Meadowfield Auto Centre Attends 1TEC Auto Hub Connect 2026 at Silverstone

7 May 2026 – Silverstone Circuit

The Meadowfield team headed south from Ponteland, Northumberland to Silverstone Circuit this May for 1TEC Auto Hub Connect 2026, one of the major events in the calendar for the growing 1TEC independent garage network.

For one day, the workshop was swapped for the home of British motorsport as independent garages from across the UK and Ireland came together with some of the biggest names in the automotive aftermarket.

But this wasn't simply a day out at Silverstone.

For Meadowfield Auto Centre, being part of 1TEC Auto Hub is about something much bigger: surrounding ourselves with other ambitious independent garages, learning from the wider automotive industry and making sure our small independent workshop in Ponteland continues to move forward.

What is 1TEC Auto Hub?

1TEC Auto Hub was established in 2023 by a group of leading automotive brands with a specific objective: to find and support progressive, forward-looking independent workshops across the UK and Ireland.

The network says it has continued to grow while ensuring that only professional workshops are signed up. Its aim is to help independent garages remain competitive as modern vehicles, technology and the requirements placed upon workshops become increasingly complex.

For customers, that distinction matters.

A 1TEC Auto Hub garage remains completely independently owned, retaining the local service and individual identity of an independent business, while benefiting from the technical resources, training, knowledge and support of a much larger national network.

1TEC describes its network as bringing together leading garages committed to high levels of customer service and professionalism, with trained technicians capable of working on the latest generations of vehicles.

That's something we're extremely proud for Meadowfield Auto Centre to be part of.

Representing some of the best of the independent garage sector

There's an important reason why being involved with 1TEC means something to us.

The independent garage sector is enormous. It contains businesses of every shape and size, from small traditional workshops to some exceptionally advanced independent repairers.

1TEC was specifically created to bring together progressive, forward-looking workshops and support them as the industry evolves.

In our eyes, events such as Connect therefore bring together some of the best of the independent garage sector – businesses that care about what they do, invest in their workshops, develop their teams and want to keep improving.

That's the company we want Meadowfield to keep.

We're proud of being an independent garage. We're also proud of the standards we've built here in Ponteland.

Being surrounded by other businesses with a similar desire to improve gives us an opportunity to compare ideas, learn from others and occasionally come home questioning whether there's something we could be doing better.

That's valuable.

More than 475 workshops come together at Silverstone

1TEC Auto Hub Connect 2026 was the network's third annual Connect event, held at Silverstone on Thursday 7 May 2026.

The event brought together more than 475 independent workshops, supplier partners and industry speakers to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the independent automotive aftermarket across the UK and Ireland.

The theme for 2026 was “Built on Collaboration. Driven by Innovation.”

Across the event there were industry speakers, opportunities to meet key technical partners and suppliers, discussions about developments within the automotive aftermarket and, perhaps most importantly, the opportunity for independent garage owners to talk to one another about what's actually happening inside their businesses.

The day concluded with the 1TEC Auto Hub Awards, recognising achievements from within the network.

Backed by some of the biggest names in automotive

One of the strengths of 1TEC Auto Hub is the calibre of the automotive companies involved.

The network was founded by LKQ Euro Car Parts alongside seven technical partners: Shell, Schaeffler, VARTA, Pagid, MPM, ZF and Valeo.

These aren't simply logos attached to a garage network.

Between them, the partners have expertise covering areas including lubricants, braking systems, batteries, clutches and transmissions, timing systems, wheel bearings, steering and suspension, vehicle electronics and modern vehicle technology. 1TEC members are supported with technical information, training, tools, products and business development resources.

As vehicles become increasingly complicated, access to that wider pool of technical knowledge becomes increasingly valuable to an independent garage.

Why does Meadowfield attend events like this?

Because standing still isn't really our thing.

When Stephen Browne took over the business in December 2016, the objective wasn't simply to keep the garage running as it always had.

Since Meadowfield Auto Centre opened in Ponteland in January 2017, we've continually invested in what happens behind the workshop doors.

New tyre fitting and balancing equipment arrived within our first few months.

We brought R134a air-conditioning servicing into the workshop in 2017.

We invested in updated MOT emissions testing equipment as the test changed in 2018.

A new wider MOT lift followed in 2019, allowing us to better accommodate the increasingly large vehicles our customers were driving.

An EV charging point arrived in 2020.

We introduced computerised four-wheel alignment in 2021.

And that process hasn't stopped.

Going to an event like 1TEC Auto Hub Connect is another part of exactly the same philosophy.

It's about seeing what's changing, speaking to people who understand where the automotive industry is heading and deciding what Meadowfield needs to do next.

Independent doesn't have to mean isolated

This is perhaps one of the most important things about 1TEC Auto Hub.

Meadowfield Auto Centre remains an independent, locally owned garage in Ponteland.

The decisions about our business are made here. The people working on our customers' cars are our own team. And the reputation we're building is our own.

But independence doesn't mean we have to operate in isolation.

Through 1TEC, independent workshops can draw upon training, technical information and support from major automotive organisations while retaining the characteristics that make a good independent garage valuable in the first place.

For us, that's a very good combination.

Bringing what we learn back to Ponteland

Ultimately, that's why Meadowfield Auto Centre travelled from Ponteland to Silverstone for 1TEC Auto Hub Connect 2026.

Not for a badge.

Not simply to say we'd been there.

We went because there's always something else to learn.

Some of what we saw at Silverstone may influence equipment we purchase in the future. Some may affect the services we offer. Some ideas may help us improve the way the workshop operates, and conversations with other garage owners may make us look differently at something we've been doing for years.

And some things we'll decide aren't right for Meadowfield at all.

That's part of running an independent business.

Almost ten years after Stephen took over the garage, the principle remains remarkably similar:

keep learning, keep investing and keep raising our standards.

And if that means occasionally leaving Ponteland for a day at Silverstone with some of the best independent garages in the country, we're more than happy to make the journey.