"You're starting to see a lot about green, no matter where you look," says Arlene Davis, senior director of trade shows for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA). "Our goal with the aftermarket is to make sure retailers and service providers are aware of the industry's green side so that they can relay it to consumers."

Industry Week features the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 at the Sands Expo Center and the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. At press time, the shows' planners reported they were expecting 2,100 exhibitors to set up approximately 10,000 booths at both shows, and that more than 125,000 attendees will converge on Las Vegas for the week's events.

"AAPEX and (Industry Week) is the world's largest business-to-business event for the global automotive aftermarket industry," says Steve Handschuh, president and chief operating officer of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA). AASA and its parent association, the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), co-sponsor AAPEX each year with AAIA. "Our members come to AAPEX for vital face-to-face networking time with potential clients. The show is an important venue to launch new products and services in the aftermarket, reach new markets and promote existing product programs."

The Green Zone

To highlight the show's green theme, AAPEX organizers have created the Green Zone, a special display area located in the Venetian Ballroom that will feature products repair shops and retailers can sell to consumers to help make their vehicles more efficient and environmentally friendly. Green Zone exhibitors will include suppliers that sell tools and diagnostic equipment used to repair alternative fuel vehicles, suppliers that recycle waste or remanufacture parts and suppliers of environmentally friendly aftermarket parts. Show exhibitors also will feature their company's green practices, such as environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and training programs to encourage employees to be environmentally responsible.

"The automotive industry is not new to green," Davis says. "But we still want to get as many people participating in the Green Zone as possible, so that we can get people thinking about green issues. And if we can make consumers aware of green products and educate them about green practices, we can make them better customers."

Philadelphia-based auto parts remanufacturer CARDONE Industries, Inc. has made plans to staff a booth in the Green Zone, where it will promote its "cleantech" philosophy.

According to the company's Web site, cleantech is any technology that promotes the more efficient use and re-use of the earth's resources in industrial production while promoting improved operational performance and reducing overall costs, energy consumption, waste and pollution.

"CARDONE has been actively involved in being environmentally friendly for over 35 years. Even before being green was a trendy term, CARDONE was remanufacturing parts like power steering pumps, wiper motors, rack and pinions and brake master cylinders and calipers," says the company's vice president, Michael Cardone III. "We keep the world from having to recreate new parts from raw materials, by taking the old part, keeping a majority of the reusable materials and restoring that part back to its original state."

The SEMA Show also will devote a good portion of its floor space to green innovations, including hybrid and alternative fuel technologies. Peter MacGillivray, SEMA's vice president of marketing and communications, says that in recent years these technologies have become an increasingly important element of the show for automakers unveiling green initiatives and the more traditional exhibitors showcasing green accessories.

"There will be a number of exhibitors demonstrating new technologies at the show," MacGillivray says. "Volkswagen, for example, will be unveiling some new diesel technologies. But I think all the other OEMs at the show will be addressing alternative fuels, too. It's just such a hot topic, with consumers expressing interest in this issue."

New products abound

Of course, many traditional products will be on display at AAPEX, too. Buyers can see the latest products by visiting the New Product Showcase, which is available onsite and online at www.AAPEXShow.com. The onsite showcase will be located in the upper lobby of the Sands Expo Center alongside the New Packaging Showcase. Last year, these two exhibits featured more than 500 products combined.

A fully searchable list of exhibitors is available on the AAPEX Web site, as is the newly updated Networking Zone, a matchmaking tool that lets buyers and exhibitors connect before the show. Now in its second year, NetZone allows buyers to build a list of exhibitors they want to see, get a customized floor plan of target exhibitors and schedule and confirm appointments with exhibitors. This year, NetZone also has been expanded to include SEMA Show exhibitors and their products.

SEMA Show attendees can find My Show Planner on the SEMA Show Web site at www.semashow.com.

Educational opportunities

But the AAPEX and SEMA shows are not only about new products; both shows include seminars, workshops and roundtable discussions to explore the latest hot button issues within the industry. In fact, SEMA's MacGillivray says that the more than 60 educational programs featured at the SEMA Show will cover everything from new technologies that can help a business grow to personal development seminars for business owners, managers and employees.

"Education is such an important part of the show," he adds. "Many of our members are entrepreneurs who are running a passion-driven business. The business came first, then the education. So there's a tremendous need and interest in the workshops we have developed."

The SEMA Show's "Store of the Future," now in its second year, will allow jobbers and retailers to gain hands-on experience with new products and get real-time feedback from store staff members about issues they have experienced in their own shops. The SEMA Show also will feature a display of shop tools run by the West Coast Customs stars of the television series "Street Customs," where attendees can get expert advice on putting the new tools to use and hands-on experience using them.

The AAPEX show will feature educational seminars covering topics such as improving sales proficiency, fact-based marketing, selling parts for imports, the proposed Right to Repair Act, aftermarket research and data, hybrid vehicle update and repair and increasing sales. There also will be sessions on selling to the U.S. aftermarket, the top 10 sales blunders, tapping into underperformed maintenance, industry data standards, ASE certification and partnering with customers. All show attendees are invited to attend the seminars, which are posted on the AAPEX show Web site.

Show organizers are encouraging attendees to plan ahead and sign up for seminars now; last year many of the educational sessions were filled to capacity.

"Trade shows are an excellent opportunity for peers to get together and talk about what's going on in the industry," says Davis. "It's a time to explore new ideas and see new things, and to take home new educational experiences to think about. "

A celebrity hot spot

No trade show is complete without celebrity appearances, and both AAPEX and the SEMA Show will have them. This year, AAPEX will feature a new NASCAR Celebrity Day, which will highlight the drivers and crew chiefs attending the show. All celebrity appearances will be identified by maps and signage at the show, and listed on the AAPEX Web site prior to the weeklong event.

Bob Schieffer, anchor of "Face the Nation" and CBS News chief Washington correspondent, will headline this year's AAIA Town Hall meeting on Oct. 31 at 7 a.m. in the Palazzo Ballroom of the Venetian Hotel. Dick Morgan, AAIA chair and president of the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, Inc., and Kathleen Schmatz, AAIA president and CEO, also will participate in this event.

"Bob has covered the White House for many years and will bring a unique perspective of how current issues affect the aftermarket," Davis notes. "It will be interesting to hear his take on where things are going and how it will affect our industry, especially since we're a year away from the national election."

At the SEMA Show, attendees can mingle with NHRA drivers, NASCAR celebrities, Formula 1 drivers and other notable celebrities from the motorsports industry.

In addition, celebrities from the television series "Overhaulin' Studio" will be on hand to tape a live episode of the show from the convention center floor, complete with an in-studio audience and a behind-the-scenes look at the latest products, tools and technologies used to revamp a test car.

"One of the untold benefits of going to the (SEMA) show is that you can end up in an elevator with one of the giants of the motorsports industry," says MacGillivray. "The show is full of walking legends. It's a great experience."

Go online to www.aapexshow.com and www.semashow.com for show planners, a schedule of events, registration information and more.