How to Use Social Media to Better Understand Your Customers
Thu, 12/29/2011 - 10:13

SEMA News—December 2012

INTERNET
By Joe Dysart

Solutions That Deliver

Keeping an Ear Out on Social Media

 
IBM, famous for besting seasoned “Jeopardy” television show winners with its analytics-based Watson computer, is expanding into social media analytics.
   
Marketers looking for an extremely robust tool to monitor social media should take a close look at offerings from Crimson Hexagon, evolve24 and NetBase, according to market research firm Forrester, a company with a longstanding reputation for objective market analysis. All three social media dashboards “excel in their data processing abilities,” said Zach Hofer-Shall, a Forrester analyst.

“Social media is changing the way companies learn from and understand their consumers,” said Patricia Gottesman, Crimson Hexagon’s chief executive officer. “Crimson Hexagon is dedicated to helping our customers harness the strategic value of social media and use this data to make meaningful business decisions.”

Lisa Joy Rosner, NetBase’s chief marketing officer, said that her company is breaking new ground with benchmarking, insight and analysis tools developed at the “speed of social” and co-created with some of the world’s leading brands.

“For the first time, marketers and researchers are adequately armed with on-demand insight into how their brands are perceived online when they get the scorecard, including the popular Brand Passion Index, delivered to their inbox,” Rosner said.

According to digital marketing agency Web Liquid, business interest in tools that monitor company image on social media is intense, including conversations and other interactions on social media that trigger sales. In a survey released in July, the “Marketers & Social Media Marketing Survey”, Web Liquid found that nearly three quarters of 237 senior marketing executives queried were actively monitoring social media using both free and paid tools. A full 62% of them said that they planned to increase their investment in tools that monitor social media during the coming year, according to the study.

As social networks such as Facebook and Twitter have risen in the public consciousness to become household words, monitoring tools have evolved along with them, said Forrester’s Hofer-Shall. These days, the most sophisticated of those tools have moved well beyond simple tracking of keywords and keyphrases. Instead, the tools are now able to track social media using natural language analysis, offering companies insights into the deeper meaning of posts and interactions on the social web rather than glimpses at sentences that contain certain keywords.

Hofer-Shall said that social media monitoring tools currently break out into three groups: social dashboards, multichannel analytics providers and listening service partners.

Dashboards, the least expensive of the lot, are best for companies that are already hip to social media, crave raw data in the form of charts and graphs that those dashboards can offer, and are adept at interpreting the data to tweak marketing campaigns.

Multichannel analytics providers, meanwhile, are more for marketers and others who are looking to integrate social media monitoring into other monitoring tools they are already using, such as customer-satisfaction surveys and customer-support chat transcripts, according to Hofer-Shall.

But there is a caveat: While these traditional analytics providers have added social media, they still have some catching up to do before they can be cast as providers who can offer truly robust social media monitoring.

“Although these platforms best address the most technologically difficult aspect of listening—text processing—they must improve their social data outsourcing abilities and continue to build out functional social reporting, outreach tools and overall dashboard interfaces,” Hofer-Shall said.

Meanwhile, companies completely new to social media may want to turn to “listening service partners”—outside consultants who know social media cold, know the tools cold, and can do all the monitoring and analysis for them.

“Many of the listening service partners, such as Converseon, Cymfony or Sythesio, offer dedicated consultants for the clients’ ongoing social intelligence strategies,” said Hofer-Shall.

In addition, at least one firm best known as a dashboard provider is also getting into the act. Dashboard provider NetBase has partnered with EmPower Research to offer customers seasoned analysts who can help them monitor and analyze social media using NetBase’s dashboard.

“The process of kicking off a successful social media insight program requires quite a bit of legwork,” said Debjani Deb, EmPower Research managing partner. “NetBase’s Supplemental Analyst program enables customers to ‘rent’ a fully trained EmPower analyst for as long as needed to educate them on the NetBase Insight Workbench and keep them ahead of the curve with the latest social media trends.”

Said Peter Caswell, NetBase’s CEO: “By partnering with EmPower Research, our customers now have a valuable resource of more than 350 analysts to aid them in the implementation and use of our social media analysis services.”

The downside with this kind of outsourcing is that such services can be very pricey or even overkill for some firms with basic listening needs, Hofer-Shall said.

Interestingly, Synthesio also popped up as a recommended listening service partner in a September report released by Web Liquid, “Social Media Monitoring Tool Buyer’s Guide”. Other tools and services recommended in Web Liquid’s buyers guide were Alterian, Brandwatch, MutualMind and Radian6.

“Whether you’re using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to manage your online reputation or leveraging a blog to achieve social media PR objectives, monitoring the online conversation and mining the data made available by social media monitoring tools presents brands with an unprecedented opportunity: to build more meaningful relationships with customers,” the report’s researchers wrote.

In the long term, Hofer-Shall sees major tech players, such as IBM and Microsoft, becoming more potent presences in the relatively new field of social-media monitoring. He also sees all service providers expanding their data collection to include more location-based data and more data from international sources.

In addition, data analysis will become more sophisticated as service providers move to offer deeper insights into the actual meaning of what is being said and done on social networks, as opposed to superficial keyword and keyphrase monitoring. Hofer-Shall sees deeper integration of social-media analytics into more traditional analytics monitoring tools.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan, New York. Contact: 646-233-4089;
joe@joedysart.com; or www.joedysart.com

Just Hit Print: Rapid 3D Manufacturing Comes of Age
Thu, 12/29/2011 - 10:09

SEMA News—December 2011

Just Hit Print

Rapid 3-D Manufacturing Comes of Age

By Mike Imlay

Kor Ecologic founder Jim Kor (background, far left) and his design team gather around their “3-D print” car, first presented to the industry at the 2010 SEMA Show. The vehicle was a hit, especially with fabricators and customizers, who instantly recognized the implications of its novel manufacturing process.
Remember the Sci-Fi television programs of the ‘50s and ‘60s in which engineers of the future could stand in front of a computer device, order up practically any space sprocket or gizmo and watch it materialize in seconds, ready for use? Believe it or not, that future is here—and has been for some time. While not as instantaneous as their fictional counterparts, there are computerized machines that can replicate solid, intricate 3-D objects in a process now being dubbed “3-D printing.”

Technically known as rapid prototyping or additive fabrication, high-end medical, aerospace and automotive designers have used the process for nearly two decades to develop small thermoplastic prototypes and models for research and development purposes. Thanks to recent advances, however, the process is now both refined and cost-effective enough to create finished goods, including manufacturing tools, jigs and fixtures—not to mention end-use parts.

“Any technology takes a while to catch on,” said Joe Hiemenz, spokesman for Stratasys Inc., a Minnesota-based maker of the machines. “I think maybe part of the reason this is taking off now is because the term ‘3-D printing’ has taken hold. That’s an easier term to remember or relate to than rapid prototyping, rapid fabrication, additive manufacturing or any of these other terms that have been used. Lay people seem to get that, although you’re not printing on paper, you’re pulling out a plastic part that’s been ‘printed’ layer by layer.”

Changing Virtually Everything


The reduced cost and varied sizes of 3-D printers are rapidly placing them in the hands of businesses at
every level. Pictured are Stratasys’ FDM 900mc (left) and Fortus 360mc units. Some companies also make “desktop” versions for artisans and hobbyists.
Much like computer numerical control (CNC) applications, 3-D printing begins with a computer-aided design (CAD) file. However, where CNC forms parts by cutting or trimming material away, 3-D printing uses the CAD data to add material—usually a thermoplastic compound or, increasingly, metal—to slowly build an object.

“The thermoplastic is melted and extruded in fine layers—as fine as five thousandths of an inch thick,” explained Hiemenz, noting that such accuracy has now made 3-D printing competitive with injection molding. The liquid plastic continues to be applied layer by layer until there’s a finished part. Overhangs and protrusions are handled by building breakaway or dissolving support structures into the design, which are then easily removed during finishing.

Depending on a product’s size, the entire process can take a few hours or a few days from beginning to end. Plus, as with CNC technology, experts say that 3-D printing is poised to revolutionize manufacturing, placing some level of additive fabrication within the reach of even the smallest of aftermarket businesses or shops.

“Back when prototyping was totally new, it was pretty limited to some high-end applications,” Hiemenz said, “but it quickly spread to the point where you’d be hard pressed to find any manufacturer designing a physical product that doesn’t use some form of rapid prototyping or additive manufacturing, as it’s being called now. Cost is getting down to the point where even consumers are going after these machines. If you are any kind of custom manufacturer—and especially if you’d like your finished part to be thermoplastic—it’s definitely a technology you should look at.”

Indeed, 3-D printers come in a variety of sizes, from desktop units to large machines that are approximately 6x8x4 ft. in dimension. Stratasys units range in price from roughly $15,000–$450,000, and Hiemenz observes that a growing number of manufacturers are designing non-professional units for artisans and hobbyists to use in their studios or garages.

Increasingly, mainstream business media is touting the technology’s potential to forever change the manufacturing world as we know it. As The Economist magazine recently observed: “Three-dimensional printing makes it as cheap to create single items as it is to produce thousands and, thus, undermines economies of scale. It may have as profound an impact on the world as the coming of the factory did.”

This, explained the magazine, is because the additive approach “cuts costs by getting rid of production lines. It reduces waste enormously [and] allows the creation of parts in shapes that conventional techniques cannot achieve, resulting in new, much more efficient designs in aircraft wings or heat exchangers, for example.”

Printing Almost Anything

If all this sounds like hyperbole, consider the Urbee, “the world’s first printed car,” displayed in rudimentary form at the 2010 SEMA Show.

“We were a bit apprehensive because we only had a few body panels,” said Jim Kor, president and senior designer of Kor Ecologic, a company he founded 15 years ago to completely rethink sustainable automotive engineering. “Really, just a stainless-steel frame and two body panels was all we showed.”

The Urbee (an acronym for urban electric with ethanol as backup) was designed from the ground up as a “practical, roadworthy car that runs solely on renewable energy, is environmentally responsible and has universal appeal.”

Initially Kor’s design team opted for 3-D printing to build their 1/6-scale vehicle prototype. Before long, they realized that they could just as easily print fullsize parts for the vehicle at a fraction of the cost. Moreover, the technique also provided timely, high-tech solutions to engineering dilemmas that would have been difficult to overcome with traditional manufacturing. Fiberglass panels alone would have taken months of expensive labor to mold and produce. Additive fabrication created them at a much lower cost in a few short weeks.

The concept definitely wowed the 2010 SEMA Show crowd.


Touted as the “world’s first printed car,” Kor Ecologic’s Urbee vehicle has captured the imagination of the media and industrial trend-spotters alike. The entire car exterior was constructed by “additive manufacturing”—a process recently dubbed 3-D printing.
“We realized as soon as the Show opened that there was such a receptive audience because the car was half finished so they could relate to it,” Kor recalled. “They could touch and feel the insides. A lot of the guys there had talked over the years in their shops of doing a car like this.”

To Kor, whose resume is also heavy on tractor and commercial vehicle design, 3-D printing is especially apropos for the Urbee since the entire point of the project is to reinvent the automobile based on its purpose today. He said that other ecological vehicle designs are mere attempts to adapt new technologies to a traditional platform. Instead, Team Kor has set out to re-imagine everything as a clean sheet, from the ground up.

As Kor sees it, “Companies are into cars the way they’ve been making cars, and they are huge, huge corporations, so they are slowly refining their offerings.” He goes on to explain that the Urbee design goal was an alternate means to run short, daily errands using the least energy possible. Like engineering a glider, Kor’s group lets physics dictate how the form of the car would follow function. This led to the application of vastly different materials and mechanics to the problem. The vehicle’s market appeal was of negligible importance to the team—rather, it was an exercise in pushing technology forward.

Nevertheless, Kor felt an instant rapport with all of the innovators and builders he encountered at the SEMA Show. After all, he and several members of his team are custom, restoration and performance racing enthusiasts themselves.

“I was always nuts about cars,” he chuckled. “We have an affinity with [the industry]. It’s just that, as I get older and on the green side, I think we should do that on the weekend, not as a daily driver.”

Moreover, based on the Urbee, Kor believes that 3-D printing can be a major boon to the automotive industry and aftermarket.

“If we were in a tractor or a bus company or building this Urbee as a real production model with investment money, then I would absolutely think it’s economical to do it this way,” he said. “It frees you up to really design the parts.”

3-D for SEMA Members


SEMA offers members rapid prototyping at its Diamond Bar, California, headquarters. The association’s unit “prints” from CAD files in ABS plastic, and some member companies have already put it to use producing limited-run, user-end parts.

Much of the Urbee’s interior will be “printed” based on computer-assisted design.
For many SEMA members, rapid prototyping and 3-D printing is nothing new. The association has provided a rapid prototyping service for years at lowered costs to members who might not otherwise have access to it.

“For some applications, our build/print resolution of 0.010-in. is high enough that some of our members have used our service to produce small parts for their end products,” said Oscar Muñoz, SEMA vehicle project data manager. He cited two examples: a battery company that created approximately 500 plugs for its electrical harnesses, and a turbocharging specialist that did a limited run of plastic plates for its performance applications.

“The service is meant to be a way to promote the technology to our members and tie it in with Technology Transfer,” said Muñoz. “Compared to typical prototyping methods that can take up to weeks, our service is able to provide our members with a prototype at their door within a matter of days. For companies—particularly small ones needing to keep R&D costs down—our service provides a fast, low-cost avenue to getting accurate models of their designs for test fitting and, in some cases, functional testing as well.”

SEMA’s promotional rate for all members is $10/cu. in. of material. The service requires a CAD model file, preferably in stereolithographic (STL) format, which is initially processed to calculate the amount of material required to build the piece and produce a quote for the SEMA member. Project turnaround time typically varies from two to five days from start to delivery. Output is in ABS plastic, and the work is performed at SEMA’s headquarters in Diamond Bar, California.

So what are the long-term ramifications for the specialty-equipment industry? If economic and technology experts agree on anything, it’s that the exploding 3-D revolution will be wildly unpredictable for quite some time. Many believe that the technology will further promote the reshoring of manufacturing in America. Others argue that it will make outsourcing easier. Still others see it wreaking havoc on intellectual property, with myriad lawsuits establishing a confusion of new precedents. Counterfeiting of product will almost certainly become a nightmare concern while industry and government readjust to the
new reality.

The die, however, is cast. Three-dimension printing is expected to become a $5.2 billion industry by 2020. Additive fabrication, rapid production, an upheaval for business as we know it—call it what you will, there is no turning back from the future.

For information about rapid prototyping, 3-D printing and SEMA’s services to members, contact Oscar Muñoz, SEMA’s vehicle product data manager, at oscarm@sema.org or 909-978-6731.
Just Hit Print: Rapid 3D Manufacturing Comes of Age
Thu, 12/29/2011 - 10:09

SEMA News—December 2011

Just Hit Print

Rapid 3-D Manufacturing Comes of Age

By Mike Imlay

Kor Ecologic founder Jim Kor (background, far left) and his design team gather around their “3-D print” car, first presented to the industry at the 2010 SEMA Show. The vehicle was a hit, especially with fabricators and customizers, who instantly recognized the implications of its novel manufacturing process.
Remember the Sci-Fi television programs of the ‘50s and ‘60s in which engineers of the future could stand in front of a computer device, order up practically any space sprocket or gizmo and watch it materialize in seconds, ready for use? Believe it or not, that future is here—and has been for some time. While not as instantaneous as their fictional counterparts, there are computerized machines that can replicate solid, intricate 3-D objects in a process now being dubbed “3-D printing.”

Technically known as rapid prototyping or additive fabrication, high-end medical, aerospace and automotive designers have used the process for nearly two decades to develop small thermoplastic prototypes and models for research and development purposes. Thanks to recent advances, however, the process is now both refined and cost-effective enough to create finished goods, including manufacturing tools, jigs and fixtures—not to mention end-use parts.

“Any technology takes a while to catch on,” said Joe Hiemenz, spokesman for Stratasys Inc., a Minnesota-based maker of the machines. “I think maybe part of the reason this is taking off now is because the term ‘3-D printing’ has taken hold. That’s an easier term to remember or relate to than rapid prototyping, rapid fabrication, additive manufacturing or any of these other terms that have been used. Lay people seem to get that, although you’re not printing on paper, you’re pulling out a plastic part that’s been ‘printed’ layer by layer.”

Changing Virtually Everything


The reduced cost and varied sizes of 3-D printers are rapidly placing them in the hands of businesses at
every level. Pictured are Stratasys’ FDM 900mc (left) and Fortus 360mc units. Some companies also make “desktop” versions for artisans and hobbyists.
Much like computer numerical control (CNC) applications, 3-D printing begins with a computer-aided design (CAD) file. However, where CNC forms parts by cutting or trimming material away, 3-D printing uses the CAD data to add material—usually a thermoplastic compound or, increasingly, metal—to slowly build an object.

“The thermoplastic is melted and extruded in fine layers—as fine as five thousandths of an inch thick,” explained Hiemenz, noting that such accuracy has now made 3-D printing competitive with injection molding. The liquid plastic continues to be applied layer by layer until there’s a finished part. Overhangs and protrusions are handled by building breakaway or dissolving support structures into the design, which are then easily removed during finishing.

Depending on a product’s size, the entire process can take a few hours or a few days from beginning to end. Plus, as with CNC technology, experts say that 3-D printing is poised to revolutionize manufacturing, placing some level of additive fabrication within the reach of even the smallest of aftermarket businesses or shops.

“Back when prototyping was totally new, it was pretty limited to some high-end applications,” Hiemenz said, “but it quickly spread to the point where you’d be hard pressed to find any manufacturer designing a physical product that doesn’t use some form of rapid prototyping or additive manufacturing, as it’s being called now. Cost is getting down to the point where even consumers are going after these machines. If you are any kind of custom manufacturer—and especially if you’d like your finished part to be thermoplastic—it’s definitely a technology you should look at.”

Indeed, 3-D printers come in a variety of sizes, from desktop units to large machines that are approximately 6x8x4 ft. in dimension. Stratasys units range in price from roughly $15,000–$450,000, and Hiemenz observes that a growing number of manufacturers are designing non-professional units for artisans and hobbyists to use in their studios or garages.

Increasingly, mainstream business media is touting the technology’s potential to forever change the manufacturing world as we know it. As The Economist magazine recently observed: “Three-dimensional printing makes it as cheap to create single items as it is to produce thousands and, thus, undermines economies of scale. It may have as profound an impact on the world as the coming of the factory did.”

This, explained the magazine, is because the additive approach “cuts costs by getting rid of production lines. It reduces waste enormously [and] allows the creation of parts in shapes that conventional techniques cannot achieve, resulting in new, much more efficient designs in aircraft wings or heat exchangers, for example.”

Printing Almost Anything

If all this sounds like hyperbole, consider the Urbee, “the world’s first printed car,” displayed in rudimentary form at the 2010 SEMA Show.

“We were a bit apprehensive because we only had a few body panels,” said Jim Kor, president and senior designer of Kor Ecologic, a company he founded 15 years ago to completely rethink sustainable automotive engineering. “Really, just a stainless-steel frame and two body panels was all we showed.”

The Urbee (an acronym for urban electric with ethanol as backup) was designed from the ground up as a “practical, roadworthy car that runs solely on renewable energy, is environmentally responsible and has universal appeal.”

Initially Kor’s design team opted for 3-D printing to build their 1/6-scale vehicle prototype. Before long, they realized that they could just as easily print fullsize parts for the vehicle at a fraction of the cost. Moreover, the technique also provided timely, high-tech solutions to engineering dilemmas that would have been difficult to overcome with traditional manufacturing. Fiberglass panels alone would have taken months of expensive labor to mold and produce. Additive fabrication created them at a much lower cost in a few short weeks.

The concept definitely wowed the 2010 SEMA Show crowd.


Touted as the “world’s first printed car,” Kor Ecologic’s Urbee vehicle has captured the imagination of the media and industrial trend-spotters alike. The entire car exterior was constructed by “additive manufacturing”—a process recently dubbed 3-D printing.
“We realized as soon as the Show opened that there was such a receptive audience because the car was half finished so they could relate to it,” Kor recalled. “They could touch and feel the insides. A lot of the guys there had talked over the years in their shops of doing a car like this.”

To Kor, whose resume is also heavy on tractor and commercial vehicle design, 3-D printing is especially apropos for the Urbee since the entire point of the project is to reinvent the automobile based on its purpose today. He said that other ecological vehicle designs are mere attempts to adapt new technologies to a traditional platform. Instead, Team Kor has set out to re-imagine everything as a clean sheet, from the ground up.

As Kor sees it, “Companies are into cars the way they’ve been making cars, and they are huge, huge corporations, so they are slowly refining their offerings.” He goes on to explain that the Urbee design goal was an alternate means to run short, daily errands using the least energy possible. Like engineering a glider, Kor’s group lets physics dictate how the form of the car would follow function. This led to the application of vastly different materials and mechanics to the problem. The vehicle’s market appeal was of negligible importance to the team—rather, it was an exercise in pushing technology forward.

Nevertheless, Kor felt an instant rapport with all of the innovators and builders he encountered at the SEMA Show. After all, he and several members of his team are custom, restoration and performance racing enthusiasts themselves.

“I was always nuts about cars,” he chuckled. “We have an affinity with [the industry]. It’s just that, as I get older and on the green side, I think we should do that on the weekend, not as a daily driver.”

Moreover, based on the Urbee, Kor believes that 3-D printing can be a major boon to the automotive industry and aftermarket.

“If we were in a tractor or a bus company or building this Urbee as a real production model with investment money, then I would absolutely think it’s economical to do it this way,” he said. “It frees you up to really design the parts.”

3-D for SEMA Members


SEMA offers members rapid prototyping at its Diamond Bar, California, headquarters. The association’s unit “prints” from CAD files in ABS plastic, and some member companies have already put it to use producing limited-run, user-end parts.

Much of the Urbee’s interior will be “printed” based on computer-assisted design.
For many SEMA members, rapid prototyping and 3-D printing is nothing new. The association has provided a rapid prototyping service for years at lowered costs to members who might not otherwise have access to it.

“For some applications, our build/print resolution of 0.010-in. is high enough that some of our members have used our service to produce small parts for their end products,” said Oscar Muñoz, SEMA vehicle project data manager. He cited two examples: a battery company that created approximately 500 plugs for its electrical harnesses, and a turbocharging specialist that did a limited run of plastic plates for its performance applications.

“The service is meant to be a way to promote the technology to our members and tie it in with Technology Transfer,” said Muñoz. “Compared to typical prototyping methods that can take up to weeks, our service is able to provide our members with a prototype at their door within a matter of days. For companies—particularly small ones needing to keep R&D costs down—our service provides a fast, low-cost avenue to getting accurate models of their designs for test fitting and, in some cases, functional testing as well.”

SEMA’s promotional rate for all members is $10/cu. in. of material. The service requires a CAD model file, preferably in stereolithographic (STL) format, which is initially processed to calculate the amount of material required to build the piece and produce a quote for the SEMA member. Project turnaround time typically varies from two to five days from start to delivery. Output is in ABS plastic, and the work is performed at SEMA’s headquarters in Diamond Bar, California.

So what are the long-term ramifications for the specialty-equipment industry? If economic and technology experts agree on anything, it’s that the exploding 3-D revolution will be wildly unpredictable for quite some time. Many believe that the technology will further promote the reshoring of manufacturing in America. Others argue that it will make outsourcing easier. Still others see it wreaking havoc on intellectual property, with myriad lawsuits establishing a confusion of new precedents. Counterfeiting of product will almost certainly become a nightmare concern while industry and government readjust to the
new reality.

The die, however, is cast. Three-dimension printing is expected to become a $5.2 billion industry by 2020. Additive fabrication, rapid production, an upheaval for business as we know it—call it what you will, there is no turning back from the future.

For information about rapid prototyping, 3-D printing and SEMA’s services to members, contact Oscar Muñoz, SEMA’s vehicle product data manager, at oscarm@sema.org or 909-978-6731.
High-School Engine Builders Go Head-to-Head for $10,000 Automotive Scholarship
Thu, 12/29/2011 - 10:02

SEMA News—December 2011

EVENTS
By Chad Simon

Up for the Challenge

Hot Rodders of Tomorrow: Helping to Bring New Blood into the Aftermarket


Sponsored teams compete for a chance to win the ultimate prize—a $10,000 scholarship, awarded to the winners of the “Showdown at SEMA.”
Providing young automotive enthusiasts with an opportunity to develop and showcase their talents while being exposed to the automotive aftermarket industry, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow launched in 2008 at the Race & Performance Expo in St. Charles, Illinois, and has been invited to compete at the SEMA Show every year since its inception. The organization’s goal is to reach out to high-school students before they graduate in order to provide much-needed future talent for the automotive specialty-equipment market.
“My primary concern is that the people at the racetrack and in this industry as a whole are getting older,” said 40-year industry veteran Jim Bingham, chairman of Hot Rodders of Tomorrow and also president and CEO of Winner’s Circle Speed & Custom and a SEMA Board of Directors member. “You don’t see much young blood, and I wanted to create an avenue for bringing youth into the automotive aftermarket.”

The purpose of the competition, the finals of which are held annually at the SEMA Show, is to offer opportunities for students to build and develop teamwork, demonstrate their enthusiasm and ingenuity and build their confidence and commitment to excellence. Teams of five auto technology students and an instructor from invited high schools across the country compete to properly disassemble and reassemble a small-block Chevrolet engine with aftermarket components in the least amount of time. The team with the quickest total time, including added penalties, wins. The competition engines have been built to replicate the real-world, high-performance engines found in today’s musclecars and hot rods.


Qualifying teams typically finish the challenge in the 35-minute range. All teams are encouraged to finish the engine build, regardless of time.
The idea for the organization came to life during the first year of a local consumer show called the Race & Performance Expo. Tim Freeman, an area businessman, asked Bingham to help him put together an engine challenge for the show. So, after Freeman successfully recruited five local high schools for the engine challenge, Vic Edelbrock, with Bingham’s help, decided that he wanted to expand the concept across the country, starting with the first Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge held at the Race & Performance Expo in 2008.

A total of five teams competed during the 2008 season. The series has since grown to 70 teams in 2011, with six divisional winners and four wildcards that were invited to compete at the third annual “Showdown at SEMA” national championship in Las Vegas.

Edelbrock was initially responsible for getting the organization invited to the SEMA Show in 2009. Four teams were invited the first year. That grew to six in the second year, and Hot Rodders of Tomorrow came to the SEMA Show with 10 teams this year, the most ever.

Qualifying teams typically finish the challenge in the 35-minute time frame. All teams are encouraged to finish the engine build, regardless of time; however, once a team hits the 60-minute range, the instructor may help.

Time-added penalties are assessed when participants commit errors, which include dropping components, improper disassembly and poor sportsmanship. There are five judges, each following an individual student, and they score everything from the use of torque wrenches to proper assembly.


During the competition, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow judges score everything from the use of torque wrenching to proper assembly.
The ultimate prize for each member of the winning team is $10,000 in scholarship money provided by Ohio Technical College (OTC), the School of Automotive Machinists and the University of Northwest Ohio. A total of $975,000 has been posted for the 2011 SEMA Show, with the smallest amount being $5,000 per student for the sixth- through 10th-place finishers.

This was the first year that Hot Rodders of Tomorrow received funding. The sponsorship program was changed to provide for a $1,500 annual fee for all 23 manufacturing sponsors to become a part of the program. Prior to that, the money came from Bingham’s company and his own pocket. The funds are used to fly the judges to the competitions and to transport the equipment.

“Joliet Central High School, which won the competition the first year they went to the SEMA Show, only had one instructor at the time,” Bingham said. “Now they have two instructors and a waiting list of kids to get into the class. We’re changing attitudes; young kids want to get enrolled and have a chance to participate in this program.”

 

According to Bingham, there is still a shortage of young talent in the automotive aftermarket field. This program creates excitement and promotes competition. When events are held across the country, parents, siblings and friends show up to cheer the students on. In the future, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow will allow its sponsors and other SEMA-
member manufacturers to post jobs wanted on the organization’s website so they can funnel talented students into some of the openings.

To date, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow has fostered a total of 152 teams in eight divisions consisting of 1,064 students from across the country and has raised more than $3.5 million in scholarship money.

Belvidere North High School’s Success at the SEMA Show

Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Sponsoring Companies

  • Accel
  • Aeroquip Performance Products
  • Airaid
  • A Plus Distributing
  • ARP Automotive Racing Products
  • Auto Meter
  • Be Cool
  • Begler’s Performance
  • Carlisle All-GM Nationals
  • COMP Cams
  • Dart
  • Dee Zee
  • Edelbrock
  • Edge
  • Energy Suspension
  • Fel-Pro Performance Gaskets
  • Hawk Performance
  • Hedman Hedders,
  • K&N
  • Moroso
  • Motive Gear
  • Motor State Distributing
  • Mr. Gasket Co.
  • MSD Ignition
  • Painless Performance Products
  • Parts Pro Performance Centers
  • Proform
  • PRW
  • Race & Performance Expo
  • Royal Purple
  • Russell
  • Speed Pro
  • Tennessee Speed Sport
  • Trans Dapt Performance Products
  • Winner’s Circle Speed & Custom

The Motive Gear-sponsored Belvidere North High School engine team, located in Belvidere, Illinois, put in more than 130 hours of dedication and made many sacrifices to participate in the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge. Support at the school level was tremendous, and the principal himself attended after-school practices and traveled to regional competitions just to watch in amazement what five high-school students could do with an engine.

This year’s team consisted of five talented students who made it through demanding practices and pushed their way to the championship at the SEMA Show. Xander Welsh, now a graduate of Belvidere North High School, tore his rotator cuff last year. After a month of healing, he jumped back onto the team, fighting through the pain and postponing surgery to compete and help the group take first place.

“Hot Rodders of Tomorrow has given me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete against other schools across the nation at the SEMA Show and meet some of the most influential people in our industry,” Welsh said.

Jaysen Wagner, now a senior, made an enormous sacrifice as he withdrew from his enrollment in the National Guard to pursue his place on the engine team and help push the team to first place.

“Without Hot Rodders of Tomorrow, college would not have been possible for me,” Wagner said.

Dalton Annabel, also now a graduate, is currently pursuing his automotive passion by working in a local shop while earning his associate’s degree in automotive before transferring to Southern Illinois University for his bachelor’s degree.

“The experience of working with a team on a project like this, where everyone is focused on a common goal, has been a fun experience and one I will not forget,” Annabel said.

David Santoyo, currently a senior, joined the team halfway through four months of practice to fill in for Welsh while he was injured. Santoyo became a full-time team member upon Welsh’s return.

“Hot Rodders of Tomorrow has opened my eyes to the vast need and importance of everyday people coming together and achieving more than they ever thought they could,” Santoyo said.

Caitlyn Drake, also now a graduate, broke through the typical stereotype that women could not handle a field dominated by males and proved that she deserved her spot on the team. She has earned the Golden Apple scholarship and is currently studying to be a math teacher at Quincy College. Yet, she still helped her team push into the SEMA Show by traveling five hours home just to practice with them.

“Being on the team has not only taught me good skills so I can rely on myself, but also it has taught me a lot about teamwork and how well different people can work together on a common interest,” Drake said.

High-School Engine Builders Go Head-to-Head for $10,000 Automotive Scholarship
Thu, 12/29/2011 - 10:02

SEMA News—December 2011

EVENTS
By Chad Simon

Up for the Challenge

Hot Rodders of Tomorrow: Helping to Bring New Blood into the Aftermarket


Sponsored teams compete for a chance to win the ultimate prize—a $10,000 scholarship, awarded to the winners of the “Showdown at SEMA.”
Providing young automotive enthusiasts with an opportunity to develop and showcase their talents while being exposed to the automotive aftermarket industry, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow launched in 2008 at the Race & Performance Expo in St. Charles, Illinois, and has been invited to compete at the SEMA Show every year since its inception. The organization’s goal is to reach out to high-school students before they graduate in order to provide much-needed future talent for the automotive specialty-equipment market.
“My primary concern is that the people at the racetrack and in this industry as a whole are getting older,” said 40-year industry veteran Jim Bingham, chairman of Hot Rodders of Tomorrow and also president and CEO of Winner’s Circle Speed & Custom and a SEMA Board of Directors member. “You don’t see much young blood, and I wanted to create an avenue for bringing youth into the automotive aftermarket.”

The purpose of the competition, the finals of which are held annually at the SEMA Show, is to offer opportunities for students to build and develop teamwork, demonstrate their enthusiasm and ingenuity and build their confidence and commitment to excellence. Teams of five auto technology students and an instructor from invited high schools across the country compete to properly disassemble and reassemble a small-block Chevrolet engine with aftermarket components in the least amount of time. The team with the quickest total time, including added penalties, wins. The competition engines have been built to replicate the real-world, high-performance engines found in today’s musclecars and hot rods.


Qualifying teams typically finish the challenge in the 35-minute range. All teams are encouraged to finish the engine build, regardless of time.
The idea for the organization came to life during the first year of a local consumer show called the Race & Performance Expo. Tim Freeman, an area businessman, asked Bingham to help him put together an engine challenge for the show. So, after Freeman successfully recruited five local high schools for the engine challenge, Vic Edelbrock, with Bingham’s help, decided that he wanted to expand the concept across the country, starting with the first Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge held at the Race & Performance Expo in 2008.

A total of five teams competed during the 2008 season. The series has since grown to 70 teams in 2011, with six divisional winners and four wildcards that were invited to compete at the third annual “Showdown at SEMA” national championship in Las Vegas.

Edelbrock was initially responsible for getting the organization invited to the SEMA Show in 2009. Four teams were invited the first year. That grew to six in the second year, and Hot Rodders of Tomorrow came to the SEMA Show with 10 teams this year, the most ever.

Qualifying teams typically finish the challenge in the 35-minute time frame. All teams are encouraged to finish the engine build, regardless of time; however, once a team hits the 60-minute range, the instructor may help.

Time-added penalties are assessed when participants commit errors, which include dropping components, improper disassembly and poor sportsmanship. There are five judges, each following an individual student, and they score everything from the use of torque wrenches to proper assembly.


During the competition, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow judges score everything from the use of torque wrenching to proper assembly.
The ultimate prize for each member of the winning team is $10,000 in scholarship money provided by Ohio Technical College (OTC), the School of Automotive Machinists and the University of Northwest Ohio. A total of $975,000 has been posted for the 2011 SEMA Show, with the smallest amount being $5,000 per student for the sixth- through 10th-place finishers.

This was the first year that Hot Rodders of Tomorrow received funding. The sponsorship program was changed to provide for a $1,500 annual fee for all 23 manufacturing sponsors to become a part of the program. Prior to that, the money came from Bingham’s company and his own pocket. The funds are used to fly the judges to the competitions and to transport the equipment.

“Joliet Central High School, which won the competition the first year they went to the SEMA Show, only had one instructor at the time,” Bingham said. “Now they have two instructors and a waiting list of kids to get into the class. We’re changing attitudes; young kids want to get enrolled and have a chance to participate in this program.”

 

According to Bingham, there is still a shortage of young talent in the automotive aftermarket field. This program creates excitement and promotes competition. When events are held across the country, parents, siblings and friends show up to cheer the students on. In the future, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow will allow its sponsors and other SEMA-
member manufacturers to post jobs wanted on the organization’s website so they can funnel talented students into some of the openings.

To date, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow has fostered a total of 152 teams in eight divisions consisting of 1,064 students from across the country and has raised more than $3.5 million in scholarship money.

Belvidere North High School’s Success at the SEMA Show

Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Sponsoring Companies

  • Accel
  • Aeroquip Performance Products
  • Airaid
  • A Plus Distributing
  • ARP Automotive Racing Products
  • Auto Meter
  • Be Cool
  • Begler’s Performance
  • Carlisle All-GM Nationals
  • COMP Cams
  • Dart
  • Dee Zee
  • Edelbrock
  • Edge
  • Energy Suspension
  • Fel-Pro Performance Gaskets
  • Hawk Performance
  • Hedman Hedders,
  • K&N
  • Moroso
  • Motive Gear
  • Motor State Distributing
  • Mr. Gasket Co.
  • MSD Ignition
  • Painless Performance Products
  • Parts Pro Performance Centers
  • Proform
  • PRW
  • Race & Performance Expo
  • Royal Purple
  • Russell
  • Speed Pro
  • Tennessee Speed Sport
  • Trans Dapt Performance Products
  • Winner’s Circle Speed & Custom

The Motive Gear-sponsored Belvidere North High School engine team, located in Belvidere, Illinois, put in more than 130 hours of dedication and made many sacrifices to participate in the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge. Support at the school level was tremendous, and the principal himself attended after-school practices and traveled to regional competitions just to watch in amazement what five high-school students could do with an engine.

This year’s team consisted of five talented students who made it through demanding practices and pushed their way to the championship at the SEMA Show. Xander Welsh, now a graduate of Belvidere North High School, tore his rotator cuff last year. After a month of healing, he jumped back onto the team, fighting through the pain and postponing surgery to compete and help the group take first place.

“Hot Rodders of Tomorrow has given me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete against other schools across the nation at the SEMA Show and meet some of the most influential people in our industry,” Welsh said.

Jaysen Wagner, now a senior, made an enormous sacrifice as he withdrew from his enrollment in the National Guard to pursue his place on the engine team and help push the team to first place.

“Without Hot Rodders of Tomorrow, college would not have been possible for me,” Wagner said.

Dalton Annabel, also now a graduate, is currently pursuing his automotive passion by working in a local shop while earning his associate’s degree in automotive before transferring to Southern Illinois University for his bachelor’s degree.

“The experience of working with a team on a project like this, where everyone is focused on a common goal, has been a fun experience and one I will not forget,” Annabel said.

David Santoyo, currently a senior, joined the team halfway through four months of practice to fill in for Welsh while he was injured. Santoyo became a full-time team member upon Welsh’s return.

“Hot Rodders of Tomorrow has opened my eyes to the vast need and importance of everyday people coming together and achieving more than they ever thought they could,” Santoyo said.

Caitlyn Drake, also now a graduate, broke through the typical stereotype that women could not handle a field dominated by males and proved that she deserved her spot on the team. She has earned the Golden Apple scholarship and is currently studying to be a math teacher at Quincy College. Yet, she still helped her team push into the SEMA Show by traveling five hours home just to practice with them.

“Being on the team has not only taught me good skills so I can rely on myself, but also it has taught me a lot about teamwork and how well different people can work together on a common interest,” Drake said.

High-School Engine Builders Go Head-to-Head for $10,000 Automotive Scholarship
Thu, 12/29/2011 - 10:02

SEMA News—December 2011

EVENTS
By Chad Simon

Up for the Challenge

Hot Rodders of Tomorrow: Helping to Bring New Blood into the Aftermarket


Sponsored teams compete for a chance to win the ultimate prize—a $10,000 scholarship, awarded to the winners of the “Showdown at SEMA.”
Providing young automotive enthusiasts with an opportunity to develop and showcase their talents while being exposed to the automotive aftermarket industry, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow launched in 2008 at the Race & Performance Expo in St. Charles, Illinois, and has been invited to compete at the SEMA Show every year since its inception. The organization’s goal is to reach out to high-school students before they graduate in order to provide much-needed future talent for the automotive specialty-equipment market.
“My primary concern is that the people at the racetrack and in this industry as a whole are getting older,” said 40-year industry veteran Jim Bingham, chairman of Hot Rodders of Tomorrow and also president and CEO of Winner’s Circle Speed & Custom and a SEMA Board of Directors member. “You don’t see much young blood, and I wanted to create an avenue for bringing youth into the automotive aftermarket.”

The purpose of the competition, the finals of which are held annually at the SEMA Show, is to offer opportunities for students to build and develop teamwork, demonstrate their enthusiasm and ingenuity and build their confidence and commitment to excellence. Teams of five auto technology students and an instructor from invited high schools across the country compete to properly disassemble and reassemble a small-block Chevrolet engine with aftermarket components in the least amount of time. The team with the quickest total time, including added penalties, wins. The competition engines have been built to replicate the real-world, high-performance engines found in today’s musclecars and hot rods.


Qualifying teams typically finish the challenge in the 35-minute range. All teams are encouraged to finish the engine build, regardless of time.
The idea for the organization came to life during the first year of a local consumer show called the Race & Performance Expo. Tim Freeman, an area businessman, asked Bingham to help him put together an engine challenge for the show. So, after Freeman successfully recruited five local high schools for the engine challenge, Vic Edelbrock, with Bingham’s help, decided that he wanted to expand the concept across the country, starting with the first Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge held at the Race & Performance Expo in 2008.

A total of five teams competed during the 2008 season. The series has since grown to 70 teams in 2011, with six divisional winners and four wildcards that were invited to compete at the third annual “Showdown at SEMA” national championship in Las Vegas.

Edelbrock was initially responsible for getting the organization invited to the SEMA Show in 2009. Four teams were invited the first year. That grew to six in the second year, and Hot Rodders of Tomorrow came to the SEMA Show with 10 teams this year, the most ever.

Qualifying teams typically finish the challenge in the 35-minute time frame. All teams are encouraged to finish the engine build, regardless of time; however, once a team hits the 60-minute range, the instructor may help.

Time-added penalties are assessed when participants commit errors, which include dropping components, improper disassembly and poor sportsmanship. There are five judges, each following an individual student, and they score everything from the use of torque wrenches to proper assembly.


During the competition, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow judges score everything from the use of torque wrenching to proper assembly.
The ultimate prize for each member of the winning team is $10,000 in scholarship money provided by Ohio Technical College (OTC), the School of Automotive Machinists and the University of Northwest Ohio. A total of $975,000 has been posted for the 2011 SEMA Show, with the smallest amount being $5,000 per student for the sixth- through 10th-place finishers.

This was the first year that Hot Rodders of Tomorrow received funding. The sponsorship program was changed to provide for a $1,500 annual fee for all 23 manufacturing sponsors to become a part of the program. Prior to that, the money came from Bingham’s company and his own pocket. The funds are used to fly the judges to the competitions and to transport the equipment.

“Joliet Central High School, which won the competition the first year they went to the SEMA Show, only had one instructor at the time,” Bingham said. “Now they have two instructors and a waiting list of kids to get into the class. We’re changing attitudes; young kids want to get enrolled and have a chance to participate in this program.”

 

According to Bingham, there is still a shortage of young talent in the automotive aftermarket field. This program creates excitement and promotes competition. When events are held across the country, parents, siblings and friends show up to cheer the students on. In the future, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow will allow its sponsors and other SEMA-
member manufacturers to post jobs wanted on the organization’s website so they can funnel talented students into some of the openings.

To date, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow has fostered a total of 152 teams in eight divisions consisting of 1,064 students from across the country and has raised more than $3.5 million in scholarship money.

Belvidere North High School’s Success at the SEMA Show

Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Sponsoring Companies

  • Accel
  • Aeroquip Performance Products
  • Airaid
  • A Plus Distributing
  • ARP Automotive Racing Products
  • Auto Meter
  • Be Cool
  • Begler’s Performance
  • Carlisle All-GM Nationals
  • COMP Cams
  • Dart
  • Dee Zee
  • Edelbrock
  • Edge
  • Energy Suspension
  • Fel-Pro Performance Gaskets
  • Hawk Performance
  • Hedman Hedders,
  • K&N
  • Moroso
  • Motive Gear
  • Motor State Distributing
  • Mr. Gasket Co.
  • MSD Ignition
  • Painless Performance Products
  • Parts Pro Performance Centers
  • Proform
  • PRW
  • Race & Performance Expo
  • Royal Purple
  • Russell
  • Speed Pro
  • Tennessee Speed Sport
  • Trans Dapt Performance Products
  • Winner’s Circle Speed & Custom

The Motive Gear-sponsored Belvidere North High School engine team, located in Belvidere, Illinois, put in more than 130 hours of dedication and made many sacrifices to participate in the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge. Support at the school level was tremendous, and the principal himself attended after-school practices and traveled to regional competitions just to watch in amazement what five high-school students could do with an engine.

This year’s team consisted of five talented students who made it through demanding practices and pushed their way to the championship at the SEMA Show. Xander Welsh, now a graduate of Belvidere North High School, tore his rotator cuff last year. After a month of healing, he jumped back onto the team, fighting through the pain and postponing surgery to compete and help the group take first place.

“Hot Rodders of Tomorrow has given me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete against other schools across the nation at the SEMA Show and meet some of the most influential people in our industry,” Welsh said.

Jaysen Wagner, now a senior, made an enormous sacrifice as he withdrew from his enrollment in the National Guard to pursue his place on the engine team and help push the team to first place.

“Without Hot Rodders of Tomorrow, college would not have been possible for me,” Wagner said.

Dalton Annabel, also now a graduate, is currently pursuing his automotive passion by working in a local shop while earning his associate’s degree in automotive before transferring to Southern Illinois University for his bachelor’s degree.

“The experience of working with a team on a project like this, where everyone is focused on a common goal, has been a fun experience and one I will not forget,” Annabel said.

David Santoyo, currently a senior, joined the team halfway through four months of practice to fill in for Welsh while he was injured. Santoyo became a full-time team member upon Welsh’s return.

“Hot Rodders of Tomorrow has opened my eyes to the vast need and importance of everyday people coming together and achieving more than they ever thought they could,” Santoyo said.

Caitlyn Drake, also now a graduate, broke through the typical stereotype that women could not handle a field dominated by males and proved that she deserved her spot on the team. She has earned the Golden Apple scholarship and is currently studying to be a math teacher at Quincy College. Yet, she still helped her team push into the SEMA Show by traveling five hours home just to practice with them.

“Being on the team has not only taught me good skills so I can rely on myself, but also it has taught me a lot about teamwork and how well different people can work together on a common interest,” Drake said.

SEMA Members Meet With Potential Customers in China, Witness Growing Demand First-Hand
Thu, 12/29/2011 - 09:58

SEMA News—December 2011

Chinese Consumers Seek Specialty Products

U.S. Manufacturers Travel to China to Meet Growing Demand

By Linda Spencer


The SEMA delegation was invited to take part in the opening ceremonies of the China International Auto Parts Expo (CIAPE). Posing with the group were Daniel Green, director of market access and compliance office, U.S. Embassy, Beijing (front row, second from right) and William Brekke, principal commercial officer, American Consulate General, Shanghai (front row, third from right). This is the fifth edition of this trade-only show, which was sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).
A group of SEMA-member manufacturers recently descended on the Chinese capitol of Beijing, for the second annual SEMA China International Auto Parts Expo (CIAPE) China Business Development Program—an intensive three days of networking and one-on-one meetings with Chinese buyers from 24 cities throughout China. The 2011 delegation of U.S. companies represented a broad range of products, including engine performance, interior and exterior appearance products, suspension and handling upgrades and mobile electronics. The goals of the participants included meeting potential customers, getting a better understanding of consumer brand awareness, evaluating distribution channels for their products and identifying vehicles on Chinese roads for which they should develop new product applications.

In addition to the daylong networking and one-on-one meetings, the 30 members of the SEMA delegation had the opportunity to meet with top U.S. Embassy officials, meet for an informal breakfast with Chinese enthusiast press and tour the Chinese Ministry of Commerce-sponsored CIAPE. This year was the fifth for this trade-only event, which featured primarily repair and replacement products but included a new specialty-equipment hall, with the largest exhibitors being distributors of overseas specialty products.

SEMA places a high priority on assisting SEMA-member companies in diversifying their customer bases and facilitating access to the 95% of the world’s customers located outside the United States. For SEMA members, new geographic markets offer opportunities to create new revenue streams and reach new customers. SEMA Vice President of Communications and Events Peter MacGillivray noted that the association actively searches for additional markets where passion, market conditions and vehicle mix indicate good potential for members’ products and increasingly point to emerging markets.

“One of the most promising of these markets is China,” said MacGillivray. “There is no doubt for those who travel to China that the demand is growing among Chinese consumers to customize their vehicles. The SEMA Global Business Development Conference helps to meet the demands of these buyers in emerging markets, such as China’s. Our program facilitates one-on-one meetings between SEMA manufacturers and pre-vetted Chinese distributors and retailers in a hotel-based setting.”

The program allows for quality meetings between serious buyers and member manufactures in a low-cost, turnkey situation. The program is based on the premise that, until a market has a more fully developed distribution system and has achieved a certain level of development, U.S. companies are advised to avoid the typical high costs of exhibiting in a traditional trade show, including but not limited to shipping material, booth costs and the need for significant staff resources.

China offers a population of more than 1.3 billion and growing market sophistication, and participants in the 2011 program were impressed with the speed at which the Chinese market is expanding.

“The market in China is developing at a much quicker rate than we experienced in the United States,” said SEMA Chairman Scooter Brothers, who also serves as the chief operating officer of Tennessee-based COMP Performance Group. “Chinese consumers crave Western style and trends, which are increasingly being reflected in their cars.”

“Trips, such as the SEMA China Business Development Program, are a critical component in our company’s activities to develop a growing range of products to fit vehicles found on Chinese roads,” said Brothers. “This task will soon become easier as the world platform for the OEs is becoming standard. With that, U.S. and Chinese vehicles will become quite similar, making the development of parts much easier, quicker and less expensive.”

SEMA Member Companies Who Exhibited at the 2011 SEMA China Business Development Conference

  • American Expedition Vehicles
  • Anzo U.S.A.
  • BDS Suspension
  • BrynDana International
  • Bushwacker Inc.
  • COMP Performance Group
  • eBay Motors
  • Evosport
  • Girard Systems and Girard
    Products LLC
  • Injen Technology
  • K&N Engineering Inc.
    and AEM Induction Systems
  • Keystone Automotive Operations
  • SCT Performance
  • Sheen Coatings Co./
    Paasch Products Inc.
  • Stillwater Designs and
    Audio Inc. (Kicker)
  • StopTech/Power Slot
  • T-Rex Grilles
Other companies are finding immediate sales.

“I would attribute our success to the fact that China is experiencing an economic boom in its middle- to upper-class markets,” said Ed Rossi, vice president of sales for Injen Technology. “The average young man aspires to own his own car as a means for making his life easy and as a status symbol. As they travel abroad or experience global news, they start to crave Western ways of life and means.”

“I am convinced that the market for Western products will grow exponentially over the next few years,” Brothers said. “The plans are for the Chinese to manufacture 35 million vehicles by 2025. That’s twice what the U.S. built in its best year. Only a very few of the owners of all those cars need to be ‘car guys’ for us to have a tremendous market.”

Brothers noted that COMP Cams finds the SEMA trip a good way to keep an eye on the market so that it can be well positioned to move quickly when the market explodes.

“I believe it is going to happen all at once,” he said, “and those of us who have done our homework will do well. Those who follow might not be successful.”

The participating companies and SEMA executives had the opportunity to discuss with Chinese and U.S. government officials based in China a variety of issues and problems that must be addressed in order for the market to achieve its full development, including cracking down with strict enforcement over counterfeiting and other intellectual-property infringements and the need for greater clarity and progress regarding the legalization of specialty-equipment products. There was consensus that only when issues such as these are addressed will distributors and retailers in China be willing to invest in the development of a distribution system supported by firms of sufficient size to grow the market and provide consumers with needed access to leading global brands.

SEMA Vice President of Marketing and Member Services Tom Myroniak traveled to China with the group and noted that there is a large and growing need for education and training among Chinese trade businesses and consumers to assist in the development of the market and increase familiarity with leading U.S. brands and their correct installation.

“It’s clear that the marketplace for specialty products in China is building momentum and that the passion for automobiles is alive and well with a growing base of enthusiasts there,” Myroniak said. “Car owners are hungry for information to help them customize or tune their vehicles, and a surprising number of them are very familiar with SEMA-member brands.”

Florida-based SCT Performance, a manufacturer of electronic control units, concurred that the market can be an important one for high-performance products.

“We believe the market in China is untapped and growing each year,” said an SCT Performance’s Rick Trudo. “It offers a great opportunity for us as we work with the Chinese to develop the performance market.”

Buyers and SEMA exhibitors pose on the steps of the Great Hall of the People prior to the dinner.

Located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square, The Great Hall of the People functions as the People’s Republic of China’s parliament building and is the venue of ceremonial activities.

In addition to the one-on-one meetings, the dinner provided a networking opportunity with buyers. Many SEMA members scheduled additional private meetings with potential customers throughout the week.

William Brekke (fourth from right) and Daniel Green (fourth from left) spent the morning with the SEMA delegation. Following a private briefing in which the group discussed the growing Chinese market as well as the challenges hampering its obtaining its full potential—including a less-than-optimal system of enforcement for counterfeiting and other intellectual-property concerns and the need for additional progress in the creation of pro-industry laws concerning customization—the government officials accompanied the SEMA delegation to the opening of the CIAPE Show and visited the SEMA booth.

Malcolm Johnson (center), CEO of Byrn Dana, heard some pointers from Ray Gross (left), CEO of Powersheen, and Andy Barbieri, vice president of business development at BDS Suspension.

About two-thirds of the participants were also here last year and, as Johnson gratefully noted, freely gave of their time and advice to help those participating on the SEMA China Business Development program for the first time, such as Byrn Dana.

Ben Mizban (left), president and CEO of Southern California-based T-Rex Grilles, spoke with a buyer interested in U.S.- manufactured billet grilles and grille assemblies. Mizban participated in the trip to expand to other markets where his company could increase sales and use SEMA’s muscles to connect and generate leads. He noted that he would be busy with follow up. “The ball is in my court now to follow up and turn some of the contacts I made into actual sales and future distributors,” he said. He is optimistic and believes that his products have great growth potential in the Chinese market.

Marcia Girard (far left), CEO of Girard Systems, and Gerald Pogue (second from left), the firm’s vice president and general manager, talked with buyers about the growing market for RV parks. Girard and Pogue’s research reveals a number of RV parks in the Beijing area, with another 17 under construction in just the surrounding area, providing some short-term opportunities for the firm as demand grows for the enjoyment of the popular American pastime. During a recent interview with SEMA, Wang Jidong, the RV association’s secretary-general noted, “There is a great potential for the growth of the RV market in China.” Jidong noted that change is coming fast in China as local governments and businesses build hundreds of RV camps nationwide.

Ivan Martinez (right), Exeter, Pennsylvania -based Keystone Automotive Operations’ global business development director, provides a light-truck distributor with information on Keystone’s high performance, accessories, wheels, automotive parts, truck accessories and import performance product lines. Martinez, in China with SEMA for the first time, noted that he participated in the China Business Development Program to “learn about the market and explore opportunities” and that, in his view, he sees real growth in the next five years. Martinez noted, “As China develops the taste for American vehicles and has more disposable income, the market should experience a level of expansion.”

David Thawley (second from right), senior manager of eBay Motors, a part of eBay Inc., talked with buyers at the SEMA CIAPE China Business Development Program about the online services the firm can offer to Chinese companies, given eBay’s position as the Internet’s largest marketplace for buying and selling automotive-related products. “We [eBay Motors] had a great and very productive time at the SEMA/CIAPE event,” said Thawley. “Recently, we’ve seen tremendous global growth in online automotive parts and accessories sales, and we are confident that Asia will continue to be a major driver of future growth. With more vehicles sold in China vs. the United States over the past year, the current nascent automotive aftermarket in China has an amazing amount of runway ahead! As a marketplace that connects buyers and sellers globally, and as the largest online retailer of automotive parts and accessories in the world, an event such as SEMA/CIAPE provides a tremendous opportunity for eBay Motors to connect with leaders in the automotive aftermarket. We’ll definitely be back next year!”

Simon Atik (far right), president of Evosport, based in Huntington Beach, California, participated in the SEMA China Business Development program to assess the market for the firm’s aftermarket accessories for BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari. “While the emergence of the aftermarket industry is still in its infancy stages, the obvious potentials are astonishing,” said Atik. “The biggest challenges will be educating the consumers and distributors of our brand, as the skillsets necessary to install and support performance specific products is extremely limited. Having established distribution in China almost a year ago, my primary goals were to meet with our current distribution network of dealers and gain greater clarity on the demands and needs of this growing market. Those goals were very much realized during this trip to a much greater extent with the participation in the SEMA event. There is an overwhelming current demand for our products, the future of which will be determined greatly by how well the Chinese government and legislation embraces this industry and the regulations that surround it.”

As part of the program, each SEMA exhibitor was provided with a turnkey booth and an interpreter for the day. The companies, which represented a broad range of products that included engine performance, interior and exterior appearance products, suspension and handling upgrades and mobile electronics, were kept busy meeting with pre-vetted buyers from throughout China.

The program was designed to minimize costs, with no need to ship large quantities of products. In fact, many companies hand-carried their brochures and samples.

Malcolm Johnson (left), CEO of BrynDana International, participated in this year’s SEMA China Business Development program to explore the market for his company’s spray-on coating products. Johnson obtained a number of solid leads during his time in China. “The notion that U.S. manufacturers cannot export to China has been debunked,” he said. “The Chinese buyers with whom I met in Beijing are young entrepreneurs, and they are asking for high-quality U.S.-manufactured automotive products. SEMA organized a well-planned and highly professional trade show that allowed me to reach these buyers. I will attend this show again next year, along with the upcoming Dubai delegation.”

As consumers seek more powerful engines, the demand for high-performance brakes also grows. This increasing demand brought Jeremy Barras (right), export sales manager for StopTech/Power Slot, back to China to participate for a second year in the SEMA China Business Development Program. Compton, California-based StopTech manufacturers high-performance brake systems and components for the racing and street-performance markets. Its sister company, Power Slot, manufactures high-performance slotted brake rotors.

Zhang Ji (left), director general of the MOFCOM office of mechanical, electrical and high technology, presented SEMA Chairman Paul “Scooter” Brothers (second from left), SEMA Director of International Affairs Linda Spencer and SEMA Vice President of Communications and Events Peter MacGillivray (right) with an award recognizing the longtime partnership between SEMA and the MOFCOM trade show CIAPE. SEMA leadership has been working closely with the ministry to make additional progress in legalizing the use of all specialty-equipment products in China.

Ray Gross (second from right) was excited that the trip has yielded some potentially significant business and that his comfort in doing business in China is growing. He has noticed that his potential Chinese customers are not all that dissimilar from those in the United States. He is optimistic about the prospects for his company in China, noting that the market presented “great possibilities.”

Kenneth Merritt (left), vice president of OEM sales for Oregon-based Bushwacker, provided an overview of the company’s bestselling fender flares and other products for Jeeps and other light trucks to a buyer as the daylong one-on-one meetings got underway. Kim Ziebell, the firm’s executive vice president and CMO, is pictured on the far right.

Christopher Wood (third from right), director of sales, and Mike Messink (third from left), CFO of American Expedition Vehicles, discussed with potential buyers the range of products the company produces for the Jeep Wrangler. Jeeps are very popular in China, with a growing number of off-roading events throughout the rugged Chinese countryside, as well as ventures to more distant locations, such as Nepal and Mongolia. Wood noted, “The combination of increased Jeep Wrangler exports to China and a growing demographic of well-funded Chinese buyers has created steady sales growth for our high-end Jeep accessories. The challenge has just been protecting our brand from copying. There is no question that there is a market in China for our products and those of other 4WD accessory manufacturers. The trick is just protecting one’s IPR in China.”

Steve Outhier (center), director of product planning at Stillwater Designs and Audio Inc. (Kicker), enjoyed speaking with buyers interested in the firm’s mobile electronic products.
“We already sell into China,” said Outhier, “and we see great potential for expansion in this market. The conference helped me better understand the opportunities and challenges we face as we expand our presence. That was my goal for the conference, and I feel it was well met.”

 

Anzo U.S.A.’s General Manager George Lee (third from right) chatted with buyers, many of whom sought out the first-time participant that manufacturers lighting products for cars, trucks and SUVs.

Buyers crowded into the Injen booth during the daylong meetings. Ed Rossi (third from left), Injen’s vice president of sales, spoke with a buyer while Ron Delgado (second from right) spoke to another group. “Once again, we met many Chinese companies,” said Rossi, “and we have very firm plans to open accounts with two or three of them. The program has been fantastic for us.”

Pictured here are Brothers (left) and Green (second left) along with SEMA’s MacGillivray and U.S. government official Brekke (right) who has more than 30 years of experience in Asia. In the background is a project vehicle built by Beijing-based distributor BATT and featuring products from Bushwacker and BDS.

 

Kevin Floody (left), the international business manager for K&N Engineering Inc. and AEM Induction Systems, explained the company’s wide array of high-performance air filter and air intake systems designed for a range of sport-compacts, trucks and SUVs applications to one of the many visitors to K&N’s booth. “China continues to amaze me every time I return,” said Floody. “This market is maturing at such a rapid rate that it is like watching your children grow up. K&N is definitely glad China is part of its global markets.”

Rick Trudo (right), president and CEO of SCT Performance, spoke to an increasing number of buyers seeking SCT’s Ford and GM ECU tuning products and other under-hood products to improve engine performance. Trudo was so positive about the market that SCT has just set up an office in China to service its growing customer base. “SCT participated in the SEMA trip to China because of the success we had in 2010,” said Trudo. “We have added dealers and helped develop a tuner market while working with dealers and customers there. The Chinese continue to learn more and more about the performance industry, and we see a great opportunity for us to work with them and help this market continue to grow.”

Andy Barbieri, vice president of business development at BDS Suspension, met with buyers from Chengdu, China, who were interested in learning about the firm’s lifted suspension systems. “We decided to attend for a second year because of the success of our first trip last year,” Barbieri said. “Our goal was to build on the progress that was made last year. I was very encouraged by the number of new contacts that we met at the 2011 SEMA CIAPE conference and the growth of our existing Chinese customer base.” He is also optimistic about continued growth. “The number of new American vehicles being sold and the ever-increasing interest in customizing those vehicles will fuel the growth of the automotive aftermarket in China over the next five years and beyond,” he said.
SEMA Members Meet With Potential Customers in China, Witness Growing Demand First-Hand
Thu, 12/29/2011 - 09:58

SEMA News—December 2011

Chinese Consumers Seek Specialty Products

U.S. Manufacturers Travel to China to Meet Growing Demand

By Linda Spencer


The SEMA delegation was invited to take part in the opening ceremonies of the China International Auto Parts Expo (CIAPE). Posing with the group were Daniel Green, director of market access and compliance office, U.S. Embassy, Beijing (front row, second from right) and William Brekke, principal commercial officer, American Consulate General, Shanghai (front row, third from right). This is the fifth edition of this trade-only show, which was sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).
A group of SEMA-member manufacturers recently descended on the Chinese capitol of Beijing, for the second annual SEMA China International Auto Parts Expo (CIAPE) China Business Development Program—an intensive three days of networking and one-on-one meetings with Chinese buyers from 24 cities throughout China. The 2011 delegation of U.S. companies represented a broad range of products, including engine performance, interior and exterior appearance products, suspension and handling upgrades and mobile electronics. The goals of the participants included meeting potential customers, getting a better understanding of consumer brand awareness, evaluating distribution channels for their products and identifying vehicles on Chinese roads for which they should develop new product applications.

In addition to the daylong networking and one-on-one meetings, the 30 members of the SEMA delegation had the opportunity to meet with top U.S. Embassy officials, meet for an informal breakfast with Chinese enthusiast press and tour the Chinese Ministry of Commerce-sponsored CIAPE. This year was the fifth for this trade-only event, which featured primarily repair and replacement products but included a new specialty-equipment hall, with the largest exhibitors being distributors of overseas specialty products.

SEMA places a high priority on assisting SEMA-member companies in diversifying their customer bases and facilitating access to the 95% of the world’s customers located outside the United States. For SEMA members, new geographic markets offer opportunities to create new revenue streams and reach new customers. SEMA Vice President of Communications and Events Peter MacGillivray noted that the association actively searches for additional markets where passion, market conditions and vehicle mix indicate good potential for members’ products and increasingly point to emerging markets.

“One of the most promising of these markets is China,” said MacGillivray. “There is no doubt for those who travel to China that the demand is growing among Chinese consumers to customize their vehicles. The SEMA Global Business Development Conference helps to meet the demands of these buyers in emerging markets, such as China’s. Our program facilitates one-on-one meetings between SEMA manufacturers and pre-vetted Chinese distributors and retailers in a hotel-based setting.”

The program allows for quality meetings between serious buyers and member manufactures in a low-cost, turnkey situation. The program is based on the premise that, until a market has a more fully developed distribution system and has achieved a certain level of development, U.S. companies are advised to avoid the typical high costs of exhibiting in a traditional trade show, including but not limited to shipping material, booth costs and the need for significant staff resources.

China offers a population of more than 1.3 billion and growing market sophistication, and participants in the 2011 program were impressed with the speed at which the Chinese market is expanding.

“The market in China is developing at a much quicker rate than we experienced in the United States,” said SEMA Chairman Scooter Brothers, who also serves as the chief operating officer of Tennessee-based COMP Performance Group. “Chinese consumers crave Western style and trends, which are increasingly being reflected in their cars.”

“Trips, such as the SEMA China Business Development Program, are a critical component in our company’s activities to develop a growing range of products to fit vehicles found on Chinese roads,” said Brothers. “This task will soon become easier as the world platform for the OEs is becoming standard. With that, U.S. and Chinese vehicles will become quite similar, making the development of parts much easier, quicker and less expensive.”

SEMA Member Companies Who Exhibited at the 2011 SEMA China Business Development Conference

  • American Expedition Vehicles
  • Anzo U.S.A.
  • BDS Suspension
  • BrynDana International
  • Bushwacker Inc.
  • COMP Performance Group
  • eBay Motors
  • Evosport
  • Girard Systems and Girard
    Products LLC
  • Injen Technology
  • K&N Engineering Inc.
    and AEM Induction Systems
  • Keystone Automotive Operations
  • SCT Performance
  • Sheen Coatings Co./
    Paasch Products Inc.
  • Stillwater Designs and
    Audio Inc. (Kicker)
  • StopTech/Power Slot
  • T-Rex Grilles
Other companies are finding immediate sales.

“I would attribute our success to the fact that China is experiencing an economic boom in its middle- to upper-class markets,” said Ed Rossi, vice president of sales for Injen Technology. “The average young man aspires to own his own car as a means for making his life easy and as a status symbol. As they travel abroad or experience global news, they start to crave Western ways of life and means.”

“I am convinced that the market for Western products will grow exponentially over the next few years,” Brothers said. “The plans are for the Chinese to manufacture 35 million vehicles by 2025. That’s twice what the U.S. built in its best year. Only a very few of the owners of all those cars need to be ‘car guys’ for us to have a tremendous market.”

Brothers noted that COMP Cams finds the SEMA trip a good way to keep an eye on the market so that it can be well positioned to move quickly when the market explodes.

“I believe it is going to happen all at once,” he said, “and those of us who have done our homework will do well. Those who follow might not be successful.”

The participating companies and SEMA executives had the opportunity to discuss with Chinese and U.S. government officials based in China a variety of issues and problems that must be addressed in order for the market to achieve its full development, including cracking down with strict enforcement over counterfeiting and other intellectual-property infringements and the need for greater clarity and progress regarding the legalization of specialty-equipment products. There was consensus that only when issues such as these are addressed will distributors and retailers in China be willing to invest in the development of a distribution system supported by firms of sufficient size to grow the market and provide consumers with needed access to leading global brands.

SEMA Vice President of Marketing and Member Services Tom Myroniak traveled to China with the group and noted that there is a large and growing need for education and training among Chinese trade businesses and consumers to assist in the development of the market and increase familiarity with leading U.S. brands and their correct installation.

“It’s clear that the marketplace for specialty products in China is building momentum and that the passion for automobiles is alive and well with a growing base of enthusiasts there,” Myroniak said. “Car owners are hungry for information to help them customize or tune their vehicles, and a surprising number of them are very familiar with SEMA-member brands.”

Florida-based SCT Performance, a manufacturer of electronic control units, concurred that the market can be an important one for high-performance products.

“We believe the market in China is untapped and growing each year,” said an SCT Performance’s Rick Trudo. “It offers a great opportunity for us as we work with the Chinese to develop the performance market.”

Buyers and SEMA exhibitors pose on the steps of the Great Hall of the People prior to the dinner.

Located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square, The Great Hall of the People functions as the People’s Republic of China’s parliament building and is the venue of ceremonial activities.

In addition to the one-on-one meetings, the dinner provided a networking opportunity with buyers. Many SEMA members scheduled additional private meetings with potential customers throughout the week.

William Brekke (fourth from right) and Daniel Green (fourth from left) spent the morning with the SEMA delegation. Following a private briefing in which the group discussed the growing Chinese market as well as the challenges hampering its obtaining its full potential—including a less-than-optimal system of enforcement for counterfeiting and other intellectual-property concerns and the need for additional progress in the creation of pro-industry laws concerning customization—the government officials accompanied the SEMA delegation to the opening of the CIAPE Show and visited the SEMA booth.

Malcolm Johnson (center), CEO of Byrn Dana, heard some pointers from Ray Gross (left), CEO of Powersheen, and Andy Barbieri, vice president of business development at BDS Suspension.

About two-thirds of the participants were also here last year and, as Johnson gratefully noted, freely gave of their time and advice to help those participating on the SEMA China Business Development program for the first time, such as Byrn Dana.

Ben Mizban (left), president and CEO of Southern California-based T-Rex Grilles, spoke with a buyer interested in U.S.- manufactured billet grilles and grille assemblies. Mizban participated in the trip to expand to other markets where his company could increase sales and use SEMA’s muscles to connect and generate leads. He noted that he would be busy with follow up. “The ball is in my court now to follow up and turn some of the contacts I made into actual sales and future distributors,” he said. He is optimistic and believes that his products have great growth potential in the Chinese market.

Marcia Girard (far left), CEO of Girard Systems, and Gerald Pogue (second from left), the firm’s vice president and general manager, talked with buyers about the growing market for RV parks. Girard and Pogue’s research reveals a number of RV parks in the Beijing area, with another 17 under construction in just the surrounding area, providing some short-term opportunities for the firm as demand grows for the enjoyment of the popular American pastime. During a recent interview with SEMA, Wang Jidong, the RV association’s secretary-general noted, “There is a great potential for the growth of the RV market in China.” Jidong noted that change is coming fast in China as local governments and businesses build hundreds of RV camps nationwide.

Ivan Martinez (right), Exeter, Pennsylvania -based Keystone Automotive Operations’ global business development director, provides a light-truck distributor with information on Keystone’s high performance, accessories, wheels, automotive parts, truck accessories and import performance product lines. Martinez, in China with SEMA for the first time, noted that he participated in the China Business Development Program to “learn about the market and explore opportunities” and that, in his view, he sees real growth in the next five years. Martinez noted, “As China develops the taste for American vehicles and has more disposable income, the market should experience a level of expansion.”

David Thawley (second from right), senior manager of eBay Motors, a part of eBay Inc., talked with buyers at the SEMA CIAPE China Business Development Program about the online services the firm can offer to Chinese companies, given eBay’s position as the Internet’s largest marketplace for buying and selling automotive-related products. “We [eBay Motors] had a great and very productive time at the SEMA/CIAPE event,” said Thawley. “Recently, we’ve seen tremendous global growth in online automotive parts and accessories sales, and we are confident that Asia will continue to be a major driver of future growth. With more vehicles sold in China vs. the United States over the past year, the current nascent automotive aftermarket in China has an amazing amount of runway ahead! As a marketplace that connects buyers and sellers globally, and as the largest online retailer of automotive parts and accessories in the world, an event such as SEMA/CIAPE provides a tremendous opportunity for eBay Motors to connect with leaders in the automotive aftermarket. We’ll definitely be back next year!”

Simon Atik (far right), president of Evosport, based in Huntington Beach, California, participated in the SEMA China Business Development program to assess the market for the firm’s aftermarket accessories for BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari. “While the emergence of the aftermarket industry is still in its infancy stages, the obvious potentials are astonishing,” said Atik. “The biggest challenges will be educating the consumers and distributors of our brand, as the skillsets necessary to install and support performance specific products is extremely limited. Having established distribution in China almost a year ago, my primary goals were to meet with our current distribution network of dealers and gain greater clarity on the demands and needs of this growing market. Those goals were very much realized during this trip to a much greater extent with the participation in the SEMA event. There is an overwhelming current demand for our products, the future of which will be determined greatly by how well the Chinese government and legislation embraces this industry and the regulations that surround it.”

As part of the program, each SEMA exhibitor was provided with a turnkey booth and an interpreter for the day. The companies, which represented a broad range of products that included engine performance, interior and exterior appearance products, suspension and handling upgrades and mobile electronics, were kept busy meeting with pre-vetted buyers from throughout China.

The program was designed to minimize costs, with no need to ship large quantities of products. In fact, many companies hand-carried their brochures and samples.

Malcolm Johnson (left), CEO of BrynDana International, participated in this year’s SEMA China Business Development program to explore the market for his company’s spray-on coating products. Johnson obtained a number of solid leads during his time in China. “The notion that U.S. manufacturers cannot export to China has been debunked,” he said. “The Chinese buyers with whom I met in Beijing are young entrepreneurs, and they are asking for high-quality U.S.-manufactured automotive products. SEMA organized a well-planned and highly professional trade show that allowed me to reach these buyers. I will attend this show again next year, along with the upcoming Dubai delegation.”

As consumers seek more powerful engines, the demand for high-performance brakes also grows. This increasing demand brought Jeremy Barras (right), export sales manager for StopTech/Power Slot, back to China to participate for a second year in the SEMA China Business Development Program. Compton, California-based StopTech manufacturers high-performance brake systems and components for the racing and street-performance markets. Its sister company, Power Slot, manufactures high-performance slotted brake rotors.

Zhang Ji (left), director general of the MOFCOM office of mechanical, electrical and high technology, presented SEMA Chairman Paul “Scooter” Brothers (second from left), SEMA Director of International Affairs Linda Spencer and SEMA Vice President of Communications and Events Peter MacGillivray (right) with an award recognizing the longtime partnership between SEMA and the MOFCOM trade show CIAPE. SEMA leadership has been working closely with the ministry to make additional progress in legalizing the use of all specialty-equipment products in China.

Ray Gross (second from right) was excited that the trip has yielded some potentially significant business and that his comfort in doing business in China is growing. He has noticed that his potential Chinese customers are not all that dissimilar from those in the United States. He is optimistic about the prospects for his company in China, noting that the market presented “great possibilities.”

Kenneth Merritt (left), vice president of OEM sales for Oregon-based Bushwacker, provided an overview of the company’s bestselling fender flares and other products for Jeeps and other light trucks to a buyer as the daylong one-on-one meetings got underway. Kim Ziebell, the firm’s executive vice president and CMO, is pictured on the far right.

Christopher Wood (third from right), director of sales, and Mike Messink (third from left), CFO of American Expedition Vehicles, discussed with potential buyers the range of products the company produces for the Jeep Wrangler. Jeeps are very popular in China, with a growing number of off-roading events throughout the rugged Chinese countryside, as well as ventures to more distant locations, such as Nepal and Mongolia. Wood noted, “The combination of increased Jeep Wrangler exports to China and a growing demographic of well-funded Chinese buyers has created steady sales growth for our high-end Jeep accessories. The challenge has just been protecting our brand from copying. There is no question that there is a market in China for our products and those of other 4WD accessory manufacturers. The trick is just protecting one’s IPR in China.”

Steve Outhier (center), director of product planning at Stillwater Designs and Audio Inc. (Kicker), enjoyed speaking with buyers interested in the firm’s mobile electronic products.
“We already sell into China,” said Outhier, “and we see great potential for expansion in this market. The conference helped me better understand the opportunities and challenges we face as we expand our presence. That was my goal for the conference, and I feel it was well met.”

 

Anzo U.S.A.’s General Manager George Lee (third from right) chatted with buyers, many of whom sought out the first-time participant that manufacturers lighting products for cars, trucks and SUVs.

Buyers crowded into the Injen booth during the daylong meetings. Ed Rossi (third from left), Injen’s vice president of sales, spoke with a buyer while Ron Delgado (second from right) spoke to another group. “Once again, we met many Chinese companies,” said Rossi, “and we have very firm plans to open accounts with two or three of them. The program has been fantastic for us.”

Pictured here are Brothers (left) and Green (second left) along with SEMA’s MacGillivray and U.S. government official Brekke (right) who has more than 30 years of experience in Asia. In the background is a project vehicle built by Beijing-based distributor BATT and featuring products from Bushwacker and BDS.

 

Kevin Floody (left), the international business manager for K&N Engineering Inc. and AEM Induction Systems, explained the company’s wide array of high-performance air filter and air intake systems designed for a range of sport-compacts, trucks and SUVs applications to one of the many visitors to K&N’s booth. “China continues to amaze me every time I return,” said Floody. “This market is maturing at such a rapid rate that it is like watching your children grow up. K&N is definitely glad China is part of its global markets.”

Rick Trudo (right), president and CEO of SCT Performance, spoke to an increasing number of buyers seeking SCT’s Ford and GM ECU tuning products and other under-hood products to improve engine performance. Trudo was so positive about the market that SCT has just set up an office in China to service its growing customer base. “SCT participated in the SEMA trip to China because of the success we had in 2010,” said Trudo. “We have added dealers and helped develop a tuner market while working with dealers and customers there. The Chinese continue to learn more and more about the performance industry, and we see a great opportunity for us to work with them and help this market continue to grow.”

Andy Barbieri, vice president of business development at BDS Suspension, met with buyers from Chengdu, China, who were interested in learning about the firm’s lifted suspension systems. “We decided to attend for a second year because of the success of our first trip last year,” Barbieri said. “Our goal was to build on the progress that was made last year. I was very encouraged by the number of new contacts that we met at the 2011 SEMA CIAPE conference and the growth of our existing Chinese customer base.” He is also optimistic about continued growth. “The number of new American vehicles being sold and the ever-increasing interest in customizing those vehicles will fuel the growth of the automotive aftermarket in China over the next five years and beyond,” he said.
SEMA Members Meet With Potential Customers in China, Witness Growing Demand First-Hand
Thu, 12/29/2011 - 09:58

SEMA News—December 2011

Chinese Consumers Seek Specialty Products

U.S. Manufacturers Travel to China to Meet Growing Demand

By Linda Spencer


The SEMA delegation was invited to take part in the opening ceremonies of the China International Auto Parts Expo (CIAPE). Posing with the group were Daniel Green, director of market access and compliance office, U.S. Embassy, Beijing (front row, second from right) and William Brekke, principal commercial officer, American Consulate General, Shanghai (front row, third from right). This is the fifth edition of this trade-only show, which was sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).
A group of SEMA-member manufacturers recently descended on the Chinese capitol of Beijing, for the second annual SEMA China International Auto Parts Expo (CIAPE) China Business Development Program—an intensive three days of networking and one-on-one meetings with Chinese buyers from 24 cities throughout China. The 2011 delegation of U.S. companies represented a broad range of products, including engine performance, interior and exterior appearance products, suspension and handling upgrades and mobile electronics. The goals of the participants included meeting potential customers, getting a better understanding of consumer brand awareness, evaluating distribution channels for their products and identifying vehicles on Chinese roads for which they should develop new product applications.

In addition to the daylong networking and one-on-one meetings, the 30 members of the SEMA delegation had the opportunity to meet with top U.S. Embassy officials, meet for an informal breakfast with Chinese enthusiast press and tour the Chinese Ministry of Commerce-sponsored CIAPE. This year was the fifth for this trade-only event, which featured primarily repair and replacement products but included a new specialty-equipment hall, with the largest exhibitors being distributors of overseas specialty products.

SEMA places a high priority on assisting SEMA-member companies in diversifying their customer bases and facilitating access to the 95% of the world’s customers located outside the United States. For SEMA members, new geographic markets offer opportunities to create new revenue streams and reach new customers. SEMA Vice President of Communications and Events Peter MacGillivray noted that the association actively searches for additional markets where passion, market conditions and vehicle mix indicate good potential for members’ products and increasingly point to emerging markets.

“One of the most promising of these markets is China,” said MacGillivray. “There is no doubt for those who travel to China that the demand is growing among Chinese consumers to customize their vehicles. The SEMA Global Business Development Conference helps to meet the demands of these buyers in emerging markets, such as China’s. Our program facilitates one-on-one meetings between SEMA manufacturers and pre-vetted Chinese distributors and retailers in a hotel-based setting.”

The program allows for quality meetings between serious buyers and member manufactures in a low-cost, turnkey situation. The program is based on the premise that, until a market has a more fully developed distribution system and has achieved a certain level of development, U.S. companies are advised to avoid the typical high costs of exhibiting in a traditional trade show, including but not limited to shipping material, booth costs and the need for significant staff resources.

China offers a population of more than 1.3 billion and growing market sophistication, and participants in the 2011 program were impressed with the speed at which the Chinese market is expanding.

“The market in China is developing at a much quicker rate than we experienced in the United States,” said SEMA Chairman Scooter Brothers, who also serves as the chief operating officer of Tennessee-based COMP Performance Group. “Chinese consumers crave Western style and trends, which are increasingly being reflected in their cars.”

“Trips, such as the SEMA China Business Development Program, are a critical component in our company’s activities to develop a growing range of products to fit vehicles found on Chinese roads,” said Brothers. “This task will soon become easier as the world platform for the OEs is becoming standard. With that, U.S. and Chinese vehicles will become quite similar, making the development of parts much easier, quicker and less expensive.”

SEMA Member Companies Who Exhibited at the 2011 SEMA China Business Development Conference

  • American Expedition Vehicles
  • Anzo U.S.A.
  • BDS Suspension
  • BrynDana International
  • Bushwacker Inc.
  • COMP Performance Group
  • eBay Motors
  • Evosport
  • Girard Systems and Girard
    Products LLC
  • Injen Technology
  • K&N Engineering Inc.
    and AEM Induction Systems
  • Keystone Automotive Operations
  • SCT Performance
  • Sheen Coatings Co./
    Paasch Products Inc.
  • Stillwater Designs and
    Audio Inc. (Kicker)
  • StopTech/Power Slot
  • T-Rex Grilles
Other companies are finding immediate sales.

“I would attribute our success to the fact that China is experiencing an economic boom in its middle- to upper-class markets,” said Ed Rossi, vice president of sales for Injen Technology. “The average young man aspires to own his own car as a means for making his life easy and as a status symbol. As they travel abroad or experience global news, they start to crave Western ways of life and means.”

“I am convinced that the market for Western products will grow exponentially over the next few years,” Brothers said. “The plans are for the Chinese to manufacture 35 million vehicles by 2025. That’s twice what the U.S. built in its best year. Only a very few of the owners of all those cars need to be ‘car guys’ for us to have a tremendous market.”

Brothers noted that COMP Cams finds the SEMA trip a good way to keep an eye on the market so that it can be well positioned to move quickly when the market explodes.

“I believe it is going to happen all at once,” he said, “and those of us who have done our homework will do well. Those who follow might not be successful.”

The participating companies and SEMA executives had the opportunity to discuss with Chinese and U.S. government officials based in China a variety of issues and problems that must be addressed in order for the market to achieve its full development, including cracking down with strict enforcement over counterfeiting and other intellectual-property infringements and the need for greater clarity and progress regarding the legalization of specialty-equipment products. There was consensus that only when issues such as these are addressed will distributors and retailers in China be willing to invest in the development of a distribution system supported by firms of sufficient size to grow the market and provide consumers with needed access to leading global brands.

SEMA Vice President of Marketing and Member Services Tom Myroniak traveled to China with the group and noted that there is a large and growing need for education and training among Chinese trade businesses and consumers to assist in the development of the market and increase familiarity with leading U.S. brands and their correct installation.

“It’s clear that the marketplace for specialty products in China is building momentum and that the passion for automobiles is alive and well with a growing base of enthusiasts there,” Myroniak said. “Car owners are hungry for information to help them customize or tune their vehicles, and a surprising number of them are very familiar with SEMA-member brands.”

Florida-based SCT Performance, a manufacturer of electronic control units, concurred that the market can be an important one for high-performance products.

“We believe the market in China is untapped and growing each year,” said an SCT Performance’s Rick Trudo. “It offers a great opportunity for us as we work with the Chinese to develop the performance market.”

Buyers and SEMA exhibitors pose on the steps of the Great Hall of the People prior to the dinner.

Located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square, The Great Hall of the People functions as the People’s Republic of China’s parliament building and is the venue of ceremonial activities.

In addition to the one-on-one meetings, the dinner provided a networking opportunity with buyers. Many SEMA members scheduled additional private meetings with potential customers throughout the week.

William Brekke (fourth from right) and Daniel Green (fourth from left) spent the morning with the SEMA delegation. Following a private briefing in which the group discussed the growing Chinese market as well as the challenges hampering its obtaining its full potential—including a less-than-optimal system of enforcement for counterfeiting and other intellectual-property concerns and the need for additional progress in the creation of pro-industry laws concerning customization—the government officials accompanied the SEMA delegation to the opening of the CIAPE Show and visited the SEMA booth.

Malcolm Johnson (center), CEO of Byrn Dana, heard some pointers from Ray Gross (left), CEO of Powersheen, and Andy Barbieri, vice president of business development at BDS Suspension.

About two-thirds of the participants were also here last year and, as Johnson gratefully noted, freely gave of their time and advice to help those participating on the SEMA China Business Development program for the first time, such as Byrn Dana.

Ben Mizban (left), president and CEO of Southern California-based T-Rex Grilles, spoke with a buyer interested in U.S.- manufactured billet grilles and grille assemblies. Mizban participated in the trip to expand to other markets where his company could increase sales and use SEMA’s muscles to connect and generate leads. He noted that he would be busy with follow up. “The ball is in my court now to follow up and turn some of the contacts I made into actual sales and future distributors,” he said. He is optimistic and believes that his products have great growth potential in the Chinese market.

Marcia Girard (far left), CEO of Girard Systems, and Gerald Pogue (second from left), the firm’s vice president and general manager, talked with buyers about the growing market for RV parks. Girard and Pogue’s research reveals a number of RV parks in the Beijing area, with another 17 under construction in just the surrounding area, providing some short-term opportunities for the firm as demand grows for the enjoyment of the popular American pastime. During a recent interview with SEMA, Wang Jidong, the RV association’s secretary-general noted, “There is a great potential for the growth of the RV market in China.” Jidong noted that change is coming fast in China as local governments and businesses build hundreds of RV camps nationwide.

Ivan Martinez (right), Exeter, Pennsylvania -based Keystone Automotive Operations’ global business development director, provides a light-truck distributor with information on Keystone’s high performance, accessories, wheels, automotive parts, truck accessories and import performance product lines. Martinez, in China with SEMA for the first time, noted that he participated in the China Business Development Program to “learn about the market and explore opportunities” and that, in his view, he sees real growth in the next five years. Martinez noted, “As China develops the taste for American vehicles and has more disposable income, the market should experience a level of expansion.”

David Thawley (second from right), senior manager of eBay Motors, a part of eBay Inc., talked with buyers at the SEMA CIAPE China Business Development Program about the online services the firm can offer to Chinese companies, given eBay’s position as the Internet’s largest marketplace for buying and selling automotive-related products. “We [eBay Motors] had a great and very productive time at the SEMA/CIAPE event,” said Thawley. “Recently, we’ve seen tremendous global growth in online automotive parts and accessories sales, and we are confident that Asia will continue to be a major driver of future growth. With more vehicles sold in China vs. the United States over the past year, the current nascent automotive aftermarket in China has an amazing amount of runway ahead! As a marketplace that connects buyers and sellers globally, and as the largest online retailer of automotive parts and accessories in the world, an event such as SEMA/CIAPE provides a tremendous opportunity for eBay Motors to connect with leaders in the automotive aftermarket. We’ll definitely be back next year!”

Simon Atik (far right), president of Evosport, based in Huntington Beach, California, participated in the SEMA China Business Development program to assess the market for the firm’s aftermarket accessories for BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari. “While the emergence of the aftermarket industry is still in its infancy stages, the obvious potentials are astonishing,” said Atik. “The biggest challenges will be educating the consumers and distributors of our brand, as the skillsets necessary to install and support performance specific products is extremely limited. Having established distribution in China almost a year ago, my primary goals were to meet with our current distribution network of dealers and gain greater clarity on the demands and needs of this growing market. Those goals were very much realized during this trip to a much greater extent with the participation in the SEMA event. There is an overwhelming current demand for our products, the future of which will be determined greatly by how well the Chinese government and legislation embraces this industry and the regulations that surround it.”

As part of the program, each SEMA exhibitor was provided with a turnkey booth and an interpreter for the day. The companies, which represented a broad range of products that included engine performance, interior and exterior appearance products, suspension and handling upgrades and mobile electronics, were kept busy meeting with pre-vetted buyers from throughout China.

The program was designed to minimize costs, with no need to ship large quantities of products. In fact, many companies hand-carried their brochures and samples.

Malcolm Johnson (left), CEO of BrynDana International, participated in this year’s SEMA China Business Development program to explore the market for his company’s spray-on coating products. Johnson obtained a number of solid leads during his time in China. “The notion that U.S. manufacturers cannot export to China has been debunked,” he said. “The Chinese buyers with whom I met in Beijing are young entrepreneurs, and they are asking for high-quality U.S.-manufactured automotive products. SEMA organized a well-planned and highly professional trade show that allowed me to reach these buyers. I will attend this show again next year, along with the upcoming Dubai delegation.”

As consumers seek more powerful engines, the demand for high-performance brakes also grows. This increasing demand brought Jeremy Barras (right), export sales manager for StopTech/Power Slot, back to China to participate for a second year in the SEMA China Business Development Program. Compton, California-based StopTech manufacturers high-performance brake systems and components for the racing and street-performance markets. Its sister company, Power Slot, manufactures high-performance slotted brake rotors.

Zhang Ji (left), director general of the MOFCOM office of mechanical, electrical and high technology, presented SEMA Chairman Paul “Scooter” Brothers (second from left), SEMA Director of International Affairs Linda Spencer and SEMA Vice President of Communications and Events Peter MacGillivray (right) with an award recognizing the longtime partnership between SEMA and the MOFCOM trade show CIAPE. SEMA leadership has been working closely with the ministry to make additional progress in legalizing the use of all specialty-equipment products in China.

Ray Gross (second from right) was excited that the trip has yielded some potentially significant business and that his comfort in doing business in China is growing. He has noticed that his potential Chinese customers are not all that dissimilar from those in the United States. He is optimistic about the prospects for his company in China, noting that the market presented “great possibilities.”

Kenneth Merritt (left), vice president of OEM sales for Oregon-based Bushwacker, provided an overview of the company’s bestselling fender flares and other products for Jeeps and other light trucks to a buyer as the daylong one-on-one meetings got underway. Kim Ziebell, the firm’s executive vice president and CMO, is pictured on the far right.

Christopher Wood (third from right), director of sales, and Mike Messink (third from left), CFO of American Expedition Vehicles, discussed with potential buyers the range of products the company produces for the Jeep Wrangler. Jeeps are very popular in China, with a growing number of off-roading events throughout the rugged Chinese countryside, as well as ventures to more distant locations, such as Nepal and Mongolia. Wood noted, “The combination of increased Jeep Wrangler exports to China and a growing demographic of well-funded Chinese buyers has created steady sales growth for our high-end Jeep accessories. The challenge has just been protecting our brand from copying. There is no question that there is a market in China for our products and those of other 4WD accessory manufacturers. The trick is just protecting one’s IPR in China.”

Steve Outhier (center), director of product planning at Stillwater Designs and Audio Inc. (Kicker), enjoyed speaking with buyers interested in the firm’s mobile electronic products.
“We already sell into China,” said Outhier, “and we see great potential for expansion in this market. The conference helped me better understand the opportunities and challenges we face as we expand our presence. That was my goal for the conference, and I feel it was well met.”

 

Anzo U.S.A.’s General Manager George Lee (third from right) chatted with buyers, many of whom sought out the first-time participant that manufacturers lighting products for cars, trucks and SUVs.

Buyers crowded into the Injen booth during the daylong meetings. Ed Rossi (third from left), Injen’s vice president of sales, spoke with a buyer while Ron Delgado (second from right) spoke to another group. “Once again, we met many Chinese companies,” said Rossi, “and we have very firm plans to open accounts with two or three of them. The program has been fantastic for us.”

Pictured here are Brothers (left) and Green (second left) along with SEMA’s MacGillivray and U.S. government official Brekke (right) who has more than 30 years of experience in Asia. In the background is a project vehicle built by Beijing-based distributor BATT and featuring products from Bushwacker and BDS.

 

Kevin Floody (left), the international business manager for K&N Engineering Inc. and AEM Induction Systems, explained the company’s wide array of high-performance air filter and air intake systems designed for a range of sport-compacts, trucks and SUVs applications to one of the many visitors to K&N’s booth. “China continues to amaze me every time I return,” said Floody. “This market is maturing at such a rapid rate that it is like watching your children grow up. K&N is definitely glad China is part of its global markets.”

Rick Trudo (right), president and CEO of SCT Performance, spoke to an increasing number of buyers seeking SCT’s Ford and GM ECU tuning products and other under-hood products to improve engine performance. Trudo was so positive about the market that SCT has just set up an office in China to service its growing customer base. “SCT participated in the SEMA trip to China because of the success we had in 2010,” said Trudo. “We have added dealers and helped develop a tuner market while working with dealers and customers there. The Chinese continue to learn more and more about the performance industry, and we see a great opportunity for us to work with them and help this market continue to grow.”

Andy Barbieri, vice president of business development at BDS Suspension, met with buyers from Chengdu, China, who were interested in learning about the firm’s lifted suspension systems. “We decided to attend for a second year because of the success of our first trip last year,” Barbieri said. “Our goal was to build on the progress that was made last year. I was very encouraged by the number of new contacts that we met at the 2011 SEMA CIAPE conference and the growth of our existing Chinese customer base.” He is also optimistic about continued growth. “The number of new American vehicles being sold and the ever-increasing interest in customizing those vehicles will fuel the growth of the automotive aftermarket in China over the next five years and beyond,” he said.
2011 Leadership Days: Celebrating and Strengthening the Industry
Thu, 12/29/2011 - 09:52

SEMA News—December 2011

EVENTS

2011 SEMA Leadership Days

Three Days Brimming With Passion, Education and Service


Leadership Days allowed newly elected council leadership to meet and brainstorm on vital issues affecting the entire specialty-equipment aftermarket.
As the automotive aftermarket’s foremost trade association, SEMA is a reflection of the aspirations, vision and creative thinking of its vast membership. However, bringing the industry together for the good of all its businesses requires tremendous time and energy. Key to the association’s mission and growth are industry leaders and volunteers who tirelessly give of themselves to serve on the SEMA Board of Directors and member councils. To recognize these individuals and to encourage the emergence of other industry volunteers to join their ranks, SEMA presented its annual Leadership Days program on Wednesday, July 27, through Friday, July 29.

For the SEMA membership at large, this year’s Leadership Days launched with the highly attended Business Technology Symposium on July 27. The popular charity SEMA Pinewood Drag Races—Presented by eBay Motors, then made its annual return on July 29, demonstrating the industry’s desire to take a lead in giving back to communities. Finally, the celebration of leadership and volunteerism closed with the yearly SEMA Installation Banquet & Gala Fundraiser reception and dinner later that evening—always an industry highpoint. Various council, executive and Board meetings were also held concurrently throughout the three-day program.

The following is a SEMA News recap of Leadership Days’ high points.

SEMA Installation Banquet & Gala Fundraiser Honors Industry Leaders

Hundreds of leaders and professionals from the automotive specialty-equipment industry gathered to honor noteworthy icons and volunteers during the 2011 SEMA Installation Banquet & Gala Fundraiser at the Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach, California. Traditionally, the culmination of SEMA Leadership Days, the annual event once again served as the industry’s premier celebration, with SEMA’s newly elected Board of Directors sworn in and four industry icons officially inducted into the trade association’s prestigious Hall of Fame.

“The Installation Banquet & Gala Fund-raiser has always been a special time to pay tribute to the individuals who are working to support and grow the industry and the association,” said Chris Kersting, SEMA president and CEO. “I always look forward to the event. It really is a homecoming where industry friends and colleagues gather, swap stories and show their appreciation to the SEMA Board of Directors and Hall of Fame members.”


SEMA Board Chairman Scooter Brothers (left) and President and CEO Chris Kersting (right) also thanked outgoing Board members, such as Source Interlink Media’s Doug Evans, for their service during the annual industry night gala.

The Gala Banquet also honored automotive legends Gray Baskerville, Art Chrisman, Chris Economaki and John Towle with induction into SEMA’s prestigious Hall of Fame.
The event began with a 6:00 p.m. cocktail gathering, where attendees were able to mix and mingle with other industry professionals, leaders and VIPs. During the sit-down dinner that followed, SEMA’s leadership torch was passed from outgoing Chairman of the Board Rick Rollins of Rollins Performance Companies to Paul “Scooter” Brothers of COMP Performance Group, who will serve a two-year term.

Emcee Dave McClelland hosted the ceremonies that also welcomed the newly elected SEMA Board of Directors, which included Tim Martin of K&N Engineering, Steve Wolcott of ProMedia LLC, Jim Chick of Bestop Inc., J.R. Moore of Performance Warehouse and Greg Adler of Transamerican Auto Parts.

In addition, Nate Shelton of B&M Automotive Group became the new SEMA Chairman-Elect and outgoing Board members Laurel Dasher of Superchips, Zan Martin of Martin & Co. Advertising, Tony Napoli of American Speed Centers, Doug Evans of Source Interlink Media and Ernie Silvers of Egge Machine Co. Inc. were honored and thanked for their substantial contributions to
the industry.

Also, as in prior years, SEMA Hall of Fame inductions formed a major part of the 2011 dinner festivities, with Gray Baskerville, Art Chrisman, Chris Economaki and John Towle welcomed into the roll call of industry elite.

2011 SEMA Business Technology Symposium Delivers Insight

As part of Leadership Days, SEMA helped automotive businesses understand the latest technology trends and opportunities at the annual Business Technology Symposium, July 27, at Long Beach, California’s, Renaissance Hotel. Throughout the daylong gathering, Business Technology Symposium participants learned proven strategies and best practices from experts in the fields of online marketing, multimedia sales and eCommerce to become more productive online.

Developed by SEMA’s Street Performance Council (SPC), the event has become a prime business development forum offering several unique opportunities to gain competitive advantages through the implementation of effective technology-based strategies.

Official Results HRIA Builders Challenge
Winner: Street Vizions
Runner-Up: Rich Evans

Unlimited Class
Winner: Mitch Williams
Runner-Up: eBay Motors

Grand National Trophy
(fastest time of the meet)
Mitch Williams: 2.85 seconds

Modified Class
Winner: Tony Schumacher

Stock Class
Winner: Justin Hoffend

Build it For Me Class
Winner: Justin Hoffend

SEMA Council Cup
Winner: Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council

“Given today’s competitive marketplace, companies are relying more and more on emerging technologies for brand building, lead generation and, in some cases, as a primary source of commerce,” said Tyler Tanaka, vice president of business development at PostRelease, which, along with the SPC, was a key symposium organizer. “Technology is continuing to revolutionize the way business is conducted in the automotive aftermarket, and our members’ businesses are ever changing as a result. We wanted to give them the necessary tools to be prepared, understand and take advantage of the potential opportunities that exist while doing business in today’s digital world.”

Steve Yankovich, eBay vice president of Mobile, delivered the day’s keynote address, which focused on how the mobile medium has become increasingly influential in automotive purchases. Business technology supersessions also covered a diverse range of topics under five main conference titles: Manufacturer and Distributor Online Marketing Essentials; Mobile’s Role in the Automotive Aftermarket; Connecting With Customers: Effective Content Marketing; Capture, Manage and Nurture Leads to Win More Customers; and Product Design and Manufacturing Technology That Could Change the Aftermarket.
“SEMA members are really engaged in furthering their marketing education,” said Kirsten Knipp, director of product evangelism with HubSpot, who was a speaker for the Capture, Manage and Nurture Leads session. “Because specialty products and services benefit disproportionately from getting found online via inbound marketing, it was gratifying to be able to share new data about search, social media and even modern middle-of-the-funnel marketing optimization with this group.”

Many Business Technology Symposium attendees agreed with the need for the sort of ongoing technological education the symposium offers each year.

“I first attended the Business Technical Symposium two years ago when social media was a new territory that the industry began exploring as a marketing tool,” said Cheralyn Smith of Advanced Clutch Technology Inc. (ACT). “I was able to bring some valuable practices to the office that we still use every day at ACT. This year, I had the opportunity to be on the Manufacturer and Distributor Online Marketing Essentials panel. That really gave me a chance to share our experiences, hear what is working for other companies and get an inside perspective on how social media continues to grow and transform marketing in the industry.”

“During challenging economic times, the automotive aftermarket requires an extra gear to compete, sustain and grow, and the Business Technology Symposium very much complied with the business savvy necessary to rise in the aftermarket business environment,” added Dick Dixon, director of the International Motorsports Alliance at California State University San Bernardino, who also attended the event.