ASRW PRESS CONTACT:
Shelby Hausler
(888) 529-1641 / (972) 536-6318
www.NACEexpo.com
www.CARSevent.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Education Program Delivers 260 Hours of Industry Education

Dallas/November 3, 2010  – Automotive Service & Repair Week (ASRW) attendees benefitted from the significant number of educational sessions at the recent third annual event. The NACE and CARS conferences have presented topics that both mechanical and collision industry professionals deal with on a daily, weekly and annual basis. ASRW includes the International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE) and the Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) and was held Oct. 10-13, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

“ASRW has a reputation for providing a tremendous, comprehensive education program that the automotive industry won’t find anywhere else. Countless hours of thought, effort and detail went into planning the conference program for ASRW 2010,” said Bill Haas, Automotive Service Association (ASA) vice president of education and training. “The education program is a huge value to the attendees, and we’re pleased with the program we were able to provide this year.”

The comprehensive education program, consisting of more than 80 sessions, offered 161 hours of education. Divided among technical, management, and women’s professional development tracks, sessions were focused on either collision repair or mechanical service, with approximately 30 percent applicable to the industry at large. In the weeks since ASRW concluded, positive feedback from attendees and speakers solidifies the focus, attention and detail that went into planning the 2010 ASRW educational program. Also available during ASRW were 99.5 hours of add-on education offered by I-CAR, Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), and the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE).

“Excellent! ASA has done an excellent job with NACE this year!” said Lori Jondron, Roadrunner Body and Paint, Austin, Texas.

“Having more than 100 attendees, including 40-plus insurers, attend the negotiating session I co-instructed is a clear indication of the industry’s interest and desire to improve communication and differentiate themselves. Continuous change and improvement is a requirement in an ever-evolving industry that is demanding efficiency, cost management, quality repairs, and customer service. ASRW provides the progressive thinkers in the industry an opportunity to gather that information which can help their respective businesses prosper for years to come,” said Dan Risley, staff claims analyst, Allstate Insurance Company.

The Women’s Industry Network (WIN) sponsored the entire Women’s Professional Development track, which featured five sessions, creating one of the largest women’s tracks to date. Other session sponsors included: ACDelco, DuPont Performance Coatings, CARQUEST Technical Institute, Autoshop Solutions, Celette, Educational Seminars Institute (ESI), Net Driven, Ford Motor Company, Kaeser Compressors, Zurich and Delphi.

Sessions across both the management and technical tracks earned positive reviews from attendees. “Best class I’ve ever had!” said Dennis Belongie, Classic Auto Collision, Escanaba, Mich, of The Mechanics of Estimating, presented by Mike Anderson of collisionadvice.com.

One of the higher selling sessions with 142 registrants, When You Care They Know, was presented by Richard Flint. Centered on creating the ultimate customer experience, the session was billed as a management class for both NACE and CARS attendees and also received a favorable response from attendees regarding the session topic and speaker.

“Excellent speaker! I would attend any class because Richard Flint is the speaker. His principles are universal,” said  Kristen Newman, Bram City Transmission, Ontario, Canada.

Specific to CARS attendees, Toyota and Honda Factory Scan Tool Diagnostics & Training, presented by John Thornton, was well-received in the technical course offerings.
Planning for the 2011 ASRW Educational Program is currently under way.

About the Events
ASRW includes the International Autobody Congress & Exposition (NACE) and the Congress of Automotive Repair & Service (CARS), which makes it the industry’s leading event for dedicated professionals to conduct business, network and engage in industry issues.

NACE – the world’s collision repair event – represents the only B2B event of its kind specifically designed for collision repair industry professionals from around the globe. NACE features a comprehensive educational Conference and Exposition with hundreds of diverse exhibiting companies displaying the latest equipment, products, services and technology available to today’s collision repair industry. www.NACEexpo.com

CARS – the premier event for automotive service professionals – features a high-quality education lineup led by industry leaders, along with an exhibitor showcase of automotive service and repair related equipment, products and services. www.CARSevent.com

For additional information, contact Hanley Wood Exhibitions at P.O. Box 612128, Dallas, Texas 75261-2128 or call (888) 529-1641 or (972) 536-6444.

About the Sponsor
The Automotive Service Association (ASA) is the sponsor of ASRW and two of its shows, NACE and CARS. ASA is the largest international not-for-profit trade association of its kind dedicated to and governed by independent automotive service and repair professionals. ASA advances professionalism and excellence in the automotive industry through education, legislative representation and member services. Its international membership base includes numerous affiliate, state and chapter groups from all segments of the industry. For additional information about ASA, go to www.ASAshop.org. ASRW, NACE and CARS are produced by Hanley Wood Exhibitions.

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