Everything is bigger in Texas!

June 14, 2018

WORLDPAC, with a little help from their new teammates at CarQuest, held its fifth bi-annual Supplier Training Expo (STX 2018) this past May (May 3 – 6) at the Gaylord Texan Resort, just outside of Dallas.

Pete Meier

WORLDPAC, with help from their teammates from Advance Auto Parts, held its fifth bi-annual Supplier Training Expo (STX 2018) this past May (May 3 – 6) at the Gaylord Texan Resort, just outside of Dallas. The three-day event featured 167 different instructor-led technical training and business courses, a supplier expo with 200+ parts manufacturers, and over 2,000 people in attendance.

G. Jerry Truglia led four classes over the course of the event, with full houses in every one.

“We are passionate about serving our customers. Our goal at WORLDPAC and Advance is to provide automotive professionals with management training to help them grow their businesses and world-class technical training to meet the demands of today’s advanced vehicles. Delivering the automotive industry’s most robust training program through the close collaboration between WORLDPAC Training Institute and Carquest Technical Institute is a pivotal focus of STX. We also strongly believe events such as STX 2018 continue to reinforce the industry’s growth and career opportunities,” said Bob Cushing, Executive Vice President, Advance Professional.

The seminars offered were led by a cross section of talent from the industry. Instructors from both WTI and CTI were joined by OEM representatives like Motorcraft’s Jay Klamer and top independent trainers like John Thornton, Bernie Thompson, G. Jerry Truglia and many more. And when classes were over, the host resort had plenty of activities for attendees to enjoy. Many brought their families along and made it a working vacation of sorts, traveling from all over the country to attend.

The host resort, the Gaylord Texan, features an interior theme based on the famous “Riverwalk” in San Antonio. Attendees could interact with WORLDPAC suppliers at the trade exhibit, held after classes.

Continuing education in the automotive field is vitally important and the organizers of STX 2018 did everything possible to provide a variety of educational opportunities to their guests, covering technical topics that included the latest diagnostic challenges, import-specific and domestic technologies, engine and transmission products, and software solutions. Management training featured the perspective of professionals sharing real-life experiences on topics from creating a culture of service readiness to selling diagnostics. Also heavily covered was growing the automotive workforce of the future, with more than 100 local high school and college students in attendance to see the exciting opportunities for careers in the automotive field.

If you want to learn more about WORLDPAC’s Supplier Training Expo, contact your local WORLDPAC representative.

About the Author

Pete Meier | Creative Director, Technical | Vehicle Repair Group

Pete Meier is the former creative director, technical, for the Vehicle Repair Group with Endeavor Business Media. He is an ASE certified Master Technician with over 35 years of practical experience as a technician and educator, covering a wide variety of makes and models. He began writing for Motor Age as a contributor in 2006 and joined the magazine full-time as technical editor in 2010. Pete grew the Motor Age YouTube channel to more than 100,000 subscribers by delivering essential training videos for technicians at all levels.

Connect with Pete on LinkedIn.