Collision Repair & Refinish Section Already “Bigger & Better” for 2011 SEMA Show

With nearly four and half months until the doors of the 2011 SEMA Show open to industry professionals on November 1st, the collision repair community has already shown up to the event in a big way. The Collision Repair & Refinish (CR&R) section of the show has far surpassed the number of exhibitors and floor space square footage in the section from the previous year, pacing to see even further growth of collision industry participation as the show nears.

While at the show, there is an abundance of opportunity for collision repair professionals that compliment the expansive amount of services, equipment and offerings on the show floor. Attendees will also have world-class education opportunities available to them through SCRS’ Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series which entails sessions held on each day of the SEMA Show in the afternoon. RDE features subject matters geared specifically to collision repair businesses, and will include a high-energy, impactful headline presentation from Afterburner Fighter Pilots on Thursday evening which you won’t want to miss. A complete outline of the schedule and more details on the event can be accessed in the RDE Digital Overview which was recently published by SCRS. This overview contains all the information attendees will need to easily plan their trip to Las Vegas this November.

“This is a highly exciting position to be in,” exclaimed Aaron Schulenburg, Executive Director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS). “SCRS was very pleased with the response we received from the industry during our first year of partnering with the SEMA Show in 2010, but obviously, there was the understanding that our follow up year had to be bigger and better and we had to take the feedback we received from attendees, and put it to use with goal of enhancing our constituents experience at the show even more. We worked closely with the show management and with SEMA to use the input we received, and I think it is clear that the early results this year have demonstrated the industry’s excitement and support of our involvement at this venue. We are very fortunate to be in this position in June, and are so appreciative of all the vendors who made the early decision to be a part of shaping our destination for the collision industry.”

While registrations to the RDE program have already seen a dramatic uptick from last year’s figures at this time, there has also been noticeable increase in interest from international repair groups making the journey to the SEMA Show for both the RDE series and interaction with the exhibiting vendors. As one example, arrangements are underway for a group of over 40 crash shops from Australia to participate in the RDE program and the SEMA Show.

“We firmly believe the caliber and variety of educational offerings found in our RDE program is one of the significant draws for our industry,” added SCRS Chairman Aaron Clark. “There has been a continued emphasis and focus into putting together a program that delivers tangible and relevant information that a repair business can put to use as soon as they return home from the show; this year’s lineup is no exception, and the immediate response has been tremendous.”

In addition to the programs offered by SCRS, I-CAR will have training classes available to attend in the mornings on each day of the show, and the week will host a variety of collision industry-specific events and meetings from groups such as SCRS, I-CAR, CIC, NABC and many others.

For exhibitors who want to be in on the action, but haven’t reserved space just yet, there are still plenty of options…but act quickly!

“While the CR&R section nears capacity, we will continue to work with interested exhibitors to make sure they not only have a place on the show floor, but that the experience is exactly what they have come to expect from the SEMA Show,” added, Peter MacGillivray, Vice President of Events & Communications of SEMA. “The SEMA Show has a fortunate history of growth and expansion, and our recent collaboration with SCRS and the collision industry have noticeably added to that formula for success on the show floor and attendance. We couldn’t be more pleased to partner with groups like this to provide collision repairers a world class show experience, with content that propels added business opportunities for these small businesses. For exhibitors, it is certainly not too late to participate in what is shaping up to be one of the best SEMA Show turnouts in years!”

As already evidenced by the amplified presence of exhibitors in the Collision Repair & Refinish section, the industry is not delaying in making their plans to be in Las Vegas this November. Register today for the SEMA Show and RDE, to ensure that you have space in each of the sessions that you want to attend.