Annual expo draws big crowds and industry celebrities.

On April 11, PBE Distributors hosted its annual Spring Show and Expo at the Hilton Mississauga Meadowvale, just west of Toronto. This invitation only event marked the 34^th anniversary of PBE servicing customers from its Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada warehouses.

Celebrity guests

Distributors, jobbers, and Industry VIPs from across the collision repair /restoration industry came from across Canada and beyond. A big draw this year were celebrity guests from the U.S.—Ryan Evans, Maverick of Color and Premier Painter from Count’s Kustoms in Las Vegas (showcased on the reality show Counting Cars), as well as Jon Kosmoski, industry legend and backbone of House of Kolor since 1956. Both celebrities were on hand to chat with attendees, take pictures, plus give away a special, signed 23 x26 colour poster.

Big prizes

The PBE Spring Show and Expo always offers some great raffle prizes, including two 70-inch 4K Smart TVs—one donated by 3M Canada for VIP Body Shops and another, donated by PBE for distributors to win. Barry Kuhel, of Bear’s Restorations was the recipient of the 3M donated TV, while Paula Labinowicz of CARQUEST Brampton, won the PBE donated TV.

Other items donated for prize draws included the only DeVilbiss DV1 Basecoat “Gambler” Digital HVLP Spray Gun for a VIP shop (won by Tony Le from ProColor Collision Etobicoke South); plus, a Pro Spot welding protection kit (won by Cathy Shouldice, of Shouldice Collision in Cambridge, Ont.)

Additionally, Innovative Tool donated all 9 pieces it had on display at the event to attending VIP body shops.

Banner year

During an interview with Autosphere at the event, Darrin Heise, General Manager for PBE Distributors, noted that the company has seen a banner year in 2023, having come out of the COVID pandemic is a strong position. “We’ve concentrated on keeping inventory, allowing us to ensure our [distributor] customers were supplied with the stock they needed. There was a fear that following COVID, we would go back to buying direct, but we have been able to maintain that business and continue growing it, and it looks like 2024 will build upon the success we saw last year.”

Regarding the show, which returned in physical form in 2023 after a three-year absence due to the pandemic and saw record attendance, Heise said PBE changed the format a little for 2024 by opening the doors earlier during the day, giving more attendees more time to attend the show. “Whether the new format works, we’ll have to wait and see,” said Heise, though he noted that “all of the right customers are here—the guys that are looking for new products and deals and we’re really happy about that. We were sold out this year and had five new exhibitors, which is great as we are continually looking to grow the event and expand our product range and offerings.”