IAAF partners with Automechanika Birmingham to host first-ever Garage Awards

The Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) has announced that it will be hosting its first-ever Garage Awards in partnership with Automechanika Birmingham in 2023 on the evening of 7th June 2023.

Revealed at the sold-out IAAF Annual Conference and Awards 2022 in December, there will be numerous award categories, celebrating the very best of the garage industry, with these categories and the nomination process set to be revealed shortly, along with the location and various sponsorship opportunities.

Simon Albert, managing director of event organiser Messe Frankfurt UK, said: “We were keen to ensure we have a platform to continue the recognition of garages into the evening, and IAAF offered the perfect opportunity to do this with the Federation’s new garage membership offering.

“This allows us to not only provide value to vehicle technicians through informative insight that will be provided from exhibitors and the form of the many training initiatives available throughout the course of the show, but also by celebrating the hard work and commitment that they bring to the aftermarket, day in, day out.”

IAAF fights for the rights of the entire aftermarket supply chain to access vehicle repair information to ensure they’re on a level playing field with vehicle manufacturers, and the federation proactively lobbies the Government to ensure this can happen.

The IAAF membership is now available to independent garages, with the federation campaigning on behalf of garages to ensure they receive access to vehicle manufacturer data, and ensuring their voice is heard on Block Exemption Regulations (BER) and Type Approval legislation, as well as fighting to retain the annual MOT test.

IAAF is also developing its new training academy and each garage member will be promoted to motorists on the Right 2 Repair campaign website.

Garages will also receive support on recruitment, HR, legal advice and insurance.

Mark Field, IAAF chief executive, said: “It’s great to be partnering with Automechanika Birmingham, as we actively recruit more garage members. We have seen more demand from garages who would benefit from IAAF representation, and we’re now in a position where the federation can step up and offer a service to these garages.

“The IAAF represents the largest number of motor factors and suppliers in the automotive aftermarket. To strengthen the federation’s lobbying power, it makes sense to add more garages into our membership and to bring the supply chain closer together, as we predominantly look to work more closely with the independent aftermarket as a whole, as well as universities and colleges.

 “This new avenue is really ambitious for us, but it is certainly a step in the right direction in bridging the gap between garages and the rest of the supply chain, offering much-needed support and training.”

More information on the IAAF Garage Awards will be announced in due course.