Contenders Take Home Big Wins at AASP/NJ’s NORTHEAST Bodywork Bowl

4.22.24 – The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey’s (AASP/NJ) NORTHEAST Automotive Services Show always offers plenty of opportunities for repairers to train and equip themselves to contend with the daily challenges they face in the shop, but for the second year in a row, attendees got the chance to showcase their skills on the show floor, during the Bodywork Bowl Collision Repair Skills Competition.

This fun and friendly competition once again exceeded expectations last month, drawing in 70 competitors who showcased their skills in welding, painting and estimating while attracting crowds of spectators all weekend!

Jill Tuggle, executive director of the Auto Body Association of Texas (ABAT), whose Texas Auto Body Trade Show Big Shots Competition was the inspiration for NORTHEAST’s contest, coordinated the 2024 Bodywork Bowl.

“It’s always exciting to celebrate the amazing technicians, painters and estimators who work so hard in their facilities every single day, and the NORTHEAST Bodywork Bowl offered a fun way for those industry professionals to square off to prove they’re the best at what they do,” Tuggle says. “Everyone who competed had fun, and so many came by the booth to watch others compete.”

Winners are as follows:

Estimating – First place: Doug Begin; Second place: Rene Molina.

Painting – First place: Ricardo Ludena; Second place: Xavier Molina; Third place: John Stavina.

Welding – First place: Azam Rahamat; Second place: Chris McFarland; Third place: Darwin Gualoto.

Multiple vendors donated equipment and prizes, helping to make the competition another huge success. CCC Intelligent Solutions provided the estimating equipment and a swag bag to the second place winner for the estimating competition. In addition to providing the virtual spray paint equipment for the contest, AkzoNobel donated a smart TV to the second place winner and a Dave Kindig swag bag to the third place winner in the painting competition. On top of providing welding equipment for the competition, Chief Collision Technology/Collision Equipment Consulting also donated a MIG welder to the first place welding winner, and fellow welding sponsor Spanesi Americas donated a TV to the third place welding winner. Additional welding equipment for the competition was generously provided by sponsors Metropolitan Car-o-liner and Solidus Equipment.

“The Second Annual Bodywork Bowl emerged as a standout success, with participants enthusiastically competing to claim the right to be called ‘the best of the best,’ says AASP/NJ President Ken Miller. “This competition is a great addition to NORTHEAST as it allows estimators, painters and technicians to put their skills to the test and really showcase their talents.”

AASP/NJ is already working diligently on the plans for NORTHEAST 2025, scheduled to take place March 14-16, 2025 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ. Visit aaspnjnortheast.com for updates on next year’s event as they become available. For more information on AASP/NJ, visit aaspnj.org.