HELLA hosted the final of a series of three IAAF regional meetings on Thursday 12th October, whilst unveiling its ‘Customer Experience Centre’ at the same time.
Around 25 visitors were hosted by the HELLA management team, listening to an IAAF briefing before touring the new Customer Experience Centre. Walk-through zones showcased interactive product displays themed by market category, alongside a feature wall timeline of HELLA history from 1899.
“We were delighted to host the IAAF’s regional meeting delegates,” said Neil Grant, Managing Director of HELLA. “The format of the day and the layout of the customer centre enabled us to demonstrate the breadth of our current aftermarket offering.”
Product displays featured lighting solutions; these covered everything from the latest OEM LED headlamp technology currently being used by passenger car VMs, through to hugely popular retrofit solutions for sectors such as off-highway, leisure, commercial vehicle and agricultural.
Other HELLA ranges displayed included the company’s fast-growing product category electronics, alongside Hella Gutmann’s current mega macs X and macsRemote diagnostics platforms as well as wipers, HELLA Hengst filtration, rotating electrics and batteries.
An action-packed morning ended with a tour of the vehicle workshop, with a demonstration of ADAS calibration, before visiting the growing remote diagnostics centre, where the team was busy offering live support to UK garages on a pay-as-you-go basis.
“macsRemote is a fantastic addition to our diagnostic program, giving the workshop a comprehensive range of Hella Gutmann products to select from,” said Neil. “For most garages, the macsRemote complements a Hella Gutmann device such as our ‘mega macs X’ perfectly, giving them a complete diagnostic solution.
“They can utilise the capabilities of the tool to perform most jobs in house and use the remote to gap-fill jobs or during peak times. The remote needs only a low-level capital investment and the workshop can simply call upon our expertise here at Hella UK, job by job.”
For the IAAF, the day delivered a valuable opportunity to update members on lobbying activity, new initiatives as well as the implications of the current Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulations Order (MVBEO).
“These are things we need to bring to members’ attention that can be complicated issues we try to simplify,” said Mark Field, Chief Executive of IAAF. “It’s also great simply bringing our members to places like HELLA to see progress and to collaborate.”
The morning concluded with a networking lunch as delegates discussed matters over some exceptional catering. Comments from attendees afterwards proved unanimously positive.
Hayley Pells, Policy and Public Affairs Lead at the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) said: “I’ve got an active interest in ADAS calibration technology and engaging vehicle technicians in seeing what they will need for the services their workshop will be offering in the future.
“I was extremely impressed with HELLA’s remote diagnostics support, specifically in identifying the opportunities for self-help and training. That could count towards the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) needed to maintain key professional recognition like TechSafe.”
Neil Pattemore, UK AFCAR and IAAF Technical Director said: “There was a really impressive level of technology and commitment to the aftermarket on show today. It’s abundantly clear there’s serious investment from HELLA into added value, both with the training workshop and the evolution into offering remote diagnostics services.”
HELLA places on record its thanks to everyone who took time to attend. Further information on the HELLA product offering please visit https://www.hella.com/techworld/uk/Car-parts-44829/