8/3/16 Elgin, IL – K40 Electronics announced that it will offer two interactive dealer training sessions on K40 remote radar detectors and laser jamming products – including the new Laser Defuser Optix™ - during Mobile Electronics’ KnowledgeFest trade show and conference being held August 20-22, 2016, at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas.

Offering some of the industry’s highest vendor margins, K40 sees the 20th anniversary of KnowledgFest and its “Shift” theme as an ideal opportunity for dealers to shift their focus to maximum profitability. “With auto and aftermarket accessory manufacturers focusing on safety and driver’s assistance, K40 speed protection products are the bottom-line difference maker for mobile electronics retailers,” said Rachel Clark, K40’s National Sales Director. “And they keep these profits in their pocket with nearly no warranty returns,” added Clark.

Two training sessions covering “Product-Profit-Partnership: The K40 Difference” will be offered by K40:

Sun., August 21, 2016 - 4:30pm - 5:30pm - Outside Trinity Exhibit Hall

Mon., August 22, 2016 - 9:30am - 10:30am - Outside Trinity Exhibit Hall

Click here to reserve your seat to one of the K40 training sessions.

K40 will also exhibit its entire product line in booth #416 where the new Laser Defuser Optix, one of the smallest laser jammers on the market, will be highlighted. “Optix is approximately the size of a slim automotive key fob or USB flash drive, so it can be installed into grilles and other tight spaces,” added Clark.

For information on K40’s entire product line, which offers the industry’s first ticket-free guarantee, visit http://www.k40.com/products

NORTH ANDOVER September 12, 2016—Mobile Electronics® announced final figures for its August 20-22 KnowledgeFest educational conference and show in Dallas. Record-breaking attendance topped more than 1,300 mobile electronics industry professionals. The increase over 2015 can be attributed to more attendees from outside the Texas region, more attendees from the West Coast and more attendees from the Midwest and upper Midwest.

Nearly 500 attendees were from outside the six-hour drive from Dallas, a measurement used by Mobile Electronics to gauge its attendee market. With a growing Indianapolis KnowledgeFest, more mobile specialists have discovered the educational workshops and training offered at KnowledgeFest and are willing to travel to take advantage of this programming. KnowledgeFest has become the mobile electronics industry’s largest educational event. Dealer attendance at the over 80 hours of workshops and trainings in Dallas increased greatly over 2015.

“We are fast becoming this industry’s showcase for new technology, product and educational programming,” said Chris Cook, president of Mobile Electronics.

The Dallas show floor featured a record-breaking 53exhibitorsrepresenting the top brands in the mobile electronics industry and specialist channel.

In 2017, KnowledgeFest will return to Dallas in August. KnowledgeFest Indianapolis takes place April 10-12 at the Indianapolis Convention Center. For more information, go to KnowledgeFest.com.

8-24-2016 -- The Memphis audio booth was teeming with dealers throughout the weekend at Knowledgefest 2016. Two high quality demo rigs loaded with Memphis gear were absolute showstoppers on the show floor. 

#Project_Warhorse, the 2015 Rhino lined monolith built by Infinity Conversions, turned heads with its interior and exterior Memphis system, making it "one of the coolest demo builds to roll through the doors of the Hilton Anatole show floor," the company said.

Memphis also unveiled a stunning lifted Polaris RZR outfitted with a Memphis Xtreme Top built by Southern Sound.MXA Tops are hand built ultra-light aluminum tops exclusively available from Memphis dealers. These tops are engineered to fit every major model of side-by-side and are shipped complete with built in amplifiers, light bars, speakers and Bluetooth controls capable of making any ride a party on wheels.

Demo cars weren’t the only thing going on at the Memphis Booth. Onlookers couldn’t help but take notice of Memphis Audio’s active demo display which was cranking out tunes allowing onlookers to experience a live demo of Memphis Audios impressive speaker and subwoofer line up. 

National Sales Manager Shawn Spedding hosted an informative sales training seminar educating the full house crowd on ways to increase sales and boost margins.  Attendees received a ticket to win a $1000 grand prize for attending the training event.  In a post Knowledgefest announcement on Facebook, the winner was announced as Ram Auto Sound from Palestine, TX.

Memphis didn’t turn down the dial after show time, instead they turned it up at their presidential suite with over 100 attendees from some of the industry’s best dealers.  The Memphis crew had an opportunity hang out and connect with their dealers and thank them for their support. 

“The show and party were a resounding success, training was great, our show specials allowed for record breaking sales numbers and we were able to spend quality time having fun with our dealers,”  said Nick LoMonaco VP of Memphis Audio.  The party could have lasted all night if it weren’t for the Memphis Audio kiosk display pounding out a little too much bass for the management at the Hilton Anatole hotel who abruptly informed everyone of last call a little prematurely.  Party guests walked away with smiles on their faces and a set of MXA52T tower speakers as a thank you for supporting the brand.  

In its 20th year, KnowledgeFest reaches new heights by offering retailers the tools to shift their businesses to coincide with current OEM technology trends. The event also saw a new batch of industry award winners crowned to help usher in the next era of 12-volt.

9-6-2016 -- Milestones happen every day. People make goals and achieve them. But those milestones are almost never achieved without sacrifice.

After 20 years, KnowledgeFest has reached a rare milestone in the 12-volt industry, having created a place for anyone who loves car audio to come and learn new skills to enhance their craft. This year's event took place at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas August 20 to 22 and included over 40 exhibitors, 23 classes, nearly 50 product trainings and the culmination of a new round of winners at the 2016 Mobile Electronics Industry Awards. The city has hosted the event since 2010.

To house the event, the Hilton Anatole provided 10 classrooms, a trade show hall, a ballroom for the town hall and industry awards, and access to several restaurants, bars, shops and a brand new water park for hotel guests. The city itself also played host to visiting attendees thanks to its wide selection of quality restaurants, including many BBQ joints close to the hotel.

Guests were able to pre-register for classes using the website Kfest.me, which also served as the digital schedule of events for guests to check during the three-day conference. The event marked the first time the website was used as a primary resource for the event schedule. 

All of this was presented in cooperation with several manufacturers who operated as sponsors for the event, in addition to the registration fees paid by attendees. However, the largest contributor to the event could not be measured in money or time, but passion. To last 20 years, an event like this would not be possible without a continuous drive from its attendees and educators to help improve the industry and overcome all obstacles over the years. Thankfully, it has all of the above.

Day 1 - Bad Weather, New Faces

Being that Dallas is located in a central location to the rest of the country, one might think it's accessible enough to limit travel issues to a minimum. But mother nature doesn't always play by the rules. Due to inclement weather, many attendees coming from the east coast were delayed up to a day. Some of those attendees were also educators, like Matt Schaeffer, whose class, "The Perfect Pic: Better Photography to Promote Your Business," was postponed until the final day, while taking the place of a cancelled class, "Public Relations: Let the Media Market For You."

Thankfully, those were the only courses impacted by the weather problem. Meanwhile, in Dallas, the rain poured on and off like a faucet throughout the event, while hotel guests, including some KnowledgeFest attendees, kept a close eye on the rain to give themselves enough time at JadeWaters, the new water park on the hotel grounds. The park features a lazy river, swim-up bar and water slides. Despite the lack of pool time available, attendees found plenty of ways to socialize outside of classes, including between classes in the hallways, at the bars, outside with a cigarette, or on the show floor, which started with a bang on day one, with every booth seeing some action from the get-go.

Several companies made their debuts at the show in 2016, all offering a different category of product. Omega Research & Technology came to showcase a wide array of products, but geared its presentation toward the most relevant technologically advanced products, including its new Linker smartphone control app. The platform allows GPS tracking and is designed to incorporate linking between home alarm and vehicle security monitoring. The company, which has been around since 1971, chose to make this year its first at KnowledgeFest due mainly to the evaporating presence of 12-volt companies at shows like SEMA and CES, where it primarily showcased in the past, according to Mike Thompson, product development manager at Omega.

"With technology shifts being so rapid these past few years, dealers are struggling to keep up. The industry needs a regrouping internally so we can figure out where to go," Thompson said. "We're really excited to come to a show with a 100 percent focus on the aftermarket. There's a solid state of unrest throughout the country, so dealers are struggling and are more reluctant to go to shows like SEMA and CES. Although we do a lot of International business, I really feel like KnowledgeFest helps us turn our attention more to our domestic guys."

On the 12-volt accessory front was F.A.S.T. Rings, the foam acoustic sealers that have become a popular commodity thanks partially to their being sold and promoted by Mobile Solutions. The rings represent an expanding market for 12-volt accessory products that saw several other vendors present on the floor as well, including Kingpin University, Mobile Solutions and SoundSkins.

As a trend, the majority of the companies featuring new products either were enhancing already popular products or adding to an emerging market, such as safety. One such product was the Bury Hands Free Car Kit, presented by John Haynes of Al & Ed's Autosound. The German manufacturer has decided to branch out into the North American market in preparation for a continuing trend of OEM add-on products in upcoming vehicles. 

Read the rest of the story HERE.