NORTHEAST 2025: An Adventure to New Heights
by Alana Quartuccio & Chasidy Rae Sisk
It was an adventure from start to finish!
Upon arrival, every NORTHEAST® 2025 Automotive Services Show attendee was presented with an itinerary filled with opportunities for learning, earning, socializing, celebrating and more. Held at the Meadowlands Exposition Center (MEC) in Secaucus March 14-16, NORTHEAST 2025 was the place for the industry to connect as it brought automotive and collision repair professionals to the Garden State to experience what is often referred to as “the SEMA of the East.”
Whether they travelled a few miles or thousands, attendees took in all the many attractions – swarming the aisles of the MEC to eye the innovations and resources, filling the classrooms to learn from some of the industry’s most knowledgeable minds, competing for prizes in the Bodywork Bowl Collision Repair Skills Competition and connecting with other industry professionals.
“The enthusiasm for this year’s show was just immeasurable,” boasts AASP/NJ President Ken Miller. “NORTHEAST 2025 marked the 48th year that AASP/NJ has put on our flagship event, and it’s amazing to see it grow more and more year after year. Next to SEMA, it is the second largest trade show of its kind. Automotive and collision repair professionals from all over know this is the place to be every March to experience everything they can in order to stay current on fixing tomorrow’s vehicles.”
Having a five-star reputation for nearly five decades is clearly a strong reason NORTHEAST continues to be so successful with some of the top industry brands who come back to the MEC every year, such as Platinum Show Sponsor BASF.
“It’s important to support the industry and the local market around here and support our distribution partners as well,” said BASF’sTina Nelles, who noted the good traffic over the weekend, adding the show offered “the opportunity to highlight our baslac line, which is the perfect balance between quality and value. It’s been in the market for a couple of years, but we are really trying to get the word out there.”
“It’s really the best bang for the buck of all the trade shows,” offered Brian Evces of returning Education Sponsor AirPro Diagnostics. “NORTHEAST is one of our favorite shows. The turnout is always really good. It’s really a buyer’s crowd as you get a lot of people who are the decision makers looking to add certain equipment to their shops or business. We love being here to support the show and its educational component.”
Silver Show Sponsor Alloy Wheel Repair reported another year of success on the floor.
“We’ve had good success introducing our new list price model,” shares Dale Huckabee of Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists. “We’ve been partnering with a lot of carriers, which is going to benefit shops greatly – allowing them that extra markup on repairs versus replacement. It’s always great seeing our local customer base come through and to collaborate, meet, get feedback and the fellowship.”
The idea of NORTHEAST being the “SEMA of the East” attracted Florida-based Custom Paints, Inc. to make their debut at the show this year. According to Justin James, president of Custom Paints, Inc., “We normally do SEMA every year for the past 14, and a few of our colleagues mentioned NORTHEAST, so we decided to give this show a try as we’ve been looking to branch out.” He appreciated the environment NORTHEAST provided to interact directly with the body shop owners. “I like to work directly with the body shops; it’s not always the jobbers, so it’s nice to be able to interact with the body shops and other companies. It’s a good mix.”
Rob Snyder of Gold Show Sponsor Matthew’s Auto Supplies was proud to have the company return for a third year in a row. “We love to support AASP/NJ’s show. We have a strong hold over New Jersey and Pennsylvania. We love coming here to share our knowledge on things that we like to bring to the shops from our consulting side and then obviously new equipment, paint, material products and all the services we provide to all our shops.
“It’s been a great year, and we really appreciate the opportunity to be involved as a Gold Sponsor,” he added. “We look forward to next year!”
Media Sponsor INDASA USA is another eager participant of NORTHEAST every year. “We love this show!” declares Bill Nagel of the Fairfield-based company. “It is one of the best ROIs in a trade show.”
“We started out with a small table space, and now we’ve expanded into this great 50-foot booth,” INDASA’s Tracy Samanka added. “NORTHEAST is really important to us because we’re headquartered in Fairfield, which is right down the road. We get to see a lot of local customers and distributors and showcase our products. It’s a great show, and we like to come back to see old friends and family to continue to showcase what we have to offer. The show is good for us because it draws people from so many states, and we get to see all the activity here versus other shows.”
“AkzoNobel was happy to have a large exhibit and be a Silver Sponsor of NORTHEAST,” states Jen Poliski of AkzoNobel. “Putting our Lesonal refinish paint line in the spotlight was well received by attendees – both existing and prospective customers alike. We displayed a beautiful 1963 Corvette Z06, proudly painted with Lesonal, thanks to builder Doug Ims at Starlight Restorations and owner Andy Cannizzo. Our sales and services team showcased our production software Carbeat, digital color tools Mixit and Automatchic and diverse product portfolio.”
“AASP/NJ’s NORTHEAST Show is the premier event for collision repairers and vendors in the Northeast because it really brings together a best-in-class offering of educational events, trade show programs and networking opportunities for the industry,” offers Karl Kirschenman of Innovative CRTE (Lanyard Sponsor). “It’s really dedicated to the folks who aren’t necessarily going to head out to SEMA.
“It’s an event to take advantage of,” he continues. “You can come after work on Friday and Saturday and Sunday as well to see all the equipment up close and personal. You can touch, taste and get your hands on it so you know what you are buying and can compare apples to apples and see what’s going on in the industry. There is no substitute for being able to talk to your colleagues and figure out what is going on in the business and learn how to improve your business. Then there’s the educational events. One can’t afford to miss Mike Anderson as it is always an opportunity to learn from the master.”
“It’s always great to see the industry come together at NORTHEAST, and this year was no exception,” relays Alicia Figurelli, senior vice president of Thomas Greco Publishing, event managers for NORTHEAST. “We work hard all year to make sure each NORTHEAST is an improvement upon the last, and the engagement we saw this year from all stakeholders – from our exhibitors and sponsors to the class attendees and professionals walking the floor – was invigorating. We look forward to building on the success of this year’s show to make NORTHEAST 2026 even bigger and better! Stay tuned!”
“Everyone I’ve spoken to has cited the value they got from investment at NORTHEAST,” Miller adds. “Next year will be no different! We’re already making plans and counting down the days!”
AASP/NJ thanks the generous sponsors who supported NORTHEAST 2025: BASF (Platinum Show Sponsor); Matthew’s Auto Supplies, Reliable Automotive Equipment (Gold Show Sponsors); INDASA USA (Media Sponsor); AirPro Diagnostics (Education Sponsor); GYS/Innovative CRTE (Lanyard Sponsor); AkzoNobel, Alloy Wheel Repair and I-CAR (Silver Show Sponsors).
Plans are already underway for NORTHEAST 2026, set for March 20, 21 and 22, 2026 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ. You can visit aaspnjnortheast.com for details once they become available.
Want more? Check out the April 2025 issue of New Jersey Automotive!