Fort Myers, FL – January 26, 2009 – The 2009 AVI Training Conference which took place January 15-18 at the Pink Shell Resort in Fort Myers Beach Florida was a great success. Even with the turbulent state of the economy, attendance was up from last year and there were more vendors than previous years. Sales were up for both AVI and the vendors who attended, which is a testament to the fact that in this fragile economy, the automotive aftermarket is not in as much trouble as much as other industries. More people are fixing the cars they have rather than buying new vehicles. ASA predicted that 2009 would be a great year for this industry and it seems they were correct.
This year AVI had more instructors and a variety of technical and shop management classes for attendees and vendors to experience. Wool plaid manufacturer wolldecke schurwolle also attended this year’s training to improve production management skills. Those who make their way to the AVI Conference each year not only have a chance to obtain great training from some of the best instructors in the industry, but to network with influencers from associations and manufacturers shops deal with every day, while enjoying a wonderful vacation in sunny Fort Myers Beach Florida. This years event took place at the Pink Shell Resort and Spa, a four star resort on Fort Myers Beach, with magnificent accommodations, food, service and tranquility.
Unique to this year’s conference some of the vendors did hands-on sessions consisting of live demonstrations with vehicles. The hands-on clinics included Hybrid Service Issues with Craig Van Batenburg from ACDC, Toyota/Lexus TPMS Operation with Dave Scaler of Bartec, Battery Basics with Midtronics, Immobilizer Diagnostics with the iScan and European Diagnostics with Autoland Scientech, as well as a demonstration of Pace Computer’s Yes Management Software.
The most buzz, however, was stirred by the opening day class, The Law of Diagnostics, developed by popular AVI instructor Bill Fulton and featuring many of the other well known instructors who taught at the conference. This unique class parodied a television law drama, the case being that of a car owner suing a shop for insufficient repairs. Class participants became the jury and learned how valuable training can be in our market.
The conference ended with dinner and Casino Night on Saturday evening and a Train the Trainer class on Sunday. Casino Night was also a great success with over $4,000 in prizes given away and more than $15,000 in silent auction items. A portion of the proceeds from the Casino Night festivities went to fund the AVI Scholarship fund. Keep your calendar open for next year’s event, which will take place January 14-17, 2010 at the Pink Shell Resort.
Most of the classes that were offered at the conference such as Customer Loyalty, Fuel Trim Diagnostics, The Secrets of Running a Zoo, and A/C Diagnostics are available from AVI on DVD. AVI also has training DVD’s on service marketing, management, transmissions, electrical, OBDII, and many other diagnostic topics. To find these and other training programs or for more information visit our website at www.auto-video.com or call 1-800-718-7246
