This year’s Equipment and Tool Institute (ETI) ToolTech event had over 150 attendees travel to Newport Beach, California for three days of learning, networking, industry updates, and much more. Among the attendees were member companies, industry partners, and eight different OEMs/car manufacturers.
In a pre-event interview with ETI’s Executive Director Brian Plott, he noted that the goal of ETI is to bring together the automotive aftermarket and the OEMs. Day one’s keynote speaker, Mike Spagnola, president and CEO of SEMA discussed the importance of exactly that.
One of the points Spagnola made during his presentation was how crucial the Right to Repair Act is, and how the right to modify a vehicle needs to be included.
“So what happens when you modify a vehicle? And why is this so important,” Spagnola asks. “As these new [ADAS] systems become more common in the future, and become more complex, it's going to be important for all of us to understand what those modifications do to a new vehicle, such as lifting a truck, and how that'll affect ADAS systems. This is crucial for our members designing and selling aftermarket parts. It's crucial to all of us here in this room, and it's crucial to the OEs.”
Consumers want options; not only options for where they can take their vehicle for repairs, but options for making modifications and customizations to their vehicles. OEs and aftermarket manufacturers must work together to help make these options safe and viable for customers.
Other presentations and panels for day one included:
- International Perspectives, Pete Bradley, Hella-Gutmann (EGEA)
- Cybersecurity, Kevin Tierney, VP Global Cybersecurity for GM
- OEM Panel moderated by Bob Augustine, Opus IVS
- Accurately Testing EV 12V Batteries, Joshua Linton, Midtronics
Day two of the event began similar to how this annual meeting of ETI members goes – with the current ETI President, David Rich passing the gavel on to the new ETI President, Bob Augustine, and all the new members of the ETI board being recognized.
However, the morning held a surprise twist — ETI is expanding to Europe with Winston Lee as the ETI Europe managing director.
“Everything is global, especially in our industry,” Plott notes. “So, we're going to go forward and [expand to Europe].”
The goal of this expansion is to offer the EU the same membership benefits as U.S. members, explains Lee. This means providing a neutral space for OEs and the aftermarket to come together and better understand one another.
To follow along with ETI's journey into Europe, be sure to follow their LinkedIn page for updates.
Day two continued with these presentations and panels:
- Keynote Speaker, Dr. Shawn DuBravac, Futurist
- Fuel Cell Solutions, Richard Ferguson, Toyota
- Shop Owners Panel moderated by Bob Augustine, Opus IVS
- How AI is Impacting the Automotive Aftermarket Service Experience, Mark Seng, Predii
Throughout the event, attendees also had the opportunity to schedule one-on-one meetings with other industry professionals and network at the company spotlight tradeshow/reception.
“So as we move forward here, I think it's important for us to be listening to what the consumer, the motorist is telling us,” Augustine says.
“That gives us the most clear roadmap of where we're going as an industry,” he continues. “First off, what technology becomes proliferated in the marketplace, and then for us in this group, how we develop tools and equipment for that.”
Check out more photos from the event here.
