#BE2017 triumphs in Birmingham
The bodyshop Event and Awards has been hailed as a huge success tonight, with leaders and colleagues from across the industry meeting at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole to celebrate their successes of the past 12 months.
In total, 668 peers joined us – alongside special guest Alex Horne and his five-piece band, the Horne Section – for what was a landmark 21st bodyshop Awards ceremony.
Since its inauguration it has established itself as the collision repair industry’s greatest and most-respected awards ceremony, with the winners selected by an independent panel of judges following the most stringent assessment period.
More than that though, the event is an occasion for the industry to come together, to share knowledge, gain invaluable insights from other sectors, and to make lasting friendships.
To mark its 21st birthday, the event reverted to its traditional two-day format, with a welcome dinner last night (Thursday) followed by a day of seminars and networking, before tonight’s champagne reception and gala dinner and awards ceremony.
Among those presenting today were Kevern Thompson, commercial manager, CAPS, who discussed data security, and Barry Sheehan of the University of Limerick, who examined the implications of the autonomous age on underwriting. In addition, Chris McKie of Vizion, Dawn Mullins, Aylesbury Panelcraft, and Nick Westmancott-Grint of Fix Auto Bristol West, joined bodyshop editor Mark Hadaway on stage for a points-of-view panel session.
Meanwhile, in an event first, guests were also treated to live, technical walk-arounds of vehicles supplied by Jaguar Land Rover, PSA, Volkswagen and Volvo. The 20-minutes sessions were held in the morning, and again after lunch.
As ever, the team at bodyshop would like to thank everyone for coming along. We hope you had a fantastic time, and invite you all to join in the conversation at #BE2017
The event of the year was only possible thanks to the support of headline partners AkzoNobel and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and partners Autoglass BodyRepair, Al-Futtaim Auto Centers, Audatex, CAPS, Car-O-Liner, EMACS, GT Motive Estimate, IAEA, LKQ Coatings, NBRA, NIBS, S&B Automotive Academy, Sikkens Autocoat BT, Thatcham Research, Upol, Veetec Motor Group and Vizion.
