The Mobile Air Conditioning Society (MACS) Worldwide, which will hold its 25th Anniversary Convention and Trade Show February 1-3 at the Las Vegas Hilton, is taking steps to protect its trade show exhibitors and the mobile A/C and engine cooling industry against counterfeiting and trademark infringement.

As part of its new policy, MACS is asking every exhibitor at this year’s show to sign the MACS Trade Show counterfeit product policy statement prior to their participation at the show. MACS also has retained legal counsel to be available to handle any complaints concerning counterfeit product or trademark infringement during the show. Exhibitors who feel they have grounds for a complaint should contact show management. Exhibitors who are found to be in violation of the MACS Trade Show policies may be asked to leave the show and will forfeit all exhibition and conference fees.

Start Your Day Off with Paul, Paul and Ward
You won’t want to miss the “Paul, Paul and Ward Breakfast” sponsored by Compressorworks beginning at 7 a.m. February 2. You’ll have to get up early, but it will be worth your time to have a no-holds barred discussion on mobile A/C and engine cooling service and repair with MACS manager of service training, Paul DeGuiseppi, automotive writer Paul Weissler and MACS technical consultant Ward Atkinson.

This year, MACS welcomes Jeanne Briskin, deputy director of EPA’s Stratospheric Protection Division and the Acting Chief of the Alternatives and Emissions Reductions Branch, responsible for reviewing and approving alternatives to ozone-depleting substances under Title 6 of the Clean Air Act. Briskin will be in attendance at the “Paul, Paul and Ward Breakfast” to answer your questions.

Note: To submit a question early to be asked at the breakfast, e-mail [email protected].

MACS Enters Into an Affiliation With VASA
The MACS board of directors has agreed to enter into an affiliation with the Vehicle Air Conditioning Specialists of Australia (VASA), which is based on mutual cooperation, sharing of information and to offer support to each other in the preservation of the professional and ethical standards that each promotes through its membership.

“MACS is pleased to enter into this cooperative effort with the members of VASA as we share common goals, values and perspective on the future of the mobile A/C industry,” commented Elvis Hoffpauir, MACS president and COO.VASA president Mark Padwick is also pleased with the new relationship. As a regular visitor to the MACS conventions in the U.S., Padwick and fellow director John Blanchard, understand better than most the need for maintaining contacts and keeping up technically in the world’s biggest marketplace.

“This relationship could not have come at a better time,” said Padwick. “As VASA approaches a new era of regulation, we need to look more towards how we can improve services to members and at the same time, grow our membership base. Although MACS and VASA are poles apart in size, we can certainly learn from their experiences going back now more than 20 years.”To learn more about VASA, visit www.vasa.org.au.

What: MACS 25th Anniversary Convention and Trade Show Where: Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas When: February 1-3 (Golf tournament: Jan. 31) More Info: For registration and to view the trade show schedule of events, visit www.macsw.org.