Almost Time for ABAT’s 2023 Texas Auto Body Trade Show!

IIt’s just about that time again. Summer is here, and ABAT is looking forward to the culmination of the season: the 2023 Texas Auto Body Trade Show, scheduled for August 25-26 at the Irving Convention Center. This year will be the event’s eighth iteration, and each year, it gets better and better. Last year, we really crossed the line – in a good way – with the attendance, the educational offerings and the BIG SHOTS Competition which helped us generate more interest from technicians than ever before. I’m incredibly excited to build off the momentum we’ve got going from the past few shows; we’re just going to keep getting bigger and better!

Those who know me won’t be the least bit surprised that I’m most excited for the third annual BIG SHOTS Competition, which debuted in 2021 and grew exponentially in 2022. We’re looking to reach new heights this time around, but we could have never made this contest what it has become without the support of all the paint companies, jobbers and other industry leaders who have helped us put it together and get the word out to the technicians and painters who make the competition a success…THANK YOU!

Whether you’re a body technician, painter or estimator, you probably have a lot of pride in what you do, and BIG SHOTS is a great opportunity to come show off your talents, compete with others in the Texas market and possibly walk away with some really cool prizes.

Burl Richards ABAT President

I started out as a painter, and I can assure y’all that I had my share of pride…and maybe a little more. That’s how most of us are, though, right? I mean, just ask any painter who the BEST painter is, and they’re probably going to say “me!” Body techs and estimators are usually the same, and there ain’t nothing wrong with that. It’s called having a sense of pride in what you do, and ABAT is happy to highlight that pride because you can’t be one of the best if you don’t believe in yourself. This is a true competition between skilled professionals, so don’t think that just anyone can win! You have to have the skills to get there.

It took us a couple tries to get it down to a science, but I think we’re there now. In fact, we’ve had other associations reach out to us for help kicking off similar contests of their own, like the