APEX, NC — The 18th Annual Equipment and Tool Institute and Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (ETI/JAMA) Japan Tech Week, held Dec. 5-9, brought more than 50 individuals from 32 of the leading automotive tool and equipment and information provider companies to Redondo Beach, CA for technical presentations from 10 different Japanese vehicle manufacturers.
Japan Tech Week is designed to provide Japanese OEMs a forum to provide service and repair information, technical data and insights into new technologies for their upcoming models. Participants in Japan Tech Week this year included the eight Japanese manufactures that have been participating for many years: Honda, Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota.
This year held many firsts for Japan Tech Week. In preparation for the Heavy Duty OBD rule coming in 2010, ETI and JAMA invited two of Japan’s heavy-duty manufacturers, Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso, to participate. Both presented an introduction to their companies and an overview of their vehicles.
Another new feature of Japan Tech Week this year was the addition of breakout sessions. ETI’s membership is very diverse and covers much of the automotive service industry. With such a diverse group of companies, each looking for different information, it can be difficult to cover all new service and repair topics within the allotted time. Breakout sessions allow the OEMs to focus their presentations on specific areas of interest and give more comprehensive presentations; including details on new procedures and in-depth explanations of new technologies. The Under Car and Collision Repair Vertical Groups both benefited from these new breakout sessions.
After three days of technical presentations, ETI members, staff and representatives from the Japanese manufacturers and their American subsidiaries joined together in celebration of a successful Tech Week at a banquet hosted by ETI aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach. ETI hosts a banquet each year at the conclusion of Tech Week to express appreciation to the OEMs for their hours of hard work and contribution to Japan Tech Week.
“The successful continuation and growth of Japan Tech Week each year shows the commitment that the Japanese automakers have to the consumer” said Brian Irish, marketing manager for ETI. “They are working to ensure that the vehicles they manufacture can be repaired and serviced properly, and that the vehicle owner has a competitive alternative to the dealer for those services.”
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