The largest and most important automotive industry event of the year, the 2019 Australian Auto Aftermarket Expo, takes place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from April 4 to 6.

A significant advantage of this major industry event that features more than 400 exhibitors and over 10,000 members of the nation’s automotive service and repair industry, is the comprehensive Free Seminar Series.

Professionally facilitated by AutoMate Training, these highly informative free seminars will take place across each of the three days of the event, following the overall theme of Understanding the Rapidly Emerging Trends and Developing Industry Leading Standards.

According to Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) CEO Stuart Charity, the comprehensive Expo free seminar series assembles a range of leading industry experts who will provide the tools and advice that the trade needs to build better automotive businesses.

“The comprehensive free seminar series being held across all three days of the Expo has something to suit every automotive business no matter how large or small. While more than 400 exhibitors will be showcasing their latest products, services and technology on the Expo floor, the free seminars provide the knowledge, advice and strategies to help business growth and development,” Mr Charity stated.

The free seminars start on the Expo’s opening day, with two informative presentations taking place on Thursday April 4 from 2:00pm. The opening seminar is titled Accelerate Your Business Success, and it covers the five key areas of business strategy that can shape your business future.

Renowned automotive aftermarket business coach Rachael Sheldrick (The Workshop Whisperer) and DBC 2’s Dale Brittain will lead Thursday’s 3:15pm seminar titled How to Tune Your Business for Tomorrow’s Customer.  The focus of this seminar is to keep your business aligned with changing automotive and consumer trends, thereby optimising your business for continued success and growth.

Day two of the Expo, Friday April 5, features a total of four important seminars covering a broad scope of industry and business development topics.

Amy Frangos, Ryco Filter Executive General Manager, will start the day’s seminar activities at 11:30am with her presentation which is titled Innovation. Amy will share her thoughts on embracing business innovation during these rapidly changing times, regardless of the size of your business.

At 12:30pm on Friday, automotive aftermarket industry analysts Ben Selwyn and Steve Nuttall from ACA Research will present the 2019 Automotive Workshop Study – Build a More Profitable Business seminar. This session will identify the strategies required to help operators increase service bay utilisation, improve labour efficiency and ultimately build a more profitable business.

2.00pm Friday will feature a presentation by the AAAA’s Senior Manager of Government Relations and Advocacy, Lesley Yates, who will answer the important questions of what, when and how OEM technical information will be shared with independent workshops under a mandatory data sharing code. The second part of the seminar will feature Darren Todd from Robert Bosch who will provide a practical demonstration of pass-through technology and how workshops can take full advantage of it.

Friday’s fourth seminar takes place at 4:00pm, titled Vehicles and Technology: Tomorrow’s World Today. This informative presentation will outline the trends moving forward that will bring new challenges to automotive repairers, including electrification, mobility, connected cars and driverless technology.

The third and final day of the Expo, Saturday April 6, includes four highly informative free seminars, starting at 10:30am with The Secrets to Building a Winning Workshop Team, presented by mechanic.com.au’s Neville Brady.  This seminar will provide the tactics for finding, developing and keeping the best technicians, which is without doubt one of the most crucial aspects affecting the long term profitability of any automotive workshop.

At 11:30am on Saturday we find out about the workshops of the future with a seminar titled What’s on the Workshop Horizon.  This forward looking presentation will provide a realistic view of where the automotive workshop is headed relating to technology and the considerations that need to be made in relation to upgrading your workshop’s capabilities.

At 1:00pm an expert panel will provide strategies that workshops can adopt to embrace continuous professional development programs and a pattern of life-long learning. This seminar also focuses on the integration of the latest platforms for training technicians.

At 2:00pm on Saturday the final Expo free seminar takes place with industry renowned Diesel expert, Clinton Brett from Diesel Help Australia presenting Wrong Fuel in a Diesel Vehicle. This seminar is designed to educate automotive workshops on the potential harm to them, their business and their customers by adopting an incorrect procedure when trying to diagnose and rectify the wrong fuel in a diesel vehicle.

The 2019 Australian Auto Aftermarket Expo will be held concurrently with the 2019 Collision Repair Expo, forming the nation’s largest and most important automotive industry event at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from April 4-6.  Free registration is available now along with additional Expo information at www.autoaftermarketexpo.com.au