By SEMA Editors

Trent Goodwin of COMP Cams was featured in last year’s SEMA News “35 Under 35.”

September’s issue of SEMA News will highlight up-and-coming superstars in the automotive aftermarket industry who are age 35 and younger. If you know a leader in that age range as of September 1, 2019—whether they are in manufacturing and design, marketing, retail, events and media, or distribution—we would like to hear from you by May 31.

Trent Goodwin, 34, media/marketing coordinator for COMP Cams was featured in last year’s SEMA News “35 Under 35.”

Goodwin showed an interest in cars at an early age, which prompted his father to buy him a ’79 Camaro for restoration at age 13. In his 12th year with COMP Cams, he plays an integral role in the company’s marketing department. His role allows him to work with well-known media representatives and prestigious car builders in the industry, helping with product placement for all brands under the COMP Performance Group umbrella. Goodwin also assists with ad creations, merchandise, trailer inventory, display creations, trade show coordination, sponsorship and event promotions in addition to day-to-day marketing tasks.

Goodwin was named the SEMA Young Executive of the Year in 2017, and serves on the YEN select committee. In the next five to 10 years, he hopes to continue moving up the corporate ladder at COMP Cams.

SEMA News looks for candidates drawn from diverse industry segments who are already making a significant impact through their leadership within their organizations or businesses. Entrepreneurship, commitment, insight, innovation, integrity, responsibility, demonstrated skill, involvement and success within the marketplace weigh heavily in the decision-making process. We’ll honor the winners in the September issue of SEMA News and on www.sema.org.

Nominate a candidate now for the 2019 SEMA News 35 Under 35. Nominations are due May 31.

By SEMA Editors

Trent Goodwin of COMP Cams was featured in last year’s SEMA News “35 Under 35.”

September’s issue of SEMA News will highlight up-and-coming superstars in the automotive aftermarket industry who are age 35 and younger. If you know a leader in that age range as of September 1, 2019—whether they are in manufacturing and design, marketing, retail, events and media, or distribution—we would like to hear from you by May 31.

Trent Goodwin, 34, media/marketing coordinator for COMP Cams was featured in last year’s SEMA News “35 Under 35.”

Goodwin showed an interest in cars at an early age, which prompted his father to buy him a ’79 Camaro for restoration at age 13. In his 12th year with COMP Cams, he plays an integral role in the company’s marketing department. His role allows him to work with well-known media representatives and prestigious car builders in the industry, helping with product placement for all brands under the COMP Performance Group umbrella. Goodwin also assists with ad creations, merchandise, trailer inventory, display creations, trade show coordination, sponsorship and event promotions in addition to day-to-day marketing tasks.

Goodwin was named the SEMA Young Executive of the Year in 2017, and serves on the YEN select committee. In the next five to 10 years, he hopes to continue moving up the corporate ladder at COMP Cams.

SEMA News looks for candidates drawn from diverse industry segments who are already making a significant impact through their leadership within their organizations or businesses. Entrepreneurship, commitment, insight, innovation, integrity, responsibility, demonstrated skill, involvement and success within the marketplace weigh heavily in the decision-making process. We’ll honor the winners in the September issue of SEMA News and on www.sema.org.

Nominate a candidate now for the 2019 SEMA News 35 Under 35. Nominations are due May 31.

By Kristopher Porter

Aaron Kaufman

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

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

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

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

Reserve your Launch Pad tickets.

By Kristopher Porter

Aaron Kaufman

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

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

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

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

Reserve your Launch Pad tickets.

By Kristopher Porter

Aaron Kaufman

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

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

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

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

Reserve your Launch Pad tickets.

By SEMA Editors

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By SEMA Editors

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By SEMA Editors

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By SEMA Editors

Latest Jobs Added to SEMA Career Center

Are you hunting for a new job? The SEMA Career Center has a comprehensive listing of automotive-related job openings around the country. Here are some of the latest jobs posted to the website.

Account Manager: Agency Power is looking for talented and motivated individuals to join their team. The company is looking to add sales professionals with strong backgrounds in business to business (B2B) sales to grow our dealer/wholesale program. Business development of dealers, direct marketing and closing sales are tasks that are accomplished day in and day out. Successful candidates will be extremely reliable with strong computer skills, a familiarity with creating contacts and conducting follow-up with customers, and a solid understanding of late-model cars, trucks and UTVs, as well as general automotive knowledge applying to turbochargers, exhausts, intakes and additional performance components.

Technical/Customer Success Position: Group-A Engineering is seeking a highly motivated and experienced customer success expert  with engine—primarily import—and suspension experience to support company growth and provide the highest level of customer satisfaction. The successful candidate will be an enthusiast with a passion for helping people and applying those attributes to this position.

Qualifications and Requirements: A minimum of five years of experience in the automotive industry (import experience a plus); the ability to be self-managed and lead your team; and engine, vehicle electronics, and suspension experience. A passion for the automotive performance industry is a must.

Senior Mechanical Design Engineer: Cognito Motorsports is looking for an experienced mechanical design engineer. The designer will be responsible for working with existing designs and generating new design concepts to further the brand. Essential duties include providing production support to the machining and assembly areas; analyzing engineering sketches, specifications and related data and drawings to determine design factors such as size, shape and arrangement of parts; and using computer-assisted design/drafting equipment and software to develop designs.

By SEMA Editors

Latest Jobs Added to SEMA Career Center

Are you hunting for a new job? The SEMA Career Center has a comprehensive listing of automotive-related job openings around the country. Here are some of the latest jobs posted to the website.

Account Manager: Agency Power is looking for talented and motivated individuals to join their team. The company is looking to add sales professionals with strong backgrounds in business to business (B2B) sales to grow our dealer/wholesale program. Business development of dealers, direct marketing and closing sales are tasks that are accomplished day in and day out. Successful candidates will be extremely reliable with strong computer skills, a familiarity with creating contacts and conducting follow-up with customers, and a solid understanding of late-model cars, trucks and UTVs, as well as general automotive knowledge applying to turbochargers, exhausts, intakes and additional performance components.

Technical/Customer Success Position: Group-A Engineering is seeking a highly motivated and experienced customer success expert  with engine—primarily import—and suspension experience to support company growth and provide the highest level of customer satisfaction. The successful candidate will be an enthusiast with a passion for helping people and applying those attributes to this position.

Qualifications and Requirements: A minimum of five years of experience in the automotive industry (import experience a plus); the ability to be self-managed and lead your team; and engine, vehicle electronics, and suspension experience. A passion for the automotive performance industry is a must.

Senior Mechanical Design Engineer: Cognito Motorsports is looking for an experienced mechanical design engineer. The designer will be responsible for working with existing designs and generating new design concepts to further the brand. Essential duties include providing production support to the machining and assembly areas; analyzing engineering sketches, specifications and related data and drawings to determine design factors such as size, shape and arrangement of parts; and using computer-assisted design/drafting equipment and software to develop designs.