The Italian Jobber - Collision Repair Magazine

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Volume 6

Issue 1

The Italian Jobber

Written by Mathew Laforge

Thursday, 26 July 2007

In a country where cars, food and fashion—but mainly cars—rule the roost, Canadians made an impact at the Autopromotec trade exhibition, both for what they brought and for what they took away.

Staged from May 23 to 27 at the Bologna Trade Fair Centre in Bologna, Italy, the biennial trade show attracted a record number of 1,404 exhibitors - 500 off them foreign - from the machinery, equipment and product sectors. And of the nearly 100,000 visitors who jam-packed the 100,000 square-metre show floor, 16,806 came from abroad, making the 2007 edition of Autopromotec not only the largest yet, but also the most cosmopolitan.

From collision repairers to manufacturers to municipal fleet administrators to retail dealers to tire retreaders, every conceivable facet of the auto service industry was duly represented at this year’s show.

The reputation of Autopromotec is built upon the widely held perception that it’s a place where actual business is conducted and actual orders are placed. Indeed, the successful European unveiling of the ‘Duster’ downdraft mobile prep station, by Canadian company Island Clean Air (ICA) is proof in the proverbial pudding. Seen for the first time in Italy, the downdraft became a major sensation with its capability of providing filtering bonding dust and volatile organics in the work place. With its mobility feature, it became the first of its type seen in Europe.

“The interest has been just incredible,” said Joe Lim, president of ICA. “More importantly, it has translated to tangible orders for immediate shipment to Europe. This is not just the usual photo opportunity. People are here to buy.”

When asked why the launch of his product was so well received by the European industry, Joe was eager to extol the importance of appealing to international markets on the most basic of levels, beginning with speaking and presenting in the local tongue. The Duster downdraft was demonstrated and displayed at Autopromotec by the Italian firm COVEA, ICA’s European agent.

“At an Italian show, you can bet that 75% of the attendees will speak only Italian, so we made sure that our product was represented by people who could speak the lingo,” he said. “You can’t have folks dancing the foxtrot when they need to be doing the Italian mambo.

“Canadians engineer and build very good equipment, but our profile on the world stage is lower than it should be, and we’d like that to change,” added Joe. “So we try to keep the Canadian flag flying as much as we can.”

The ICA camp wasn’t alone in that regard. Elsewhere, Desmond Chan, president of Wedge Clamp systems, drew crowds with his impressive booth and product demos - and through the deployment of a secret weapon, some irresistible smoked salmon and white wine straight from British Columbia.

According to Des, visitors to his booth were seriously attracted to the Wedge Clamp system, particularly because of its ability to meet the needs of the Italian shops looking for increased productivity and space savings.

“What’s interesting is that nearly everyone seeing this product for the first time assumes it’s European or American-produced,” said Des, echoing Joe Lim’s observation about the profile of Canadian vendors. “That tells me right there that this is a show we have to attend.”

Over at the Car Bench booth, Frank DiVito, of Shop Solutions Group in Barrie, ON, gained some first-hand knowledge of new technologies from Car Bench owners Paola Pietrelli and her brother Silvano. Frank is the exclusive Canadian distributor for Car Bench, a world-renowned bench system built in Italy.

“So much on the equipment side in Europe is different than in Canada,” said Frank. “But the fact that we’re now able to distribute Car Bench in Canada after it failed to catch on in the 1980s…that shows that it’s slowly starting to cross over.”

Taking stock of the massive exhibition, Frank said that what impressed him most about the European industry, specifically with respect to collision repair, was the commitment to forward thinking and technological boundary pushing in evidence at Autopromotec.

“It’s amazing—some exhibitors are demonstrating waterborne clear coats,” Frank said. “To be honest, I didn’t expect to see that. It’s not even a legal requirement to use a waterborne clear, but they’re just pushing the envelope.”

While it is certainly not feasible for every Canadian shop and supplier to attend an event so far away, there can be doubt after this year as to the concrete business value of making the expensive trip. Des from Wedge Clamp says it best: