Celebrating a major milestone while keeping an eye on providing new tools and technology were the focus of the NAPA Now event in Las Vegas last week.
NAPA Now was held April 15-17 at the Venetian Expo with thousands in attendance to take part in training opportunities, take in new tools and advanced training technologies, all while marking 100 years since the launch of the NAPA brand.
Vendors hosted attendees to provide them with training and information about their products. The classes were held in a ‘silent disco’ style — attendees would listen to the presenter through wireless headphones, avoiding distractions and ambient noise coming from the expo hall. The show floor allowed attendees to take in offerings from vendors and participate in a game, from racing on a toy race track to Plinko to spinning a wheel for a prize.
Highlighted was Carlyle Tools, named after NAPA’s founder, Carlyle Fraser. With a venom green and midnight oil colour scheme, the high visibility tools are designed to be available to new technicians at an affordable price to avoid tool debt early in their careers.
The show also announced the launch of the NAPA Autotech XcceleratoR program, an AI-driven XR (extended reality) workforce development platform. This is designed to reduce technician training time from two years to as little as 25 days. The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) is in a year-long validation process to recognize the program as a valid pathway toward fulfilling the group’s standard work experience requirement.
To commemorate 100 years, NAPA president Randy Breaux welcomed attendees to a celebration on the second night, complete with a large cake and a concert performance by country music band Landy A.
Please see our highlight reel and photo gallery for more.
NAPA Now 2025
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