Frankfurt and Los Angeles – Messe Frankfurt and Advanstar Communications have joined forces to launch Automechanika Chicago April 24-26, 2015 at McCormick Place.
The newest addition to Messe Frankfurt’s portfolio of legendary global automotive trade shows will be the first Automechanika in the U.S. and will be held biennially in Chicago. It is expected to be the largest U.S. trade show featuring high-end technical training and management classes for automotive technicians and shop owners.
By partnering with Advanstar Communications, the event will combine the reputations of the Automechanika brand with Advanstar’s trade show expertise and its automotive publications for the service repair and collision repair sectors. Advanstar’s Automotive Group includes three industry magazines: Aftermarket Business World, Auto Body Repair Network and Motor Age. In addition, Advanstar hosts five automotive-related websites, the automotive aftermarket’s largest B2-to-B website, nine e-newsletters and 38 training manuals for vehicle industry professionals and automotive enthusiasts. Advanstar estimates it reaches nearly nine million original equipment and aftermarket professionals and retailers.
Detlef Braun, an executive board member of Messe Frankfurt, said Chicago was chosen because of its central U.S. location and easy accessibility by air and by car. Braun also noted that the combined experience of Messe Frankfurt and Advanstar in launching events “strengthens our ability to service this untapped niche within the automotive aftermarket industry.”
The U.S. automotive aftermarket has grown at a steady pace of more than 3.4% annually in recent years, attributed to an average U.S. vehicle age of 11.4 years. Aging vehicles and new technology mean that aftermarket technicians need a broader knowledge base within their shops. Automechanika will provide a diverse set of product categories along with demonstrations and training sessions for new products.
In announcing the partnership, Advanstar CEO Joe Loggia said, “Anyone who has attended any Automechanika show around the world knows the power of that brand in the automotive industry.”
The 13 other Automechanika shows in 2014 and 2015 will be staged in Buenos Aires, Dubai, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Kiev, Kuala Lumpur, Madrid, Mexico City, Moscow, New Delhi, Shanghai and St. Petersburg. The original show in Frankfurt was staged in 1971 and drew 415 exhibitors and 75,593 visitors. The 2012 show drew 4,500 exhibitors and 148,000 visitors from 176 countries.
In all, Messe Frankfurt organized 114 trade fairs in 2013, while Advanstar Communications has a portfolio of more than 50 trade shows and 100 conferences. Chris DeMoulin, executive vice president of Advanstar Auto Group, said he expects that Automechanika Chicago will be designed for shop owners and technicians with the goal of making it the largest training event in the U.S. marketplace.
Reach Joe Loggia at (310) 857-7500 or jloggia@advanstar.com; Chris DeMoulin at (310) 857-7500 or cdemoulin@advanstar.com; Detlef Braun at (49) (69) 7575-5885 or detlef.braun@messefrankfurt.com
