Automechanika Birmingham and ShineTime Luxury Detail Expo Event Recaps

What does the IDA have in common with Beyoncé? Unfortunately, not much. But like Queen Bey, who recently took her Cowboy Carter Tour from London to Houston, we also recently found ourselves both across the pond at Automechanika Birmingham in the United Kingdom and at ShineTime Luxury Detail Expo in Houston, Texas.

On the U.K. side of things, we had representation from our own royalty of sorts at Automechanika Birmingham. 2025 IDA President Craig Brigham, CD-SV, MC, along with IDA Board Member Dave Reed, CD-SV (who was there representing the Professional Valeters & Detailers Trade Association), staffed the IDA stand and gave several presentations throughout the tradeshow, providing great intercontinental visibility for our organization at the event.

Meanwhile, stateside, we also were enjoying the first ShineTime Luxury Detail Expo held in Houston, Texas. There were several educational sessions presented by IDA members. The IDA Booth was staffed by Kirby Thomson, CD-SV, and SV testing was provided onsite by Bob Wrasman, CD-SV, RIT. It was awesome connecting and building relationships with our partners in the aviation and luxury detailing industries and we are looking forward to continuing to strengthen those connections. (Looking for another resource on aviation detailing? Check out our recent webinar on aviation detailing dos and don'ts presented by Josh Hernandez, founder of the Aviation Detailing Association, who put on Shine Time Expo!) 

Remember, SEMA 2025 is right around the corner (and sponsorship opportunities are available now)! Then, after that, believe it or not, Mobile Tech Expo 2026 won't be too far behind (stay tuned for our call for speakers, coming soon). Be sure to check out our events calendar to stay up to date with all our upcoming tradeshows, certification events, webinars, and much more.