The Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) brought its pioneering Garage Den initiative to the stage at the UK Garage & Bodyshop Event 2026, revealing the results of six months of collaboration between leading aftermarket suppliers and independent garages.

Held in the Business Management Theatre at the UK Garage & Bodyshop, the session provided attendees with an exclusive insight into how supplier-led innovation can be shaped by real-world workshop experience, with suppliers sharing key learnings from the programme and discussing how their partnerships had developed throughout the process.

Originally launched at the IAAF Conference in December 2025, Garage Den pairs aftermarket suppliers with respected independent garages to co-develop products, services and solutions designed to address genuine industry challenges.

The initiative brought together an impressive line-up of partnerships. Tina Drayson of CCM Garages worked alongside Leo Freebairn of TechMan, while Matt Cleevely of Cleevely Group partnered with Marc Roder of WAI Europe. Randeep Reehal of Courtwood Car Services collaborated with Will Jones of Cataclean, Gary Wood of Intelligent Auto teamed up with Riccardo Sorano of Hella Gutmann, and Michael Shaikly of Shaikly Motor Company worked alongside Aliya Lam of Delphi.

Throughout the past six-months, suppliers and garages have worked closely together, including conducting on-site visits and sharing operational insights to ensure ideas were developed with practical workshop requirements firmly in mind.

During the live session, attendees were shown a series of video interviews featuring each participating garage, providing honest feedback on the collaborations and highlighting the value of working directly with suppliers to influence future products, services and support. The videos were followed by on-stage discussions with the supplier partners, hosted by Steve Whitton, who explored the successes, challenges and key takeaways from each project to date.

Mark Field, Chief Executive of the IAAF, said: “Garage Den has demonstrated exactly what can be achieved when suppliers and garages work together with a shared goal. The feedback from participants has been incredibly positive, and the concepts developed throughout the programme show the value of combining technical expertise with genuine workshop experience. The session at UK Garage & Bodyshop Event gave the wider industry an opportunity to see these collaborations in action and learn from the journey each partnership is taking.”

Each partnership of the IAAF Garage Den will now go forward to the IAAF Pride of Aftermarket Awards where the winner will be crowned on 3 December at the IAAF Annual Awards Dinner, held at the Vox, Resorts World.