AkzoNobel is giving everyone a first look under the hood for its programming at the 2025 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show – and an industry star is part of it all again: Dave Kindig, television star of MotorTrend Network’s Bitchin’ Rides show and creator of custom car company, Kindig-it Design.

Exciting vehicle unveilings, autograph sessions, workshops to share the latest and greatest industry know-how – it all bursts onto the scene with AkzoNobel when SEMA is happening at the Las Vegas Convention Center from Nov. 4-7, 2025.

“To say we’re excited would be an understatement. SEMA is a huge event for our AkzoNobel team and the perfect opportunity to show off how we’re helping customers every single day of the year with our outstanding coatings, innovative digital shop tools, and expertise,” says Maximilien Schréder, commercial director for AkzoNobel’s North American Automotive & Specialty Coatings business.

Schréder is taking over for John Griffin, who is retiring. “This will be my first SEMA Show, and I can’t wait to meet with our customers and distributors in this energy-filled environment,” adds Schréder.

Location, Location, Location

AkzoNobel will once again exhibit at two locations – an indoor booth and a rig outside, together with Dave Kindig. Visitors will want to check out both, to make sure they see all the bitchin’ builds. Here are the specs about what’s happening:

•The interior: The booth this year is at AkzoNobel’s new location in the South Hall

(booth #33129). There’s serious eye candy here: a custom build by AkzoNobel customer Miller & Son Collision from Lancaster, NY – painted with Sikkens. The futuristic build named Ballistic is still under wraps for now.

The official unveiling takes place on day one of SEMA (Tuesday, Nov. 4) at 9:30 a.m.

Also, on display all week and ready for a test drive: the company’s Sikkens and Lesonal

brands, its patented, state-of-the-art, digital body shop workflow control solution Carbeat,

and other innovative digital tools.

Plus – AkzoNobel’s brand-new Sikkens Autowave Optima, the new one-stop application waterborne basecoat that can cut processing times in half, compared to conventional basecoat application methods. Optima doesn’t require flash-off between layers, so technicians only need to go into the spray booth once.

• The exterior: Outside Central Hall in the Silver Lot, AkzoNobel and Kindig-it Design share 2,400 square feet of exhibit space (#81220), where they’re showing off a whole row of truly one-of-a-kind vehicles – including a 1969 Camaro painted in Sikkens, a 1957 Oldsmobile painted in Modern Classikk — Black Ice and Quarterhorse Brown, and Kindig custom CF1 Fastback painted in Modern Classikk – Black Ice.

In addition to the company’s two show locations, AkzoNobel will also have its paint featured on show cars throughout the massive SEMA event, including:

• 1953 CF1 Cabriolet by Kindig-it Design, painted with Modern Classikk – Peribolical

• 2015 Chevy Suburban (KevDogg’s*), painted with Modern Classikk – Nostalgic Blue

*as in – belongs to Kevin Schiele, Kindig-it Design’s foreman and co-star of Bitchin’ Rides

• 1953 CF1 Cabriolet by Kindig-it Design, painted with Modern Classikk – Discreet

• 1953 CF1 Roadster by Kindig-it Design, painted with Modern Classikk – Cyanora

• 1979 Pontiac Trans Am by David Stolp of Superior Quality Restoration, painted with Sikkens

Talking Shop

Besides its coatings, AkzoNobel is also a go-to source for industry expertise. At SEMA, team members will share their wisdom and thought leadership about the most important topics affecting the collision repair industry right now.

Tony Adams, services consultant, and Tim Ronak, senior services consultant, will lead the Repairer Driven Education session titled, “A Consumer’s Guide to Getting Fully Reimbursed for Automobile Claims.” Get smart on this topic with the AkzoNobel team on Tuesday, Nov. 4.