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SEMA (association)

Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) of the automotive aftermarket was formed in 1963 by Paul Schiefer, Roy Richter, Ed Iskenderian, Els Lohn, Willie Garner, Bob Hedman, Robert E. Wyman, John Bartlett, Phil Weiand Jr, Al Segal, Dean Moon, and Vic Edelbrock Jr. Now it consists of 6,383 companies worldwide, bringing together aftermarket manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers (OEM), media, car dealers, specialty equipment distributors, installers, retailers, and restoration specialists.[citation needed]

The largest of the SEMA events, held annually during the first week of November, is the SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, in conjunction with the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week. As part of this event, SEMA and other automotive aftermarket trade groups make up one of the single largest events on the Las Vegas calendar. This auto show is not open to the public. Registration as media, manufacturer, buyer or exhibitor is required.

On August 5, 2020, SEMA announced that its 2020 show would be cancelled for the first time in the show's history, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SEMA acronym originally stood for Speed Equipment Manufacturing Association. In 1970, government regulations became an issue and the name was changed to Specialty Equipment Market Association to improve the overall image of the association.[citation needed] It was also warned that bureaucrats in the industry may be turned off by the word "speed," which Corporate Council Earl Kitner felt they may associate with "the swinging generation." SEMA came about as a result of the company Revell Models attempting to fill a gap in industry trade regulation. Its first president was Ed Iskenderian. Other original members of the organization include Roy Richter, Willie Garner, Bob Hedman, Robert E. Wyman, Paul Schiefer, John Bartlett, Phil Weiand Jr., Al Segal, Dean Moon, and Vic Edelbrock Jr. [citation needed]

Founding members of SEMA

The SEMA Show is held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. It is among the largest conventions held in Vegas. The 2013 SEMA Show drew about 60,000 buyers. The displays are segmented into 12 sections, and a New Products Showcase features nearly 2,000 newly introduced parts, tools and components. In addition, the SEMA Show provides attendees with educational seminars, product demonstrations, special events, networking opportunities and more.

The first SEMA Show was held in 1967 in the basement of the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California before moving to the new Anaheim Stadium in 1974. In 1967 they had 98 manufacturers manning booths and an attendance of 3,000 people. In 1967 there were 5 cars on display, including a 1967 Ford GT40 in the Shelby America booth and a drag-race-prepped Dodge Dart. The early shows, held in Los Angeles and Anaheim, California, were exclusively card-table-and-masking-tape affairs,[vague] but by the early 1970s, sophisticated display and marketing techniques were visible throughout the show.[citation needed] At that time, a Show booth cost $375.00. The Show moved to a different location—the new and expansive Anaheim Convention Center (across from Disneyland). Booth sales and attendance kept increasing dramatically. The SEMA Show continued to cater to the needs of industry representatives rather than consumers and began to develop a reputation as a place where business was expected and completed. As part of the ’70s SEMA Shows, one of the must-attend events was Doris Herbert's Drag News party, which was topped only by the SEMA Awards Banquet.

In 1975, the featured entertainers for the Awards Banquet were April Stevens and Nino Tempo. In 1976 (the last SEMA Show to be held in Anaheim), the show was a sellout with 570 booths and, in fact, had to turn away a number of manufacturers due to lack of space. Over the next few years, the Show grew much larger and soon filled the Convention Center to capacity and was moved to Las Vegas in 1977. Las Vegas was chosen because it provided room for continued growth, dependable weather, big-name entertainment and a world-famous location.

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