Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.
Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week, centered this week around two major Las Vegas conventions with a total of more than 100,000 attendees, could be getting even bigger next year.
The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) and Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) kicked off their separate trade shows today at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Sands Expo Center, respectively, with thousands of automotive products being shown to buyers and dealers from around the world.
Both shows run through Friday and are closed to the public. Organizers have warned that because of the high number of delegates expected to attend and the large amount of crossover attendance between the two shows, that traffic around the two convention centers would be heavy all week.
In addition, the Professional Bull Riders Association and its affiliated Western Gift Expo are headquartered at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center beginning Thursday. Bull-riding events are scheduled at the Thomas & Mack Center Thursday through Sunday, with those events expected to draw a total of 80,000 people to the city.
Most of the exhibitors in the automotive aftermarket industry are small businesses headed by entrepreneurs who come up with an idea, deliver the product to the market, then sell them to automotive stores and chains, whose representatives peruse the show floor in search of the next must-have gadget.
There also are 12 vehicle manufacturers exhibiting at this year's SEMA show. Car companies like Ford, General Motors and Toyota send representatives to the event to get a look at products that could become standard equipment on vehicles some day. The entrepreneurs appreciate the car manufacturers' presence because they display their new vehicles and the entrepreneurs can get hands-on time with vehicles before they hit the show-room floors.
"They all bring their tape measures with them and they get underneath and look at everything to see how their products are going to work with the new models," said SEMA spokeswoman Rosemarie Kitchin.
While AAPEX is the larger of the two automotive shows by number of exhibitors, the SEMA show covers more square footage, with the average exhibitor operating a booth of more than 500 square feet.
The two shows have an unusual relationship. When delegates register for one event, their credentials admit them to both shows. Kitchin, of Diamond Bar, Calif.-based SEMA, said about 113,000 pre-registered for the shows, but she expects some no-shows leading to a more conservative attendance projection.
Both shows deal with automotive aftermarket products -- items people buy once they've acquired their cars. But AAPEX deals with products that are necessary for a vehicle's operation; SEMA shows accessories that customize or personalize a vehicle.
"AAPEX shows everything that is needed to operate your car," Kitchin said. "SEMA is, 'Boy, do I want to have this for my car."'
Officials with AAPEX say the automotive aftermarket industry had annual sales of $247.8 billion last year -- everything from replacement parts to motor oil.
The smaller specialty automotive market represented by SEMA is estimated to be a $27 billion industry -- but Kitchin noted that people spent more to customize their cars than on jewelry last year.
Because the products being shown are placed in or on cars, SEMA and AAPEX will have hundreds of vehicles on display, many of them highly customized, freshly buffed show cars.
When SEMA had its first show at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in 1967, five vehicles were on display. At this year's show, about 1,500 vehicles will be shown.
SEMA this year will have more than 1,800 exhibitors, including 473 showing for the first time. The exhibits will occupy all the Las Vegas Convention Center meeting halls and cover 2 million square feet.
The SEMA show is categorized into 12 exhibit sections -- business services; car care and accessories; the International Tire Expo; mobile electronics; performance marine (boats, watercraft and tow vehicles); racing and performance; restoration, restyling and accessories; street rods; tools and equipment; trucks, SUVs, truck caps and accessories; and wheels and performance tires.
Among the highlights of the SEMA show are exhibitors showing satellite-guided navigation systems, custom special-effects lighting systems and cameras and monitors that not only provide a video rear view for the motorist, but can be set as a multiscreen entertainment system for passengers. More than 1,000 new products are being shown at this year's event.
Most of the seminars and panel discussions associated with the shows will give marketing and sales tips to attendees and are specialized toward industry professionals.
While several issues confront the industry, most of them are addressed in local forums and communicated through a group of hobbyists and industry professionals called the SEMA Action Network.
Kitchin said the grass-roots approach to issues enables SEMA to lobby in state legislatures across the country where lawmakers have attempted to ban or curtail the use of some aftermarket products.
SEMA and the action network have weighed in on federal scrap legislation, tire performance standards and roadless rules on U.S. Forest Service land. The organizations also have opposed legislative bans against certain types of headlights, light bars, engine performance equipment and aftermarket exhaust systems.
The organizations have advocated that most hobbyist tires continue to be regulated under existing standards rather than under new, tougher standards that would have required costly design changes. SEMA also is opposing legislation that would ban road building on Forest Service land.
An issue for participants at the AAPEX show is how information is provided to independent repairers of vehicles that require computerized diagnostics. Updates are to be given during the show by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the International Automobile Manufacturers and the Automotive Service Association, which jointly announced that they have reached an agreement about automakers providing information to repair shops.
Other changes may be in the air for the show in the future.
SEMA has been a regular attraction in Las Vegas every year since 1976, but the marriage with AAPEX that led to the creation of Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week didn't occur until 1992.
Now, industry leaders are considering a change that could make the show -- already one of the largest by attendance on the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's calendar -- even bigger.
The International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE) is meeting in December in Orlando, Fla., for its 21st annual convention. Next year, NACE will move to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Kitchin said it hasn't been determined whether NACE would have a similar relationship with the other aftermarket shows that could result in even greater attendance.
An estimated 30,000 people in the wide range of collision-repair companies are expected to attend the Orlando event this year, with an estimated 1,700 exhibitors on the trade show floor.
Even without that potential growth, SEMA is a big economic driver on the LVCVA convention calendar.
"We're pleased to have a show of this magnitude in town," Marina Nicola, a spokeswoman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said of SEMA. "SEMA is the first of several large Las Vegas shows, with Comdex and CES coming up next. These big shows fill the hotel rooms, fill the restaurants and fill the clubs. And that's what it's about."
Kitchin said SEMA is booked in Las Vegas through 2015 and show attendees have a great rapport with the city. Part of the city's appeal is its proximity to many in the industry. Many automotive aftermarket entrepreneurs come from nearby California, birthplace of the muscle car and trendsetter for the customized automobile.
Kitchin also noted that Nevada's Commission on Economic Development and the Nevada Development Authority have made special appeals to attract automotive companies to establish themselves at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the state has tax incentive programs to attract companies to the area.
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