For the last 25 years the expectations of drivers towards garages has changed dramatically. Today we are counting on everything being available at once, preferably on-line. This brings new challenges not only for the garages, but also for the drivers, who want to service their cars the fastest and most convenient way possible.
Motointegrator is aware of the expectations of drivers in new for garages, Internet reality. That is why it is constantly developing the platform allowing to meet the expectations of both parties, i.e. by offering possibility of convenient arranging garage services on-line. But this is only the beginning of the revolution the company is planning. We all know that the automotive industry is one of the fastest developing and changing industries, because of the need of adapting to customers’ needs. The 90s. The 20th and the beginning of 21st century brought big changes on the market of vehicles. Within the last two decades, the number of vehicles registered in Poland increased almost 2.5 times. On the motorization map of Europe we are number 6 as regards the number of registered cars. We are using vehicles which are more and more technologically advanced, and our roads do not host the popular Fiats 125 or Polonez cars any more. Currently event small repairs require professional knowledge that is why we have to rely on garages more.
Changes, expectations and challenges of the new reality were made more visible by the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of Inter Cars SA., which Motointegrator is a part of, combined with 15th edition of Exhibition Fair of Spare Parts, Tools and Garage Equipment, which took place at the end of September at the National Stadium in Warsaw. The jubilees are the moment when it is the easiest to have a look at the past, fully picturing the development and advancement and presenting the plans for the future. Three days of the Fair, almost 250 exhibitors on 40k sqm. and 100k visitors - these numbers show clearly the pace and direction of changes on the automotive market in Poland. At the same time the repair services are being moved on-line. The drivers expect from garages, first and foremost convenience, speed and high quality of the service, and this results in on-line customer service. During the Expo Motointegrator delivered a series of presentations, in which the guests were explained changes in requirements being presented by the drivers to the garages. Motointegrator is trying to follow these challenges and combine driver’s convenience with the interest of garages. Soon it is going to offer a revolutionary solution which will combine both above mentioned trends.
Record at the PGE National Stadium
Inter Cars hosted 100k people at the 15th Expo and celebration of its 25th anniversary. This is much more than a year ago, when the Expo was visited by 40,000 people.
The exhibition was located at the commons of the National Stadium, and the attractions took place at the main pitch of the Stadium. There were almost 250 exhibitors located on 40,000sqm.
Traditionally the Expo Friday is the so called media day and the press conference of the Board of Inter Cars. The whole Board of Directors took part in it: Krzysztof Oleksowicz – founder and member of the board, Robert Kierzek – president of the board, Krzysztof Soszyński – vice-president of the board, Witold Kmieciak – member of the board, Wojciech Twaróg – member of the board and suppliers cooperating with Inter Cars, industry media, garage and motorization, TSL and economical media.
During the conference we could see the „Strategy of Inter Cars SA for the years 2016-2020” and it was announced that starting from this year, the Inter Cars Expo will be held every two years.
The Board presented the current position of the company. Inter Cars SA. strengthened its number one position among automotive spare parts distributors in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. It is still the number five in Europe and number ten in the world.
Close cooperation between Inter Cars and Bosch and Castrol companies.
Another point of the schedule was signing letters of intent between Inter Cars SA and Bosch and Castrol companies.
Inter Cars SA and Robert Bosch tightened cooperation in the area of garage concepts and within the Motointegrator.pl platform. The first step towards this was signing the letter of intent on partnership contract.
Whereas the Polish division of Castrol and Inter Cars SA signed a letter of intent on strategic cooperation. Till that moment, both companies cooperated only in Poland, but starting from 2016, when the new contract comes in force, also other countries of Central and Eastern Europe will be included in it. This means that Castrol will be a leading oil brand in those countries in the product range of Inter Cars SA.
Springboard to the future
In the form of a debate of representatives of employers, schools and students, the participants presented and discussed also about the “Young HR project - a springboard to the future”. The Young HR is a programme meant for vocational schools and technical schools, which is aimed to adapt the schooling process to the current requirements of the employment market. This is realized by passing the schools cutting edge garage equipment but also by know-how transfer.
At the end of the conference there was presentation of awards in the Master Mechanic contest. It is a contest aimed at those mechanics, who take part in paid trainings organized by Inter Cars SA.
Fair exhibition
Between Friday and Sunday the guests had the possibility of visiting 250 exhibitors, including numerous projects of Inter Cars. Our Exhibitors presented a real creativeness and imaginativeness, each of them had their own way of presenting their goods in the most effective way and to reach the biggest number of visitors. Among those which generated the biggest interest were: Garage equipment and Bio Service. Garage equipment is currently one of the best operating departments of Inter Cars. Its exhibition was located at the area of 4,500sqm inside the halls and over 1,000sqm outside. GE Department in cooperation with our suppliers, we presented many cutting edge solutions for garages, special goods dedicated for the anniversary and also devices available only in the offer of Inter Cars.
Bio Service, on the other hand, is one of strategic projects of Inter Cars, on currently very popular topic of - ecology. It is to support garages in correct waste management. In cooperation with a certified group of companies we coordinate waste collection and recycling for almost all kinds of waste. We also care for customers and make sure that they manage their waste responsibly and in compliance with law regulations in force.
During the Expo, there were 250 applications delivered to our booth for the contracts on cooperation within Bio Service project – says Wojciech Kopacz, Bio Service project manager. – I am very happy with such a result. Double this number of customers left us their business cards and requested a further contact in this matter. This shows the potential of the programme and that it meets the real needs of the market.
Trainings
Knowledge transfer is another hot topic which was discussed during the press conference of the Board. Inter Cars SA is striving to increase the level of technical knowledge at schools (the Young HR programme), as well as in garages. That is why the training department prepared a special training offer for the participants of the Expo. Additionally, during the Expo weekend, the guests had an opportunity of taking part in almost 50 different trainings.
Expo attractions
Inter Cars prepared a variety of attractions, not only for people from the automotive industry, but also for their families. The Pitch of the Stadium was divided into three different zones, among others sports and motor zone. In each of them there were contests and competitions for the guests, hosted by well-known professionals for the world of sports and motorization. The whole Saturday was dominated by sports attractions, whilst Sunday was a Family Day, i.e. An event with lots of attractions for the youngest. But the icing on the cake was the Saturday evening Jubilee Concert.
Source: Fleet
2015-10-01