By SEMA Editors

Team Weld Racing won the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge National Championship, posting an average time of 18:19.

WELD congratulates instructor Jim LaFevers and the team of automotive students from Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Center for earning the title of 2015 Hot Rodders of Tomorrow (HROT) Engine Challenge National Champions. The national championship, which pits teams from across the country in performance engine rebuilds, recently concluded at the 2015 PRI Show in Indianapolis after qualifying events were held throughout the year.

Posting an average time of 18:19 in the engine challenge, which requires a complete teardown and rebuild, allowed Team Weld Racing to take the crown. Teams from the school in Choctaw, Oklahoma, have been consistent high finishers in the competition being just one torque wrench penalty away from winning last year, after capturing the title in 2013.

“We are proud of the students from Eastern Oklahoma Tech Center for representing WELD Racing and for winning against outstanding competition from automotive students across the country,” said Norm Young, president and CEO of WELD. “We are strong supporters of programs like the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow that encourage young people to pursue careers in our industry.”

WELD has been a HROT supporter since 2013.

For their championship, each student received a $10,000 scholarship to the post-secondary institution of their choice from Ohio Technical College, University of Northwest Ohio, Universal Technical Institute/NASCAR Tech or School of Automotive Machinists. The schools allow stacking of scholarships, meaning any of the awards from previous competitions can be combined for the winning student’s educational needs.

The HROT program started in 2008 with five teams competing. This year, 153 teams competed in regional competitions for the right to claim a share of the $4.55 million offered by the educational institutions. Each team has a sponsor assigned, coming from the pool of HROT supporters. For more information, visit www.hotroddersoftomorrow.com or find them on Facebook.

The 2015 Pinewood Builders Challenge, previously held every summer during SEMA’s Installation Gala, featured two major changes. Five of the nation’s premier custom-car builders crafted miniature pinewood hot rods that raced head to head last August at the National Street Rod Association (NSRA) Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to the Builders Challenge, a Manufacturers Shootout was held for the first time ever for eight participating members of the Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA).

https://www.sema.org/sema-news/2015/12/mini-designer-hot-rods-take-to-the-track

The 2015 Pinewood Builders Challenge, previously held every summer during SEMA’s Installation Gala, featured two major changes. Five of the nation’s premier custom-car builders crafted miniature pinewood hot rods that raced head to head last August at the National Street Rod Association (NSRA) Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to the Builders Challenge, a Manufacturers Shootout was held for the first time ever for eight participating members of the Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA).

https://www.sema.org/sema-news/2015/12/mini-designer-hot-rods-take-to-the-track

The 2015 Pinewood Builders Challenge, previously held every summer during SEMA’s Installation Gala, featured two major changes. Five of the nation’s premier custom-car builders crafted miniature pinewood hot rods that raced head to head last August at the National Street Rod Association (NSRA) Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to the Builders Challenge, a Manufacturers Shootout was held for the first time ever for eight participating members of the Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA).

https://www.sema.org/sema-news/2015/12/mini-designer-hot-rods-take-to-the-track

The 2015 Pinewood Builders Challenge, previously held every summer during SEMA’s Installation Gala, featured two major changes. Five of the nation’s premier custom-car builders crafted miniature pinewood hot rods that raced head to head last August at the National Street Rod Association (NSRA) Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to the Builders Challenge, a Manufacturers Shootout was held for the first time ever for eight participating members of the Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA).

https://www.sema.org/sema-news/2015/12/mini-designer-hot-rods-take-to-the-track

The 2015 Pinewood Builders Challenge, previously held every summer during SEMA’s Installation Gala, featured two major changes. Five of the nation’s premier custom-car builders crafted miniature pinewood hot rods that raced head to head last August at the National Street Rod Association (NSRA) Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition to the Builders Challenge, a Manufacturers Shootout was held for the first time ever for eight participating members of the Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA).

https://www.sema.org/sema-news/2015/12/mini-designer-hot-rods-take-to-the-track

Nearly every company’s marketing arm produces or purchases photographs and video to advertise its products or services. While obtaining photos and video has become relatively easy in today’s digitized world, making sure you have the rights to use and publish this media is crucial. This article runs through some important considerations for your company’s use of photographs and video. For simplicity’s sake, the text mentions only “photos” and “photographers,” but the information is also applicable to video and videographers.

The traditional solution for many companies has been to hire a professional photographer who not only has the time but the skills to produce quality images. But that can be daunting for a small, midsize or start-up manufacturer with limited resources. And, left with the prospect of creating their own images in-house, many businesses simply freeze up.

“The term ‘rich data’ can feel scary—even ‘product photography’ can feel scary,” acknowledged Colin Frost, strategy consultant for Fenix Consulting, which assists aftermarket companies in developing successful web and print strategies. “A scene of vast rolling paper, white rooms and expensive photography equipment are often what come to mind. But those are fears of yesterday. Today, you can capture beautiful images with most smartphones.”

The traditional solution for many companies has been to hire a professional photographer who not only has the time but the skills to produce quality images. But that can be daunting for a small, midsize or start-up manufacturer with limited resources. And, left with the prospect of creating their own images in-house, many businesses simply freeze up.

“The term ‘rich data’ can feel scary—even ‘product photography’ can feel scary,” acknowledged Colin Frost, strategy consultant for Fenix Consulting, which assists aftermarket companies in developing successful web and print strategies. “A scene of vast rolling paper, white rooms and expensive photography equipment are often what come to mind. But those are fears of yesterday. Today, you can capture beautiful images with most smartphones.”

EnerSys introduces its new line of Odyssey Battery portable chargers. With automatic six-stage charging, the chargers facilitate full and proper charging. Charger safety features include spark-free connections as well as built-in over-voltage, overload, over-temperature, reverse polarity and ignition protection. The all-digital power-charging platform is packaged in a rugged housing of extruded aluminum, providing weatherproof protection. A user-friendly interface with an innovative LED battery-charge monitor provides users with a relative charge level status at a glance during operation.

Blue Sea Systems bus bars now available at Del City. These engineered products are designed, tested, and built to meet the stringent requirements of the boating, emergency and commercial vehicle industries. Single power inputs can be re-distributed across the entire bar so that multiple output connections can be added. Select from a variety of single- and dual-bus bars, ranging from 100A to 1,000A. Battery terminal-mount bus bars (both positive and negative) can be easily added to a threaded-post battery terminal.

https://www.sema.org/sema-news/2015/12/new-products-december-2015