Well, now the real fun begins! The SEMA Data Co-op’s (SDC) state-of-the-art data-management system has been up and running for a couple of months. The usual bugs have been shaken out, and we are actively receiving and distributing quality product data from nearly 200 suppliers to a horde of anxious receivers. Sure, we’re still adding new functionality and fine tuning things such as the user interface, documentation and reporting features, but it’s smooth sailing overall.

Breaking news from SEMA member companies, including Power Automedia, Prestolite Performance, Motovicity Distribution, Alpine Electronics of America, Holley Performance Products and more.

While the SEMA Show is a trade-only event not open to the general public, thousands of editors and writers report on the annual Show, thereby giving consumers a chance to see what’s new in the industry. Several publications do a great job of scouring the Las Vegas Convention Center to bring their readers the best of the best. Many spend four or more days visiting with the 2,000-plus exhibitors at the SEMA Show. Check out what some publications found, and stay tuned next month for even more SEMA Show clips.

Reach out to the industry at large and build awareness for job openings and business opportunities through the Automotive Classifieds section on www.SEMA.org. Available to members free of charge, the section is ideal for engaging automotive trade professionals and companies to call attention to new job openings, equipment for sale, potential partnerships, internships offered and more. Looking for qualified individuals to fill an opening at your business? The Automotive Classifieds section also includes postings from industry professionals seeking new jobs and opportunities.

The SEMA Show management team works year-round creating programs and refining proven strategies to provide more opportunities for exhibitors to maximize their Show investments. Non-official contractors who offer “better deals” on items and services at the SEMA Show have periodically contacted exhibitors over the years. To help protect each company’s investment, the SEMA Show contracts with and endorses only the Official Service Contractors listed in the SEMA Show Exhibitor Manual.

A Few Words With John Waraniak

John Waraniak, SEMA’s vice president of vehicle technology, has tinkered with machines and building fast toys since he was a kid growing up in Detroit. Waraniak is equally at home in an aerospace skunkworks in Pico Rivera, California, a boardroom in Mumbai, India, on a motocross track in Buchanan, Michigan, or on the Vehicle Technology Center stage at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. His love for racing, performance and systems engineering have led him to master’s degrees at the University of Illinois and Caltech as well as executive careers in the stealth aircraft, automotive racing and action sports industries. He was eventually recruited as SEMA’s “chief engineer” in May 2006.

“If you haven’t already bolted a tape deck in that machine of yours, man, you’re either living outside of the ‘in’ group or have never heard an automotive stereo tape player in action,” he said in his opening paragraph. “Stereo might be great at home, but in a car—it’s something else. Just to drive along while listening to your favorite music coming at you from all directions is what most stereo owners refer to as the new surrounding sound.”

No matter what your role in your company or your knowledge of today’s business tech tools, everyone is striving to increase sales. This issue of SEMA News is loaded with info on great business technology that will help you do just that. One biz tech system all SEMA members should be aware of by now is the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC), and we have big news—a new tool to help members get started and maximize product sales.

Subscribe to Automotive Business