DALLAS – Organizers for Automotive Service & Repair Week (ASRW) have reported the successful conclusion of the first-ever ASRW Industry Forum. Several hundred attendees engaged in lively discussion with leaders across the automotive industry during the new forum, held in conjunction with Automotive Service & Repair Week. The forum concluded the first day of education at ASRW 2010, which included the International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE) and the Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS), held Oct. 10-13 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

The ASRW Industry Forum featured two concurrent 45-minute sessions: "Aftermarket Parts Quality: What’s In the Box" for the mechanical industry and "Certified Collision Repair – An Industry Perspective" for collision repair professionals; followed by a 30-minute networking break. Two additional concurrent sessions followed: "Service Information Access: Right or Responsibility?" for the mechanical industry and "Diversity in the Shop: How to Work with People Not Like You" for the collision industry (moderated by Opening General Session keynote speaker Kelly McDonald). The forum concluded with an hour-long reception mixer.

"We couldn’t be happier with the attendance, participation and response to this new event. It was the perfect start to a great week, and we appreciate everyone – the panelists, the sponsors and the attendees – who made this event a success," said Ron Pyle, ASA president and chief staff executive.

Each moderated session featured panelists representing cross-sections of the automotive service and repair industry. Panelists included shop owners, association leaders, insurance professionals and a variety of leaders from industry organizations. Participants were encouraged to ask questions throughout the presentation and for the first time were introduced to posing questions to the panels via new event texting technology.

The ASRW Industry Forum was sponsored by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF), the Women’s Industry Network (WIN), the National Auto Body Council (NABC), the Automotive Management Institute (AMI) and the I-CAR Collision Repair Education Foundation.

Proceeds from the ticket sales at the ASRW Industry Forum were donated to the sponsoring organizations.

A call for topics has been issued for the 2011 ASRW Industry Forum and interested participants are encouraged to e-mail ideas for next year’s forum sessions to [email protected].

An archived version of each session will soon be available for free downloading and viewing online at www.NACEexpo.com and www.CARSevent.com.