working from home, and employees covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases regulation.

The new regulation requires employers to implement the following protocols:

• Prohibit workers exposed to or diagnosed with COVID-19 to return to worksites until their quarantine ends, and compensate employees throughout any quarantine.
• Draft and implement a written COVID-19 Prevention Program or ensure its elements are included in an existing Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP).
• Identify COVID-19 hazards, with input from employees, and correct any hazards identified.
• Conduct contact tracing following any positive case that involved potential workplace exposure, and then notify and offer testing to potentially exposed employees.
• Require social distancing and mask wearing, improve ventilation, and maximize outdoor air.
• Report all outbreaks, which is defined as three or more cases in a 14-day period, to the public health department.
• In any employer-provided housing, space beds six feet apart, eliminate the use of bunk beds, and disinfect beds daily.
• In employer-provided transportation, screen workers prior to boarding, and require them to sit three feet apart and wear face coverings.

Cal/OSHA has published an FAQ resource to assist employers in understanding and complying with the emergency regulation, which includes a sample COVID-19 Prevention Program that employers may utilize.

Cal/OSHA will host a December 18 stakeholder meeting to discuss possible amendments to the COVID-19 emergency standard. SEMA is part of a coalition led by the California Chamber of Commerce that submitted comments in response to the regulation.

For more information, contact Christian Robinson at christianr@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

On November 30, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) implemented new regulations designed to prevent workplace exposure to COVID-19 and prevent outbreaks. The new rule applies to employers of all sizes, with the exception of workplaces with only one employee, employees working from home, and employees covered by the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases regulation.

The new regulation requires employers to implement the following protocols:

• Prohibit workers exposed to or diagnosed with COVID-19 to return to worksites until their quarantine ends, and compensate employees throughout any quarantine.
• Draft and implement a written COVID-19 Prevention Program or ensure its elements are included in an existing Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP).
• Identify COVID-19 hazards, with input from employees, and correct any hazards identified.
• Conduct contact tracing following any positive case that involved potential workplace exposure, and then notify and offer testing to potentially exposed employees.
• Require social distancing and mask wearing, improve ventilation, and maximize outdoor air.
• Report all outbreaks, which is defined as three or more cases in a 14-day period, to the public health department.
• In any employer-provided housing, space beds six feet apart, eliminate the use of bunk beds, and disinfect beds daily.
• In employer-provided transportation, screen workers prior to boarding, and require them to sit three feet apart and wear face coverings.

Cal/OSHA has published an FAQ resource to assist employers in understanding and complying with the emergency regulation, which includes a sample COVID-19 Prevention Program that employers may utilize.

Cal/OSHA will host a December 18 stakeholder meeting to discuss possible amendments to the COVID-19 emergency standard. SEMA is part of a coalition led by the California Chamber of Commerce that submitted comments in response to the regulation.

For more information, contact Christian Robinson at christianr@sema.org.

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Here’s a first look at the ’22 Jeep Compass Trailhawk in showroom-ready duds.

The Compass is getting its mid-cycle facelift for the 2022 model year, freshening the range to keep it up to date with the competition. Up front are revised headlamps with a new shape and an LED strip that has been moved to the top. The rest of the front fascia gets a complete revision with a grille that stands more upright, revised fog lights and additional plastic mesh under the grille. Around back, the changes appear to be minimal with a minor change to the taillights and the removal of the rear tow hook.

Inside, substantial updates are expected throughout the cabin, bringing higher-quality materials and a larger 10.25-in. touchscreen. Behind a new steering wheel is an optional 10.1-in. digital cluster. The infotainment should run on FCA's latest Uconnect 5 system.

Power is still expected form the 2.4L naturally aspirated four-cylinder from the current model and will be mated to a 9-speed automatic.

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Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde