Eastside Collision had the third-highest score, claiming a $1,000 prize; St. Claude Autobody claimed the silver medal and a $2,000 prize. In the gold medal position was another Eastside shop—Eastside Moray Collision and Glass—which took $7,000 back in winnings.
ATA OF MANITOBA HOSTS RECORD ATTENDANCE AT ANNUAL TRADE SHOW AND COLLISION OLYMPICS
Story by ALLISON ROGERS
The Automotive Trades Association of Manitoba (ATA of Manitoba) hosted 365 students as part of its annual trade show, which also featured a “Collision Olympics” portion that allowed the students to try their hand at some collision skills.
“This year’s trade show featured three times as many students as last year,” said Ferd Klassen, vice president of the ATA of Manitoba and owner of Niverville Autobody. Students were from Winnipeg, Selkirk, Steinbach and Brandon and came from both high school and college-level programs. To inspire the 365 students in attendance, trade show booths highlighted various aspects of the industry, including calibration, software, dent repair, supply chain management, estimating, and painting. “We appreciated the opportunity to participate in the Youth Attraction Effort. We met many promising young people who we hope will consider a career in collision repair in the future,” said Koos Reineking, vice president of Lift Auto Group.
Some attendees returned from last year, eager to spread the word about ATA’s hard work in promoting the trade. Jesse Unrau, who teaches automotive refinishing and collision repair at Steinbach Regional Secondary School, returned this year with 25 of his grade 11 and 12 students in tow. “I’m trying to make them aware that there are so many options in the automotive trades,” he said.
The trade show, which extended into the evening for the professional industry, allowed students to speak to individuals working in various collision repair segments—from paint companies to high-tech training and tool providers and more.
Red River College Polytechnic student Tyler Wiens told reporters on-site that it was “eye-opening” to see the scope of careers the industry offers. “It’s good to know there’s a lot of opportunity here,” said Wiens.
Other attendees, like recent high school graduate Samara Baltazar, joined the festivities because of an acute interest in the industry. “My school offers the collision repair and refinishing program and I have always loved just using my hands and problem solving and working away and I figured it would be a good opportunity for me.”
In the evening, auto body professionals from across Manitoba attended the event to participate in their own Collision Olympics. Manitoba-based collision centres had to offer up one painter, one estimator and one welder to qualify for the competition. Scores were tallied between all three categories, with the top three scores claiming cash prizes.
Eastside Collision had the third-highest score, claiming a $1,000 prize; St. Claude Autobody claimed the silver medal and a $2,000 prize. In the gold medal position was another Eastside MSO—Eastside Moray Collision and Glass—which took $7,000 back in winnings.
