We were back once again at the Mechanex Show 2022 in Sandown Park last month, where the industry-leading brands gathered in one place once more to learn about the latest automotive workshop products and technology.

At The Show

The Mechanex Show attracts automotive professionals from around the UK, who work in all manner of roles across the industry. Visitors to the show are keen to speak to manufacturers and stay up to date on industry development. The show allows visitors to familiarise themselves with leading names in the industry, try and buy their latest products and build a rapport with future partnership opportunities.

Along with Rotronics Managing Director Ken Clark, Mark Poole from CTEK and our Marketing Assistant Haris Jawed attended the Event. Ken said, “as always, the Mechanex Show at Sandown Park has proven to be a good show for ourselves meeting new and existing customers to talk about existing and new challenges they face within the industry, and how we can assist with new product development.”

Following on from last year’s event, it was great to see visitors and brands in large numbers back together in the flesh. We were pleased to showcase our knowledge of battery management, giving live demonstrations of the latest products and technology we have to offer.

Hot Topics

The importance of battery management has been a hot topic for workshops as batteries remain the beating heart of any vehicle, so we were looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and speaking to workshop managers about why testing and charging are so imperative.

On speaking with visitors, some common challenges workshops have faced in 2022 include the inability to determine which of their technicians tested a vehicle battery, and whether they applied the correct solution to fix it. Another challenge workshops have been experiencing, is the lack of time to test vehicles, and the benefits of doing so. Testing the battery of each vehicle as it arrives at the workshop and using ROBIS to track and keep all data in one place are the solutions to the problems. We often recommend the CPX900ROBIS as the ideal battery tester for workshops as it has the most advanced software and algorithms, produces quick results, and includes our integrated online system ROBIS.

We were pleased to hear customers complementing our equipment and hearing that the battery management programmes that we’ve installed have assisted them to better maintain their workshop and vehicles that enter.

Coming out on top as the product of choice for 2022 by many was the CTEK PRO25S/25SE battery charger with its portable, user-friendly, and practical design. One of our customers mentioned that it had lasted more than five years despite being used frequently, which was fantastic for their workshop because it allowed them to get a return on their investment and help them meet their financial objectives, and we all know how important it is to keep the accountants happy!

ROBIS - Be A Part Of The Difference

During the show, we were on a mission to collect insightful customer feedback and data. By gathering data, we can address any reoccurring common concerns, for instance, workshops presume that testing a vehicle requires a lot of time when in fact is a quick and easy process.

Whilst at the show, we took the opportunity to recruit workshops for a working case study that would involve them using the CPX900ROBIS. The ROBIS portal is a web-based dashboard and reporting system that collects battery data from national/regional workshop sources and presents it in filterable reports enabling workshops to analyse battery data quickly and easily. In the working case study, customers will be given the CPX900 while giving us feedback on how we can keep improving our products and services.

We successfully signed up 20 participants, and it was great to see customers take advantage of the chance to learn how it can improve their workshop best practices and, ultimately, how they can save money by analysing data.

On A Mission For Improvement

We’re always on a mission to get workshops using the best battery testing equipment. So much so, that one lucky visitor won the CTEK PRO25S in a competition we ran over the two days. In exchange for entry to win of one these products, we wanted to understand their workshop testing habits in more detail! Here’s what we discovered:

• Only 58% of workshops test every vehicle that enters the workshops! Meaning that a shocking 42% of vehicles don’t have their battery tested, which could lead to a battery-related vehicle breakdown and missed opportunity in selling a new battery.
• 74% were brave enough to admit that they would only ever charge a battery in their workshop if the car would not start, as opposed to testing every vehicle that enters their workshop.
• A whopping 72% said that testing accuracy is the most important factor when choosing a battery tester, ranking it higher than brand and price.

This demonstrates the importance of awareness in battery management and the numerous lost chances in workshops to inform customers about the state of their batteries. Workshops could benefit clients by keeping them updated on their battery's performance and generating revenue by selling and charging batteries.

It's fantastic to see that accuracy has taken priority over the brand, price, and availability of service and repair since you wouldn't want to offer your clients false readings because it would result in a loss of business. It's also positive to see that brand, price, and availability of service and repairs did not differ significantly, indicating that all three factors are relevant.

If you missed us at the event and have any additional questions, or would like to be a part of or trial case study using the CPX900ROBIS, contact our team at 0121 514 0605