Sydney Auto Aftermarket Expo returns in April

MORE than 350 Australian and international aftermarket brands will exhibit their wares at the biannual Australian Auto Aftermarket Expo (AAE), to be held at the Sydney Exhibition Centre beside Darling Harbour from April 11 to April 13.

The AAE host city alternates between Melbourne and Sydney, meaning the 2013 event will be the last in the current Darling Harbour exhibition centre, which is closing for redevelopment in December next year.

With the remodelled and expanded building scheduled to reopen in late 2016, the building should ready for the following Sydney AAE in 2017.

The trade-only show is organised by the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA), which says 93 per cent of the 15,000 square-metre floor space has been pre-sold seven months before the event.

AAAA executive director Stuart Charity said the industry response represented a major vote of confidence in the event, which attracted record visitor numbers in Melbourne last year.

Product demonstrations, technical presentations and competitions will take place at the show and the AAAA expects “a huge number of offers” from exhibitors wanting to participate in the event’s education program.

Mr Charity highlighted the importance of education at the Expo due to advances in technology that are forcing changes in the service and repair industry.

“There are new dynamics influencing the traditional order of things,” he said. “It is getting increasingly difficult and risky for workshop owners and managers to maintain a ‘business as usual’ approach.

“This means we will see fast moving service and repair businesses growing at the expense of their slower competitors… keeping up to date with technology (in terms of trade and business efficiency) is critical to the survival and growth of workshops.”

Australia’s automotive aftermarket industry turns over $11 billion a year, with exports worth $800 million, and supports 30,000 Australian jobs.

The 2011 Melbourne AAE attracted a record 12,625 visitors, with 439 exhibitors occupying the 21,000 square-metre floor space.