eTech Parts at the Wireless Repair Expo 2014
To say we had a good time at the first-ever Wireless Repair Expo during Super Mobility Week 2014 would be a total understatement. Our team at eTech Parts had a BLAST getting to meet everyone from the Repair Community, putting faces to the names and voices we've been hearing for years. After meeting such an amazing group of people who make up the Repair Community, and making connections and memories with all of you, we can't wait to do it again next year! In case you missed it, and we're sorry if you did, here's a brief recap of what eTech Parts was up to all week at the Wireless Repair Expo 2014.
As the saying goes, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," so while we can't show you all the trouble our eTech team got into that week, we'll show you everything we managed to get pictures of!
eTech Parts was billed as the Premiere Sponsor of the first-ever Wireless Repair Expo during CTIA Super Mobility Week 2014. The trade show was similar to past trade shows we've attended; vendors from every corner of the Wireless World gathered here to create a maze of grand proportion, filled with so much technology it could make your head spin. While CTIA Super Mobility Week doesn't hold a candle to the size or insanity of CES, it was still a tech-y trade show with tons of really cool stuff to see.
eTech Parts was proud to be the premiere sponsor of the very first Wireless Repair Expo at CTIA Super Mobility Week 2014! The Expo was a wonderful opportunity to see all the facets of the wireless repair industry and meet some of the most talented technicians and business owners in the industry. There were daily workshops, soldering classes, presentations and demonstrations happening at all times, in all corners of the Expo!
On Tuesday and Wednesday we had our very own 30 minute stage presentation at the Repair Expo. David spoke and presented industry stats on profitability and growth, while I replaced the screen on an iPhone 5 in under 10 minutes!
Couldn't have done it without my trusty ScrewMat, Wiha Pentalobe, and OEM Screen Opening device!
On Tuesday and Wednesday we also hosted a Q&A panel discussion with repair experts and industry leaders. This highly engaging, town hall-style discussion was an honor to moderate and a pleasure to witness, with members of the audience joining the discussion, asking questions, and giving our industry leaders plenty to talk about! We really chose the best of the best to join our panel, featuring 7 amazing industry leaders who brought their A-game and expertise to the discussion.
The photo above is from Tuesday's panel, including... Anthony Martin of iCracked, Dave Takushi of St. Louis Cell Phone Repair, Jason Fuchs of iHeartRepair, Miguel Brito of Spa City iRepair, and Patrick Luthy of One Stop Mobile (as pictured from L to R). Charles Hibble of iDropped (not pictured) joined us for Wednesday's panel as well.
Instead of getting a booth on the show floor, eTech Parts opted for a hospitality suite at the Bellagio, where we invited customers to escape the madness of the trade show to join us for private meetings each day. We also invited representatives from some of our favorite trusted brands, like Prodigee and Red Planet Sounds, to join us and interact with our customers on a more personal level. With meetings each day from 9 to 5 and nightly networking events, the eTech team spent a very busy week in this suite. Considering the blood, sweat and tears that went into pulling it off right, it was more than worth it in the end. Our hospitality suite helped us give each person the attention they deserved in a comfortable and casual environment.
We invited our friends from Fix Mobile Tech to join us in our hospitality suite to interact with our visitors and offer expert advice on repairs and technical training. They even got a chance to demonstrate high quality glass-only repairs for our visitors and offer lots of advice on best practices for repairs.
Fix Mobile Tech is a newly-established repair training center in Gainesville, FL. You can check out their list of cell phone repair training courses and find out more about them on their website.
On Tuesday night eTech Parts hosted a special gTool product premiere to release the new gTool PanelPress and show a sneak peak preview of the truly revolutionary gTool PadJack. gTool Product Designer Wikus Combrinck joined us to discuss gTool and demo these new repair solutions. Didn't get to join us for the exciting event? We're sorry you missed the fun but luckily we have a video recap of the gTool product release on our blog!
One thing we learned about the Repair Community? You guys sure know how to party -- we had a full suite each night! With the gTool event on Tuesday and an industry networking event on Wednesday, our suite was packed from 7 to midnight. Some of our favorites from the Repair Community stuck around much later, giving us all plenty of time to bond and become best friends. I spy a couple familiar faces... can you spot anyone you know or met at CTIA in the picture above?
By Thursday we were spent and ready to pack up and head home, but not before enjoying a wonderful dinner and night out on the town! Dinner, drinks and gambling with the eTech team was the cherry on top of a fantastic week in Las Vegas. We made lots of new friends, learned valuable information about the wireless repair industry, and grew stronger as a team. I think it's safe to say we had a very successful time at the first Wireless Repair Expo at CTIA Super Mobility Week 2014! See you next year, same time, same place?