This issue of Aftermarket is to be my last as Editor. After just over seven years, taking in 71 issues, I am finally hanging up my pen, putting the cover back on my typewriter, switching off my laptop and stepping away from the big desk. In that time, I have travelled thousands of miles to meet those working in and around the industry, and shared their stories via the mag. This has included garages, as you would imagine, along with parts suppliers, equipment specialists, technical experts, training providers and more. I have attended conferences and trade shows in the UK and abroad, driven at motor sports events, and I even played darts once. I have been shown around factories and test sites, and much more. Major trends I have covered the major trends in the sector, from the rise of ADAS to the shift to EVs and beyond. All of this has been framed by skills shortages as well, and the pressing need to attract new talent into the industry as the older, more experienced staff have aged out. The impact of legislation has been felt too. The Brexit vote took place the year before I arrived, but we have covered the consequences of leaving the EU in quite a bit of detail, and how this affects the automotive aftermarket in terms of parts supply etc. Then there was COVID-19, but I will get onto that later. Since then we have had the impact of the war in Ukraine, and most recently the disruption to shipping heading for the Suez Canal being caused by attacks from the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Less obviously dramatic but equally important for aftermarket businesses has been the need to maintain access to data, which has been an ongoing challenge. When you read it like that, it sounds so serious, but much of the time, it has been a lot of fun. If you look at the photos I have compiled from my time on the mag, you may notice that in many of them I’m wearing either a lab coat or a helmet. Walking around with a press card stuck into your hatband is alright, but nothing beats some overalls and a good heavy tool. However, most of the time when I went out to see anyone I’d be dressed more like when I was congratulating 2017 Top Technician winner Karl Weaver; Suit and tie, or smart jacket and trousers, well, except for when I would be somewhere mucky, or Automechanika Frankfurt 2022. This was when I was one of about half the passengers on a Automechanika-heavy flight from Heathrow whose luggage didn’t arrive with the plane. I spent three days in 60 AFTERMARKET APRIL 2024 EDITOR’S LOG www.aftermarketonline.net Alex Wells reflects his time as Editor of the magazine, and looks back at some of the highlights from his tenure the same brilliant-white Rolling Stones t-shirt, jeans and Converse as a result. At the CEO Breakfast on day one of the 2022 show, amid a sea of elegant lounge suits, I was the guy in the khaki safari jacket trying to look inconspicuous. Every time I met someone I had to apologise for my appearance, although the problem was so widespread at the event, some of those I met were also a bit more casual than expected. At the end of my last day I went back to my hotel. As I entered reception I saw my suitcase had been returned, and there it sat, lit up like some sort of holy relic. Do you know what the most amazing thing was? After all that time, my Stones top didn’t have a mark on it. Huge impact The Frankfurt show in 2022 was one of the first major trade shows to take place in the sector as the COVID-19 LOOKING FOR THE EXIT RAMP
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