Collision repairers attending the 2026 SEMA Show will be able to choose from 19 Repairer Driven Education sessions, technical classes, live demonstrations and an expanded display of repair and advanced driver assistance system equipment.
The event will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center from November 3 to 6.
More than 2,000 brands have reserved over 1 million sq. ft. of exhibit space. Organizers have added a Collision and Tools section beside the New Products Showcase in the lower South Hall.
The show is produced by the Specialty Equipment Market Association, a Diamond Bar, California-based trade association representing automotive specialty equipment businesses.
“The collision repair and restyling segments are essential to keeping vehicles safe, functional and looking their best,” said Tom Gattuso, vice-president of events for SEMA.
Repairer Driven Education sessions are scheduled from November 3 to 5. The program is organized by the Society of Collision Repair Specialists, a Mechanicsville, Virginia-based trade association representing collision repair businesses.
“Each year, we work to reimagine the RDE experience based on feedback from our attendees and the evolving needs of the industry,” said SCRS executive director Aaron Schulenburg. “The 2026 program reflects a deliberate focus on practical application.”
Three sessions will begin at 9:30 a.m. on November 3.
Sam Poradish, senior analyst of collision insights at OEC, will use findings from thousands of repair plans to identify missed original equipment manufacturer procedures, conditional operations and calibration requirements. OEC is a Richfield, Ohio-based automotive technology company that supplies parts-procurement and repair-planning software.
Poradish will explain how incomplete research can lead to supplements, delays and unpaid work.
Keith Manich, vice-president of the collision division at the Automotive Training Institute, will discuss the repairer’s responsibility to make technical decisions when insurers dispute procedures or payment. The Linthicum, Maryland-based company provides management training and consulting to automotive repair businesses.
Michaela Mundorf, Austin Carroll and Lizzie Jones of Sokal will hold a live advertising workshop for collision repair businesses. Sokal is a Raleigh, North Carolina-based digital advertising agency specializing in the automotive industry.
Attendees can bring their own marketing problems to the panel and receive advice on online advertising, search visibility and reaching local customers.
Chris White and Danny Hacker of KECO Body Repair Products will lead a midday session on turning classroom instruction into lasting improvements on the shop floor. The Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-based company manufactures glue pull repair tools and provides technician training.
Technicians, managers and training providers will discuss why employees often return to old habits after a class and how owners can reinforce new processes.
Deric Krist, CEO of Kri-Tech Solutions, will examine the pressure placed on estimators who must handle repair research, advanced driver assistance system requirements, insurer negotiations, documentation and production planning. Kri-Tech is a Canyon Lake, California-based collision repair software company.
Krist will discuss how structured workflows, automation and better use of data can reduce repeated work and improve throughput.
Mike Anderson, owner of Alexandria, Virginia-based training and consulting company Collision Advice, will examine mechanical operations that often go missing from repair plans. His examples will include diagnostics, pre-measurements, inspections, alignments and component removal.
Steve Dawson, a regional manager at Hunter Engineering, will lead a separate panel on bringing mechanical repairs in-house. Hunter is a Bridgeton, Missouri-based manufacturer of alignment, inspection, tire and wheel service equipment.
Shop operators will discuss the equipment, staffing and investment required, along with the possible effects on cycle time, revenue and control over repairs.
Arynne Kelly, David Martin and Michael Giarrizzo Jr. of Cleveland, Ohio-based collision repair operator DCR Systems will join two Virginia repairers: Barry Dorn of Dorn’s Body & Paint in Mechanicsville and Kris Burton of Rosslyn Auto Body in Alexandria.
The speakers will take attendees through a claim from intake to final invoice using a live claims package. They will identify where missing records can weaken a repairer’s position during an insurer dispute.
Rachel James, founder of Andover, Massachusetts-based financial planning firm Torque Financial Group, will explain how collision businesses can apply formal budgeting, tax planning, leadership and risk-management practices.
Repair planning will return to the agenda on November 4.
Danny Gredinberg, administrator of the Mechanicsville, Virginia-based Database Enhancement Gateway, and Andrew Batenhorst, bodyshop manager at Pacific Collision Center in Glendale, California, will have attendees build a complete repair plan in real time.
The Database Enhancement Gateway allows repairers to report errors and omissions in estimating databases. Pacific Collision Center is an original equipment manufacturer-certified collision repair facility.
The exercise will cover operations missed when estimators rely too heavily on default labour times.
Sean Preston, managing attorney at Coverall Law, and Tim Ronak, senior services consultant at AkzoNobel, will identify three daily shop practices that can give insurers an advantage during payment disputes.
Coverall Law is a Wareham, Massachusetts-based law firm serving collision repair businesses. AkzoNobel is a Netherlands-based paint and coatings manufacturer with its North American operations managed from Nashville, Tennessee.
Preston and Ronak will provide 30 recommended steps divided among protection, payment and process.
Tony Adams and Melissa Wolfe of LeadersWay, a Bellingham, Washington-based business management consulting company, will lead two sessions.
The first will explain the difference between assigning responsibility and holding an employee accountable for a result. The second will apply the DiSC communication model to conversations among owners, estimators, technicians, painters, customer service representatives and parts staff.
Shauna Davis, Jason Horne and Jorge Sandoval of Kaizen Glass Solutions will explain what a collision centre needs to bring glass work in-house. Kaizen is a Hutto, Texas-based company that provides automotive glass, windshield repair and advanced driver assistance system training.
The session will cover equipment, technician instruction, original equipment manufacturer procedures, calibration requirements, sublet expenses and repair control.
Tracy Dombrowski of Collision Advice and Maria Quintero of Body Builders Automotive will show owners how to prepare a working shop budget, calculate the sales needed to break even and set a net-profit target.
Body Builders Automotive is a family-owned collision repair facility based in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Dombrowski and Quintero will connect technician production, labour efficiency and sales mix to a shop’s financial results.
IDEAS Collide is scheduled from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. on November 4. Seven speakers will each receive 10 minutes.
Ryan Taylor, CEO of Calgary, Alberta-based collision repair software company BodyShop Booster, will present a system that combines automated responses with human follow-up. He will explain how shops can answer inquiries and contact prospective customers outside regular business hours.
Preston will explain the legal difference between a repairer’s right to receive payment and a customer’s right to receive reimbursement from an insurer.
Joel Adcock, director of strategic partnerships at Brooklyn, New York-based calibration software company Revv, will explain why a clean diagnostic scan does not prove that an advanced driver assistance system is correctly aimed.
Sensors can pass electronic checks while remaining physically misaligned. Some calibrations required by automakers do not produce diagnostic trouble codes when left incomplete.
Brian Herron, CEO of Dexter, Michigan-based diagnostic equipment and remote support provider Opus IVS, will discuss the decisions involved in growing a small business into an organization with hundreds of employees.
Justin Allen, a regional trainer at Hunter Engineering, will consider how collision businesses may need to adapt if crash-avoidance systems reduce collision frequency.
Daniel Burkholder, CEO of Oklahoma-based digital advertising agency BodyShop Marketing, will explain how artificial intelligence search tools are changing the way customers find repair facilities. He will cover the importance of clear answers, trusted information and answer-engine optimization.
Quintero will explain how owners can connect technician training, efficiency and accountability to shop profitability and career advancement.
The OEM Collision Repair Technology Summit will begin at 12:30 p.m. on November 5.
Lee White, deputy administrator of the Washington, D.C.-based National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will discuss automated vehicles, emerging safety risks, federal research and current vehicle-safety priorities.
White will then join Schulenburg for a conversation about the repairer’s role in keeping vehicle safety systems working throughout a vehicle’s service life.
Two additional summit sessions will address vehicle design, materials, technology and repairability. Speakers and subjects for those sessions had not been announced as of September 11.
I-CAR, an Illinois-based collision repair training organization, will offer separate technical classes during the show. Instructors Jaime Shewbridge, Ranson Bandy and Jim Matherly will lead the classes. Shewbridge will teach basic and advanced gas metal arc welding. Bandy will cover calibration requirements, diagnostic scanning and scan-tool use. Matherly will teach blueprinting and glue pull repair.
Individual classes cost between US$46 and US$62. Live welding demonstrations will also take place at I-CAR booth 33139.
The Collision Repair and Refinish Stage in booth 32145 will host additional technical presentations and discussions throughout the show. An expanded advanced driver assistance system display will feature sensors, diagnostic equipment and calibration technology.
The New Products Showcase will contain thousands of recently introduced products, including entries in collision repair and refinish, tools and equipment, and emerging technology.
Data published by SEMA shows that the showcase generated more than 620,000 brand impressions during the previous event. Visitors spent an average of 21 minutes in the display. About 78% of surveyed buyers and media representatives visited an exhibitor after finding one of its products in the showcase.
The public can enter the show on November 6. Public attendees must be at least 16 and must buy tickets before arriving.
More than 1,000 display vehicles are expected to leave the convention centre during the SEMA Cruise at 4 p.m. SEMA Fest will follow in the Bronze Lot, with performances by The Offspring, Jimmy Eat World, 311 and The Alive.
Qualified industry attendees who register by September 25 will pay US$75 for a badge. The price rises to US$100 on September 26. Repairer Driven Education and I-CAR classes require separate registration.
“With registration now open, attendees can begin planning their show experience,” said SEMA trade show director Andy Tompkins.
