In the automotive restyling section of the SEMA show, vehicle wrap and window film exhibitors are placed side-by-side, each aggressively courting the other’s customers.

Company officials who sell wraps firmly believe tint shops are natural partners to offer their products.

An Infiniti G37 wrapped in a matte style at Arlon’s booth. The color, named “highlighter yellow,” was custom-ordered by Frank Fellers, president of FELLERS, a wrap supply company.

“I think they’re going to have to [offer wrapping],” said Holly Curtis of film installers. Curtis is the director of marketing communications at Arlon, a Placentia, Calif.-based company. “That’s who’s coming up to us. They need to fill that last hole. They need to customize the whole vehicle.”

Alan Phillips of Green Cove Springs, Fla.-based Tape Technologies, Inc. agreed with Curtis and spoke to ways the product not only brings in revenue for tint shops but also the end consumer.

“Offering vehicle wraps is an easy, natural progression [and] can be used as a marketing tool,” he said of companies with vehicles wrapped with their logos. “If you’re going to offer a service, because people see the wrapped cars, they’re who people turn to.”

Phillips said he is surprised more companies don’t spend the money to do this, offering sales tips to installers.

“It’s a one-time investment and can display high-resolution images that bring the product to life. It can be seen by 10-30,000 people per week,” he said.

One particular style of wrap made a recurring appearance throughout the show floors: matte finishes.

“It costs less than paint and paint can’t give you the matte look,” Curtis said.

Carolyn Polanski, marketing communications manager at Avery Dennison, a Cleveland-based company, said the matte style wrap is the company’s biggest seller, particularly in the color black.

“[The product] has grown steadily. It hasn’t stopped growing yet,” she said.

She also felt tint shops that don’t offer the product are missing out on a steady revenue stream.

“Most people who want to upgrade their car have expendable cash. If [tint shops] do want to grow, the step to car wrapping is a small one. You have the chance to earn more money [because] with window tinting, you have a limited number of windows and with wrapping, there’s so much more surface area,” she said.