Automechanika to launch digital offensive in September Online workshops and networking with a Who’s Who of the industry

This digital alternative presents the industry with an opportunity to showcase their latest products and services even in the year of the coronavirus while allowing them to stay in touch with their customers. Even so, our members are very much looking forward to seeing one another in person again and everyone has already announced that they will be back next year.” Jürgen Karpinski, President of the German Federation for Motor Trades and Repairs (ZDK): “Automechanika’s digital offensive is an excellent initiative, and I wholeheartedly support it. Training in particular is essential to our industry, and the wide range of online seminars and workshops represents an excellent opportunity for workshops to obtain training this year free of charge.”
‘Collision talk’ live-stream to kick off the sneak preview ‘Collision talk’, the Automechanika Frankfurt event that draws more visitors than any other, will be held as a web TV show this year. Taking place on 10 September from 5:00 p.m., the event brings together leading decision-makers from the accident repair market and marks the start of Automechanika Frankfurt’s online event series. The live stream is being organised by the ‘schaden.news’ and ‘Fahrzeug + Karosserie’ trade journals (Vogel Verlag, Würzburg) in cooperation with Automechanika Frankfurt. The event is being moderated by Christian Simmert (Editor-in-Chief of schaden.news) and Konrad Wenz (Editor-in-Chief of Fahrzeug + Karosserie) and will be broadcast from Volkswagen’s Transparent Factory in Dresden.
The discussion will revolve around the pandemic’s impact on the accident repair market. For the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis in Germany, automotive insurers, claims managers, paint manufacturers, associations, experts and company owners will be joining in a public discussion of COVID-19’s impact on the industry. The event involves the following guests: Thomas Geck (Director of Claims Process Management for HUK-Coburg), Ludger Kersting (Managing Director of SPN Service Partner Netzwerk GmbH / Director of Automotive Services for ADAC),
Matthew Whittall (CEO of the Innovation Group), Andreas Brodhage (Managing Director of Global Automotive Service), ZKF President Peter Börner, Reinhard Beyer (Chairman of the Board of the German Association of Partner Workshops (BVdP)) and Henning Hamann (Lawyer with ETL Kanzlei Voigt). An assessment of future trends in the automotive repair market will also be provided by sales directors of leading paint manufacturers. Benjamin Burkard (Akzo Nobel), Tobias Brefeld (BASF, Glasurit) and Thomas Leuchten (PPG Nexa Autocolor) will be talking with young owners about the future of companies in the field.
Live workshops, coaching sessions and expert talks for German workshops
‘Collision talk’ will be followed by approx. twenty free online events planned from September to November 2020 that are being organised by Automechanika in conjunction with leading trade publishers and industry partners. These include live workshops, coaching sessions, video tutorials, podcasts and expert talks on the following topics: classic car repairs, radar and camera-based driver assistance systems for commercial vehicles, digital company workshops, accident repairs, paintwork and finishing for repairs, bodywork dent removal techniques, joining and separation techniques, and DAT damage cost calculation and digital communication. There are also additional live workshops and videos on the topics of AML, the installation of auxiliary lights, ADAS calibration, headlight adjustment, and on-board electronic diagnostics with reading out the fault memory planned, as well as an exploration of hydrogen and fuel cell technology using a Toyota Mirai as an example. The following are partners of the online training courses: Autodoktoren, Automobilwoche, Auto & Wirtschaft, Carbon, FabuCar, Fahrzeug+Karosserie, FML, Freie Werkstatt, Glasurit, Chamber of Trades Training Centre in Münster (HBZ), kfz-betrieb, Koch-Achsmessanlagen, Krafthand, Krafthand Truck, Lackiererblatt, Mister A.T.Z., schaden.news, TAK – Akademie Deutsches Kraftfahrzeuggewerbe, Texa and Wieländer + Schill.
Connect: Networking with the Automechanika app
The new tool in the free Automechanika app offers all registered users the ability to target their networking activities online. Here’s how it works: Users create their own personal profiles listing their interests. The filtered search function not only makes it possible for users to find new and relevant business contacts quickly, but also for the users themselves to be found by others, and the chat function allows users to get into contact with other automotive professionals and providers. The app and its new functionality should be available for download in popular app stores from September.
Get to know the latest from a Who’s Who of the automotive aftermarket
Visitors to the website sneak-preview.automechanika-frankfurt.com can discover numerous new products and solutions in exhibitors’ updated company profiles. Olaf Mußhoff, Director of Automechanika Frankfurt, had this to say: “Particularly in these challenging times, the industry needs a showcase that allows for the attractive presentation of new products online, especially in the form of videos. Now we are offering our customers around the globe the chance to do just that with the new, updated exhibitor and product search function.”
Sneak preview of the German Body & Paintwork competition
The first international Automechanika Body & Paintwork competition will be taking place at Messe Frankfurt next year. Here, workshop professionals will be competing against one another with nationally inspired car-hood designs. More than a dozen body and paintwork professionals have already registered for the German competition.
Some of the candidates have even provided fascinating insights into their artistic work in the form of short films that will soon be available on the Automechanika website. The German competition is being supported by AkzoNobel, Axalta, Carbon, Cromax, Glasurit, Miracle Europe, R-M, SATA, Spies Hecker and Standox. More information on the competition is available at automechanika.com/wettbewerb.