A few handfuls of auctions were honored Wednesday at the NAAA Convention, as NextGear Capital, Enterprise Holdings and Chase Auto Finance revealed annual award winners. Plus, several more awards were announced at the NAAA's Opening Luncheon.

Winning NextGear’s third annual Auction Partner Awards, which recognize independent auctions, were:

• Operational Excellence Award: Acadia Auto Auction in Richmond, Maine
• Operational Excellence Award: Rochester-Syracuse Auto Auction in Waterloo, N.Y.
• Operational Excellence Award: Oklahoma Auto Exchange in Oklahoma City, Okla.
• Operational Excellence Award: Lynnway Auto Auction in North Billerica, Mass.
• Remarketer of the Year: Tallahassee Auto Auction in Tallahassee, Fla.

The Operational Excellence Award goes to facilities that are top-notch in terms of efficiency, sales retention, overall operational performance and responding effectively to NextGear’s needs.

The Remarketer of the Year award is given to the auction with the highest percentage of sales recovered based on percentage of valuation of each vehicle, the best throughput performance and the best sales follow-up (i.e. timing on getting sales process to NextGear).

“We’ve fostered many relationships with auctions over the years, helping make the floor plan process simple and efficient,” said Brian Geitner, president of NextGear.

“However, we recognize that these relationships are a two-way street, and we wouldn’t be who we are today without the dedication, attention to detail and customer-centric focus of our auction partners,” he added.

Chase’s auction awards

On Wednesday, Chase Auto Finance revealed its 2014-2015 Chase Cup for Auction Excellence winners.

Earning honors in the 17th annual Chase Cup — which recognizes top performances in retention, operational efficiency, expense control, accuracy, sales and service delivery — were:

• Manheim Minneapolis: Best National Auction Performance; Best Regional Performance, Midwest
• ADESA Cincinnati/Dayton: Douglas F. Wininger Memorial Award for Best National Performance Service Delivery
• Manheim Seattle: Best Regional Performance, West; Best National Mazda Sales
• Manheim Pennsylvania: Best National Jaguar Sales
• Manheim Riverside: Best National Land Rover Sales
• Brasher’s Salt Lake Auto Auction: Best National Subaru Sales
• Manheim Pittsburgh: Best Regional Performance, Northeastern  
• ADESA Lexington: Best Regional Performance, Southeastern
• ADESA Kansas City: Best Regional Performance, Central

To select the winners, Chase reviewed the 31 auctions with which it does business from August 2014 through July of this year, examining how these auctions handled preparation, sales, invoice processing, transport requests, title processing and other capabilities.

“Each year, the Chase Cup aims to honor high-performing auto auctions across the country that display operational excellence and outstanding customer service,” said Sandra Broderick, head of operations for Chase Auto Finance. “These auctions are the best of the best.”

Enterprise gives out 14 Auction Achievement Awards

Enterprise Holdings, which operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands, announced it is honoring 14 U.S. auto auctions with its 2015 Auction Achievement Awards.

The company said this annual program works to recognize auction partners that “have gone above and beyond” to support Enterprise Holdings’ remarketing strategy.

“At Enterprise Holdings, we offer a diverse range of late-model, well-maintained vehicles that reflect the preferences of our consumers. Most of the products we bring to the market are low mileage, serviced regularly, in great condition and provide a great deal of diversity with regards to make, model and trim level,” said Nate Lattimer, vice president of vehicle remarketing at Enterprise Holdings, in a recent Auto Remarketing Q&A.

“Local auctions are an important component of our remarketing strategy. With nearly a million vehicles across the country, we rely on our local auction partners to help us maximize our opportunities and showcase our vehicles in front of as many buyers as possible in all the cities and regions we serve,” he continued. “This year’s Auction Achievement Award winners play a crucial role in these efforts, and we’re thrilled to salute and thank them for their outstanding performance.”

Enterprise presents the awards in two categories: whole-car auctions and damaged-vehicle auctions.

Recipients are honored for exceptional performance in the areas of communication, customer service, marketing and reconditioning, operational success and strategic planning.

The 2015 Auction Achievement Award winners in the whole-car category are:
•    ADESA Atlanta
•    ADESA Los Angeles
•    Manheim Georgia (Atlanta)
•    Manheim Nevada (Las Vegas)
•    Manheim Omaha
•    Manheim Pennsylvania (Manheim, Pa.)
•    Manheim Riverside (Riverside, Calif.)
•    Manheim Southern California (Fontana, Calif.)
•    Manheim Texas Hobby (Houston)

The 2015 Auction Achievement Award winners in the damaged-vehicle category are:
•    Dealers AA of the Rockies (Denver)
•    IAA Dallas/Fort Worth
•    Manheim Central California – TRA (Fresno, Calif.)
•    Manheim TRA Tampa
•    Metro Salvage Pool (Des Moines, Iowa)

“Because our regional Enterprise teams work so regularly with local auction operators, they’re well-positioned to nominate candidates for the Auction Achievement Awards,” Lattimer said. “These local partnerships are critical to our success. When our auction partners win, we win, too.”

NAAA awards at annual luncheon

Also during the convention Wednesday was the Opening Luncheon, where several awards were handed out, as well.

Presenting the NIADA Auto Auction of the Year was NIADA chief executive officer Steve Jordan, who recognized ADESA Tampa and its general manager Curtis Farris.

Next up, the Bernie Hart Memorial Auctioneer of the Year Award went to John Nicholls, president of the Nicholls Auction Marketing Group, who was presented the award from his father Charles Nicholls, who founded the company and is chairman of its board.

NAAA's Industry Pioneer Award went to Gregg Kobel, who was the 2007 president of the NAAA.