DIAMOND BAR, CA (03.28.22) – In partnership with Ford Motor Company, the SEMA Garage will host a Measuring Session for the all-electric ’22 Ford F-150 Lightning. The event will allow SEMA members to have a close-up experience with Ford’s first ever all-electric F-Series truck.
New F-150 Lightning features will include:
SuperCrew Four-Door Cab
Four-Wheel Drive
5.5-Foot Cargo Bed
Extended-Range Battery Option
Standard Ford Co-Pilot360 2.0 Technology (ADAS)
This will be an in-person event at the SEMA Garage in Diamond Bar, California. In order to comply with state and local health guidelines, this event will require scheduled appointments. Due to high demand, all appointments will be time limited.
DIAMOND BAR, CA (03.22.22) – The following candidates are vying for a seat on the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Board of Directors:
Manufacturer – (3) Open Seats Brian Herron, Opus IVS John Torvinen, Performance Assembly Solutions Kathryn Reinhardt (Incumbent), 4WP Factory/Pro Comp/Rubicon Express/Smittybilt Marcus Umlauff, Toyota Motor North America Melanie White (Incumbent), Hellwig Products Norris Marshall, Marshall Engines/BluePrint Engines
Manufacturers Rep – (1) Open Seat Mark Taylor, KAM Marketing Richard Butler, R&R Marketing Consultants
Voting will take place online May 10-19, 2022, and is open to current SEMA-member companies. Votes must be cast by each company’s primary contact. Details on the upcoming election will be sent to the member company’s designated primary contact beginning Friday, April 29. Winners will be announced by June 1.
DIAMOND BAR, CA (02.03.22) – SEMA introduced a new program to make it possible for automotive aftermarket parts manufacturers to meet the legal requirement for emissions compliance under the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Tampering Policy. The program, called SEMA Certified-Emissions (SC-E), gives manufacturers the ability to verify that a product meets the EPA’s “reasonable basis” criteria and is therefore legal for sale in 49 states.
For the first time ever, manufacturers have a clear, accelerated path to compliance and can begin selling products legally in 49 states prior to receiving a California Air Resources Board (CARB) Executive Order (EO), which is still a requirement for selling products in all 50 states.
The new SEMA Certified-Emissions program gives manufacturers the ability to verify that a product meets the EPA’s “reasonable basis” criteria for sale in 49 states.
“It’s now easier than ever for manufacturers to demonstrate emissions compliance,” said Mike Spagnola, SEMA VP of OEM & Product Development Programs. “SEMA Certified-Emissions is a major accomplishment in accelerating a manufacturer’s ability to get products to market, and it paves the path to obtaining emissions compliance in all 50 states.”
Since 2014, the SEMA Garage has been instrumental in helping automotive aftermarket parts manufacturers obtain CARB EOs. With state-of-the-art CARB-recognized testing equipment and dedicated expert staff conducting tests and assisting with the process, the SEMA Garage has helped secure more than 500 CARB EOs – over half of all performance parts EOs issued by CARB.
The new SC-E program is comparable to CARB EO requirements and was developed in response to the EPA’s Tampering Policy. SEMA staff will assess manufacturer’s needs and advise as to the most appropriate path forward, whether that includes applying for a CARB EO or SEMA emissions certification. SC-E may help manufacturers get to market about three months before obtaining a CARB EO. SC-E is also ideal for products that may not have a clear path in the CARB EO process (such as Flex-Fuel modifications, HCT equipped intakes, and engine packages).
“SC-E gives manufacturers much greater options and opportunities,” said Peter Treydte, SEMA Director of Emissions Compliance. “This is a significant milestone in the industry’s ability to provide products to consumers. We look forward to working with members and helping them go to market with SEMA Certified-Emissions products.”
The SEMA Garage is available to auto parts manufacturers with all their product development needs. For more information, visit www.sema.org.
DIAMOND BAR, CA (01.02.22) – SEMA Launch Pad, the automotive industry’s product-pitching competition that has propelled inventors and entrepreneurs to successful, thriving businesses since 2013, will be featured for the first time on a nationwide television special on February 13 on the History Channel.
The 2021 competition included a record-high 200-plus competitors vying for the program’s largest grand prize ever, valued at $100,000. The program features 15 semifinalists who competed live in Las Vegas, where they pitched their products and ideas to a panel of industry experts and icons that included Chip Foose (Foose Design), Jared Hare (Addictive Desert Designs), Myles Kovacs (DUB), and Alex Parker (Redline Detection).
The 2021 SEMA Launch Pad, the automotive industry’s product-pitching competition, will be featured for the first time on a nationwide television special on February 13 on the History Channel.
“We’re excited to bring the SEMA Launch Pad to a nationwide television audience,” said Ted Wentz, SEMA Board Member and Chair of the SEMA Launch Pad Task Force. “For years, the SEMA Launch Pad has encouraged and supported product innovation and new ideas. The television program will give a new audience the opportunity to see the depth of the industry’s innovation.”
The automotive industry has been following the 2021 competition through a five-episode YouTube miniseries that generated almost half a million views. The upcoming television special includes brand-new, exclusive coverage of the finale, with the top two finalists competing in front of thousands of industry professionals at the world-renowned SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Viewers will watch as competitors both triumph and falter along the way, with judges asking hard questions and providing candid feedback.
“The Launch Pad is a competition designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs succeed and grow,” said Wentz. “To see the competition unfold on television is inspiring. We hope that it encourages others to bring new products to the marketplace as well.”
DIAMOND BAR, CA (01.27.22) – A new Professional Development Program launched by the SEMA Future Leaders Network (FLN, formerly Young Executives Network, YEN) is helping aspiring leaders in the automotive aftermarket reach greater levels of success. Sponsored by FLN in partnership with Dale Carnegie, the two-day, in-person program focuses on improving individual and business performance and is available exclusively to FLN members at a significant discount.
“The SEMA Future Leaders Network is committed to helping aspiring leaders advance in the industry,” said FLN Chair Nick Caloroso. “Partnering with a world-class organization such as Dale Carnegie is just one example of what we are doing to invest in the membership. I’ve been fortunate to have been able to participate in the Dale Carnegie Training, and I’m excited that other FLN members will have access to the program as well.”
While Caloroso’s employer, Driven Lighting Group, supported his participation in the Dale Carnegie Training, most aspiring leaders in the industry do not have such opportunities. To make the training attainable for all employees, including junior level executives and those from small businesses, FLN is subsidizing 50 percent of the cost of the training, plus offering free hotel and meals for two days, two nights to a limited number of members.
“It’s important to invest in training, and the Dale Carnegie Program is among the best that is available,” said Brian Reese, current CEO of T Sportline and Caloroso’s employer at Driven Lighting Group at the time of the training. “Nick has always been a terrific leader and team member, but the Dale Carnegie program has given him greater skills and knowledge to become an even better leader. He’s learned strategies and tactics that many seasoned professionals have yet to learn.”
The program, which will take place in March 2022 in Diamond Bar, California, will teach participants to:
Communicate professionally and confidently in business situations
Engage others by building rapport, asking pertinent questions, and listening
Build relationships and deal effectively with people in a multitude of scenarios
Gain cooperation and influence people, including direct reports, laterally and upward
Use emotional controls to sustain success
The program is available at half of Dale Carnegie’s regular fee and includes complimentary meals and hotel accommodations for two nights. (Cost for the program is $1,600 direct from Dale Carnegie.) Participants will also need to arrange their own travel to the event.
The program is limited to 25 FLN members, but any SEMA member company employee aged 40 and under can apply for FLN membership at no cost. Individuals interested in learning more can visit pages.message.sema.org/FLN-Profession-Development/ or contact Denise Waddingham, FLN Director, at deniselw@sema.org
DIAMOND BAR, CA (01.20.22) – The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) welcomes the installation of a new water well and weather and hydrologic equipment used for measuring salt growth conditions as part of its broader Restore Bonneville program. Federal and state funds were released last year to install the monitoring equipment and help increase the volume of salt pumped onto the Bonneville Salt Flats this year to a total of up to 500,000 tons.
As part of the Restore Bonneville program, SEMA and the racing community joined forces with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Utah Geological Survey (UGS), and Intrepid Potash Inc. in the collaborative restoration effort. Originally in the 1960s, the racing venue was over 13 miles in length, but the course is now eight miles or less. According to a study by the BLM, the Salt Flats have also shrunk in size from 96,000 acres to about 30,000 acres.
Land speed racers at the starting line. A new water well and weather and hydrologic equipment have been installed as part of the Restore Bonneville program to help increase the volume of salt pumped onto the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Located in northwestern Utah, the Bonneville Salt Flats are composed of densely packed salt remnants of an ancient lakebed formed over thousands of years. They serve as a unique stage set for movies, commercials, marathons, and rocket club launches, and possess rare physical qualities that make it the perfect venue for land speed racing, such as providing a cool surface that doesn’t overheat tires. Since 1914, hundreds of land speed records have been set and broken in a variety of automotive and motorcycle classes. Speed Week, the marquee event at Bonneville, began in 1949, with scores of racers and thousands of spectators descending on Bonneville in the quest for records.
Bonneville serves another important role as a crucial natural resource for potash used primarily in fertilizers. To obtain potash, salt brine is collected in large solar evaporation ponds, from which potash is separated out and processed. The remaining salt is stored and may then be returned to the Salt Flats as salt brine.
Beginning in the 1960s, the BLM issued leases to the north of Interstate 80, where motorsports racing and other recreational activities take place, allowing salt brine to be collected in open ditches for commercial potash processing. The mine operator began pumping the processed salt back onto Bonneville in 1997 as a result of a pilot project SEMA advocated to create. The Restore Bonneville program will help address salt losses that occurred before 1997, when the potash project was operated by previous companies.
The BLM and DNR signed a Memorandum of Understanding in April 2020 to jointly pursue restoration efforts. The program, which SEMA calls Restore Bonneville, will be managed by DNR, in conjunction with the BLM, and operated by Intrepid Potash. The endeavor is strongly supported by SEMA and the Save the Salt Coalition, a collection of companies, organizations, individuals, and land speed racing teams.
In working with Intrepid Potash, the volume of salt laid down on Bonneville will be increased by updating and improving the efficiency of the current pumping infrastructure and water conservation efforts, which includes rebuilding water wells, covering ditches, and installing new pipes and pumps. Great efforts to use water more efficiently will help achieve the goal to increase the volume of salt returned to the salt flats. It will likely take several years to upgrade the infrastructure and gradually increase pumping volumes.
The summer 2021 installation of the new water well and equipment to measure water evaporation rates and collect scientific data represented a tangible start to the ambitious restoration effort. The program will seek to identify the best ways to take advantage of the salt laydown and study the effects on the salt crust and underlying brine aquifer. For example, the program will consider ways to contain the salt within the large pumping area. If current research proves beneficial, efforts may be extended into the future upon funding availability.
Stakeholders are now identifying projects to be pursued in 2022 and beyond to continue increasing the volume of salt being pumped. While the bulk of the program funding will come from federal and state appropriations, both industry and the land speed racing community will voluntarily help pay the costs. Financial contributions from the racing community are gratefully accepted at www.savethesalt.org, a 501(c)(3) organization.
DIAMOND BAR, CA (01.17.22) – Featuring 2021 SEMA Battle of the Builders Champion Robert Matranga with his 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air, the History Channel will premiere the Battle of the Builders special on Sunday, January 23, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. (PT/ET). The one-hour special has aired on television since 2015, giving viewers a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the SEMA Show, up-close footage of the vehicles, and exclusive interviews with builders as they share their personal stories and journey to the SEMA Show. For many of the builders, SEMA Battle of the Builders is their chance to prove that they are among the elite.
The History Channel will give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the SEMA Show with the one-hour Battle of the Builders TV special on Sunday, January 23.
“As a trade-only event, the SEMA Show is where every car enthusiast dreams of attending,” said Tom Gattuso, SEMA Vice President, Events. “SEMA Ignited, the official SEMA Show after-party, has made it possible for consumers to participate in the excitement. The Battle of the Builders TV special also gives viewers who have never experienced the SEMA Show an opportunity to see what happens behind closed doors, while those who attended the Show get to relive the experience.”
Along with Matranga, the TV special will feature dozens of builders in the automotive industry, as well as hosts Adrienne Janic and Tanner Foust, and judges Cam Miller, Jeremiah Proffitt, Kyle Kuhnhausen, and R.J. de Vera. For more details about SEMA Battle of the Builders and the TV special airing Sunday, January 23, 2022, at 9:00 AM. (PT/ET) on the History Channel, visit www.semashow.com/botb.
DIAMOND BAR, CA (01.10.22) – A new Professional Development Program launched by the SEMA Future Leaders Network (FLN, formerly Young Executives Network, YEN) is helping aspiring leaders in the automotive aftermarket reach greater levels of success. Sponsored by FLN in partnership with Dale Carnegie, the two-day, in-person program focuses on improving individual and business performance and is available exclusively to FLN members at a significant discount.
“The SEMA Future Leaders Network is committed to helping aspiring leaders advance in the industry,” said FLN Chair Nick Caloroso. “Partnering with a world-class organization such as Dale Carnegie is just one example of what we are doing to invest in the membership. I’ve been fortunate to have been able to participate in the Dale Carnegie Training, and I’m excited that other FLN members will have access to the program as well.”
While Caloroso’s employer, Driven Lighting Group, supported his participation in the Dale Carnegie Training, most aspiring leaders in the industry do not have such opportunities. To make the training attainable for all employees, including junior level executives and those from small businesses, FLN is subsidizing 50 percent of the cost of the training, plus offering free hotel and meals for two days, two nights to a limited number of members.
“It’s important to invest in training, and the Dale Carnegie Program is among the best that is available,” said Brian Reese, current CEO of T Sportline and Caloroso’s employer at Driven Lighting Group at the time of the training. “Nick has always been a terrific leader and team member, but the Dale Carnegie program has given him greater skills and knowledge to become an even better leader. He’s learned strategies and tactics that many seasoned professionals have yet to learn.”
The program, which will take place in March 2022 in Diamond Bar, California, will teach participants to:
Communicate professionally and confidently in business situations
Engage others by building rapport, asking pertinent questions, and listening
Build relationships and deal effectively with people in a multitude of scenarios
Gain cooperation and influence people, including direct reports, laterally and upward
Use emotional controls to sustain success
The program is available at half of Dale Carnegie’s regular fee and includes complimentary meals and hotel accommodations for two nights. (Cost for the program is $1,600 direct from Dale Carnegie.) Participants will also need to arrange their own travel to the event.
The program is limited to 25 FLN members, but any SEMA member company employee aged 40 and under can apply for FLN membership at no cost. Individuals interested in learning more can visit pages.message.sema.org/FLN-Profession-Development/ or contact Denise Waddingham, FLN Director, at deniselw@sema.org
DIAMOND BAR, CA (01.06.22) – Following more than 30 years of service to SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association), President and CEO Chris Kersting will be stepping down at the end of January 2022 to enjoy retirement. The move comes as SEMA concludes a successful 2021, delivering two of the nation’s largest in-person trade shows since the start of the pandemic – the SEMA Show in Las Vegas and PRI Show in Indianapolis.
“Our mission at SEMA is to help our member companies succeed and prosper,” said Kersting. “Pursuing that mission has provided three decades of exciting and fulfilling work – engaging with the outstanding people in our industry to find new and better ways to help them thrive. Together with our talented SEMA team, we’ve built a truly innovative portfolio of services and benefits – and certainly one of the greatest trade shows in the world. You couldn’t ask for a better career.”
SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting will retire at the end of January 2022 following more than 30 years of service.
Kersting joined SEMA in 1996 to lead the organization’s Washington, D.C., office as vice president of legislative and technical affairs. Kersting took the helm as SEMA’s CEO in 2002 and led the Association through two decades of growth. Milestones include launching the SEMA Data Co-op, the SEMA Garage and Emissions Lab, SEMA Ignited, the PRI acquisition, the SEMA Garage in Detroit, and developing the globally recognized SEMA Show.
“Chris led SEMA through tremendously successful stretches, and also skillfully helped the association navigate the challenges of COVID-19, and the worldwide recession back in 2008,” said James Lawrence, SEMA Chairman of the Board. “On behalf of the SEMA Board, and millions of automotive enthusiasts everywhere, we wish Chris the best of luck in the next stage of his life.”
Beginning Feb. 1, 2022, Kersting will transition into an advisory role through July 2022. SEMA executives Bill Miller (Senior Vice President of Operations) and Mike Spagnola (Vice President of OEM & Product Development Programs) will serve as interim co-CEOs.
DIAMOND BAR, CA (01.04.22) – The Young Executives Network (YEN), a SEMA group dedicated to cultivating talent in the automotive aftermarket, is now the Future Leaders Network (FLN). The new name more accurately reflects the network’s 1,142 membership, which includes employees ranging from entry-level staff to managers, and trade workers, executives, and business owners.
“The network supports talent and individuals who are aspiring to further their careers in the automotive aftermarket. The Future Leaders Network will continue to offer programs and resources that will help members advance their careers,” said FLN Chair Nick Caloroso.
Caloroso explains that the former Young Executives Network name did not accurately reflect the group’s membership. “More than half of our members do not fall into the executives category, and although we will retain the age requirement, the word ‘young’ is relative and implies inexperience. Regardless of the individual’s role, each member is aspiring to become a more effective and productive leader in the industry.”
The new Future Leaders Network name puts the focus on the group’s purpose and goal: Growing and supporting individuals to become successful leaders, regardless of their actual job title or position. Membership is open at no cost to all employees under the age of 40 who work for a SEMA member company.
Since 1989, the network has evolved and grown to include 1,142 members. In addition to year-round virtual and in-person mixers and gatherings, FLN hosts education sessions targeted to up-and-coming leaders. FLN also launched the Launch Pad product pitching competition to support emerging entrepreneurs and business owners. New this year, FLN teamed up with Dale Carnegie to provide members with an exclusive professional development training.
To learn more about FLN or to sign up to become a member, contact FLN Director Denise Waddingham at deniselw@sema.org.
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