Well, last month I wasn’t working full-time in our much-loved stomping ground of Surrey, Sussex, Greater London or Hampshire. That’s because I’m just back from the fourteenth Xpel PPF Dealer Conference in San Antonio, Texas, home of Xpel HQ.
As a company, we strongly believe in the benefits of PPF. We have chosen to align ourselves with what we believe is the best product on the market and became an authorised Xpel PPF dealer late last year, working throughout Sussex, Surrey, Greater London and Hampshire. Attending the conference was a fantastic opportunity to hear, first hand, what developments are in the Xpel PPF pipeline.
I got to share ideas with other like-minded professionals and observe how they sometimes do things differently. This insight means that we can continue to bring you improved panel coverage and enhanced efficiency. Our goal is to ensure we are offering you the very best installation possible. That said, we also need to be mindful that you don\’t want to be without your car for too long! That’s why our attendance and continued professional development at events like the Xpel PPF Dealer Conference is vital.
What happens at the Xpel PPF Dealer Conference?
With 239 delegates attending, from as far away as Japan, South Africa, Australia, China, Korea, Canada, UAE, many places in Europe and of course, the UK, there’s a real international buzz! The conference runs for two days, and there are several beneficial workshops. These, of course, included advanced Xpel PPF installation workshops. But as Xpel PPF Dealers, we were also offered access to help with social media and advertising strategies. We got to listen to motivational speakers who encouraged delegates to be the best business owners we can be. I particularly enjoyed Michael Vickers as a speaker. I look forward to putting some of his suggestions into action to further enhance our customer’s experience.
There was also a competition for PPF installation. There were three rounds, starting with seventy people. The first round was to install a pre-cut wing to a vehicle in under 6 minutes. All the entrants received marks for quality and accuracy of installation. Only fourteen people got through to the next round. The second round involved installing a partial bonnet coverage in 8 minutes. The final seven go through to install a whole bumper in under 20 minutes. These are insanely tight timescales, with very harsh marking by the judges. It was my first attempt to try such a thing. Although I didn’t make it past the first round, I was delighted to receive the best marks from any of the UK delegates!
I was also invited to the Xpel Houston installation centre, along with some of the other UK delegates, to spend time with their very experienced installers, observing and exchanging ideas.
Product Launches:
This event saw the launch of the newly available 72” rolls of Xpel Ultimate Plus. This is an unusual size because no plotters (for cutting the pattern templates out) can handle bigger than 60” width of the film. So this is offered for ‘bulk’ install, without a pattern, for some of the huge clamshell style bonnets fitted to the likes of the new Aston Martin Vantage, or Ferrari 812 Superfast, allow for a one piece install without any seams.
Takeaways from the Conference:
Apart from 2lb of pork ribs from Ruby’s BBQ, just outside of San Antonio… I reckon my biggest takeaway would be witnessing the passion and commitment of Xpel to be a market leader in their field. They understand that they can only do this by surrounding themselves with the best network of Xpel PPF dealers and authorised installers, like Auto Curators.
I have come away from the conference reassured that by offering you Xpel PPF products we are offering our clients in Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire and London the very best.
Car Detailing for a Petrolhead…