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SEMA members are encouraged to tune in to "Lean Thinking—The Toyota Way of Doing Business" on Friday, October 19, at 10 a.m. (PST), to learn how Toyota's Lean Thinking Process can enhance company operations on many levels.

The Toyota Production System has been translated for non-production “knowledge work,” known as Lean Thinking. The SEMA webinar will provide the core principles of Lean Thinking and an overview of the Lean Thinking Team Process. You will learn tool phases to organize and implement your project work and how to direct your team’s efforts away from wasteful activities.

What: Lean Thinking—The Toyota Way of Doing Business
When: Friday, October 19, 10 a.m. (PST)
Presenter: Russ Mundi

How to Participate

During the webinar on Friday, October 19, at 10 a.m. (PST), you will be able to interact and ask questions through the computer or over the phone. To view the presentation during the webinar, click here on the day of the webinar. To connect to the audio portion of the webinar, call toll-free 866/637-2754, pin 1542. (The audio portion can be heard from your telephone used during the webinar.)

For additional convenience, all of SEMA's webinar sessions are recorded and are available to download. Check out past sessions and view upcoming webinar topics by visiting www.sema.org/webinar.

The Small Business Television Network will be taping its show at the 2007 SEMA Show, which means that exhibitors have an opportunity to promote their businesses on the network for free. Interviews take approximately 15 minutes and will air on SBTV.com to more than 1.2 million viewers. SBTV will also help subjects stream the interview on their own business websites. Sign up for this opportunity by visiting http://www.sbtv.com/links/sema.

Mark Toebben, president of 38-year SEMA member company DCi (Direct Communications Inc.), has worked with hundreds of other distributors/retailers to understand their business needs and provide them with the tools and information they need to compete and grow. He will be filling a seat vacated by Bob Price, who left the SEMA Board to serve as executive director of the newly formed SEMA Education Institute.

Mark Toebben

For a list of the entire SEMA Board of Directors, visit www.sema.org/main/semaorghome.aspx?id=54785.

EcoTrek is set to debut what it calls some of the most incredible “mean and green” automotive designs to the public during the 2007 SEMA Show. The company’s vehicle displays will include a 700-hp biodiesel Hummer H2, a Baja-ready biofuel Ford F-250 and other amazing “petrol-free” street and off-road rides. 

All of the EcoTrek vehicles feature accessories made by SEMA members that convey a positive environmental message. For example, the vehicles incorporate tires made by Nitto and Toyo that were produced with recycled rubber at low-emissions American factories, as well as products from ProComp and RealWheels that use a new “eco-considerate” chroming process.

EcoTrek will also construct a mini TV studio to interview SEMA members for TV productions that EcoTrek is compiling for the Discovery Network, National Geographic and several Internet broadcast outlets. EcoTrek will also host media representatives from other print and broadcast sources.

For more information on the 2007 SEMA Show, visit www.SEMAShow.com.

SEMA manufacturing members are invited to participate in the upcoming 2008 Toyota Sequoia Measuring Session in November. Measuring sessions provide members with the opportunity to gather measurements and specs before the vehicles are available for sale to the public. 

Who: Toyota Motor Sales USA

What: 2008 Toyota Sequoia

• All-new body styling and interior
• New 5.7L V8 engine 
• Launch date is late November 2007

Where: Toyota Service Development Center, 2015 W. 190th St., Torrance, CA 90501  
  
When: 

• Thursday, November 8
• 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
• Sessions will be limited to 60 minutes. No more than three companies at one time; two persons per company.

Register: The deadline to register is Friday, November 2. E-mail a response with time preference, name(s), company name, address, phone number and e-mail addresses(s) to measuringsession@sema.org.   

Note: Cameras will not be permitted
 
Questions? Contact Bill Wolf at billw@sema.org (909/396-0289, ext. 177) or Sandy Conolly at sandyc@sema.org, (909/396-0289, ext. 155).

Create new profit centers with fast-selling accessories. Gain the knowledge and expertise you need to capture your share of the $36.7 billion accessory market at special events exclusively for auto dealers. Here's your chance.
 
Wednesday, October 31

• Automotive News Dealer Forum: Creating New Profit Centers Through Accessorization
• 2:45 p.m.–5:00 p.m. (Doors open at 2:15 p.m.)
• Room N258–260, LVCC
• Moderated by Keith Crain, publisher and editor-in-chief, Automotive News.
• Speakers include keynoter Martin Walsh, general manager, HUMMER Division, General Motors; Annette Sykora, vice chairman, NADA; Tom Carre, DTC Retail Consulting; Bill Kolb Jr., Bill Kolb Jr. Subaru; and Ed Wood, Green Ford.
• Free with registration.

Wednesday, October 31

• Exclusive Welcome Reception
• 5:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m.
• North Hall Lobby/Door N3, LVCC
• Enjoy a private, after-hours gathering welcoming auto dealers to the SEMA Show. Hosted by Automotive News, NADA and SEMA.
• Admittance by invitation only.
• To RSVP by October 22, e-mail to dealerlink@sema.org or call 909/396-0182, ext. *400 (press the star key and then 400).

Tuesday, October 30–Thursday, November 1

• NADA Hospitality Lounge
• 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
• Silver State Room/C201 (between Halls C1 and C2)
• Visit the all-new NADA Hospitality Lounge conveniently located near the Show floor. The lounge is open exclusively to auto dealers.
• Show badge required for admittance.

For more information, contact Ellen McKoy at ellenm@sema.org.

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Companies in the restoration industry are invited to participate in SEMA’s Automotive Restoration Market Organization’s (ARMO) 2007 ARMO Restoration Industry Roundtable.

Purpose: To provide a forum for ARMO-member restoration shops to network and discuss issues important to their businesses.

When & Where: Thursday, November 1, during the SEMA Show, 10 a.m.–12:00 p.m., in Room N237 of the Las Vegas Convention Center

Facilitator: Jim Barber, owner Classic Automotive Restoration Specialists, Inc. and ARMO Chair-Elect

2007 Topics: Understanding your true hourly cost to operate. How to calculate your shop “burden rate” and calculate your “retail hourly rate.” We will review a simple Excel spreadsheet and make it available to those who attend. John Heckman from Grundy Insurance will present a new program on Garage Keepers Liability insurance. This follows last year’s topic.

Other Comments:
Please remember this is a roundtable; we are here to discuss issues. If you have a topic to add, e-mail Jim Barber at Jim.barber@classicautomotiverestoration.com.

For additional information on the roundtable, contact Jan Desma at jand@sema.org. For more information on ARMO, visit www.sema.org/armo.