ASE acquires WrenchWay to strengthen industry workforce pipeline
The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) announced Tuesday the acquisition of WrenchWay, a platform built to promote and improve careers in the automotive, diesel, and collision industries.
According to a press release, under the agreement, WrenchWay’s co-founders and employees will join the ASE team to help ASE fully realize its charter to support the transportation industry by strengthening connections between schools, employers and industry partners while expanding support for current and future service professionals. It adds that the acquisition “reflects ASE’s continued commitment to embracing technology and a customer-first mentality.”
“Modernizing ASE has always meant more than updating our tests. It means rethinking how we serve technicians, shops, educators and the next generation entering the industry,” said Dave Johnson, president and CEO of ASE, in the release. “WrenchWay has built something remarkable and together we can deliver on that vision at a scale neither of us could achieve alone.”
Earlier this year, ASE and WrenchWay launched ASE Connects to help build a stronger technician pipeline through connections between schools and industry, expanding access to workforce data, and supporting automotive, diesel and collision career pathways.
As the organizations integrate, ASE says ASE Connects will remain a major focus, while WrenchWay’s technology and expertise support additional areas across ASE’s growing portfolio, the release states.
“Growing up in the industry, ASE has always been a brand I admire and respect,” said Jay Goninen, co-founder and president of WrenchWay, in the release. “The opportunity to now be part of ASE’s future is both humbling and exciting. It is a true honor to help build on that legacy while creating new ways to support service professionals.”
Mark Wilson, co-founder and CEO of WrenchWay, added, “There are not many brands in this industry that every technician and every shop instantly recognize. ASE is one of them. We have enormous respect for what’s been built here and equally high expectations for what comes next.”
ASE and WrenchWay said they will share additional details in the coming weeks on integration timelines and what the transition means for current users.
Fifty-three percent of auto technicians say the top reason for lack of access to training is that the right topics are not available, according to the 2026 ASE Training Managers Council (ATMC) Training Benchmarks survey that was released earlier this month.
The results show that other reasons for lack of access include quality training not available (38%), can’t take time off work (29%), training costs too much (22%), and would have to travel too far (17%).
Collision technicians said they need training in ADAS (44%), paint and refinish (44%), hybrid/EV systems (44%), and collision structural repair (44%) when asked.
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