From the opening session to the end of the event, AGSC left its mark at Auto Glass Week™ (AGW) 2024. In case you missed it, here’s a look back at just some of what happened during the week.
Meetings
Before AGW officially began, multiple AGSC and National Windshield Replacement Division (NWRD) committees met in person at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. In order of occurrence, these are the committees that met:
- AGSC Member Benefits Committee Meeting
- AGSC Education Committee Meeting
- AGSC Credentialing Committee
- AGSC AGRSS Standard Review Subcommittee Meeting
- AGSC Board of Directors
- AGSC/NWRD Marketing Committee Meeting
- AGSC ADAS Committee Meeting
- AGSC AGRSS Standards Committee Meeting
- AGSC Public Affairs Committee Meeting
- NWRD ROLAGS 2 Standards Committee Meeting
- NWRD Executive Committee Meeting
The AGRSS Standards Committee is one of the largest of AGSC’s committees.The yearly member meeting became a Member Mixer this year, hosted at ICEBAR Orlando on the evening of Thursday, September 19. Read more about the mixer HERE.
Opening Session
AGSC’s president, Jacques Navant, led the opening session. He introduced himself and shared his hopes for the organization’s future.
“I am probably the strangest choice for [AGSC’s] president,” Navant said. “I am not a politician; I am not a public speaker … I think I was chosen as the president because I am still in the field and understand what a technician deals with.”
AGSC’s vice president Peter Brown, chair of the Repair of Laminated Auto Glass Standard (ROLAGS) 2 Committee Linda Rollinson and AGSC chair Deb Levy joined Navant on stage to discuss the organization’s future. They discussed some of the AGSC’s upcoming initiatives, including regional auto glass events to be held next year and multiple certification programs in the works.
“With the AGSC, you’ll always have someone in your corner,” Navant said. “We’re going to expand this year and get some forward momentum going.”
Read more about the opening session HERE.
Regulation and Legislation
Seth Maiman, AGSC’s director of public affairs, Rollinson and Brown finished the first day’s educational sessions with a panel titled “Regulation & Legislation.” Maiman recapped the recent legislation regulating the auto glass industry that passed in Kentucky and added that legislation is currently underway in Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York and South Carolina.
AGSC – Your ADAS Resource and Business Partner
Next, Navant, who is also the technical director of Don’s Mobile Glass and the AGSC’s ADAS Committee chair, led a panel of experts from AGSC member companies.
The panel included Chris Goff of Ultimate Auto Glass, Jeff Olive of the AGSC, Chuck Olsen of AirPro Diagnostics, Paul Whitman of Equalizer Industries Inc., Garry Willmott of The Calibration People (NSG) and Richard Zenteno of Autel.
Eight experts from different companies lent their ADAS insights during the session.“As the Auto Glass Safety Council … we are here to help you develop your business and move forward into the future,” Olive said.
The panel discussed the importance and definition of a controlled environment and the many factors that could hinder a correct calibration if the environment isn’t properly controlled.
“The problem we come across with calibration is we don’t know what the camera is identifying as a target sometimes,” Zenteno said.
He explained that sometimes, if a wall or background looks like one of the targets, the camera will identify that as the target and calibrate accordingly, causing the vehicle’s ADAS systems to work improperly and not perform their safety functions.
Technician Boot Camp: AGSC Certification Training
On the final day of AGW, Jeff Olive led a session designed to provide technicians with the knowledge they’d need to take the AGSC technician certification exam. Around 82 technicians and shop owners attended.
“Our goal is to become the authority in our region for what we do,” said Trey Black of Glass Express Inc. in Beaufort, South Carolina. “Nobody in our region has any certifications other than adhesive certifications. We’re becoming a little larger and developing a social media presence and educating the community on consumer information regarding safety with their vehicles. And we felt this was an important part to add to our repertoire and bring in business.”
Attendee Wins Prize from Associate Member
On the last day of AGW, Kristina Finn, co-owner of J & K Auto Glass in Pueblo, Colorado, won a brand new calibration equipment system from Autel worth more than $20,000. Autel, an AGSC Associate Member, had donated its IA800 LDW Calibration System as a prize for one lucky AGW attendee.
Join the AGSC again at AGW 2025 in Reno, Nevada, September 9-11. The event will take place at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.