The eleventh edition of PAACE Automechanika Mexico, Mexico and Central America’s most important international trade show for the automotive aftermarket, returned to the Centro Banamex in Mexico City, Mexico, July 15 – 17, 2009.  The 2009 edition of the event showcased 236 exhibitors from 13 countries and maintained an impressive number of 13,267 buyers and 166 press and media representatives, not including exhibitor personnel.  While the buyer number showed a decrease of 2.5% compared to last year’s event, the strong buyer attendance supported the opportunities and positive outlook forecasted for Mexico’s automotive aftermarket as well as the importance of PAACE Automechanika Mexico as the industry’s key event.  Thousands of buyers in the industry attended the three-day trade show to find the latest products and services from around the world, network with industry colleagues, learn more about the personalization of vehicles and enhance their education in the PAACE Automechanika Mexico Seminar Program.

Adding to the success of the 2009 event, PAACE Automechanika Mexico was honored to welcome Mexico’s President, Felipe Calderón, to inaugurate the event on Wednesday, July 15, 2009.  Accompanied by representatives from the organizer and partnering associations, David Audrain, Bob McKenna, Peter MacGillivray, William Gager, and Agustín Rios among other key industry leaders, President Calderón opened the eleventh edition of the event.  In addition to the inauguration, President Felipe Calderón toured the exhibit hall, paying special attention to key exhibitors and the tuning section with more than 95 modified vehicles.  President Calderón’s participation provided added excitement for attendees and exhibitors, as well as additional press coverage throughout the event.

“We were pleased to welcome President Felipe Calderón to what was a very successful eleventh edition of PAACE Automechanika Mexico, demonstrating the event’s importance for the automotive aftermarket sector in Mexico and Central America.  We look forward to increased success for our 2010 edition as the economy turns and Mexico’s automotive aftermarket continues to provide opportunities for significant growth”, stated David Audrain, president of Messe Frankfurt North America.

One of the primary attractions of the event was the West Coast Customs Mexico presentation, including a live automotive workshop and the presence of the celebrity and founder of West Coast Customs, Ryan Friedlinghaus.  The display drew thousands of attendees interested in personalization of vehicles, a growing market in Mexico, as West Coast Customs featured a live customization of a Ford F100 from the 50’s, a Ferrari, Toyota Cruiser and the Chevrolet Camaro 2010.  PAACE Automechanika Mexico was honored to premier this special feature area and present West Coast Customs Mexico for the first time ever in Mexico.

Delivering on its commitment to the industry, PAACE Automechanika Mexico provided participants with excellent training and education opportunities through its Seminar Program, sponsored by exhibiting companies. The program featured more than 17 seminars ranging from specific technical topics such as 09G Automatic Transmission, presented by Alto Products Corporation to general topics such as How to Start Your Own Business, Even During Economic Depressions, presented by Injectoclean.  The seminars and training attracted hundreds of mechanics looking to enhance their skills and learn about the latest technology impacting today’s market, with Alto Products Corporation’s seminar drawing the highest attendance of 900 participants.

Exhibitor Statements

Bosch, Alexandre Morais, Marketing Manager, Mexico: “It was a complete success.  We had an elaborate display presenting all of Bosch’s products and compared with last year, we definitely had a greater number of visitors.”

Dash 4 / Dynalube / Rain 4 Products, Ralph Diaz, Sales Manager, USA:  "Our first PAACE Automechanika Mexico show...and what a good show! Very high volume of foot traffic giving us great exposure for all our products. Much generated interest with great contacts and future new business. We are looking forward to PAACE Automechanika Mexico 2010."

AMS Automotive Inc., George Travis, Western Regional Sales Manager, USA: “We are very pleased with the turn-out at the 2009 PAACE Automechanika Mexico show last week. Our booth was almost constantly busy with very high quality visitors. This will certainly result in additional business for us. What really surprised me was that fact that Friday was so busy. It was wall to wall people all day long and at 9:15pm, we still had people in our booth discussing our line and the opportunities they saw. The show was coming down all around them but they wanted to stay and hear what we had to offer them. What a great show – we can’t wait for next year’s PAACE Automechanika Mexico show.“

GFX Inc., Dios Garcia, International and Domestic Sales Manager, USA: “This year’s PAACE Automechanika Mexico was better for us than last year’s show!”

Covercraft, Beth Velarde, Western Regional Sales Manager, USA: “Great show!  Good attendance.  Excellent response to Covercraft products.  We look forward to bringing our line of covers and exterior and interior accessories into this market!”

CIC Autoparts, Bob Naylor, International Sales Manager, USA: “The interest in our products was phenomenal, we are really glad we chose to exhibit!”

Aisin Worldwide, Justin Porter, Latin American Sales Representative, USA: “AISIN has participated in the PAACE show for the past 4 years, and as a result we have seen our brand awareness grow considerably.  We intend for this brand awareness to continue generating future sales, as proven at the 2009 show, and we will continue to partake for years to come.”

Slime, Henry Herazo, Vice President of Sales, USA: “Going into PAACE Automechanika in Mexico for the first time with today’s economic environment was a tough decision. After putting much though into it, our company decided to move forward and exhibit in the 2009 event. Once it was all said and done, we all wondered why exactly we had not exhibited before!  We received great leads, met with thousands of people, demonstrated our product live and we won’t hesitate to participate again. I get daily e-mails after the show with people still interested in distributing our line. Thanks to Messe Frankfurt for inviting us to this trade show! We look forward to attending PAACE Automechanika Mexico 2010.”

Cardone Industries, Dil Kulathum, Vice President, International Sales & Marketing, USA: "The show has proven fruitful for us with three days of solid conversations with quality attendees. There was across the board interest in our products, especially our high tech electronics.  We are very happy with the results from this year's show!"

PAACE Automechanika Mexico is organized by Messe Frankfurt, Inc. in partnership with key industry associations including APRA, MEMA and SEMA and with strong support from INA.  The organizers are already working on the next edition of PAACE Automechanika Mexico, July 14 – 16, 2010, which promises more innovation, more products and more opportunities for exhibitors and attendees in the automotive aftermarket sector.

For further information, please visit: www.PAACEAutomechanika.com

About Messe Frankfurt
Messe Frankfurt is Germany’s leading trade fair organiser, with 440 million euros in sales in 2008 and more than 1,500 employees worldwide. The Messe Frankfurt Group has a global network of 28 subsidiaries, five branch offices and 52 international Sales Partners, giving it a presence for its customers in more than 150 countries. Events “made by Messe Frankfurt” take place at more than 30 locations around the globe. In 2008, Messe Frankfurt organised more than 100 trade fairs, of which more than half took place outside Germany. Messe Frankfurt’s exhibition grounds, featuring 578,000 square metres, are currently home to nine exhibition halls and an adjacent Congress Center. The company is publicly owned, with the City of Frankfurt holding 60 percent and the State of Hesse 40 percent. For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com

The North American headquarters in Atlanta is currently producing nine trade shows in the USA, Canada and Mexico across various industries. For more information about Messe Frankfurt, please visit our Web site at www.MesseFrankfurt.us. 

Automechanika Events Around the Globe
St. Petersburg, October 28-November 1, 2009
Shanghai, December 9-11, 2009
Rome, February 11-14, 2010
Moscow, March 10-12, 2010
Dubai, May 25-27, 2010
Mexico City, July 14-16, 2010
Frankfurt am Main, September 14-19, 2010
Buenos Aires, November 3-6, 2010
Kuala Lumpur, March 2011
Johannesburg, March 2011
Istanbul, April 2011
Toronto, June, 2011
Bangkok, March 2012