Seven seminars and nine educational courses will be offered at Automechanika Canada June 19-21, 2008, at the International Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Highlighting the program is a keynote address by Bob Greenwood, president and CEO of the Automotive Aftermarket E-Learning Centre Ltd. (AAEC) and E.K. Williams & Co. (Ontario) Ltd. (EKW). He will discuss "Defining 10 Objectives That Will Secure a Positive Aftermarket Future."
Additionally, the Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association (APRA) and the Ontario Tire Dealers Association (OTDA), two of the show’s industry partners, will contribute to the seminar program, and OTDA will sponsor the Tire & Wheel Pavilion within Automechanika Canada.
The following sessions are planned:
* Bruce Eccles, owner of Eccles Auto Service, will lead two seminars on the business of a successful garage: "Then, Now and the Need for Change –- This is Not Your Father’s Garage!" and "Start Me Up in the 21st Century -– Today’s Successful Garage."
* Usman Valiante, senior policy analyst with Corporate Policy Group and Glenn Warnica, president of the OTDA, will present a session on taking a responsible and sensible approach to product stewardship in the automotive industry, focused on free enterprise and incentives to produce higher-value, end-use products versus “new taxation.” Details of the OnTRED (Ontario Tire Recycling and Economic Development Program) will also be discussed.
* Changes in newer charging and starting systems, and the challenges and opportunities they create, are the topic of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association’s Mohammad Samii’s seminar. The session’s objective is to enable well-trained technicians to easily diagnose, repair and profit from knowing how these newer systems work and interface, and how the PCM activates, controls and monitors such systems. In this seminar, details of the newer systems will be explained and information and case studies will be presented to help technicians with diagnostics and repair.
* The liabilities and advantages of the sale and purchase of used tires to the tire dealer and to the consumer is the focus of a seminar offered by Paul Hyatt, president of Superior Tire, former president of the Tire Industry Association and a director of the OTDA. In addition, the presentation will cover the low safety standards adhered to and promoted by the Ontario government and the potential high risks to consumers’ safety and to tire dealers’ liability.
For more information and a full schedule of the trade show, visit www.AutomechanikaCanada.com.
