Sema

jimmybuffit

jimmybuffit

That'll buff right out!
Damn Big. That's what it is. Damn Big!



Things I might have missed...



Any Klasse eposure by anyone...

Any Zaino exposure by anyone...

Any PS21/S100 exposure by anyone...



Although some MF towels were displayed, nothing of Autopian standards were available...



Some observations:



Turtlewax wax has a great marketing buget...



Meguiar's had booths at BOTH events. Big dollars! I could not engage a meaningful conversation, alto I tried, at either booth... No one seemed to know the name 'Mike Phillips". Curious.



303 Aerospace... girl was not product oriented... quite helpful, but constantly referred me to "Roger', who, for some reason, coulcn't make it to the biggest show of the year...



Autoint.com (ValuGard) guys were quite helpful...



I'll have some pics tomorrow, including how to[NOT] 'detail' fo Mazda!



BTW: This is NOT a slam on the whole Show, it was a marvelous productiion!

this is just part of my Autopian view



BTW, we had a geat time!



Jim
 
I'm here, and we have booths at both shows (In addition to SEMA at the Las Vegas Convention Center, also the AAPEX show, which is at the Sands Expo where I spend my time. It's also where all the "big" customers are so it's my home for the week.)



We have knowledgeable folks at both shows, although our SEMA booth has more of our car guys (our car builders, etc) versus technical guys (though some are at both).



Come on over to the Sands to see even more. The other companies you mentioned don't really have a retail/distributor presence- they're more internet/mail order niche guys.



Keep in mind booth space costs tens of thousands of dollars for every 100 square feet. Some companies you might think of as huge are actually very small and can't afford to be at a show like this.
 
I am so Jealous!! I have been dying to get to a SEMA show to get my fix of the latest car toys. I'd surely take your place if you wanted, I have plenty of trade show experience.:D



Jim,



I thought Mike was suppose to be at the event, I may be wrong though.:nixweiss
 
MBZ 500E said:
I thought Mike was suppose to be at the event, I may be wrong though.:nixweiss
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I wasn't asked to go this year. I was "Demo-Boy" last year and my wife Lynn was the booth hostess for the SEMA booth.



She did a stellar job at what is actually a very hard job if you work it.



I would have liked to have gone, mostly to detail cars before and at the event and of course talk to folks from the forums, and people I have met over the years at car shows.



Mike
 
jimamary said:
I could not engage a meaningful conversation
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With no one?





Also I tried, at either booth... No one seemed to know the name 'Mike Phillips". Curious.
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I find that curious also. I'll guess I know probably 90% of the people working for Meguiar's at this show. The people I don't know would mostly be from International, and new hires in other regions.



It will be interesting to see what people returning have to say.



Mike
 
P21 S is here. geekysteve stopped by and spoke to them.



An Editor from Consumer Reports Magazine stopped by, too. They want to do another wax test issue with the new VOC compliant formulae from all the wax companies.



But, no one is shipping them yet since the slow release solvents cost so much more (everyone is waiting until they "have" to have them to be compliant).
 
What's VOC? What is this VOC formula? Why the high cost?



Just an inquiring mindless autopian asking some questions.
 
Greg said:
So, are there any products that an Autopian might want to stock when this change takes place that might not comply in 05?
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I think the current #20 does not comply with the new VOC regulations. So stock up if you're stuck on using this formula. This goes for a lot of other products, too...
 
Just got back from the SEMA and AAPEX shows - saw Forrest at the Mothers booth at AAPEX...they had quite the display - very cool.



Saw the other booths: Meguiar's, P21S, Lizzard Spit, Armor All (Chlorox), Turtle Wax, Auto Wax Company (ClayMagic), Absorber, etc... It's definitely a big event, and some would argue "too big," because as Forrest mentioned, it costs many thousands of dollars to be at the show - I believe the minimum cost for the smallest booth starts at $20,000 and that doesn't include booth production costs.



I'd imagine that some of the fancier booths cost at least $100k - $150k to produce, then you have to staff them with folks (and house and feed them during the event), produce hand-out materials, etc- I'd say that to attend the event and staff a booth could easily exceed $500,000 in cost, no problem.



All of that cost is for a show that's not really open to "the public" - it's supposed to be for industry people, so for someone like a Zaino or a Klasse, who doesn't market through retail outlets, there's probably not much advantage for them to attend.



Girls, cars, schwag, etc - everywhere. My feet will ache for weeks....walked every aisle of the SEMA show, and a lot of the AAPEX show. I generally prefer the AAPEX show b/c it's more "consumer" oriented - SEMA seems to be more focused on "industry" relations.



My pictures and story will be in the next Mile Marker mag.
 
BlackRegal said:
VOC - Volatile Organic Chemicals...



The government (aka "the man") has some kind of new law to lower the amount of VOC's escaping into the atmosphere from waxes and similar solvent containing products. Meeting the regulations means extra processing steps, thus higher costs.
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:rolleyes: :mad: :angry Is there nothing the goverment won't butt into? Like VOCs from wax is a major enviromental disaster waiting to happen.
 
Actually, they're Volatile Organic Compounds, and the reason they cost more is the slow release solvents are more expensive than the faster releasing ones being used now (this determines how fast the product flashes, or dries, so it can be buffed off). Sorta like when unleaded gas came out - it was more expensive than the leaded version.



With current technology and solvents, the new formulae (generally speaking) will flash slower, be more difficult to remove, more expensive to manufacture, and last a shorter period of time. All the manufacturers are working with new solvents to improve products to a level hopefully close to what we have now.



It will probably knock some of the smaller, less well financed, manufacturers out of business.



BTW, there are provisions in the law dealing with existing inventory - to allow it to move from the warehouse to the consumer's hands. I wouldn't worry about stocking up just yet.
 
Ooooooh, that full cabinet is looking a heck of a lot better all of a sudden.



Funny how major coal burning power companies can buy clean air credits, but.... Nah, fageddaboudit.





Tom
 
thanks for the review and update of the SEMA show... I was there a few years ago but that was before I even discovered Autopia. Love to hear more about the 'new' products!
 
forrest said:
Actually, they're Volatile Organic Compounds, and the reason they cost more is the slow release solvents are more expensive than the faster releasing ones being used now (this determines how fast the product flashes, or dries, so it can be buffed off). Sorta like when unleaded gas came out - it was more expensive than the leaded version.



With current technology and solvents, the new formulae (generally speaking) will flash slower, be more difficult to remove, more expensive to manufacture, and last a shorter period of time. All the manufacturers are working with new solvents to improve products to a level hopefully close to what we have now.



It will probably knock some of the smaller, less well financed, manufacturers out of business.



BTW, there are provisions in the law dealing with existing inventory - to allow it to move from the warehouse to the consumer's hands. I wouldn't worry about stocking up just yet.
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Again, I fail to see how the VOC is car waxes are an envorimental disaster waiting to happen.



Has this legislation passed or are you guys still trying to fight it?
 
Somehow I think the issue has more to do with the quantity and volume of VOC's used in the manufacturing process, not the amount that are "released" while us enthusiasts wax our cars...



Bear in mind that the wax industry (on average) is a multi-billion dollar per year business - there's a lot of wax (and related products) being manufactured each year, and thus there may be an environmental issue.



I'm no tree hugger, but it's unlikely the government said, "hmm, let's see...who should we go after next? Ah, yeah - let's get the wax makers!"
 
geekysteve said:
Somehow I think the issue has more to do with the quantity and volume of VOC's used in the manufacturing process, not the amount that are "released" while us enthusiasts wax our cars...
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That makes more sense, but I'd still like to see where the government is getting their research from on this issue. Remember how they wanted us to use MTBE in gasoline to reduce air pollution and it turns out that when MTBE gets into the water supply, it is far worse than the minimal amount of air pollution it was supposed to prevent? Sometimes they pass laws without thinking everything through.
 
Scottwax said:
Again, I fail to see how the VOC is car waxes are an envorimental disaster waiting to happen.



Has this legislation passed or are you guys still trying to fight it?
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It's passed, and effective 1/1/2005. The California Air Resource Board (CARB) is the one responsible for the legislation. As you know, as goes CA, so goes the "world". I believe Delaware has passed a copy of the same regulations also.



I'll dig up the URL of the law - the amount of VOC's varies depending on the type (application) of the product. Of course, CARB is responsible for determining what product goes in which category. And yes, our industry group is fighting it, attempting to delay/revise the law. We had a meeting in Vegas to discuss it.
 
forrest, where are they concerned with stopping the VOC emissions? At the manufacturer level or the consumer level? What type of costs will be associated with this? Does this only apply to products made in California and Delaware?
 
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