The 28th edition of the Bodyshop Awards & Expo and 2024’s 30 Under 30: Rising Stars, which both recognise and celebrate the accident repair industry’s highest achievers and stars of tomorrow, went off with a bang on Thursday, 19 September 2024.
We once again teamed up with 3M to jointly develop and deliver Bodyshop Magazine’s ever-popular 30 Under 30: Rising Stars programme, and we agreed numerous other key partnerships for the Bodyshop Awards & Expo 2024, which took place at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole inside the NEC complex in Birmingham.
Bodyshop Magazine editor Simon Wait said of the Bodyshop Awards 2024:
“It’s been a night to remember and we are extremely grateful to all of our Bodyshop Awards & Expo 2024 partners for helping to make the event such a triumph again this year. Our special thanks go to Platinum Partners 3M, Axalta, Repairify and Vizion Network; Gold Partners AkzoNobel, Automechanika Birmingham 2025, BASF, CAPS, Enterprise, IAEA, Kapci Coatings, LKQ Bodyshop, Morelli Group, Remit Training, Stellantis, Thatcham Research; TPS for Volkswage Genuine Parts; and Silver Partners A1 ADAS Solutions, Accident Credit Group, Core Diagnostics, INDASA, Onyx BMS, Primrose Radar Calibration, Silverlake Automotive Recycling, Sherwin-Williams, and Walcom.
“Thanks also to our 30 Under 30 partner 3M, to CAPS for the welcome drinks reception, to Vizion for the Gin Bar sponsorship; to Prasco UK for supplying panels, and Axalta and 3M for competition paint and consumables used during the hands-on technician assessments at Remit Training.
“Nominations for the 2025 Bodyshop Awards and 30 Under 30 competition will open on 1 December 2024 and run through to 31 March 2025. We had a record number of entries this year across all competitions and all categories, and we expect to smash that again in the coming months. Please visit bodyshopmag.com to find out more,” he added.
Bodyshop Magazine’s daytime Collision Intelligence Expo drew together a host of insightful speakers – including Dean Lander from Thatcham Research, Chris Cotterill from the IMI, Adam Thurman from EV Bodyshops, Tim Scothern from Stellantis Training Academy, and the Technical Training Team from Toyota. The biggest audience of the day gathered to to hear from Steer Automotive Group chief executive Richard Steer, who joined Bodyshop editor Simon Wait for a wide-ranging discussion about Steer AG and the wider UK market.
The 2024 event saw the introduction of a new charity partner for the Expo and Awards – DEBRA UK, the Butterfly Skin charity – which collected £11,465 through its raffle and raised greater awareness about the rare and extremely painful genetic skin condition known as epidermolysis bullosa (EB). To find out more about EB and how you can help, click here to visit the DEBRA UK website.
One poignant presentation on the night provided insight into how the UK repair community can come together. When the Bodyshop Editor’s Special Recognition Award was announced in honour of the late Gethyn Davies – and as Geth’s widow Louise and daughters Molly and Lucy walked to the stage to receive his trophy – the room rose to their feet for a standing ovation honouring Geth’s decades-long service to the industry, and the courage of his family.
Other industry champions who passed away in 2024 – namely Bob Linwood, Andrew Long, Dane Loosley and Mark Pickles – were also honoured and celebrated by the room.
Please click here to see the full list of of winners in the Bodyshop Awards, including our Highly Commended recipients, and go here for our 30 Under 30 winners. Click here to see this year’s Awards finalists.
