By Mike Pickford
Anaheim, California — August 12, 2016 — With NACE 2016 finished in Anaheim, CA, event organizers are already looking forward to next year as they look to build on their momentum in Atlanta in 2017.
Speaking at the heart of the show floor at NACE on Thursday, one of the men behind the 34th annual exhibit – Automotive Service Association (ASA) President and Executive Director Dan Risley – said he was delighted with how this most recent chapter had unfolded, while also confirming the organizing committee had big plans for NACE/CARS in 2017.
Taking place at the World Congress Centre in Atlanta, Georgia next year, show officials are confident of building on the incredible momentum built in Anaheim, with a record attendance of more than 8,000 people to be announced before the close of the weekend – up from 6,500 in 2015. According to Risley, the show has also seen a significant increase in exhibitors, up to 228 this year from 189 in Detroit last time out.
While there was some initial concern regarding various OEMs’ continued involvement in the show once it was announced it would be taking place in California this year, Risley said he was “pleasantly surprised” to see 11 major manufacturers at the show – a drastic improvement from years past. He’s hoping to see that number increase once again next year with NACE/CARS visiting the adopted American home of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche – two companies not present in Anaheim.
A big reason for the success of this event boils down to a change in direction according to Risley, with a large emphasis being placed on the teaching and learning aspect of the business this year as opposed to it acting like a “buying show” as it had done in the past.
With annual premiere events such as the MSO Symposium, Technology and Telematics forum and, of course, the Expo show itself returning to much acclaim, it was additional items such as the various complimentary OEM certification training programs and hot-button topic debates that brought so much furor to NACE this year.
Keep an eye on collisionrepairmag.com for upcoming features on various NACE events and make sure to check out the gallery below!.
{unitegallery NACE_2016}
