Get Ready to Level Up

NORTHEAST is expected to exceed the past two years with record-breaking numbers as repairers seek to learn more about their evolving businesses from the industry’s most sought-after speakers, including Mike Anderson, Aaron Schulenburg, David Luehr, Tim Morgan, Danny Gredinberg, Chuck Olsen and Tim Ronak who are all scheduled to appear on this year’s educational slate (see the full agenda on page 28).

“I always look forward to NORTHEAST, and I’m excited to see everything planned for this year’s show,” shares Chuck Olsen of Education Sponsor, AirPro Diagnostics. “I believe this year will be a true return to normal – or maybe better than ‘normal’ – in terms of attendance. The educational lineup looks awesome, and I’m honored to be opening the training sessions.”

Attendees definitely won’t want to miss perusing the trade show floor to check out the industry’s latest and greatest tools and equipment, available from some of your favorite vendors.

AirPro Diagnostics will be demonstrating AUGGIE, the company’s wireless device designed to revolutionize the world of vehicle recalibrations, and Steve Casella, vice president of client technical services and one of AirPro’s inventors, will be on-hand to showcase the AirPro scan tool. Attendees are invited to stop by AirPro’s booth #317 on Saturday and Sunday morning at 10am for a coffee and our business services provide. AkzoNobel Service Consultants Tim Ronak and Sam Sherrill will be teaming up on Friday afternoon for a presentation titled ‘Overcoming Insurer Objections to Payment for Needed Repair Procedures,’ and we strongly encourage attendees to register to attend this discussion for some useful advice!”

Make sure to stop by booth #601 to check out the new features available on AkzoNobel’s digital process control solution Carbeat®. “We’ll be exhibiting a 1967 Nova with our premium Sikkens paint line, and you won’t want to miss the demonstrations of how AkzoNobel gets ‘first-timeright’ color match through our digital color retrieval tool Mixit cloud and AMV camera,” Poliski adds. “We are also planning to shoot content for our new TikTok channel – outtakes and all – so be ready to step into the spotlight as we capture customer testimonials to feature in our media campaign for 2023.

It seems like all the vendors are catching the excitement for NORTHEAST 2023, whether they’re firsttime exhibitors or if they’ve been coming since the show began.

“I am looking forward to connecting with people who are a part of the collision repair industry and making an impact in their business,” shares James Rome of first-time exhibitor, Rome Collision Management. “Our solution can help empower their team to live to their potential, and we’ll be offering free consulting to ensure that our shops are getting the most out of their production space.”

Solidus Equipment has attended NORTHEAST “for many years, and we’re looking forward to reconnecting with customers who have our equipment, while continuing the branding and distribution of all of our equipment in the Northeast region,” notes Rob Sykora. “We have spot welders, mig welders and frame machines. We are also a national distributor of Celette equipment and will be displaying Celette measuring and frame machines. We will be conducting live welding demos and allow show attendees to use the equipment. We are an I-CAR Sustaining Partner, and our Solidus 3-gun mig welder, the ADP 200-3, has been featured in the I-CAR booth at SEMA the past two years.”

“Accudraft is looking forward to seeing our customers, friends and extended family as we return to NORTHEAST,” says Jeremy Winter (Accudraft). “For many years, Accudraft has had a presence at the show and is local to the area. We are excited to return!”

Mark Jackson (Perfect Pull) is eager to “help the body shop industry by demonstrating our glue pull to paint techniques. Our glue pulling tower allows for pulling larger dents than what can typically be pulled with slide hammers meet new professionals in the collision business. Working with the NORTHEAST team is definitely a pleasure.

“Lift King Products is working on a couple surprises for NORTHEAST 2023,” Kerr teases. “We will also be unveiling a couple new products in our booth this year. Stop in and take a look to see all the great Lift King products!”

As great as the education and exhibitions are, nothing beats the EXPERIENCE available only at NORTHEAST. It’s hard to compete with the face-to-face networking at an event of this size and caliber, and attendees will enjoy the chance to win a number of prizes while catching up with old friends and getting to know new ones. Simply pre-registering for NORTHEAST 2023 provides a chance for attendees to win $500 in NORTHEAST Dollars to spend on the show floor (10 winners will be chosen at random over the course of the weekend), and those who obtain a VIP ticket from their preferred vendor prior to the show can participate in a drawing to win a $500 gift card!

And you never know who you might see! Past celebrity appearances have included everyone from Chip Foose (Overhaulin’) and Ryan Friedlinghaus (West Coast Customs) to Ryan Evans (Counting Cars) and Bogi Lateiner (All Girls Garage). But we’re keeping this year’s guests a surprise for now – some hints may be shared and bridge tools. We really enjoy educating repairers on the paintless dent repair side of the business and helping them see all the potential in glue pull repair.”

“What we are looking forward to most about the upcoming Trade Show is seeing and talking to customers,” according to Christine Rizzo (Ciocca Dealerships). “For our inside sales team, it is about putting a face behind the name. We are excited for the opportunity to explain the future of our wholesale parts operations as new ownership and adding more brands allows us to help service our customers.”

“I love reconnecting with the people at NORTHEAST!” Tim Morgan (Spanesi Americas) offers. “It is always a good show for us, and our products are well received. We will be demonstrating our Touch Measuring System, along with our line of benches and welders this year.”

Reliable Automotive Equipment looks forward to “educating customers on changes in the industry and introducing new products and solutions to help meet the need of these changes,” according to Mike Kirchoff. “A few of the new things we are introducing this year include advances in riveting tools and technologies as well as new EV equipment and EV safety tools.”

“This year, Lift King Products is again very excited to exhibit at the AASP/NJ NORTHEAST show,” Paul Kerr shares. “It is always a pleasure to see our old friends and via the NORTHEAST social media pages during the week leading up to the show or wait to rub elbows with this year’s special guests on the show floor.

Did we mention that National Auto Body Council will be on-site to deliver a Recycled Rides vehicle to a worthy recipient? The show also provides many opportunities to celebrate the industry that we all love, including AASP/ NJ’s Third Annual Young Technician Award presentation where two young repairers will be recognized for their hard work and dedication to the craft. AASP/NJ will also be honoring the best of the best in the estimating, painting and bodywork fields during its inaugural Bodywork Bowl (get the details and learn how to register on page 32).

And all that is just what’s happening AT the show! Secaucus is just a few miles from plenty of afterhours fun at American Dream or in the Big Apple (check out some ideas for fun things to do after the show closes on page 29).

You’re still here…What are you waiting for? You don’t want to miss NORTHEAST 2023! Level up now by registering at aaspnjnortheast.com