By Kristopher Porter

Aaron Kaufman

The Young Executives Network (YEN) has recently confirmed the Discovery Channel’s Aaron Kaufman of ArcLight Fabrication in Dallas will host the 2019 SEMA Launch Pad competition.

Kaufman’s fabrication experience began as many others have—by needing a part for his Jeep Cherokee. Mechanically minded but with very little fabrication experience under his belt, Kaufman ordered the part for his Jeep, only to find that he could have easily made the part himself. From that experience he swore that he would do everything in his power to make his own parts whenever able. With this new mentality, his experience level working on cars, trucks and motorcycles quickly grew, and he began to attract attention at local shops in his hometown of Fort Worth.

He worked at a few shops in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including Drop Zone, his own shop on Main Street in Dallas called “No Name Shop” and Gas Monkey Garage, before finally opening his own shop with the aim of producing parts for Ford F-100s. Those plans were temporarily put on hold when Discovery Channel asked him to do his own show, so for the first nine months, ArcLight Fabrication became a race shop of sorts, building cars to compete in a variety of races to be documented for the show “Shifting Gears.” With season one in the bag, ArcLight returned to its original goal of producing parts.

This will be an exciting year for Launch Pad, as the top five finalists will compete for the chance to win $10,000, along with an assortment of other prizes. Stay up-to-date with the competition.

Reserve your Launch Pad tickets.

By Kristopher Porter

Aaron Kaufman

The Young Executives Network (YEN) has recently confirmed the Discovery Channel’s Aaron Kaufman of ArcLight Fabrication in Dallas will host the 2019 SEMA Launch Pad competition.

Kaufman’s fabrication experience began as many others have—by needing a part for his Jeep Cherokee. Mechanically minded but with very little fabrication experience under his belt, Kaufman ordered the part for his Jeep, only to find that he could have easily made the part himself. From that experience he swore that he would do everything in his power to make his own parts whenever able. With this new mentality, his experience level working on cars, trucks and motorcycles quickly grew, and he began to attract attention at local shops in his hometown of Fort Worth.

He worked at a few shops in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including Drop Zone, his own shop on Main Street in Dallas called “No Name Shop” and Gas Monkey Garage, before finally opening his own shop with the aim of producing parts for Ford F-100s. Those plans were temporarily put on hold when Discovery Channel asked him to do his own show, so for the first nine months, ArcLight Fabrication became a race shop of sorts, building cars to compete in a variety of races to be documented for the show “Shifting Gears.” With season one in the bag, ArcLight returned to its original goal of producing parts.

This will be an exciting year for Launch Pad, as the top five finalists will compete for the chance to win $10,000, along with an assortment of other prizes. Stay up-to-date with the competition.

Reserve your Launch Pad tickets.

By SEMA Editors

SEMA Showgoers can secure convenient, affordable and reliable housing for the 2019 SEMA Show through the SEMA Show website.

SEMA is partnering once again with onPeak to provide SEMA Showgoers with convenient, affordable and reliable housing options for the 2019 SEMA Show. Available through the SEMA Show website, hotel room reservations may be made at nearly 40 hotels throughout Las Vegas.

With 162,000 industry professionals at the SEMA Show each year, housing in Las Vegas during the SEMA Show has been known to sell out and may be limited. Rooms booked through onPeak include guaranteed low rates, no hidden fees and may be cancelled without penalty.

“SEMA Showgoers have options as to where to stay during the SEMA Show,” said Tom Gattuso, SEMA vice president of events. “Through onPeak, attendees have dozens of hotels from which to choose, all at the lowest possible cost.”

Listed prices are all-inclusive and include resort fees (if applicable), so there are no added costs. With the average room rate from the SEMA Show Travel & Lodging site at $174 per night, compared to the prevailing $286 per night rate found elsewhere, guests save an average of $450 for four nights through onPeak. Additionally, complimentary shuttle service between the hotel and the SEMA Show is available at hotels further away from the Las Vegas Convention Center, and onPeak agents are available to help Showgoers determine the best hotel for their needs, whether it’s distance from the Convention Center, amenities, parking costs or room rates.

“We strongly encourage Showgoers to secure their hotel rooms through onPeak,” Gattuso said. “Showgoers may be approached by other services, but onPeak is the only official SEMA Show housing provider that SEMA stands behind. Using other providers is risky.”

The 2019 SEMA Show takes place November 5–8, in Las Vegas.

By SEMA Editors

SEMA Showgoers can secure convenient, affordable and reliable housing for the 2019 SEMA Show through the SEMA Show website.

SEMA is partnering once again with onPeak to provide SEMA Showgoers with convenient, affordable and reliable housing options for the 2019 SEMA Show. Available through the SEMA Show website, hotel room reservations may be made at nearly 40 hotels throughout Las Vegas.

With 162,000 industry professionals at the SEMA Show each year, housing in Las Vegas during the SEMA Show has been known to sell out and may be limited. Rooms booked through onPeak include guaranteed low rates, no hidden fees and may be cancelled without penalty.

“SEMA Showgoers have options as to where to stay during the SEMA Show,” said Tom Gattuso, SEMA vice president of events. “Through onPeak, attendees have dozens of hotels from which to choose, all at the lowest possible cost.”

Listed prices are all-inclusive and include resort fees (if applicable), so there are no added costs. With the average room rate from the SEMA Show Travel & Lodging site at $174 per night, compared to the prevailing $286 per night rate found elsewhere, guests save an average of $450 for four nights through onPeak. Additionally, complimentary shuttle service between the hotel and the SEMA Show is available at hotels further away from the Las Vegas Convention Center, and onPeak agents are available to help Showgoers determine the best hotel for their needs, whether it’s distance from the Convention Center, amenities, parking costs or room rates.

“We strongly encourage Showgoers to secure their hotel rooms through onPeak,” Gattuso said. “Showgoers may be approached by other services, but onPeak is the only official SEMA Show housing provider that SEMA stands behind. Using other providers is risky.”

The 2019 SEMA Show takes place November 5–8, in Las Vegas.

By SEMA Editors

SEMA Showgoers can secure convenient, affordable and reliable housing for the 2019 SEMA Show through the SEMA Show website.

SEMA is partnering once again with onPeak to provide SEMA Showgoers with convenient, affordable and reliable housing options for the 2019 SEMA Show. Available through the SEMA Show website, hotel room reservations may be made at nearly 40 hotels throughout Las Vegas.

With 162,000 industry professionals at the SEMA Show each year, housing in Las Vegas during the SEMA Show has been known to sell out and may be limited. Rooms booked through onPeak include guaranteed low rates, no hidden fees and may be cancelled without penalty.

“SEMA Showgoers have options as to where to stay during the SEMA Show,” said Tom Gattuso, SEMA vice president of events. “Through onPeak, attendees have dozens of hotels from which to choose, all at the lowest possible cost.”

Listed prices are all-inclusive and include resort fees (if applicable), so there are no added costs. With the average room rate from the SEMA Show Travel & Lodging site at $174 per night, compared to the prevailing $286 per night rate found elsewhere, guests save an average of $450 for four nights through onPeak. Additionally, complimentary shuttle service between the hotel and the SEMA Show is available at hotels further away from the Las Vegas Convention Center, and onPeak agents are available to help Showgoers determine the best hotel for their needs, whether it’s distance from the Convention Center, amenities, parking costs or room rates.

“We strongly encourage Showgoers to secure their hotel rooms through onPeak,” Gattuso said. “Showgoers may be approached by other services, but onPeak is the only official SEMA Show housing provider that SEMA stands behind. Using other providers is risky.”

The 2019 SEMA Show takes place November 5–8, in Las Vegas.

By SEMA Editors

This is one the latest looks ’20 Nissan Titan pictured testing in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Judging by the camo on this Titan, the refreshed truck appears to feature a new grille, headlamp units and a revised lower front fascia. Out back, a revised tailgate and taillights can be expected.

A base V6 is slated to arrive at some point, but it has been pushed back from its original timing of ’17 model year. Details have not been revealed for the engine, though it could be a 3.8L DOHC 24v V6, which will possibly be an up-level engine in the next Frontier. Rumor also has it that the Cummins diesel will be dropped for the ’20 or ’21 model years. An official debut is expected later this year.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

By SEMA Editors

This is one the latest looks ’20 Nissan Titan pictured testing in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Judging by the camo on this Titan, the refreshed truck appears to feature a new grille, headlamp units and a revised lower front fascia. Out back, a revised tailgate and taillights can be expected.

A base V6 is slated to arrive at some point, but it has been pushed back from its original timing of ’17 model year. Details have not been revealed for the engine, though it could be a 3.8L DOHC 24v V6, which will possibly be an up-level engine in the next Frontier. Rumor also has it that the Cummins diesel will be dropped for the ’20 or ’21 model years. An official debut is expected later this year.

Photo credit: Brian Williams, SpiedBilde

Members of SEMA's Young Executives Network met with students and instructors from the Alex Xydias Center for Automotive Arts during a mock measuring session on the brand-new Honda Talon UTV build, which will be auctioned with100% of the proceeds going towards SEMA Cares charities.

https://youtu.be/6aPlbhjFYps

Members of SEMA's Young Executives Network met with students and instructors from the Alex Xydias Center for Automotive Arts during a mock measuring session on the brand-new Honda Talon UTV build, which will be auctioned with100% of the proceeds going towards SEMA Cares charities.

https://youtu.be/6aPlbhjFYps

SEMA-member companies have posted several new listings for job opportunities in the Classifieds page of SEMA.org.