LAS VEGAS—Every November, around 200,000 gearheads, wrenchturners, shop leaders, and many more auto industry professionals and enthusiasts descend on Sin City to check what's new at the massive SEMA Show and Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX).
This year, they combined for over 15,000 booths and about 5,000 exhibitors. Over three days, I walked through nearly all of AAPEX’s 560,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, and a fair amount of the SEMA Show’s 4.6 million sq. ft. Here are a few of the interesting people and products we saw this year at the world’s largest automotive aftermarket event.
About the Author
John Hitch
Editor-in-chief, Fleet Maintenance
John Hitch is the award-winning editor-in-chief of Fleet Maintenance, where his mission is to provide maintenance leaders and technicians with the the latest information on tools, strategies, and best practices to keep their fleets' commercial vehicles moving.
He is based out of Cleveland, Ohio, and has worked in the B2B journalism space for more than a decade. Hitch was previously senior editor for FleetOwner and before that was technology editor for IndustryWeek and and managing editor of New Equipment Digest.
Hitch graduated from Kent State University and was editor of the student magazine The Burr in 2009.
The former sonar technician served honorably aboard the fast-attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723), where he participated in counter-drug ops, an under-ice expedition, and other missions he's not allowed to talk about for several more decades.