autobody news june 2014 midwestern edition

U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Mo-line, clocked in for her shift at Dave’sAutobody in at 2:59 p.m., one minuteearly, according to reporter Dani Kin-nison, writing for the Galesburg Reg-ister-Mail

As part of her “Cheri on Shift”outreach, Bustos made a stop inGalesburg on April 23 to shadow theshop’s auto workers and do somewelding and discuss the issue of liv-able wages, an issue that’s been asource of discussion locally and na-tionally.

With Illinois’ minimum wage of$8.25 an hour, a full-time workerwould earn a yearly salary of $16,500.For a family of three, the wage liesbelow the federal benchmark forpoverty. That, Bustos said during hervisit, is something that needs tochange.

The 17th Congressional Districtrepresentative said she would be infavor of increasing the federal mini-mum wage to $10.10 an hour, an in-

In November 2013, state Sen. JoeUecker (R-14) introduced Ohio Sen-ate Bill 232, a bill to level the play-ing field for mechanical automotiverepair shops. S.B. 232 extends the ju-risdiction of the Motor Vehicle RepairBoard (MVRB) to anyone who per-forms mechanical repairs on motorvehicles, requires motor vehicle re-pair facilities to register with theboard, creates the Motor Vehicle Re-pair Operator Vendor’s License Sus-pension Fund and makes changes tothe Motor Vehicle Repair and Win-dow Tint Operator Law.

The Automotive Service Associ-ation (ASA) supports S.B. 232.

Under current law, only collisionrepair facilities are required to registerwith the MVRB. This loophole formechanical repairs has allowed “back-yard” operators to undercut legitimatebusinesses by avoiding compliancewith OSHA laws and Ohio’s environ-mental standards. Because many ofthese “backyard” shops do not paytaxes or workers’ benefits, there is aconsiderable price difference betweenthese operators and law-abiding shopowners. S.B. 232 would ensure that allautomotive repair professionals are ad-hering to a uniform set of service andsafety standards.

Collision repairers from six states arepursuing legal action against insurersfor alleged antitrust violations, collu-sion by making deals with preferredbody shops to reduce labor costs, andinterfering with body shops’ businessby dictating how they do repairs.There are also allegations that shopsare being forced to use substandardrepair parts. The body shops are seek-ing damages from the suits that couldamount to damages in the billions. SeeAutobody News May edition for moredetails.

In the federal lawsuit, 14 Indianashops and others have accused StateFarm Insurance and competitors ofextracting “unreasonable and oner-

ous” concessions on vehicle repaircosts. When a shop doesn’t complywith price ceilings, the insurers dis-suade policyholders from choosingthat shop for repairs by telling them ithas quality issues or gets lots of com-plaints, the shops allege in the suitfiled April 2. The 34-page suit allegesinsurers have violated the federalSherman Act, both in price-fixing andthrough boycotting tactics.

Insurance company dictates are“placing the driving public at harm,”says the lawsuit. (Other defendants in-clude Allstate, American Family,Auto-Owners, Erie Insurance, IndianaFarmers Mutual, Liberty Mutual, Na-

Update on Shops’ Accusations of Insurers’ Collusion

Ohio Senate Bill Extends Registration Requirementto Mechanical Repair Shops, Also Anti-Steering Bill

See Minimum Wage, 5

See Shops’ Accusations, Page 13

U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, Visits BodyShop, Talks Minimum Wage

See Ohio Senate Bill, Page 4

Auto body production manager Robby Dunn,center, looks on as U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos,D-East Moline, talks with Dave’s employeeChip Brandenburg in the back of a pickuptruck at the auto body shop. Bustos took ahands-on tour of Dave’s as part of her “Cherion Shift” outreach in the 17th CongressionalDistrict. Photo: Steve Davis/The Register-Mail

A senior citizen living in State Repre-sentative Harvey Santana’s districtcontacted a local media Consumer In-vestigator Unit called “Ruth to therescue” to complain that he had takenhis car to a West Detroit shop and hassince “been stranded for 5 months.”82-year-old James Fails said he usedthe repair shop known as DomesticAnd Import Auto at 9900 Greenfieldin Detroit. Fails said his car was neverthe same afterward, and he’s suing thefacility to get his engine replaced. TheDetroit grandfather’s family wasshocked to learn the shop’s licensehad expired.

“I just shake my head to still seethem open,” Fails granddaughter toldRuth to the Rescue.

“We have a responsibility tomake sure that this senior citizen, whois a grandfather and lives on a fixedincome, doesn’t have to go throughthe experience he just went through,”Santana told Ruth to the Rescue.

Ruth Spencer visited the garageand the owner admitted in March thathe didn’t have a valid license. Backthen, owner Ali Beydoun toldSpencer, he would be getting his li-cense renewed very soon.

The Democrat decided some-thing must be done. He’s now work-ing with several interested parties tocreate legislation that would fine re-pairs shops that do not have a license.The proposal would call for a $5,000fine for the first offense and $7,500for every offense that follows.

“What bothered me is the licenseranges from $50 to $500 a year on asliding scale, so why not just play bythe rules and get it?” said State Rep-resentative Harvey Santana.

What about the shop on Green-field road?

As Ruth to the Rescue startedworking on the story of this legislativeproposal, we wondered if Mr. Bey-

Michigan Lawmaker Proposes Crackdown on Unlicensed Auto Repair Shops

See Crackdown, Page 19

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Adhesive Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 45BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 28Bolt Buster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Buske L.L.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17CCC Information Services . . . . . . . . 2Certified Automotive PartsAssociation (CAPA). . . . . . . . . . . 11

Charles Gabus Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Chief Automotive. . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 19Chrysler on Nicholasville . . . . . . . . . 9Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Dent Tools Direct USA . . . . . . . . . . . 6Equalizer Industries, Inc . . . . . . . . . 14Erhard BMW of Bloomfield Hills . . . 39Erhard BMW of Farmington Hills . . 39Ganley Auto Group, Inc . . . . . . . . . 24GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 35Graham Auto Mall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Griffin Automotive Group . . . . . . . . 29Honda-Acura Wholesale PartsDealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-21

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . 41Jake Sweeney BMW. . . . . . . . . . . . 33Jake Sweeney Chevrolet . . . . . . . . 33Kia of Des Moines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Kia Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . 47Laurel Auto Group of Westmont . . . 31Lexus Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 43Loaner & Rental Insuranceby Northland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Malco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 43Mercedes-Benz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Mitsubishi Wholesale PartsDealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 23Morrison’s Auto Parts . . . . . . . . . . . 10NACE/CARS Expo & Conference. . 27Rare Parts, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Reliable Automotive Equipment, Inc . 12SATA Spray Equipment . . . . . . . . . 25Sherwin-Williams AutomotiveFinishes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 15

Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 34Toyota of Des Moines . . . . . . . . . . . 48Toyota of Grand Rapids . . . . . . . . . 32Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 41Valspar Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Volkswagen Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

West Bend Mutual Insurance . . . . . 16

Inde

xofAdvertisers

ContentsREGIONAL‘Thriving in a Consolidating Marketplace’ Events: IN & IL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

‘Top Secret’ Maaco Sign Creates Buzz Priorto Reopening at New Location onApplegrove in North Canton, OH . . . . . 10

AASP-MN Awards $15,000 in Scholarshipsfor Minnesota-based Programs . . . . . . 12

AASP–MN Prepares for 20th AnnualGolf Outing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

AASP-MO Hosts March and April Collision Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

ASA-Michigan May Meeting. . . . . . . . . . . 12Automechanika Chicago Coming in April ‘15 . 6Cable-Dahmer Investments Pay Off withGM Customer Service Award Helpedby 18,000 sq ft Collision Center . . . . . . . 6

Des Moines, IL, Body Shop is RestoringMajor Sculpture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Effingham, IL, OKs Plans for NewBody Shop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Embezzlement at Body Shop Trial in Baraga County, Michigan, is Extended . . . . . . . 16

Gerber Collision & Glass Opens NewShop in Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Grassy Auto Parts Joins Up with Team PRP . 8Indiana Autobody Association CallsVendors to Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Jordan, MN, Shop Owner Arrestedon Meth Charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Madisonville, KY, Shop is RebuildingAfter Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Max E. Casad, 60, of DeWitt PassesAway Unexpectedly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Michigan Lawmaker Proposes Crackdownon Unlicensed Auto Repair Shops . . . . . 1

Minnesota Women’s Economic SecurityAct Signed Into Law. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

MO’s Show Me Auto Body is LocalBusiness of the Month . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

New DARE Car Unveiled in Rothschild, WI . . 9Ohio Anti-Steering Legislation Scheduledfor First Hearing Before Committee. . . . . 4

Ohio Leads the Nation in Metal Thefts . . . 14Ohio Senate Bill Extends RegistrationRequirement to Mechanical RepairShops, Also Anti-Steering Bill. . . . . . . . . 1

Ohio’s Buckeye Career Center StudentsAlready Appreciate Waterborne . . . . . . 14

Richland CC to Offer Collision RepairTech Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

SAFECars Educational Symposium isMay 30–31 in Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Sisk - A Big Month for ASA-Midwest . . . . 10‘Sound cannons’ May Eventually BlastMissouri Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

State Farm to Raise Rates in IL. . . . . . . . . 12U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline,Visits Body Shop, Talks Minimum Wage . . 1

Update on Shops’ Accusations ofInsurers’ Collusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

What Do You Do When You’re Put Betweenan Underground Fire and a RadioactiveSuperfund Site?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

WI Social Media Protection Act SignedBy Governor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

COLUMNISTSAttanasio - Five Common MarketingMistakes Body Shops Make . . . . . . . . . 32

Basteri - Getting Powered Up at the 2014WIN Annual Educational Conference. . . 30

Franklin - What’s In A Name? PossiblyThe Success Of Your Shop! . . . . . . . . . 24

Luehr - The Process of Winning . . . . . . . . 22Sisk - ABAC Legal Counselor Objects to Use

of Camera Phone Photos for Estimates . 25Sisk - Mike Anderson Visits WMABA toDiscuss Estimating Practices, PartsProcurement and More!. . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Sisk - NABC’s Recent Meetings Focus onBuilding Positive Image for Collision Industry. 37

Sisk - Southern Automotive Repair Conference Held by Six State Associations . . . . . . . . 28

Yoswick - June Retrospective: ASA Position, CAPA, CIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

NATIONALABRA Acquires 24 Collision Centersof America Locations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Advance Auto Profit Up 21%, Acquisition Boosts Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

AMI Taking Applications for $1,000High-Octane Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

AudaExplore Launches Cloud-BasedFully Scalable Enterprise Body ShopManagement Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Auto Body Parts Receive Consumer Discountat Auto Pros USA Parts Retail Website. . 40

Auto Damage Experts Will Perform Inspectionand Verification for Assured PerformanceNetwork’s Certified Repair Shops. . . . . 39

Automotive Aftermarket is Expectedto Grow 3.4% PY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

BASF Recognizes 5 Shops as Shopsof the Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Bloomberg reports Esurance to Take onAdvertising Giants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

BMW Joint Venture to Triple Carbon FiberPlant Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

CAPA Reaches 15 Year Milestonefor Vehicle Test Fits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Car-O-Liner Offers Free Value-AddedDesign Planning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

ETI to Hold Meeting with NACE CARSin Detroit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Ford Dealerships Exceed Enrollment Goalsfor Collision Repair Training on F-150. . 44

Four CARSTAR Shops Were Recognizedby Mitchell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

I-CAR Enhances Website, OtherImprovements Coming. . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

MCR Safety Donates 26,000+ Pairsof Safety Eyeware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

NABC Appoints Dan Young to Boardof Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

NACE | CARS 2014 Agenda Announcedand Online Attendee Registration Opens . 46

NACE Announces CRES/MSO Symposium Agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

NSF Certifies 500 Sheet Metal PartsMade by Gordon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

OSHA Cracking Down on IsocyanateExposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

SCRS Examines Repairer Ability toControl Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

SCRS Member’s E-Catalog . . . . . . . . . . . 43SEMA Show Registration Now Open . . . . 42Sisk - Automotive Aftermarket AssociationSoutheast Finalizes Conference Plans for ‘14 . 34Solera Buys Pittsburgh Glass Works’Insurance Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

South Carolina Shop Files Suit AgainstState Farm Citing Breaches of Contractand Defamation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

US Government Says It Lost $11.2 billionon GM bailout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Valspar Joins National Auto Body Council . . 46Winners of Society of Collision RepairSpecialists Industry Achievement Awards . 36

LKQ’s 2014 GetGreen PromotionWinners Announced. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

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The Ohio House of RepresentativesInsurance Committee held its firsthearing April 28 on House Bill 526(HB 526) that seeks to prohibit insur-ers from requiring a vehicle be re-paired by a specific repair facility, ormake a recommendation without firstbeing asked for one by the consumer.

The bill, sponsored by Representa-tives Matt Lynch (primary) and RobertHagan (cosponsor) has been placed onthe agenda of the Insurance Committeefor its first hearing before the committee.House Rules require the sponsor of a billor resolution to appear at least once be-fore the committee considering the bill orresolution unless he or she has been ex-cused from appearing by the committeechairperson or the Speaker of the House.

Lynch reportedly was inspired tointroduce the legislation after hearingfrom an auto body repair shop ownerin his district. The repair shop wasdropped from an insurer’s list of “pre-ferred providers” after telling his cus-tomers that they have “the right torequest the companies pay for factoryparts,” according to a local report.

“He got kicked off the [DRP] listbecause he’s being honest to his cus-tomers,” Lynch said, according to thereport. “With this bill, there won’t be

any preferred lists and the policy hasto clearly state one way or anotherwhether you get these aftermarketparts of factory-approved parts.”

HB 526 would enact Section3937.381 of the Ohio Revised Codeas follows:● No insurer shall require a claimant onan automobile insurance policy to havethe claimant’s vehicle repaired at a partic-ular repair shop or by a particular person.● No insurer shall recommend or sug-gest that repairs of the claimant’s ve-hicle be completed at a particularrepair shop or by a particular personunless the claimant requests such arecommendation or suggestion.● A violation of this section is an unfairand deceptive act or practice in the busi-ness of insurance under sections 3901.19to 3901.26 of the Revised Code.

The legislation is similar to meas-ures enacted in a few other states thatprohibit insurance companies from re-quiring repairs be made a specific col-lision repair shop, while providing themwith the ability to make a recommen-dation to a customer that would like onefrom the insurer. Missing, however, isa common requirement for customerdisclosure that they have a right tochoose a repair facility.

Ohio Anti-Steering Legislation Scheduledfor First Hearing Before Committee

Collision Systems and 1CollisionNetwork announced two “Thriving ina Consolidating Marketplace” work-shops, will take place at the Wingateby Wyndham in Indianapolis, IN, onJune 10th, 2014 and Chicago, IL, onJune 12th, 2014 at the Holiday Inn-Rolling Meadows. The program is de-signed for dealer, single and multiplelocation collision shop owners, man-agers, and marketing staff who are in-terested in discovering new ways tothrive in a consolidated, DRP, web,social, and mobile world.

Attendees will be introduced tostrategies, tactics, and technology thatwill help them be more successful ingaining market share, and competingwith the regional and national chains.Attendees will also learn how theycan use the latest sales, marketing,customer retention and referral tech-nologies and techniques to capture,service and retain more customers,revenue and profit in a consolidatingmarketplace.

Attendees will receive 14 creditsfrom the Automotive Management In-stitute (AMI) toward their AccreditedAutomotive Manger Designation(AAM). Registration is $179.00 untilregistration closes June 5th.

‘Thriving in a ConsolidatingMarketplace’ Events: IN & IL

ASA has been supportive of thisbill since its inception. ASA-Ohioworked with Uecker and the mechani-cal repair industry in Ohio to create thelegislation that is currently before theOhio Senate chamber. It is important tonote that S.B. 232 does not require ad-ditional licensure, it simply ensuresthat legitimate businesses face faircompetition. It also provides more in-formation to the consumer, protectingthem from unfair business practices.

ASA encourages Ohio’s me-chanical repairers to go to the ASAlegislative website, www.TakingThe-Hill .com, to send a letter to the Ohiolegislature in support of S.B. 232.

Continued from Cover

Ohio Senate Bill

The SAFECars Educational Sympo-sium will be held at the SchaumbergConvention Center in Schaumberg,Illinois. The Alliance of AutomotiveService Providers of Illinois (AASPI)is hosting this two day event.

SAFECars: One Voice—Colli-sion Repairers for Consumer Choice,is a network of collision industry andlegal professionals who abide by thismission: “To provide a resource forcollision training and business skillsso every consumer can receive aproper repair by a shop with theknowledge necessary to be paid forall the parts and procedures requiredfor the repair.” The line up of speak-ers highlighting the two day event in-clude:

● Jim Hood- Mississippi Attor-ney General and President Elect ofthe National Association of AttorneysGeneral● John Eaves Jr, Attorney at Law,Jackson, Mississippi, John Moseley,Clinton Body Shop, Clinton, Missis-sippi , Ray Gunder, Gunder’s AutoCenter, Lakeland, Florida and BrentGeoghan, Attorney at Law, Lakeland,Florida will give details regardinglawsuits that have been filed through-out the country, starting in Missis-

sippi. Eaves Jr’s message is clear, “intoday’s world, the collision repairer’sability to complete a proper repair, inspite of insurer intrusiveness to con-trol costs, is at startling proportions.”● Patrick McGuire, Attorney at Law,Chicago, Illinois, a respected advo-cate of collision repairers● Gary Wano Jr, G.W. Wano andSons Collision Repair, OklahomaCity, will introduce ‘Manufacturer’sCertification Expense’● Ford Motor Company introducesthe new aluminum 2015 F-150● Desmond Clark, former tight-endfor the Chicago Bears ‘What itmeans to have a great coach andmentor.’● Michael E. Thornton, Congres-sional Medal of Honor Recipient –Navy Seal Team One “The team isabove self—always”

The complete agenda and regis-tration is available online.

AASP Illinois President JeffKallemeyn, 4th generation owner ofKallemeyn Collision in Lemon, IL,and Association Board Member BillByrne, America’s Auto Body are or-ganizing this event along with JohnMosely and the Mississippi CollisionRepair Association.

SAFECars Educational Symposium isMay 30–31 in Illinois

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Cable-Dahmer Investments Pay Off with GM CustomerService Award Helped by 18,000 sq ft Collision CenterGeneral Motors Co. awarded Cable-Dahmer Buick GMC Cadillac in In-dependence the Cadillac MasterDealer award.

The award recognizes dealer-ships that consistently demonstratethe highest level of customer service.Less than 7 percent of dealershipsnationwide win the award, accordingto James Dornbrook, reporting forthe Kansas City Business Journal.

Cable-Dahmer acquired BroomeCadillac in August 2012, then mergedit into Galen Boyer Buick/GMC,which it bought about the same time.It then invested $2.2 million to convert

the former Broome Cadillac buildinginto a 18,000-square-foot collision re-pair center, freeing up space for addi-tional repair bays at its dealership

operations in Independence. It en-abled the company to expand itsmaintenance and repair capabili-ties, leading to better customerservice.

“The Cable-Dahmer group hasowned this franchise for less thantwo years, and it has been one ofour goals to go above and beyondcustomers’ expectations,” Gen-eral Manager Dan Boyer said ina release. “I think this award be-longs to the entire staff that dedi-cated themselves to making thishappen.”

Richland CC to Offer Collision Repair Tech ProgramStarting this fall, Richland CommunityCollege in Decatur, IL, will be offer-ing degree programs in two growingindustry fields, namely Collision Re-pair Technology and Diesel Medium/Heavy Truck Technology.

“Technology is changing, jobs arechanging, and there is a huge, hugeneed for workers with advanced skillsand certifications in these areas,” saidJack Adwell, dean of business andtechnology at Richland. “People goinginto these industries can be pretty as-sured that it is not going to be that hardto find a job.”

For the local area, the projectedemployment growth for automotivebody repairers from 2012 to 2022 is13.27 percent, just above the nationalprojection of 13 percent, according todata from the U.S. Bureau of LaborStatistics. Employment growth fordiesel technicians and mechanics isprojected to be 8.7 percent for the areaand 9 percent nationally. Adwell saidaverage industry growth is about 6percent. The growing demand comes,in part, from the aging work force inboth fields as the majority of laborersare in their low-to-mid 50s, he added.

“In five to 10 years, they arelooking to lose a massive part of thework force because of retirement, andthat could leave a huge gap in our em-

ployment,” he said. The courses inboth programs are designed to followthe National Automotive TechniciansEducation Foundation standards, andAdwell expects both programs to re-ceive NATEF accreditation by nextspring.

Both will be located in the Work-force Development Institute, a 45,000square-foot building that will housethe college’s auto body, auto technol-ogy, diesel technology and buildingtrades programs along with a fitnessand wellness center.

The institute is a part of a $16-million project that includes buildingadditions and renovations. Construc-tion began in April 2013, and Adwellsaid they hope to start moving pro-gram equipment into the building inearly June.

Robyn McCoy, executive direc-tor of Workforce Investment Solu-tions, expects the area to see jobgrowth in the warehousing industryand transportation industry logisticssector.

The center served about 30,000job seekers last year and spent morethan $600,000 in wage reimburse-ments during the last two years. As anincentive for employers, the centercan reimburse up to 50 percent of anemployee’s wage for up to 13 weeks.

Automechanika Chicago Coming in April 2015The North American automotive after-market is getting another dedicatedtrade show. Messe Frankfurt G.m.b.H.is planning the inaugural Auto-mechanika Chicago for April 24-26,2015, at Chicago’s McCormick Place,and then hold the show bienniallythereafter. Frankfurt, Germany-basedMesse Frankfurt is partnering with Ad-vanstar Communications Inc., theSanta Monica, CA-based trade showorganizer and trade magazine pub-lisher. The organizers are claiming Au-tomechanika Chicago will be thelargest U.S. trade show dedicated tohigh-end technical training and man-agement classes for automotive tech-nicians and shop owners. Theorganizers are hoping to leverage theAutomechanika brand with Ad-vanstar’s Motor Age and Auto BodyRepair Network automotive publica-tions for the service repair and colli-sion repair segments.

“Our combined experience inlaunching successful events onlystrengthens our ability to service thisuntapped niche within the automotiveaftermarket industry,” said DetlefBraun, member of the executiveboard of Messe Frankfurt, at a pressconference in Chicago May 1 to an-nounce the event.

Michael Johannes, brand man-

ager of Automechanika, said theshow’s shop-friendly environment“will allow visitors, from technicians toshop owners, to really get a feel for thenew product offerings through the var-ious demonstrations, managementseminars and technical training ses-sions.”

The organizers and the city ofChicago are hoping to attract 20,000attendees, Chicago Mayor RahmEmanuel said at the press confer-ence. The organizers said they se-lected Chicago for its central locationgood access to road and air transportnetwork. In announcing the show, theorganizing partners noted the U.S.automotive aftermarket has grown onaverage more than 3.4 percent annu-ally of late, fueled by an aging vehi-cle population where the averagevehicle age is 11.4 years.

“Automechanika Chicago willbe designed specifically for shopowners and technicians as we seek tomake it the largest training event everproduced in the U.S. marketplace,”said Chris DeMoulin, AdvanstarAuto Group’s executive vice presi-dent.

Advanstar Communications has aportfolio of more than 50 trade shows,100 conferences, 30 publications and200 electronic products and websites.

Cable-Dahmer Auto Group Inc.’s renovations tocreate an 18,000-square-foot collision repaircenter help it garner a big national award fromGeneral Motors Co.




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IABA has released the followingstatement: Parts Vendors are awareof the litigation shops are getting in-volved with across the Nation, butyou may not be aware of another lit-igation that is a National Class Ac-tion against the damages PartsTrader, APU Solutions, any othermandated parts procurement pro-gram, and State Farm and others re-quiring their usage has causedvendors on and off the program ?Last year when mandated parts pro-curement programs came into the in-dustry, we knew there would be thosedamaged in many ways, but since ithad not happened yet, there wereonly anticipated damages. That isnow changed, and many have beendamaged. A National Class Actionlitigation is in process, and any ven-dor regardless if they are currentlyon one of the mandated parts pro-curement programs or not, may bepart of it. Even suppliers that the in-tentions of State farm has notreached you, Glass, Paint & Materi-als, Towing, PDR, etc. should look atthis litigation as a prevention tool aswell. Contact Marvin Windham,Benchmark Chrysler, at: (205) 368-5206 to learn more. See cover story.

Indiana Autobody Associa-tion Calls Vendors to Action

Employees at Hawkins Auto Body at77 Bassett Avenue in Madisonville,KY, said they’ve made major re-pairs from the fire that rippedthrough their office space and partsbuilding March 25. Employees saymost of the business wasn’t im-pacted by the fire, but crucial com-puter systems and car parts did haveto be replaced. Roofing crews re-placed sheeting and employees saythey’re surprised day-to-day opera-tions were not affected. They shouldbe moved back into the renovatedoffice space in about two weeks.

Madisonville, KY, Shop isRebuilding After Fire

Grassy Auto Parts, located in WestLiberty, Kentucky, is the newest au-tomotive recycler to join with theTeam PRP nationwide network ofrecyclers. This current addition in-creases the Team PRP membershipto an 139 locations across the coun-try. In addition to their primary lo-cation in West Liberty, Grassy ownstwo additional locations: BluegrassAuto Parts is located in Lexington,Kentucky and Auto Parts Outlet isfound in South Charleston, WestVirginia. Between 3,000 and 5,000vehicles are kept at these locations,and close to 50 employees workwith the company. “Grassy AutoParts has an excellent reputation inthe Kentucky and West Virginia areaas a highquality, customer serviceoriented auto parts recycler,” com-mented Charlie Martin, Team PRP’sNorth American Regional Director.“Their business model aligns wellwith the vision and high standards ofthe Team PRP organization. The ad-dition of their three stores extendscoverage for the Kentucky and WestVirginia repair community.” Firstopened in 1959 the company is nowrun by Tim Keller and his daughter,Kristin Allen.

Grassy Auto Parts Joins Upwith Team PRP

The Boyd Group Inc. has an-nounced the opening of a new loca-tion in Mundelein, Illinois. Therepair center is approximately15,700 square feet, it was previ-ously operated under the name ofPerformance Restoration and Col-lision Center and now operatesunder the Gerber Collision & Glasstrade name.

“We are pleased to have estab-lished this additional location as itwill help us better serve customersin the northern Chicago suburbanmarket,” said Tim O’Day, Presi-dent and COO of the Boyd Group’sU.S. operations.

“This regional concentrationstrengthens brand recognition andgrows our market share by increas-ing repeat traffic and referrals. Weanticipate several further additionsto our portfolio and are on track tomeet our targeted growth rate of 6to 10% through single store-addi-tions.”

Boyd Group Operates in 15U.S. states under the trade namesGerber Collision & Glass(http://www.gerbercollision.com),Hansen Collision and Collision Re-vision.

Gerber Collision & GlassOpens New Shop in Illinois

Max Edward Casadwas born July 12,1953, in DeWitt, IA, to Glen and De-lora (Wilms) Casad of Wheatland,Iowa. At an early age, Max learned theauto body trade from his father, whoowned and operated Wheatland AutoBody. Max went on to become theowner and operator of DeWitt AutoBody and Casad Towing. Max believedin giving back to the community andsupporting local business and gave self-lessly, including being an organ donor.

Max E. Casad, 60, of DeWittPasses Away Unexpectedly


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New DARE Car’s Paintjob Unveiled in Rothschild, WI

A new tool added to the arsenal in thefight against drug abuse is attractingplenty of attention as it travels down thestreets of Rothschild, WI, according tothe Wausau Daily Herald’s ShereenSiewert. The 1996 Ford Crown Victo-ria has been transformed from a blackand white squad car to a brightlypainted, rolling advertisement for thecommunity’s Drug Abuse ResistanceEducation, or DARE, program. Thenew DARE car replaces a 1992 IsuzuRodeo used by DARE officers duringthe past several years.

“The kids are really paying atten-tion to it,” said Rothschild Police Of-ficer Jeff Zwicky, who teaches theDARE curriculum to about 200 stu-dents each year. “It’s great to see thekids get so excited about the DAREprogram. By drawing attention to theprogram, kids are more likely to wantto get involved.”

Rothschild Police Chief JeremyHunt said the makeover on the squadcar was a two-year project made pos-sible through the generosity of severalRothschild businesses that donatedsupplies and manpower. BRB AutoBody technicians designed and com-pleted the exterior repair, while the in-terior was transformed at PerfectUpholstery.

“Anybody that knows anythingabout vehicles can just imagine howmuch time and materials it takes tohave an award-winning paint job asthe one we have on this vehicle,”Hunt said.

The DARE program, offered tofifth-grade students at three Roth-schild schools, aims to prevent drugabuse by teaching students how to re-sist peer pressure and learn to say“no” to drugs. The program, which isoffered at select schools nationwide,focuses on building self esteem andhealthy social skills, Zwicky said.

‘Sound cannons’ May Eventually Blast Missouri DriversMissouri lawmakers were somewhatsurprised when a strange conceptarose at a joint House-Senate confer-ence committee on the fiscal year2015 budget. They were even moresurprised by the evasive answer theMissouri Department of Transporta-tion provided.

Senate Appropriations ChairmanKurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, saidconstituents called him about these“Long Range Acoustic Devices,” orLRADs, and he read an article aboutthem. In essence, they blast loudwarnings at oncoming traffic, order-ing drivers to slow down. Schaeferand other lawmakers on the commit-tee had never heard of these devices,which are also used by police andmilitary personnel to disperse protestsand deter pirates.

When department officials werecalled up for questioning, they dancedaround the topic. First, they had neverheard of “sound cannons.” Then, theydidn’t know how many they had.Then, they weren’t sure how muchthey cost.

“The evasive answer was trou-bling,” Sen. Ryan Silvey, R-KansasCity, said. “We are elected to hold themaccountable ... If they screw up, wehave to answer for them at the ballotbox.”

Even after some poking andprodding, the answers were unclear.Department officials said they haveone, maybe two, LRADs and thatthey cost about $25,000 a piece.

Department officials said theysidelined the pilot project, for now,because public perception “got out ofhand.”

Turns out the department offi-cials present at the hearing were in-correct. Although MoDOT had plansof leasing a couple LRADs as part ofa pilot project this summer, the equip-ment was unavailable, spokeswomanHolly Dentner said.

Dentner said the department did-n’t intend to frighten anyone and was-n’t sure if the LRADs would be usedin the future.

Schaefer thinks the project shouldremain on the sidelines for good. Adriver lacking confidence might getblasted by the sound and drive into themedian or another car, he said.

“This seems to be a horrible idea,”Schaefer said.

BRB Auto Body owners Bill Yach, front fromleft, his brother Randy, and nephew Taylor;Rothschild police officer Jeff Zwicky, back left,and Rothschild Police Chief Jeremy Hunt posewith the new DARE car at BRB Auto Body inRothschild. Perfect Upholstery, Loren’s AutoBody, Carquest, Pomp’s Tire, Broadway Fordand Andy’s Towing contributed to the effort.

LRAD in use by the Navy

April was quite a busy month for ASA-Midwest. In addition to holding sixchapter meetings, the association alsocelebrated two chapter kickoffs inTulsa and Oklahoma City, following onthe heels of their recent expansions intoLittle Rock, AR and Lincoln, NE. Ex-ecutive Director Sheri Hamilton says,“ASA-Midwest is excited about thenew chapters being formed… Thesenew chapters demonstrate our expan-sion into four new states as we bringtraining, networking and mentoringprograms into the reach of our mem-bers.”

Both chapter kickoffs were heldin conjunction with Automotive Serv-ice Industry Roundtable Events whichgave ASA-Midwest leaders a chanceto provide industry-related informationand to discuss how the association canbest serve their current and futuremembers. The Tulsa Chapter Kickoffwas held on Monday, April 28 at 7-8:30PM at the Tulsa Technology Cen-

ter in Broken Arrow, OK, while theOklahoma City Chapter Kickoff washeld on Tuesday, April 29 at O’ReillyAuto Parts in Oklahoma City, OK.

On Tuesday, April 15, threechapters held their monthly meetings.The Springfield Chapter sponsored“Supporting the Future of the Indus-try” at Ozark Technical College inSpringfield, MO. The goal of the net-working event was to introduce stu-dents seeking an automotive servicecareer to local independent shop own-ers and managers. Meanwhile, theCentral MO chapter met at Bandana’sBBQ in Columbia, MO for “InteriorComfort Controls Training,” pre-sented by ACDelco. The Kansas CityChapter met at CARQUEST DC inShawnee, KS for “Living Up to thePromise of Your Marketing: 10 tipsfor narrowing the gap between the ex-perience you promise vs. the one youdeliver” which was presented by Jon-nie Wright, CEO of Buyosphere.

On Tuesday, April 22, the DesMoines Chapter met at Mama Lacona’sin Urbandale, IA for “Selling the BigTicket Training,” presented by KenWilliamson of Jasper Engines andTransmissions, and on the same night,the Lincoln Chapter of ASA-Midwestgathered at Midtown Hy-Vee in Lin-coln, NE for an important update on“New OSHA Changes Impact RepairShops Beginning December 2013.” TheLittle Rock Chapter discussed “The 11Biggest Mistakes Shop Owners Make”via video training by Cecil Bullardwhen they met on Thursday, April 24 atWhole Hog Café in Little Rock, AR.

Though having so many chapterskeeps ASA-Midwest constantly mov-ing, Hamilton knows that the associa-tion’s value is in aiding members toimprove their businesses by providingthe necessary knowledge to do so.“Our training events support the inde-pendent service industry for both themechanical and collision providers.

We look forward to growing our colli-sion membership so that we can bringadditional programs into areas that willmeet their specific needs. All of ourASA-Midwest chapters meet monthly,with some taking the summer monthsoff. ASA-Midwest will bring manage-ment and technical training programsinto these areas to help provide supportand training to our members.”

As part of their continued efforts,ASA-Midwest will be kicking off theirShop Owner Support (SOS) Groupsthis fall to bring small groups of shopowners together on a monthly basis.“These SOS groups are a benefit avail-able to ASA-Midwest members andprovide the mentoring, networking andaccountability that many independentservice providers need,” Hamilton ex-plains.

ASA-Midwestwww.asa-midwest.org816-781-5801


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Craig Mullett has moved his Maacocollision repair and auto paintingfranchise from Jackson Township to409 Applegrove St. NW, North Can-ton, OH. The news reveals what wasadvertised by a Top Secret sign tanta-lizingly placed outside the North Can-ton location.

“We had a ‘Top Secret’ sign herein the building when we got it, andtried to do something with it. It mightnot be the prettiest answer, but that’sall it was ... just trying to create abuzz,” said Jared Mullett, Craig’sson and sales manager. The planworked. The Mulletts said about 10people a day during the week havestopped to ask what was going in thebuilding.

Craig Mullett bought the Maacofranchise after it was dormant for ayear, and kept it in the Jackson Town-ship building it had been located.

“The guy who had it, had it for30 years and it was shut down be-cause he retired,” Craig Mullett said.“We did a reopen and kept it in thebuilding he had because he owned itand the equipment. This was maybethe smartest thing we did. We spentthe last four to five years running it,and building up capital to buy a new

building and move it here.”Mullett bought the building on

Applegrove for $730,000, accordingto auditor records.

Starting a Maaco franchise fromscratch would have been much morecostly than reopening one. Moving toNorth Canton on Applegrove, theMulletts believe, will increase visibil-ity and traffic.

“We wanted to be in North Can-ton,” Craig said. “We’ve been lookingto get into more of a retail space. Halfof our business comes from retail. It’sgreat because we wanted to be a partof the North Canton community.”

Craig Mullett worked in auto-motive software development beforehe got the bug to become his ownboss.

“I’ve always said, the rat racewill survive without another rat,”Craig said.

‘Top Secret’ Maaco Sign Creates Buzz Prior to Reopening atNew Location on Applegrove in North Canton, OH

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The Alliance of Automotive ServiceProviders of Minnesota (AASP-MN)awarded $15,000 in scholarships tohelp post-secondary automotive stu-dents pay for tuition during the 2014-15 school year. The scholarships are inthe amount of $1,000 per student andwere made possible by a successfulfundraising drive within the AASP-MN membership, as well as a generousdonation from the Minnesota State I-CAR Committee. All recipients will beentering the second year of a NATEF-certified automotive program based inMinnesota.● Anthony Ammann, Century Col-lege, White Bear Lake AutomotiveService Technology program● Tyler Anderson, Hennepin Tech-nical College, Brooklyn Park – AutoBody Collision Repair program● Courtney Bisbee, Lake SuperiorCollege, Duluth Automotive ServiceTechnology program● Matthew Bisbee, Lake SuperiorCollege, Duluth Auto Body CollisionRepair program● Tyler Bode, South Central Tech-nical College, No. Mankato – Auto-motive Service Technology program● Luis Garcia, Ridgewater Col-lege, Willmar Automotive ServiceTechnology program

● Levi Gustafson, Riverland Com-munity College, Austin AutomotiveService Technology program● Tyler Hoyles, Dakota CountyTechnical College, Rosemount Auto-motive Service Technology program● Austin Rikhus, MN State Com-munity & Technical College, Moor-head Automotive Service Technologyprogram● Michael Torgerson, Pine Techni-cal College, Pine City AutomotiveService Technology program● Seth Schure, MN State CollegeSoutheast Technical, Winona AutoBody Collision Repair program● Alex Winder, Dakota CountyTechnical College, Rosemount AutoBody Collision Repair program● Joseph Wright, Dakota CountyTechnical College, Rosemount AutoBody Collision Repair program● Peter Yang, Hennepin TechnicalCollege, Brooklyn Park Auto BodyCollision Repair program● Christopher Yanish, HennepinTechnical College, Eden Prairie AutoBody Collision Repair program

Twenty-seven students from 12schools applied for the scholarships.Applications were reviewed by a com-mittee of industry representatives,with consideration given to scholastic

achievement, education and careergoals, financial need and written rec-ommendations.

The scholarship awards are thecenterpiece of AASP-MN’s Automo-tive Education Fund, which was estab-lished to provide financial resources tosupport automotive students, enhanceautomotive programs and raise aware-ness of career opportunities in the in-dependent automotive service industry.

The Alliance of Automotive Serv-ice Providers of Minnesota (AASP-MN) is an association of independently-owned automotive service businessesand industry suppliers dedicated to im-proving the state’s automotive serviceindustry and the success of its members.

AASP-MN Awards $15,000 in Scholarships for Minnesota-based ProgramsDate: Wednesday, May 20Agenda; A business cost that oc-curred that potentially will decreaseyour net profit by over $5K forevery $1M in business you do in2014● Are your final invoices “StateCompliant?”● Aluminum Repair and its affect onpaint materials● ASA Michigan Website and Toolsfor the industry● “How to prevent yourself fromlosing $5,000+(Net Profit) in 2014versus 2013 for every $1M in Busi-ness”

ASA-Michigan May Meeting

State Farm, Illinois’ biggest car in-surer, plans to raise its auto rates inthe state by an average of 2.3 percentstarting May 26, according to a fil-ing. “Auto insurance rates in Illinoiswere adjusted to better reflect chang-ing claims costs,” namely a rise incar repair costs, said Missy Dundov,spokeswoman for the Bloomington-based home and auto insurer. Theexact price change will depend onthe coverages that policyholdershave, where they live, what kind ofcar they drive, how the car is used,and who drives it, she said.

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Pat Johnson, a Martinsville, IN,shop owner of Brothers Body & Paintnext to IN 39, was cut from StateFarm’s Select Service Program lastNovember, unable to live with the itsrequirement that he buy vehicle partsthrough the online PartsTrader site in-stead of using his own longtime sup-pliers. Now Johnson says he is feelingthe pain of losing business from StateFarm. Revenue at Brothers Body &Paint has fallen by $100,000 so farthis year from his former $2 millionannual gross on repairing about 60 ve-hicles a month. Johnson has said hemay need to cut his 12-person staff,but he’s adamant about not lettingState Farm dictate his parts-buying.

“They’re a force to be reckonedwith. You don’t want to argue withthem. But sometimes you have tostand your ground,” he said.

“They trusted me for 20 years,and now I’m nothing,” Johnson saidof State Farm. Johnson has repairedcars in Martinsville since 1982, said

insurers are continually expandingtheir lists of work they won’t fully payfor. That included no longer payingfull cost for installing corrosion pro-tection inside a bumper and doing finesanding on body panel paint jobs, hesaid.

“They don’t tell you not to (per-form certain routine repair tasks),”Johnson said. “They just don’t pay forit. If they went to Wal-Mart, they’dpick up 10 things and they’d pay forsix. That’s the way they operate,” saidJohnson, who has joined the Indianalawsuit against the insurance compa-nies.

When insurers don’t cover thefull cost of repairs, “it’s such a diffi-cult thing to pass on to a customer,”said Kevin Wells, who operates Qual-ity Collision Inc. in Bloomington andis a plaintiff in the suit. Wells said heoften just eats the cost the insurancecompany won’t pay. “I’m taking it inthe shorts by about $6 an hour forevery job I do,” Wells said.

Johnson said he’d be happy if in-surance companies dropped their ap-proved-shop lists and repair mandatesand paid for claims without dictatingthrough reimbursements how bodyshops like his should do their job.

“I don’t tell them how to sell in-surance,” he said. “All I want to do isfix cars.”

Surveys Also Point of ContentionBody shops say State Farm conductssurveys of the going labor rate shopscharge in a given area. The data andmethodology are not disclosed, shopscomplain. “Shops are simply requiredto blindly accept State Farm’s pro-nouncements regarding these mat-ters.”

The insurer attempts to prohibitshops from discussing the labor ratesthey provide as part of the surveys,“asserting any discussion may consti-tute illegal price fixing.”

Shops that complain the laborrate is inadequate are often told theyare the only body shop in the area tosay so and that they don’t conform tothe “market rate.”

In fact, “State Farm knew multi-ple shops had attempted to raise theirlabor rates and advised State Farm ofsuch,” the suit alleges.

The shops allege insurers havefailed to abide by industry standardsfor auto repairs and repair-estimatingdatabases. At the same time, many in-surers pressure shops to reduce costs

by using recycled parts. But used partslike doors can require hours of addi-tional labor to be made to fit properlyand to be reconditioned.

Ultimately, shops are required toeither make “less than quality” repairsor suffer a financial loss. Taking short-cuts raises the specter of safety issues,but once a vehicle is repaired, it’s noteasy to spot problems such as improperwelds that might be hidden by seamsealer.

“The guys can’t make it. It’s notthat they are bad businesspeople,” saidScott Blake, of Blake’s Carstar Colli-sion Center in LaPorte and presidentof the IABA.

Insurers RespondThe insurance companies have re-sponded in kind in the media, defend-ing their DRP programs as a key wayto keep premiums on auto policiesunder control.

“These lawsuits are another at-tempt to undermine programs insurershave put together” to hold down vehi-cle repair costs, said Bob Passmore, aspokesman for the Property CasualtyInsurers Association of America, whichrepresents insurance companies.


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The Buckeye Career Center vocationalschool in New Philadelphia was one ofthe first schools in Ohio to introducethe PPG Envirobase Waterborne PaintSystem when the program imple-mented it in 2012, said auto collisionrepair instructor Jeff Newsome.

The school has already been teach-ing and using solvent-borne refinishing,and with the addition of a water-base

paint system, Newsome explained, it al-lows the students to keep up with thegrowing popularity of the product.

“The reason we have both sys-tems is because some shops still usethe solventborne and other shops wentgreen and went with the waterborne,”said Newsome. “Waterborne is starting

to become popular because it’s goodfor the environment.”

The new system provides a saferlearning environment for the students be-cause the water-base paint producesfewer pollutants that can enter the air orbe inhaled. But that’s not the only reasonthe water-base paint is being utilized.

“When we clean out our paintguns, we are reusing the water to cleanout the gun, so that’s cutting down onthe hazardous chemicals that are beingtaken out,” said Newsome. “What itcosts us to remove a 55 gallon drum oflacquer thinner, we’re reusing five gal-lons of water to clean a paint gun. It’snot costing us anything to clean it.”

Newsome said that most vehiclemanufacturing factories and area repairshops are already using water-basedpaint. “We want to stay ahead of thetechnology curve,” said Newsome. “Wewant the kids to be versatile. Whatevershop they go in, they can work with wa-terborne or solventborne.”

Students in the program receivetraining with the solvent-borne systemas juniors and work hands-on with thewaterborne paint their senior year.

Dover’s Cody Troyer, a senior atBuckeye Career Center, said he prefersworking with the waterborne system.

“I find that when I use (the water-borne paint), it sprays on the car a lot

easier than the solvent does,” he said.“I can spray more coats at a faster pacethan solvent because it doesn’t take aslong for the water base to dry.”

Newsome said when comparingsolventborne and waterborne, air flowis key to drying the paint. “How muchair flow you have depends on howquick it dries,” he said.

Troyer explained that when usingsolvent, a single coat will be applied,and then that layer has to dry before an-other coat can be added. With the wa-terborne, once a coat is on the vehicle,the paint gun can be used to spray airover the material to speed up the dryingprocess. Additionally, the preparationwork and technique for the waterbornesystem are unlike the solvent system.

“For the panel prep, finer sandpa-per is needed,” said Newsome. “Andwe’ve found that it’s better for colormatching, so there’s less paint that hasto be used.”

Troyer said having the opportu-nity to learn both the waterborne andsolventborne systems is advantageousto his career.

“I feel it gives me a better experi-ence,” he said. “I can go into shops andtell them I can use both types of paint.”

Newsome said, “This is whatkeeps our students relevant and em-ployable in an ever-changing field.”

Ohio’s Buckeye Career Center Students Already Appreciate Waterborne

Auto collision repair program senior Zack Burleydemonstrates a spraying technique on a carusing the PPG Envirobase Waterborne Paint Sys-tem during class. Photo: Jim Cummings

Ohio continues to lead the nation inmetal thefts, with 1,446 insuranceclaims made last year, according toa new report. A National InsuranceCrime Bureau report releasedWednesday said the state reportedmore than 4,000 claims from 2011through 2013 from homes and busi-nesses, nearly all copper thefts.That’s about a third more claimsthan second-place Texas and about40 percent more than third-placeCalifornia, according to TheColumbus Dispatch. The 1,446claims last year in Ohio is about flatwith the number in 2012 and upfrom 1,232 in 2011. Thieves havestripped sheets of metal fromrooftops, stolen decorations fromcemeteries, ripped apart air condi-tioners for the copper coils andstripped homes of wiring and pip-ing, then sold the pieces for scrap.Mary Bonelli, spokeswoman forthe Ohio Insurance Institute, saysit’s hard to say why the state leadsin this category, but she speculatesthat law enforcement agencies heremay do a better job of tracking suchthefts. “I don’t think there is a one-or two-sentence answer,” said FrankScafidi, a crime bureau spokesman.

Ohio Leads the Nation inMetal Thefts

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

On Tuesday, June 17, AASP-MN willhost their 20th Annual Golf Outing at3M’s Tartan Park, located in LakeElmo, MN. Judell Anderson, Execu-tive Director of AASP-MN, is “look-ing forward to a good event. Peoplealways enjoy it and come out to showtheir support.”

Check-in for the four-personscramble begins at 11:30AM, and thetournament will commence at noonwith a shotgun start. The cost of par-ticipation is $100 per golfer which in-cludes greens fees for 18 holes, use ofgolf carts, the social hour followingthe tournament and eligibility to win

prizes and contests. Contests will beheld for closest to the pin, longestputt, longest drive, hole-in-one andmore.

After golfing, attendees canenjoy a light dinner which providesnetworking opportunities and gen-eral fun for all, followed by anawards banquet. Anderson notes that“though attendance dropped duringthe recession, it has increased overthe past few years, and we expect itto continue increasing this year.” Infact, AASP-MN expects over 150shop owners, employees, vendorsand insurance representatives to jointhem for an exciting day of golfingand socializing.

Vendors have the opportunity tosponsor a hole for $300, and AASP-MNencourages sponsors to offer contestsand provisions for golfers. Although thefunds raised from the golf tournamenthaven’t been specifically designated,AASP-MN also conducts a voluntaryraffle during the event, and the proceedsfrom the raffle benefit the association’sscholarship fund.

To register for the event, completethe registration form found on AASP-MN’s website (www.aaspmn.org), andsubmit it to AASP of MN, 1970Oakcrest Ave, Suite 102, Roseville,MN 55113. For questions or additionalinformation, contact AASP-MN at 612-623-1110 or [email protected].


AASP–MN Prepares for 20th Annual Golf Outing

crease of $2.85. According to the pro-posal, upon passage the minimumwage would increase over 95 centsannually over the course of threeyears.

“In the district I represent, weborder two other states — the west-ern part of the district borders Iowa,where the minimum wage is less andthe northern part borders Wisonsinwhere the minimum wage is less,”she said. “So we actually think thishelps level the playing field to raise itto $10.10, and we think it’s better forbusinesses.”

Shop owner Dave Dunn, whoserves on Bustos’ small business ad-visory council, said paying livablewages creates a better workplace cul-ture.

“It’s just a matter of dignity, peo-ple deserve a living wage,” Dunnsaid. “Not only do we pay above min-imum wage, the least anybody wouldmake here is $10 an hour, and thenwe pay time-and-a-half for overtimeand have terrific benefits.”

Bustos said by increasing the fed-eral minimum wage, nearly 4.5 millionAmericans would move out of poverty.

“If you’re working full-time youshouldn’t be living in poverty, and thereality of it right now is if you’rebeing paid minimum wage and work-ing 40 hours a week, you are living inpoverty,” she said. “We just think itshould be better than that.”


Minimum Wage

The Effingham, IL, City Plan Com-mission okayed site plans for a newauto body repair shop May 13. Theauto body repair shop, to be knownas J and R Collision Centers, will belocated along the west side of USRoute 45, across from the AirportRoad. The 11,200 square foot facil-ity will be housed on a three-acretract now owned by Ryan and JanetJones. The son and father team ofJake and Roger Buhnerkempe willown and operate the business.

Commission members also ap-proved a subdivision plat of theproperty and recommended rezon-ing the parcel from non urban tolight industrial, which City BuildingOfficial Bruce Devall said conformswith the zoning trend in the area.The City Council has the final sayon the rezoning of the property.

Effingham, IL, OKs Plans forNew Body Shop


Cynthia Wadaga is on trial accusedof embezzling more than $20,000from the L’Anse body shop where sheworked over a two year period.Wadaga worked at First Choice AutoBody in L’Anse from June 2009 untilJune 2011, when owner William Rossfired her and accused her of havingstolen from the business. An estimated$24,000 was taken during that time,according to reports in the Daily Min-ing Gazette.

Testifying for the prosecutionwas Andrew Wallner, a certified pub-lic accountant Ross brought in to lookat the company’s financial reportsafter he fired Wadaga.

While the bottom line was thesame on both the company’s Quick-books records and the bank depositslips, they got to the total by differentways. Less cash went to the bank, butthe difference was made up by checksnot reflected in the Quickbooks ac-count. He showed examples of ac-counts where the cash total had beenadjusted downward.

“We determined that there was anissue, and Willie’s accusation that therewas an issue on his books was justified,and we needed to turn it over to the of-ficers and let them pursue it,” he said.

During cross-examination, he al-

lowed for the possibility that the revi-sions could have come from changesin estimates for the work, records forwhich had not been provided to him.Wadaga’s attorney, George Hyde,also questioned Wallner about omis-sions and inconsistencies with theaudit report from First Choice’s soft-ware. The audit report for July 2011came in at 729 pages; the combinedreport for July through December was727. Wallner said there could poten-tially be a difference in the printingsettings, but he couldn’t say for cer-tain without more information.

Dan Larson, an employee at FirstChoice Auto Body since 2010, saidowner William Ross had come to himwith concerns Wadaga was stealingfrom the company. “I said, ‘Well, let’sstart counting,’” he said.

They tabulated the amount ofpetty cash in the cash box at $103.Two days later, it was at $3.

Under cross-examination, Larsonsaid the cashbox was kept in the samecabinet; both cabinet and box werelocked at night. However, he did recallsome instances where he was able tosee the open box unsecured during thework day.

Hyde asked Larson about allegedconversations with Wadaga in which

he expressed concerns that Ross wastaking too much money from his busi-ness. Larson said he could not recallhaving such a talk, and had never hadthoughts along those lines.

Fraud examiner John Bengel,discussed financial inconsistencies inthe First Choice records. Bengel pre-sented transactions from towing andrepair records that had been zeroed outon Quickbooks from Wadaga’s login.

A June 9, 2011 repair was enteredas $250.00 and voided out shortlyafter that. Bengel said staff had con-firmed the repair work had been done.

“There would be no reason to havethis transaction voided from Quick-books,” Bengel said.

On numerous occasions, $100cash deductibles were marked as paidon invoices, but no record could befound in the Quickbooks audit report.

After the last of the 89 exhibitswas introduced, Bengel then moved todeposits made to Wadaga’s checkingaccount between June 2009 and June2011. He read off the total cash andcheck deposits for each day, then thecombined totals for each week.

Wadaga is charged with embez-zling less than $50,000, a 10-year felony.

The trial is expected to concludeMay 21, after this issue has gone to press.

Embezzlement at Body Shop Trial in Baraga County, Michigan, is ExtendedDavid Michael Kepner, owner ofSmash Auto Body in Jordan, MN,has been charged in Scott CountyDistrict Court with first-degree drugpossession and sales, a felony. Ac-cording to court documents:

Southwest Metro Drug TaskForce commander Phil Nawrockiexecuted a search warrant at thebusiness, which also includes Ab-solute Towing, on May 13. A pipe,loaded syringe and large wad ofmoney was found and the pipe field-tested positive for methampheta-mine. Kepner, 48, was arrested,waived his Miranda rights, andagreed to give a statement to law en-forcement. He stated that he had re-lapsed and started using meth again,about every five hours. He bothsmokes and injects the drug, he toldpolice. He admitted he had a methpipe, the syringe—which containeda quarter-gram of meth—and$5,140 in cash on his person whenhe was detained. Kepner stated thatlaw enforcement officers could findless than 2 ounces of meth in a paintcan located next to a scale. He ad-mitted that he sells a little meth butthen added that he doesn't makemuch money off of his sales.

Jordan, MN, Shop Owner Arrested on Meth Charges

“The programs have been around20-plus years, and they are time-tested. People like them. They achievedesired results” to get vehicles re-paired quickly by repair shops vettedby the insurer and at reasonable cost,he said.

“This suit has no merit and in noway accurately describes the businessrelationship State Farm has with thou-sands of body shops across the country,”said Missy Dundov, a spokeswomanfor State Farm.

Dundov said State Farm built itsSelect Service network by listing bodyshops that provide warranties on theirwork and meet performance standardsset by State Farm. But a State Farmcustomer is “free to choose the repairshop of his or her choice,” even if it’snot on the Select Service list, she said.When it comes to parts, Dundov said,State Farm’s “current business prac-tice” is to pay for non-factory-madeparts only in uses that don’t play a rolein crash protection—unless a cus-tomer requests otherwise. If a bodyshop is told to install a used part, “we

rely on the repairer to inspect the partand ensure that it is of sufficient qual-ity to repair the vehicle properly,” shesaid.

Dundov said PartsTrader “createsa consistent approach to parts order-ing,” she said, and does so “at a com-petitive price, as quickly as possible.”Body shops overall have had a “quitepositive” reaction to the online order-ing system, Dundov said.

As for allegations in the lawsuitthat State Farm steers customers tobody shops in its Select Service net-work, Dundov said it’s up to cus-tomers to decide what body shop touse.

A spokesman for Progressive,Jeff Sibel, said, “We are aware of thenew litigation against us and believethat we can demonstrate the fairnessin our claims practices at the appro-priate time.”

A GEICO spokeswoman, Chris-tine Tasher, said the company won’tcomment on pending litigation.

IABA Comments“There’s going to be a battle,” saysTony Passwater, executive directorof the Indiana Auto Body Association,the lead plaintiff. Passwater says that

on average, insurers won’t reimbursefor $550 to $750 worth of work on atypical repair job of $3,500, leaving itup to the body shop to pick up the un-paid costs. That $550 to $750 estimateof unreimbursed costs will likely beused by the body shops’ attorneys infiguring their damage claims againstthe insurers.

Passwater said the state once hadabout 2,000 shops; there are now 800to 1,000.

Passwater has been promotingthe lawsuit among auto body shopsaround the state and expects that the24 current plaintiffs will swell by 15to 20 in the next several months.

But some shop owners, he said,are reluctant to join because “they’reconcerned about any retribution theinsurance companies might do.”

Plaintiff’s AttorneyEaves said he thinks the numerouslawsuits he and co-counsel are filingcould eventually be consolidated inone court. He said he expects to pres-ent testimony from “whistle-blowers”who worked for insurance companiesand will give evidence of collusionamong companies in their businesstactics.

But the litigation could be fierce,Eaves said.”We’re anticipating exten-sive pushback. They’re making billionsof dollars by these practices and they’renot willing to give it up easily.”

Even so, Eaves said, several insur-ance companies have approached himto ask about settling the claims to avoidlengthy litigation and a possible high-stakes jury trial. “We are already in dis-cussion with three insurance companiesthat are willing to discuss resolving it. Iwas kind of shocked. I never had a casewhere somebody came so quickly andwanted out.”


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Continued from Page 13

Shops’ Accusations

The rainbow-painted steel rings thatwelcomed visitors to the former DesMoines Botanical Center have beenmoved to an undisclosed locationuntil the team at Scotty's Auto Bodycan fix them up. The sculpture, called"Spectral Liberation," was designedby the German artist ChristianeMartens and installed in 1984. Thewhale-ribcage-y sculpture will be re-installed, with a fresh paint job, whenthe weather warms up at the newlyexpanded Greater Des Moines Botan-ical Garden.

Des Moines, IL, Body Shopis Restoring Major Sculpture

As usual, AASP-MO has been busyhosting meetings for their variouschapters in recent months. They heldfour meetings in March, plus anothermeeting occurred in April. ExecutiveDirector Ron Reiling believes themeetings went well. “We had a niceturnout, and everyone left the meetingswith great information to help themmake sound business decisions... BothEnterprise and PMC Logic broughtgreat information to our members.They provided them with the informa-tion and tools to help them improvetheir businesses and to aid them in be-coming more efficient.”

On March 12, Gateway Collisionhosted a meeting at Syberg’s, locatedat 270 and Dorset. This chapter usu-ally meets bi-monthly on the secondWednesday of the month. Their meet-ing was sponsored by Enterprise Rent-A-Car who also presented, and itincluded a roundtable discussion onvarious industry-related issues. They

followed this up with an additionalmeeting on Thursday, March 13 at6:30PM where PMC Logic presentedon their Paint and Materials Calcula-tor. Hosted by Dave and Adam Tritz,this meeting was held at Don’s AutoBody, located at 1420 North SecondStreet, St. Charles MO 63301.

Also on March 12, the IllinoisMetro Chapter held a meeting at6:30PM where PMC Logic presented.The meeting was hosted by Russ Ho-ernis and held at Hoernis Auto Body at207 S. 20th Street, Bellville IL 62226.This group meets on the second Tues-day of every other month. The South-east Missouri Mechanical Chaptermeets on the fourth Thursday of eachmonth at the Cape Girardeau Careerand Technology Center, and their mostrecent meeting was held on March 27.

On April 16, the St. Louis and St.Charles Mechanical Chapters met atSyberg’s at 6:30PM to present “WhatDo You Do For...”, a discussion to share

information on how members deal withvarious employee-related questions,such as healthcare and uniforms. Thesechapters are planning a visit to HunterEngineering on July 16 to obtain an up-date on the latest advancements inalignment and to tour the antique carmuseum. This group meets quarterly,on the third Wednesday of the month.

Reiling explains the benefits ofholding meetings for AASP-MOmembers: “our meetings provide ourmembers with the opportunity to net-work with like-minded professionalsand provide them information theyneed and use in their businesses. Thenetworking opportunities are great.The ability to know that you are notout there all alone, that you have peerswho face the same problems as you doon a daily basis. It is important to pro-vide our members with as much infor-mation as possible pertaining to thecollision industry and small busi-nesses. Better informed shops make

better business decisions that makeour industry better, stronger and moreunified. No one shop knows as muchas all of them working together!”

AASP-Missouriwww.aasp-mo.orgPO Bx 609St. Charles, MO 63302


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doun had followed through on hispromise to get his licensed renewed.The consumer unit checked with theSecretary of State and found thegarage at 9900 Greenfield was still notlicensed. Local 4’s Consumer ExpertRuth Spencer went back to the garage.

The owner, once again, admittedhis garage isn’t licensed, “That is true.And, I haven’t had it cause I’m sellingthe place,” said owner Ali Beydoun.

While he told Spencer he was sell-ing his garage, he admitted that processcould take months and there is anotherreason he doesn’t have a license.

“The reason I’m not renewingthem is cause I don’t have the moneyto renew anything right now.”License equals consumer protection

The Automatic Service Associa-tion says its important for auto repairshops to be licensed. Among otherthings, licensed facilities are requiredto have certified mechanics, trained forspecific types of repairs. With unli-censed facilities, you don’t know whatlevel of expertise you’ll receive.

“People who are doing work un-

licensed are doing the consumers aninjustice,” said local garage ownerLarry Dragan. He proudly displays hisfacility’s license and the certificates ofthe mechanics he employs.

Santana’s proposed bill has Dra-gan’s support, and the support of the Au-tomotive Service Association. “We needto do this for consumers. It’s the rightthing to do and it’s the time to do it,” saidRay Fisher, president of the AutomotiveService Association of Michigan.

“I’m just glad that Ruth to the Res-cue came out and investigated this. Nowwe know we have an obligation to dobetter, now that we know more,” saidState Representative Harvey Santana.

How To Know If Your Garage IsLicensed

Going to an unlicensed mechanicis something that could happen toanyone. Melanie Duquesnel, the CEOof the Better Business Bureau, saidit’s easy to spot an unlicensed me-chanic, if you know where to look.

“Should be licenses on the wallwith the names of the people that aregoing to be touching your car,” she said.

If this story makes you nervousabout your next trip to an auto repairshop, keep these guidelines in mind.1) A licensed shops should have that

certification on displace, as well as li-censes for the mechanics working atthat garage. You should be able to seethe paperwork posted in the shop.2) You can go to the website of theSecretary of State’s office to makesure a business is licensed.3) You can also check with the BetterBusiness Bureau to see if the facilityhas had previous complaints, and howthey were handled.4) You are always entitled to a writtenestimate (for repairs that cost more than$20) that will spell out the cost of parts,estimate time of repair, and cost of labor.5) Once given a target time for comple-tion, you should check on the status ofyour car before that time arrives. Mostreputable garages will call you, but youshould check the progress, and the re-pairs can take unexpected turns and youmay need to authorize further expenses.6) When in doubt, ask around andvisit a garage that has glowing refer-ences from more than one person.7) You are entitled to see parts that areremoved and replaced on your car.

If you’d like to do more researchon car repair facilities, you can also goto the consumer website affiliatedwith the Automotive Service Associa-tion of Michigan.



CrackdownShow Me Auto Body & Restoration,118 E. Union St., in Pacific, MO,was named the Pacific Area Cham-ber of Commerce April 2014 busi-ness of the month. The firm hasbeen in business in Pacific since1986 and considers the local com-munity its valued customer base.However, due to its growing reputa-tion in the field of restoration, ShowMe now has customers from acrossthe region and the United States.Owner Dave Clapper joined thefirm in 1988 when it was a two-manshop with Dave Cassidy, founder,and Clapper making up the entirestaff. Clapper and his wife Nancybought the company in 2004 andimmediately increased the numberof direct repair insurance companiesit served from two to nine and grewthe shop to the current 11 employ-ees. In addition to the usual repairbodywork that follows fender ben-ders and hail damage, Clapper ze-roed in on the quality restorationwork that brought a steady stream ofantique vehicle collectors to hisshop. Clapper and his crew neverforget that it is the customer’s vehi-cle and the customer’s dream theyare creating.

MO’s Show Me Auto Body isLocal Business of the Month


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In my first article for Autobody News,I’m going to write about winning. Thatsounds simple, you might think, butthere’s a problem: Everything youknow about winning is wrong. Themoment of triumph, the congratula-tions, and the final score—those arethe basic components of winning?Right? Wrong! If this surprises you,you are not alone. Until I learned thetrue secret to winning, I thought Iknew all about the subject. I was to-tally wrong. I had a lot to learn. NowI’ve discovered the real sources of suc-cess, in both business and sports.

Have you ever repaired a pickyrelative’s vehicle? Let’s say AuntPatty’s new SUV. If you have, youknow that no matter how hard you tryto make everything perfect, she’s goingto find fault with something. Either thecolor won’t precisely match, or a tail-light will fail to work, and with yourvery particular Aunt Patty, no job isever done on time. I’ve never likedworking for people I’m close to—rela-tives, neighbors, or friends. No matterhow good the work is, they alwaysseem to want something more, oftensomething that’s indefinable. It’s one ofthose situations where no one wins. Sowhy is it that the jobs we fuss over themost give us the biggest headaches?Why can’t we win when it counts?

Maybe we care too much.

Outcome thoughts vs. Process thoughtsI know a little about tennis and a lotabout body shops. Sometimes whatworks in one works in the other. Oneday my tennis coach told me the chiefobstacle to improving my game wasthe fact that I care too much.

“Care too much?” I asked. “Areyou serious?”

“Yes,” he said, “I am. You care toomuch about winning. When you startto play, you get so emotional that youcan’t look at what you’re doing objec-tively.”

It turned out I was having “out-come thoughts.” As I competed againstmy opponent on the other side of thenet, my mind was on my hoped-for vic-tory. I saw my last shot hitting just outof my opponent’s reach, and imaginedhim congratulating me at the net with ahandshake. My thoughts weren’t fo-

cused on what it would take to getthere.

ScoreboardsScoreboards aren’t just for fans. Theyhelp players too, especially after com-plicated actions. Once the confusion isover, the scoreboard tells them wherethings stand. However, if we allow ourminds to get too wrapped up in thescoreboard data, we lose sight of thegame right in front of us. If we alwaysfocus on the results posted on score-board, we’re ignoring what we need todo to win. At Nick Saban’s Universityof Alabama football program, through-out the season the coaching staff andplayers don’t talk about the NationalChampionship, but they’ve won itthree times in the last five years. How?Each Crimson Tide player and coachasks: What do I need to accomplishright now to dominate the competition?They know that you don’t earn thechampionship on the day of the cham-pionship game. You win it through aprocess of preparation that takes years.

When we fail to prepare and exe-cute at the body shop we invite allthose hectic Fridays, when everythinggoes wrong. Why? Because we didn’tproperly prepare on Monday and Tues-day. If we had, those Fridays would beeasy.

In the collision repair business, wehold ourselves accountable, using asystem of Key Performance Indicators.These include Profitability, CSI, CycleTime, Alternative Parts Usage, andmany others. A good shop manager un-derstands these metrics. A great man-ager always executes the tasks requiredto consistently reach the metrics. Thisisn’t something you do once in a while.In the collision repair business winningcomes from the same basic principlesas those found in tennis or football:constant attention to disciplined prepa-ration and following the right process.

Scoreboard-based compensationCompanies that rely on results-basedcompensation systems need to exam-ine these carefully. Results-based com-pensation is popular because it seemsfair: workers get paid on the basis ofthe results they produce. Howeversome companies don’t, won’t, or can’t

measure results accurately, and some-times they measure the wrong things,or fail to measure the right ones. Thiscan lead results-based systems that cre-ate motivational “silos” that can dam-age your business globally. Forinstance, if your company’s “score-board” holds people accountable forAlternative Parts Usage, pressure toperform well on that could have a neg-ative impact on Quality, Cycle Time, orCSI. It’s something you must watch outfor. What might work better would be aprogram that rewards consistent qualityin employees’ performance as they fol-low processes designed to ensure thatwork is done to a high standard. If theirwork follows a good process, andmeasures up to the best standards, re-sults will usually take care of them-selves.

Three Elements of WinningBig MSO consolidators, like ABRA,Caliber, and Gerber, know that fast,profitable growth comes from consis-tent, predictable positive results, onejob after another. This is the only way tocreate secure relationships with insur-ers and customers. These companiesalso understand the staffing and train-ing requirements for rapid and sus-tained growth. What winning principlesdo these industry giants follow?PROCESS, TRAINING and INSPECTWHAT YOU EXPECT. Their winningways are based on a written process thatproduces consistent, predictable results.They train their people to follow theprocess, then they constantly check tomake sure this discipline is followedday after day. Process, alone, isn’tenough. It must be accompanied by pe-riodic testing. Shops that don’t imple-ment PROCESS, TRAINING andINSPECT will struggle; most will fail.

ProcessIf you’ve ever watched the best golfers,you’ve seen them go through their“routines” just before hitting the ball.This routine is settling, and helps thegolfer build confidence. Doing it everytime also encourages a player’s consis-tency. Most start behind the ball, liningup the shot. Many golfers take a fewpractice swings. This is followed by vi-sualization, and finally execution with-

out tension or hesitation. One thing thisdoes is to keep the golfer from allowingemotions to rule. The golfer has a strat-egy, and a proven process. The golferwho does this every time will avoidchoking, and will live up to his or herpotential.

Almost everything in life is aprocess. Most of us have a morningroutine: getting up, eating breakfast,going out the door. It gets us to workon time. Fixing cars is no different.Every shop has a process, whetherthey know it or not—but some havevery poor processes. Many processesare outmoded, while others wereflawed from the start. Many shopshave good processes, but don’t con-sistently follow them. I’ve workedwith organizations that had stale oldpolicies created for situations that nolonger existed—yet the policies wenton and on. Such “sacred cows” mustbe slaughtered!

In lean thinking circles, many ofus have been involved in Value StreamMapping. This is a detailed analysis,and “mapping out,” of a shop’s currentprocesses. It looks at what goes into aprocess, how it works, and the value ofthe result. It forces the shop leadershipto examine each task and method to seeif these provide customers with thevalue they are willing to pay for. ValueStream Mapping should help theshop’s staff identify those tasks andmethods necessary for a good process.

Most shops I’ve worked with hadfragmented processes, each for a dif-ferent area. These betray a lack of unityand direction. They often conflict withone another. This creates a disconnectbetween the administrative processesof the business, and the work processesused on the shop floor. This leads topoor communication, unnecessary de-lays, poor quality and upset customers.Any good administrative workflowprocess begins with the proper flow ofdependent events in the system. Qual-ity control must be built into theprocess, so, at each stage, the recipientsget a product that meets all qualitystandards.

A good process should:1. Produce consistent, predictable re-sults every time.

with David LuehrLean Operations

David Luehr is the owner of Elite Body Shop Solutions, LLC, a collision business consultingfirm based in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a 30 year veteran of the collision repair industry.David is an expert in Body Shop Operations and specializes in Lean, and Theory ofConstraints methods. Email him at [email protected]

The Process of Winning

See Process of Winning, Page 26

Recently the president of the localAutobody Association Chapter re-named his shop. It had been J & LBody Shop for many years, but hechose to rename it Fix Auto, Sun Val-ley. Obviously he chose this name toreflect a relatively new relationshipwith the Fix Auto organization. Butthere may have been a deeper reasonfor the renaming. When all a prospec-tive customer has to judge a shop isthe name, a name like J & L reallysays nothing about the nature or qual-ity of the shop. And this shop name istypical of many shop names that justreflect the owner’s name or names.But even those shops that intend toconvey some degree of quality intheir name -- like Elite Auto Body,Precision Auto Body, Superior AutoBody, Supreme Auto Body, Ace AutoBody, etc. -- are so commonplacethey are no longer noticed. The effectcan be the exact opposite of what wasintended. Ideally you need to create aname with a trademark image that noone can ever mistake as someoneelse’s! And that image has to conveyquality and uniqueness at a singleglance -- not an easy task.

First of all, recognize your ownuniqueness. Every human is different.We have unique fingerprints andvoiceprints. Your shop also has at leastone unique characteristic. There is atleast one thing that your shop does alittle different (and hopefully a littlebetter) than most shops around you.Find a way to emphasize that. Youdon’t necessarily need to change thename of your business, but you doneed a sub-title, a slogan that stronglyannounces some specialty that isuniquely yours. Some shops special-ize in a particular make of vehicle.

Identifying their specialty is easy.They can announce: “We are mastersof Jaguar repair” or “Porshe repair” or“Volvo repair.” Others may focus onbeing “Paint Matching Specialists” or“Excelling in Perfect Restoration.”Shops that are already successful maynot need much more, but those withno recognizable image need to be dou-bly creative. While actually changingthe name of your body shop may be amore radical move than is necessary, itcould also be a very powerful market-ing action if a name with exceptionaldrawing power is selected.

A few body shops in the Los An-geles area have names that suggestcertain characteristics. One shop, forexample, is named “Car-tique,” an ob-vious adaptation of “boutique” whichsuggests a small but elite type of shop.Another body shop was named “Pi-casso,” obviously a reference to thefamous painter and an implication thatthis shop specializes in fine paintwork. One shop in the Marina areawas called the “Insurance CollisionCenter,” a direct reference to their pri-mary source of work. “Country ClubAuto Body” in Mission Hills wouldseem to be catering to affluent cus-tomers (or “wanna be” affluent cus-tomers). A shop that emphasizesservice might want to choose a namelike “Red Carpet Auto Body,” thatsays to a prospect, “Come to our shopand we’ll roll out the red carpet foryou.” A name of this kind also pro-vides some immediate ideas for decor.

In his “The Guerrilla MarketingHandbook,” Jay Levinson has a num-ber of good suggestions on name selec-tion that might apply to body shops. Foropeners he discourages seeking advicefrom friends, family and other casual

bystanders. He notes that names se-lected by committees are “usually los-ers.” He suggests instead making a listof the qualities your business empha-sizes, with an eye to incorporating a keyquality in the name of your shop. Someexamples might include “Speedy,” “Re-liable,” “Fearless,” “Flawless,” “Pro-fessional,” or “Jiffy.” Jay also cautionsagainst the word “International,” aname is so frequently used, it gets lostin the shuffle. It takes up six fullcolumns in one Business White Pagesalone!

Some marketing research donemany years ago turned up the fact thatpeople were unusually attracted to theword “Apple” in a business name. Afterthat survey, there was a rash of newbusinesses with the word “Apple” in thename. These ranged from “Apple OneEmployment Agency” to “The AppleFarm” restaurant, “Apple School” and,most famous of all, “Apple Comput-ers.” In New York I wouldn’t be sur-

prised to see a shop called “Big AppleAuto Body,” but elsewhere it may bewiser to come up with a different ap-proach.

After all is said and done, if ashop’s name is “Superior Auto Body”and the work isn’t “superior,” or evencompetent, no amount of name-changing is going to compensate forthat liability. And if a shop’s name is“Mediocrity Plus” but the work is ex-cellent, the name will be only a smallliability. A good name or slogan is anessential part of a good “First impres-sions marketing strategy,” but once aprospective customer is in your shopand has experienced your fine qualityof work, it will no longer matter whatyou call your shop. When you’ve cho-sen well and communicated it well,your “trademark image” will be in-delibly branded on the minds of bothcustomers and prospective customersand will quietly contribute to yourcontinuing prosperity.


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On Creative Marketingwith Thomas Franklin

Tom Franklin has been a sales and marketing consultant for fifty years. He has writtennumerous books and provides marketing solutions and services for many businesses.He can be reached at (323) 871-6862 or at [email protected]. See Tom’s columns at www.autobodynews.com under Columnists > Franklin

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An alarmingly more prevalent concernin the collision repair industry is insur-ers’ use of camera phone photos forwriting estimates. Rather than having li-censed physical property damage ap-praisers physically inspect a vehicleafter a collision, many insurance com-panies, including Allstate, State Farmand MetLife, are asking their customersto submit camera phone pictures of thedamage, and they are using these pho-tos to write their estimates. AttorneyJohn Parese, who acts as legal counselfor the Auto Body Association of Con-necticut (ABAC), believes “the growingtrend of using camera phone picturesprior to getting a repair professional in-volved is illegal, unethical, and most im-portantly, harmful to consumers.”

Furthermore, Parese notes thatthis practice violates the CT Unfair In-surance Practices Act (CUIPA) and po-tentially other consumer protectionlaws. As such, Parese has written to theCT Insurance Department outlining his

concerns on behalf of the ABAC, inaddition to writing an article forABAC’s member newsletter whichemphasizes the possible dangers ofthis new habit and why he believes itshould be declared unlawful.

In his letter to the Insurance De-partment, Parese highlights portions ofCUIPA that define unfair insurer prac-tices as misrepresentations of facts andcompelling insureds to settle a claimfor less than the value of the repair.Though the benefits for insurers towrite estimates based on camera phonephotos are obvious, it creates the haz-ard of such estimates only capturing afraction of the actual damage and thusencompassing only a portion of thecost to restore the vehicle to its pre-loss condition, and this is especiallydangerous when claimants pocket thecheck instead of paying for the repairs,a common practice that is certain to in-crease when consumers believe thedamage is purely cosmetic. Parese’s

concern is that “many of these vehiclesare not safe to be put back on the road,and the safety of a vehicle often cannotbe assessed from a camera phone pic-ture.”

Because claims are being paidbased on claimant-taken photos whichcannot possibly depict the full extent ofdamages, Parese sees this practice as “afundamental misrepresentation of pol-icy or third-party rights and benefits...Insurers have a legal and often fiduci-ary responsibility to make fair andcomplete payments for covered losses.This system is plainly designed to saveinsurers money on its own labor costs(ie. less paid appraisers) and on theamount it ultimately pays on claims (ie.calculated underpayment of claims).These savings come at the expense ofconsumer safety and complete reim-bursement.”

In his article for ABAC’s newslet-ter, Parese argues that using cameraphone pictures to write an estimate be-

fore involving a repair professional inthe process appears unethical and ille-gal based on CT’s unfair insurancepractices law. In addition to safety andlegal concerns, Parese also acknowl-edges that collision repair facilitiessuffer from this practice because theyare losing work on these needed re-pairs that insurers are arbitrarily dis-missing through the practice of writingestimates based on photos which canonly capture cosmetic damages.

Parese hopes that the issues hehas raised will convince the CT Insur-ance Department to prohibit insurersfrom engaging in this unethical prac-tice in his state. Unfortunately, his bat-tle only encompasses the state of CT,and though he is unfamiliar with thelaws in other states, he encouragestrade associations across the countryto investigate how this trend violatestheir state laws and to join the battleto protect consumers and the integrityof the collision repair industry.


ABAC Legal Counselor Objects to Use of Camera Phone Photos for Estimates

with Chasidy Rae SiskNortheast Associations



2. Have simple, clear instructions, writ-ten out and accessible to everyone.3. Flow well from resource to resource,without unnecessary delays.4. Identify who does what. 5. Be visual—both in the operatingmanual and on the shop floor.6. Be comprehensive, well-planned,and free of waste and inefficiency—and no sacred cows!7. Be based on proven methods or bestpractices.8. Be created with the customer’s, andthe employee’s happiness in mind.9. Be created with the input and buy-inof the entire organization.

TrainingIn business and in sports, you mayknow the process, without knowinghow to use it. Great athletes spendendless hours practicing, and perfect-ing their craft. These athletes knowwithout the right preparation, theywon’t be able to win. But they alsoknow they must execute. If they can’tapply all that preparation to the game

itself, then what good is it? This is alsotrue when dealing with collision repaircustomers. Though you may knowhow to prepare an estimate, can yousell the job to the customer? Do thepeople on the floor know how to applythe process to the work? Have theybeen trained to do this? Remember, justbecause you give someone has an SOPmanual, doesn’t mean he or she will beable to do every job in it. They mightneed a few lessons!

These lessons come in variousforms: I-CAR and other outside train-ing services, in-house or on-the-jobtraining, videos, workshops etc. Makesure your people have a deep under-standing of how the processes work,and give them all the tools they need toexecute successfully.

Inspect What You ExpectTesting and auditing are the “secretsauce” that brings it all together. I’veseen many improvement initiatives fail,even in some organizations that hadgreat people. Despite the dedicationand effort that went into them, in mostcases these initiatives failed, partiallyor fully, within a few months. Mostoften they fail because they neglect

proper testing and inspection proce-dures.

Testing and auditing isn’t a com-plicated task. It requires leadership,discipline, and a written test. It onlytakes an hour or two to type out a test.I prefer about twenty questions, sometrue-or-false, and some multiple-choice. Of the various auditing meth-ods, I prefer this: 1. Identify the process’s most importantelements. 2. Write an auditing form asking: “Isthis critical task or process being fol-lowed consistently? Yes or No?” Yourform may have as few as ten items, orit might have over a hundred, but allshould be noted and answered in thecourse of an audit. I recommend fre-quent auditing, especially whenevernew processes are being implemented.In a more stable system this should stillbe done at least every quarter. Thosewho are engaged in the auditingprocess should see it as an ongoingcoaching opportunity.

SummaryFinally, the Process of Winning is this:1. Create good processes that arealigned with the entire organization.

2. Slaughter the “sacred cows.”3. Focus on process, not outcomes.4. Be careful how you measure people,and how you define success.5. While it’s okay to look at the score-board once in awhile, don’t focus on it!6. Don’t get emotional. When the pres-sure is on, stick to the process. 7. Training, training, training.8. Testing, testing, testing.9. Inspect What You Expect.10. Most importantly, be disciplined…and don’t ever give up!

Body shop people are some of thesmartest, hardest-working folks on theplanet. They shouldn’t suffer from thediminishing returns so typical intoday’s ultra-competitive and ever-challenging marketplace. It’s not somuch that they “care too much,” butthey often work in hurried environ-ments, where they aren’t given time todirect their passions sensibly.

Care about the task at hand, anddon’t worry about Aunt Patty’s smile.You might improve your repair processas much as I improved my tennis game.Once I learned to love the rewards ofeach step in the journey, I found myfirst trophy at the end.

You can too!


Process of Winning

by Bill McClellan, St. Louis Post Dispatch

Sid Copeland started Northwest AutoBody in 1933. The shop was at Shreveand West Florissant avenues. JohnKitchin began working at the shop in1949. He was a World War II vet. In1962, they moved their business toWilborn Drive, near West Florissant andGoodfellow Boulevard. Sid Copelandstarted Northwest Auto Body in 1933.The shop was at Shreve and West Floris-sant avenues.

John Kitchin began working at theshop in 1949. He was a World War IIvet. He had been in the Navy. Served inthe Philippines. Came home and mar-ried Helen Goellner. Started a family.He bought the business from Copelandin 1952. He did the bodywork. Helenran the office. In 1962, they movedtheir business to Wilborn Drive, nearWest Florissant and Goodfellow Boule-vard. John retired for health reasons in1985. By then, his son, also John, wasworking at the shop.

John Jr. was the oldest of threekids, and the only one interested in thefamily business. He had been workingat the body shop off and on since hewas 15. He took a couple of years offto pursue a career in music. He playedin various bands and worked in barsand hotel lounges. He came back full

time to the body shop in 1974 when hewas 25. He was 36 when he took overthe shop. The neighborhood was dete-riorating. John Jr. began looking for an-other location. He found one on St.Charles Rock Road. In 1992, he movedto 12990 St. Charles Rock Road. Thenew site was next to the West LakeLandfill, and not far from the Old St.Charles Bridge. Traffic was steady.

Then the bridge closed. Trafficslowed. Also, a new landfill opened be-hind the shop. That was the BridgetonLandfill. It was a problem because dirtwould blow down from the landfill andclog the air filters of the booths inwhich the repaired cars were painted.

But the real problems were justbeginning. In 2010, elevated tempera-tures were discovered in gas extractionwells on that second landfill. Laypeo-ple call it an underground fire. Techni-cally, it is not a traditional fire, but achemical reaction that produces hightemperatures.

Whatever you want to call it, it ismoving underground from the BridgetonLandfill toward the West Lake Landfill,which is the depository of illegallydumped radioactive waste.

Last year, the attorney general saidthe fire was 1,000 feet from the ra-dioactive waste. Estimates were that theunderground fire would hit the waste in

one to three years.So these are the body shop’s clos-

est neighbors. Next to the body shop onSt. Charles Rock Road is the West LakeLandfill. Walk along the road and youcan see the fence with the yellow signswarning of radioactive waste.

Just behind the body shop is theBridgeton Landfill. It is easy to stand inthe yard of the body shop and imaginewhere the underground fire will comein contact with the radioactive waste.Not ideal for selling a business. John Jr.is now 65.

“This is my retirement,” he said ashe showed me around the business. Bythe way, he has 12 full-time employees,including his son, John Kitchin III. He’s39. He has worked at the body shopsince he was a teenager.

He’d like to work something outwith his father, and keep the businessgoing. But not at its present location.

He worries that they’re losingbusiness. That’s iffy, of course.

“You can’t measure the peopleyou don’t get (because of your loca-tion),” John III said. It could be theeconomy and the fact that people areworried about the future. Some peopleget a car banged up, and they pocket theinsurance money and drive around in abanged-up car. For whatever reason,business is not growing.

What does seem perfectly clear isthat their property is virtually un-sellable. Who would buy property atthe intersection of an underground fireand radioactive waste? So here is athird-generation family business thatwants help. The Kitchins want to bebought out or relocated. To me, it seemsclear the Kitchins deserve compensa-tion. A more interesting question: Whoshould pay?

When the Kitchins bought theirproperty, the West Lake Landfill wasowned by Laidlaw. Laidlaw soughtbankruptcy protection in 2001. Repub-lic Services owns the two landfills now.Should that company be liable?

West Lake Landfill is a Superfundsite. Should the government be liable?

The leached barium sulfate thatwas illegally dumped came fromMallinckrodt Chemical Works. Shouldthat company be liable?

On the other hand, Mallinckrodtwas doing important work for the fed-eral government’s Manhattan Project.Without an atomic bomb, we wouldhave been forced to invade Japan, andthousands of Americans (and evenmore Japanese) would have beenkilled. Maybe even John Kitchin Sr.

It gets complicated. Maybe thelegal system will sort it out. The Kitchinsare talking to an attorney.

What Do You Do When You’re Put Between an Underground Fire and a Radioactive Superfund Site?

The Southern Automotive RepairConference (SARC) took place at theBeau Rivage Resort and Casino inBiloxi, MS, April 11 and 12, 2014.With six state associations collaborat-ing to host the event, expectations hadset the bar high, and no one was dis-appointed!

Steve Plier, executive director ofthe Alabama Automotive Repair Soci-ety of Excellence (ALARISE) whohosted the first SARC in 2012, was“pleased with the conference. Thiswas the first year that we had six stateassociations working together, and wealso had visitors from eastern Texaswho are considering forming an asso-ciation in their area. I think that we all

realize that theonly way to effectthe change neededin this industry isby providing colli-sion repair indus-try professionalswith the opportu-nity and means to

educate themselves on business prin-ciples and to remain abreast of thetraining and equipment necessary torepair vehicles in light of ever-chang-ing technology.”

The first SARC was held in 2012with most attendees coming from AL,but when ALARISE worked with theMississippi Collision Repair Associa-tion (MSCRA) in 2013, attendancespiked to around 250 industry profes-sionals, including some attendeesfrom FL and GA. By including fouradditional associations in 2014,SARC more than doubled attendancewith nearly 600 individuals present topartake of the networking and educa-tional opportunities provided by theconference. The new associationswho participated in the 2014 SARCwere the Florida Auto Body Associa-tion (FACA), the Georgia CollisionIndustry Association (GCIA), theLouisiana Collision Industry Associ-ation (LaCIA), and the TennesseeCollision Repairers Association(TCRA). The group decided to hirean Administrative Coordinator, Geor-gia Thorson, to handle the day-to-dayquestions and details, and Plierpraises Thorson for doing such an ex-

cellent job in coordinating the event.Of course, the six associations

who hosted the conference also de-serve credit for its success. AaronSchulenburg, Executive Director ofSCRS, praises the collaborators. “I’vehad the fortune to be involved in eachiteration of this event since it was es-tablished, and it is amazing to watchthe growth of involvement and drivein the marketplace. There is a lot to besaid for the organizational efforts ex-tended by the state associations whoare all involved in orchestrating theevent, and it certainly makes us proudthat all of those organizations areSCRS Affiliate Associations… I al-ways expect a lot out of this event, andit never fails to deliver.”

The 2014 SARC focused on edu-cation, business principles, consumerprotection, and shops’ right to receivefair compensation for work per-formed. These efforts received appro-bation from SCRS; as Schulenburgexplains, “marketplaces benefit fromthe ability to have a strong and fo-cused group create opportunities forthem to learn from some of the indus-try’s leading subject matter experts inthe convenience of their own backyard. Just as important, the associationevents promote camaraderie and net-working. It’s through these types ofevents that competitors can view eachother as colleagues and that there canbe healthy discussion about ways thatthe industry can better serve the con-sumer.”

The conference began on Fridayafternoon and continued on Saturdaywith a full agenda of featured speak-ers, breakout sessions, and sponsordemonstrations, in addition to exhibi-tions on the tradeshow floor whichwas open for the duration of the con-ference. Topics ranged from market-ing to the new aluminum F-150 andbeyond; Plier boasts “you name it andwe covered it!”

Registration began at 4PM onFriday with the Welcoming Recep-tion and exhibition floor opening at6PM. The presentations on both Fri-day and Saturday were moderatedby the Master of Ceremonies,Patrick Porter, radio personality andowner of Porter’s Body Shop in

Brookhaven, MS. At 5:30PM, thefirst breakout session of the confer-ence was “Businesses MarketingStrategies,” presented by Ron Per-retta and sponsored by PPG.

On Saturday, the tradeshow floorwas open from 8AM until 5PM, allow-ing attendees to visit exhibitors’booths in between educational semi-nars. Ron Perretta began Saturday’sconference at 8AM with a two-hour“Social Media Workshop,” sponsoredby PPG which ran at the same time asfour additional breakout sessions. BillByrnes of America’s Auto Body andMitchell International both presentedat 8AM, and Byrnes repeated his sem-inar at noon. Next, at 9AM, TonyNethery, Executive Director ofTCRA, discussed “Future Equipment,Training and Cost,” while in anotherroom, the Coalition for Collision Re-pair Excellence (CCRE) explainedwho they are and what they strive todo.

The Featured Speakers segmentof the conference began at 10AM withan Industry Update as presented bySchulenburg on behalf of SCRS.Schulenburg was followed by RichardValenzuela of NABR who discussed“Variable Rate Systems.” In additionto Byrne’s second breakout session atnoon, two more sessions were held atthe same time: a two-hour session onthe new aluminum F-150 model, ledby Chief’s Ford F-150 Project Man-ager, Richard Perry, and a one-hoursegment by Dave Bortz of Car-O-Liner. While Valenzuela repeated hisseminar at 1PM, Ron Perretta of Pro-fessionals Auto Body held a breakoutsession entitled “Business Basics,”thus concluding the event’s breakoutsessions.

From 2-6PM, the final four Fea-tured Speakers gave one-hour presen-tations, beginning with CongressionalMedal of Honor Recipient, MikeThornton. The motivational speaker


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Southern Automotive Repair Conference Held by Six State Associations

with Chasidy Rae SiskSoutheast Associations


Steve Plier

shared war stories with an emphasison teamwork, and Plier notes thatThornton’s speech was “very mov-ing… If that didn’t send chills up yourspine, I don’t know what would!”

Next, Dave Poston, CollisionMarketing Manager for AmericanHonda, discussed “Honda RepairTechnologies,” followed by AssuredPerformance’s Aaron Clark whocovered “OEM Certification”, provid-ing an idea of what’s to come regard-ing this topic. The event concludedwith a discussion and question-and-answer session on the details and sta-tus of lawsuits filed against insurers,led by John Mosley, President ofMSCRA and owner of Clinton BodyShop, and Ray Gunder of Gunder’sAuto Center, along with AttorneyJohn Eaves Jr.

Alysia Hanks, Executive Direc-tor of LaCIA, was “most excitedabout getting to meet Mr. Gunder. Hewas just as nice as could be, and Icould tell he really cares about this in-dustry when he spoke. It was also niceto be around so many individuals inour industry who also think it’s wellpast time for a change.”

Hanks was also honored to haveRandy Ishee, from the LA Attorney

General’s office, attend SARC 2014as a guest of the LaCIA. He was in-vited to speak at one of the meetings,and Hanks said, “when I spoke to himbefore the event ended, he told me itwas his mission to right the wrongs inthis industry for all these good peoplein it and, most importantly, for theconsumer. He has friends in otherstates who are in this industry, and hecouldn’t believe the things he was un-covering. We’re lucky to have him onour side.”

Regarding the many educationalseminars and breakout sessions,Schulenburg noted, “attendees wereengaged in the conversation through-out the day and were clearly hungryfor the motivation and tangible solu-tions they received from all thespeakers. With more than 500 re-pairers in attendance, it was a suc-cess by every measure.” Concurringwith Schulenburg’s analysis of at-tendees’ interest in the discussions atthe conference, Plier says that “theirenthusiasm tells me that repairersthirst for this kind of information andthat they want to improve for theconsumer.”

Hanks believes the event wentvery well, and she feels “so lucky to

be part of an industry where we haveso many people who just genuinelywant to do the right thing and makean honest living without having thedaily fights we have to battle… Ithink [the conference] was a great op-portunity for us to network with otherstates and hear what they are doing.I’m already looking forward to nextyear!”

The only negative feedback Plierhas received referenced the plethoraof information presented—“we re-ceived a few complains about theclasses running together and attendeesnot having enough time to visit the ex-hibitors. We stubbed our toes on a fewthings, like the over packed agenda,and we could’ve done a better job or-ganizing registration. We are lookingat ways to avoid cramming so muchin for next year to make it easier topick and choose which segments eachperson wants to attend and to allowmore time for networking and visiting

exhibitors.”Despite these minor stumbling

blocks, Plier believes the SARC2014 went well overall, and the niceweather that weekend led him tostate “it was like a little vacation butalso an educational opportunity.” Healso believes that Biloxi was the per-fect location for people to come outand enjoy the conference as it isabout as centralized as possible. Thesix collaborating associations met onFriday night, and deciding to keepthe SARC in Biloxi for the next twoyears, they set dates. Next year’sconference will be held on April 17and 18, 2015, while SARC 2016 willtake place on April 8 and 9. The coregroup has already begun planningfor next year’s event with the goal ofaddressing as many hot topics in theindustry as possible. If this year’sSARC was any indication, nextyear’s event should be even more ex-citing!


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by Alicia Basteri, Online Editor

As a newbie to the collision repair in-dustry, I was one of the 65 newWomen’s Industry Network (WIN)members attending their first WIN An-nual Education Conference, which washeld May 5–8, 2014, at the ParadisePoint Resort & Spa in San Diego, CA.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to ex-pect—and was more than pleasantlysurprised!

Even before arriving, after joiningWIN and registering for the confer-ence, I received a personal email froma WIN member warmly welcomingme to WIN and offering assistancewith any conference questions. Thiswas to set the tone for my experience.

Day 1: Monday, May 5thThe meeting kicked off on an unchar-acteristically blustery day (for SanDiego, anyway). I received anotherwarm welcome at the registration desk,and was super stoked to unwrap a styl-ish black pashmina from my welcomepacket—it certainly came in handy!

As I walked into the conferenceroom and looked around for a seat, Ipaused and smiled as I realized that itwas a room full of women (well, therewere a few men). I settled in next tofriendly faces as the emcee, MichelleSullivan, welcomed a record numberof 178 conference attendees.

“When I think about why I get soexcited about WIN, for me it is allabout camaraderie—camaraderie isthe spirit of WIN.” Sullivan then in-troduced the theme of the conferenceby inviting attendees to “Power Up!”

Next, 2013-2014 WIN Board ofDirectors chairwoman Margaret Knellrecognized WIN achievements over the

past year, the 2014 WIN Conferencesponsors, as well as committee chairs,

co-chairs, and other members. In addi-tion, she presented Denise Caspersenand Ruth Weniger with the 2014 WINCornerstone Award, which is awardedto individuals on the WIN Board of Di-rectors who exemplify the values andvision of WIN.

Laurie Cusic, senior facilitator forBrody Professional Development, thenpresented “Bridging the GenerationalGap,” which addressed the need to un-derstand generational differences in aworkplace with four distinct genera-tions—traditionalists, baby boomers,generation Xers, and millennials (orgeneration Yers)—and attendees partic-ipated in a related networking event.

My overall first impression wasthat there was great energy in the room,and, unlike a lot of other conferences,everyone seemed genuinely excited—and “powered up”—to be there,friendly, supportive, and proud.

This feeling was solidified duringthe welcome dinner at Paradise Cove,where attendees mingled with oldfriends and new over a luau-themedmenu, followed by roasting marsh-mallows in a bonfire to makes’mores.

Day 2: Tuesday, May 6thAttendees started day twowith the annual WIN Schol-arship Walk to raise funds forthe WIN Scholarships.

Following a continentalbreakfast, charismatic keynotespeaker Dr. Verna CorneliaPrice, CEO of The Power ofPeople Consulting Group andauthor of “The Power of Peo-

ple: Four Kinds of People Who CanChange Your Life,” tapped into the

WIN “Power Up!” theme with hermessage of “The Power of You!” Dr.Price explained that you areborn with power; no one hasmore power than you; no onecan take your power (but youcan give it away); and yourpower multiplies when youuse it. She also talked aboutthe four types of powerfulpeople: adders, subtractors,multipliers, and dividers.

Next up, the engaging Co-lette Carlson, founder of“Speak Your Truth”, talkedabout “The Hard, Cold Truth—Working Hard Isn’t Working,”including how to communicatesuccesses, cultivate connec-tions, and develop strategic re-lationships.

After lunch, attendees went toone of three workshops about tech-nology (“Mastering the Muck of YourTechnology” by Kathi Burns), negoti-ation skills (“Truth About Negotia-tion: A$k and You Shall Succeed” byColette Carlson), or sustainability

(“The Green Revolution” by MikeLeVasseur).

The day ended with the WIN An-nual Membership meeting, which pro-vided the “2014 Report to the Industry”including reports from the Communi-cations, Membership, Finance, Schol-arship, Nominating, and Governancecommittees. In addition, the WINBoard of Directors, new WIN Execu-tive Committee, and WIN Scholarshipwinners in attendance were recognized.

The evening festivities startedwith a cocktail reception, followed bythe annual WIN Gala and Most Influ-ential Women Ceremony. After din-ner, WIN colleagues and friendsrecognized and introduced the hon-orees: Frederica Carter, president ofF. Carter Events, LLC (former com-munications manager at AkzoNobel);Jordan Hendler, executive director ofthe Washington Metropolitan Auto-

body Association; and Leanne Jef-feries, director of Collision Programsfor AIA Canada. And last but not least,dessert was served!

Day 3: Wednesday, May 7thAfter a continental breakfast, JohnKett, president and CEO of InsuranceAuto Auctions (IAA), presented “TheIncreasingly Interconnected APD Sys-tem,” covering the operational andtechnological forecast for IAA andkey information about the direction ofthe industry.

Following the break, Jane Hylen,senior vice president of North CentralOperations Enterprise Holdings, pre-sented “Keys to Success” within theautomotive industry.

Tracy Holberry from Sherwin-Williams presented the 2014 Schol-

Getting Powered Up at the 2014 WIN Annual Educational Conference

Recipients of the 2014 WIN Cornerstone Award,Denise Caspersen and Ruth Weniger

The scavenger hunt was designed to meet attendees from different generations

Keynote speaker Dr. Verna Cornelia Price talking about“The Power of You!”

New WIN board members: (left to right) Marie Peevy,Trish Gould, Jaclyn Byers, Jessica Rob, and NinaPedrazza-Zinna

See Getting Powered Up, Page 33


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1) Too Many Hats. Too Little BandwidthYou’re the owner, estimator, painter,front office person, receptionist, mar-keting director, technician and detailer.Oh, and I also forgot janitor, psychia-trist and a shoulder to cry on. As a mar-keting person, I wouldn’t know how towrite an estimate or paint a fender, sowhy do you insist on trying to do it allwhen it comes to your marketing, pub-lic relations and advertising? Wearingtoo many hats means you’re doing toomuch and marketing should be the firsthat to remove from your busy life assoon as you possibly can.

Solution: Empower and DelegateIn some cases, you may already havesomeone in your crew that can helpyou in your marketing efforts. Maybeone of your estimators or front officepeople can play a role in your market-ing scheme. One body shop took anewbie office assistant and turned herinto a confident and extremely effi-cient marketing professional and nowshe does all of their e-mail marketing,blogging, social media and online ad-vertising. All it took was one day oftraining and she was up and runningand ready to take on the world.

2) Too Late to the Party Without a strategized plan and an an-nual marketing budget, you’re shoot-ing in the dark and the first casualtycould be your business. Too manybody shops get fat and happy when thecash flows in, but all of a sudden---wow, the competition comes to town orthey lose a DRP and jump into panicmode. One body shop owner freakedout when three MSOs moved into hiscity, so he borrowed $50,000 and askedme where should he spend it? Use it foryour retirement, I said, because mar-keting is something you do all thetime—not just in emergency mode.

Solution: Make It a PriorityMarketing moves quickly and if yourcompetitor is working faster and harderthan you are, they will obviously cap-ture more market share. There are onlyso many car accidents in your areaevery year, so why is the shop downthe street fixing 150 vehicles monthlywhile you’re doing half that? Maybe

because they’ve made their marketinga priority while many of your market-ing projects are sitting in a constantstate of limbo. “We’ll get to that nextweek…next month…next year,” andthen it never happens. Marketing is nota part-time thing reserved for eveningsand weekends, it’s fast-paced and ever-changing and that’s why it needs to befull-time and on the front burner.

3) Too Many Unrealistic ExpectationsIf a marketing company says thatthey’ll get you ranked #1 on Googlewithin one month’s time, listen towhat your father used to tell you—“Ifit looks too good to be true, well…”Some so-called marketing agenciescan get you involved in what they call“black hat tactics” while promisingyou the world, which can lead toGoogle sanctioning you and shuttingdown your web site. If any companypromises you anything—get it in writ-ing and don’t pay them until they de-liver.

Solution: Devise a Plan and Stick to ItToo many business owners (not justbody shops) develop a “checked box”mentality when it comes to their mar-keting efforts. “We updated our website, created a blog and did some SEO,so we’re good.” Well, maybe you’regood right now, but how about threemonths from now? Just by checkingthings off on your marketing to-do listdoesn’t mean you can stop or slowdown. New content should be addedto your site all the time to enhanceSEO. Your blog needs new articles,photos, etc. on an ongoing basis. I hateto see a collision blog that hasn’t beenupdated since 2012, for example.Marketing, advertising and public re-lations is not a start-and-stop thing andthat’s why you should never even lookat the finish line.

4) Too Dependent on DRPsYou have some nice cozy DRPs thatbring you tons of business, but if theymake up more than 80% of your totalrevenue, you’ve got too many eggs inone basket. What happens if you fum-ble a couple repairs and suddenlyyou’re no longer the insurance com-pany’s flavor of the week? A healthy

balance between DRPs and non-DRPbusiness should be close to 50-50, buttoo many shops don’t get it, until theyget the axe. By continually hammeringaway at the big three—marketing, pub-lic relations and advertising—one DRPwon’t be able to make or break you.

Solution: Seek Your IndependenceIf you’re DRP dependent, you mightwant to do more consumer marketingand advertising, such as radio and TVbroadcast, outdoor advertising, directmail, online advertising and socialmedia. You can continue relying onyour DRPs, but when times change andthe DRPs are harder to attain, you’ll bein a better place and more prepared fora life with fewer DRPs. Plus, it allworks together to brand your business,so that when consumers do have achoice, you’re on their radar.

5) Too Much MicromanagementPerform your due diligence and talk to

a lot of marketing experts beforechoosing which way to go. But onceyou find the right company or individ-ual, let them do their job and stepaside. Too many body shops ownerslisten to everyone about marketing—their wives, girlfriends, the postmanand the guy at the deli down the street.Hire the right people and let them per-form. Sit down with them every 3-6months to check the results of theirwork and re-assess things at that point,but don’t jump the gun when you don’tsee instant results. Marketing takestime, like fine wine—but in the endyou’ll start seeing positive results, be-cause solid marketing is an investmentand not an expense.

Solution: Become a SpongeLearn as much as you can about mar-keting, advertising and public rela-tions and then pass it on to the peoplewho will actually be doing the heavylifting. If you’re knowledgeable, you


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Five Common Marketing Mistakes Body Shops Make

with Ed Attanasio

Social Media for Shops

Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based inSan Francisco, California. He can be reached [email protected].

arship recipients in attendance,Stephanie Baker and Suzanna Her-nandez, with a certificate for tuitionand travel-related expenses paid infull for any automotive trainingcourse at a Sherwin Williams Train-ing Center of their choice.

Margaret Knell closed the confer-ence with a summary of the events andofficially passed the torch to DeniseCaspersen, newly-elected chairwomanof the WIN Board of Directors.

If you’re a woman in the collisionrepair industry, I highly recommend

that you join WIN (visit http://the-womensindustrynetwork.ning.com/page/join-win-1 or email Mary Kunz [email protected]) and attendthe 2015 WIN Annual Education Con-ference.

If you’re already a WIN mem-ber, WIN asks that you please con-sider joining a committee as WIN isentirely volunteer-based. Sign in tohttp://thewomensindustrynetwork.ning.com/page/join-a-committee andclick on the Committee descriptionto find full descriptions and contactinformation.

If you missed the 2014 confer-ence but will be attending the 2014NACE/CARS Expo and Conference,stop by the WIN booth.

won’t have to take advice from peo-ple who read something somewhereand aren’t afraid to share it with you.You need to be the final arbiter whenit comes to your marketing. You maynot have the time to do it yourself,but at least you’ll know what’s goingon. The paint companies, profes-sional organizations and marketingfirms offer classes, training sessionsand seminars all the time and manyof them are free, so be a sponge andsuck up as much of this informationas you can, because knowledge ispower.


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2014 WIN Most Influential Women honoreesLeanne Jefferies, Jordan Hendler, andFrederica Carter

WIN Scholarship winners with WIN Committeeco-chairs: (left to right) Suzanna Hernandez,Teresa Bolton, Stephanie Baker, and BevRook-Twibell


Getting Powered Up



[email protected]


Wisconsin has joined the ever-in-creasing number of states legislatingagainst employers’ access to employ-ees’ and applicants’ social mediasites. On Tuesday, April 8, WisconsinGovernor Scott Walker signed theWisconsin Social Media ProtectionAct, 2013 Wisconsin Act 208 (the“Act”), into law, which prohibits bothpublic and private employers, regard-less of size, from requesting or re-quiring employees or applicants toprovide their information to their per-sonal internet accounts. The Act ap-plies similarly to landlords withrespect to tenants and prospective ten-ants and to educational institutionswith regard to students and prospec-tive students. Employers will want toensure that their policies and proce-dures do not run afoul of this new law,which authorizes a $1,000 penalty forviolating its prohibitions in additionto other remedies. The Act becameeffective on April 10, 2014. The Actprohibits employers from requestingor requiring that an employee or ap-plicant disclose access informationfor the employee’s or applicant’s per-sonal internet account or otherwisegrant access to that account (i.e.,“shoulder-surfing”).

WI Social Media ProtectionAct Signed By Governor

The Automotive Aftermarket Associa-tion Southeast Inc. (AAAS) AnnualConference and Trade Show 2014 willbe held June 5–8, 2014, at the Sandes-tin Village of Baytowne Wharf in Des-tin, FL. In addition to providing usefuleducational information, the eventwill offer an excellent forum for net-working opportunities and plenty ofadventure through a fishing expedi-tion, golf tournament, and dinnercruise.

The cost of the conference is $135per person with additional fees for thegolf tournament and deep sea fishingexpedition as detailed below. To regis-ter, return the registration form (avail-able at www.aaas.us/events.aspx) andpayment to AAAS Annual Conferenceand Trade Show, 11245 ChantillyParkway Court, Montgomery, AL36117.

For questions or additional infor-mation, contact Jennifer Johnson at800-239-7779 or [email protected].

Thursday, June 5The conference will begin on Thurs-day, June 5, 2014, with a WelcomeReception from 6:00–7:30 PM.

Friday, June 6Networking opportunities will resumeat 5:15 AM Friday, June 6, 2014, withdeep sea fishing aboard the Miss HazelCharter Boat located behind the Fish-erman’s Wharf Restaurant on Highway98. With a huge 20-by-20-foot fishingdeck, the boat can accommodate up to20 people, who will be provided withall necessary equipment and lunch, toenjoy this angling trip at a cost of only$100 per angler. At 2:00 PM, theAAAS Board of Directors meeting willbe held at the Baytowne ConferenceCenter, and the evening will concludewith the AAAS Chairman’s Receptionat the Baytowne Marina.

Saturday, June 7After a continental breakfast andtabletop show at 7:30 AM, the educa-tional portion of the conference willbegin on Saturday, June 7, 2014, at8:30 AM with AAAS chairman MikeMorgan welcoming attendees andsharing the “State of the AssociationReports.”

Following Morgan, the firstpresentation of the morning will be“Aftermarket Changes and TrendsImpacting You and Your Business,”given by keynote speaker John Wash-bish, president and CEO of After-market Auto Parts Alliance. Over thecourse of his four-decade-long careerin the aftermarket industry, Washbishhas served on several councils andassociation boards in addition to re-ceiving multiple awards that recog-nize his leadership skills. Morganfeels “very fortunate to have Johnjoining us for our annual conference.We look forward to his visit, and himsharing his views and insights on theindustry and the economy.”

AAAS has also scheduled threeadditional gentlemen to follow Wash-bish, and they “are honored to wel-come an impressive list of guestspeakers who will deliver very timelyeducational and informative presenta-tions on some of the most importanttopics facing the aftermarket industrytoday,” Morgan states.

Washbish’s presentation will befollowed by Scott Luckett, CEO of theAutomotive Aftermarket Industry As-sociation (AAIA), who will discuss“The Connected Car: The Impact ofVehicle Telematics in the Auto CareIndustry.” Luckett’s efforts in the af-termarket industry have yieldedrecognition in the form of the 2001Northwood University AutomotiveAftermarket Education Award and the2002 University of the AftermarketFounders Service Award.

Following a short break, “After-market Access to OEM Vehicle RepairInformation” will be presented bySkip Potter, executive director of theNational Automotive Service TaskForce (NASTF). With over 45 yearsof experience in the automotive in-dustry, Potter has worked for multipletrade associations and been recog-nized with several awards, includingbeing named an “Aftermarket Influ-ence” by Babcox Publications in1999.

The concluding seminar, “Oba-macare: Its Impact on You, Your Em-ployees, and Your Business,” will beled by Wayne Bowling, senior vicepresident of employee benefits for the

Willis Group. Bowling has been in-volved in the sphere of employee ben-efits since 1981 and will have plentyof useful insights on the highly-antic-ipated topic of Obamacare.

The 2014 Bell/Hines MemorialScholarship Golf Tournament willstart at 12:30 PM at the BaytowneRaven Golf Course. Proceeds fromthe tournament benefit the AAAS Ed-ucational Foundation Scholarship Pro-gram (AAASEF). The four-personscramble is an 18-hole tournamentwith competitions for longest drive,straightest drive, closest to the pin,and hole-in-one prizes on par-3 holdswith a possible prize of up to $10,000,sponsored by Federated Insurance.The golf tournament was establishedin 2008 to honor Dick Bell and AlHines for their tireless contributions tothe aftermarket industry. Participantswill be charged $125 per golfer with$25 being a tax-deductible donation toAAASEF. The entry fee also covers

green fees, lunch, refreshments, and agolf kit.

The AAAS Annual Conferenceand Trade Show 2014 will concludeon Saturday night with a dinnerparty and bay cruise aboard Sun-Quest Cruises’ Solaris, included inthe conference cost. With threedecks of indoor and outdoor attrac-tions, attendees will enjoy a three-hour dinner cruise with three fullcourses, a premium bar, and houseentertainment.

Automotive Aftermarket Association Southeast Finalizes Conference Plans for 2014






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On Thursday, May 1, the WashingtonMetropolitan Auto Body Association(WMABA) hosted industry speakerMike Anderson for a full-day educa-tional seminar on “The Encyclopediaof Estimating Practices” at the LKQTraining Center in Linthicum Heights,MD. In addition to providing a State ofthe Industry update, Anderson’s semi-nar also touched on parts procurement,the future of DRPs, cycle time andmany other topics. Jordan Hendler,Executive Director of WMABA, de-scribes the seminar: “With his usualboisterous and ‘take-me-as-I-come-or-leave-me’ personality, Mike gave at-tendees more than they bargained for.Safety is his number one priority, andhe wants every pair of ears to hear howvehicle technology is changing every-thing we know about collision repairprocesses.”

Through his passionate approach,Anderson’s goal was to stress that, de-spite the importance of focusing on

cycle time, safety is an even morepressing concern for collision repairersbecause the consumer is trusting theirrepair facility to look out for their bestinterests and ensure that their car is re-stored to its pre-loss condition properly.“A lot of people aren’t aware of what ittakes to fix a car properly. I don’t meanthat disrespectfully; it’s just that the in-dustry is changing so fast that it takes alot to keep up on things today. You re-ally have to spend time on training,”Anderson emphasizes.

In discussing the impact that aproper repair estimate has on cycletime, Anderson explained, “when youpass on an estimate that’s really in-complete and another technician findsmore damage, you’re just creating in-efficiency in your process… Speed isthe name of the game. It’s not justabout writing an accurate blueprint tofix the car right...Even if you’re not aDRP, you have to get [better] at turn-ing cars quicker just because there is

less profit on a job and you have toturn more cars just to get to the break-even point quicker. We really tried tofocus [in the class] on just how the es-timate is really the basis for getting theright part the first time and the basisfor communicating properly with acustomer.”

Anderson discussed everythingfrom receiving proper reimbursementfrom insurers to lean processes, re-ducing stress in the shop environmentand the demands that new technologyplaces on repairers. “We really have tounderstand that with all this new tech-nology with accident avoidance sys-tems, lane departure systems andautonomous braking that you can’tjust go through [the vehicle] like in theold days and say, ‘I’m just going tocheck out all the lights and doorlocks.’” You have to have a scan toolto actually take and check a lot ofthese things during an output test and[make] sure they’re working prop-erly.”

Rather than suggesting quickfixes, Anderson provides tools andmethods for learning, focusing onthe long-term solution of student-initiated learning and adaptation. Aspart of this initiative, Anderson pro-

vided attendees with a list of web-sites where they can acquire thistype of necessary knowledge:www.DEGweb.org, www.Collision-Advice.com, www.EstimateScrub-ber.com, www.PartsVoice.com, andwww.Estify.com.

Anderson was pleased with par-ticipants’ responses to his seminar:“Everybody was interactive and hadlots of great questions. One of things Ifound really refreshing was there werea lot of young people in the class, par-ticularly young females. It’s reallynice to see more and more womenrepresented in the industry. It’s alwaysnice to see young people. With whatwe do with regards to computers andtechnology, young people are moreopen to [this industry].”

As a recurring speaker at WMABAmeetings, Anderson praises the associa-tion and explains why he is always will-ing to visit the East Coast to teach theassociation’s members. “I get the privi-lege of working with a lot of differenttrade associations across the country,and I don’t think a lot of people realizewhat they have in Jordan Hendler as ex-ecutive director. She is truly one of themost passionate people you can evermeet in the industry.”


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Mike Anderson Visits WMABA to Discuss Estimating Practices, Parts Procurement and More!



The 2014 LKQ Get Green promotionstarted in February 2014, and endedApril 17, 2014. The nationwide pro-motion offered thousands of instant-win prizes along with a sweepstakespromotion for a chance to win a 2014Honda Accord. Overall, there was onegrand prize winner, five first placewinners, two second place winners,five third place winners, and thou-sands of instant-prize winners.

The grand prize winner is JohnAvila, owner of John’s Auto Center inCorpus Christi, TX. Avila will receivethe 2014 Green Car of the Year, aHonda Accord.

“I have been a customer withLKQ for many years, beginning in theGreenleaf days,” says Avila. “I feelunbelievable and overwhelmed that Iwon a car. Something you think willnever happen, then it happens to you,I feel thankful and blessed,” statedAvila.

John’s Auto Center participatedin the LKQ Get Green promotion

through LKQ Central Texas located inNew Braunfels, TX. The 17-acre lo-cation services the Austin, San Anto-nio, McAllen, and Corpus Christimarkets with quality recycled autoparts.

“John’s Auto Center has been avaluable customer of ours for overeight years. They have been using thesame sales representative for thoseeight years, and John the owner is agreat long-term shop owner and verydeserving of this grand prize,”stated Tchad Taormina, LKQ CentralTexas plant manager.

The first place winners each willreceive Raleigh bicycles, the secondplace winners each will receive a $200LKQ gift card, and the third placewinners each will receive a solarbackpack. The instant-win prizes in-cluded 10,000 trees being plantedthrough the Arbor Day Foundation,digital music downloads, limited edi-tion LKQ Get Green t-shirts, LKQ giftcards, and iPads.

LKQ’s 2014 GetGreen Promotion Winners Announced


The winners of the annual Society ofCollision Repair Specialists (SCRS)Industry Achievement Awards—whichrecognize industry professionals whohave distinguished themselves throughtheir outstanding efforts and excep-tional commitment on behalf of thecollision repair industry—were an-nounced at the SCRS Industry Awardsand Corporate Member RecognitionLunch on April 9, 2014, in Portland,OR.

“These individuals personify thebest the collision repair profession hasto offer; those who help drive effectivechange and positive results in their in-dustry and surrounding communities,”stated Dusty Womble, chairman of theSCRS Nominations and Awards Com-mittee. “It’s always incredibly excitingto spend time recounting the positiveexample of these exceptional achieve-ments, and this year proved to be noexception.”

SCRS thanks the 2014 award win-ners—pacesetters that establish a posi-tive tone for the rest of the industry.

“It’s satisfying to be able to de-vote a night to those individuals whoserve as an inspiration for all of us thatcome into contact with them,” addedAaron Schulenburg. “Their enthusi-asm for the industry is infectious and,as a result, they motivate us to giveour best as well.”

Collision Industry Individual ServiceAwardThe Collision Industry Individual Serv-ice Award is intended for individuals inthe industry that exhibit actions con-sidered exemplary in maintaining andadvancing the collision repair industry.

The 10th annual recipient MikeAnderson owned Wagonwork Colli-sion Centers in Alexandria, VA, forover 20 years. Selling the businessprovided Mike the opportunity tofocus his efforts on his true passion:helping collision repairers improvetheir businesses and, as a result, theirlives through his Collision Adviceconsulting company. In 2014, Mikespent more than 341 days on the roaddoing workshops, seminars, and on-site consulting, and he is a frequentspeaker for SCRS affiliate associa-tions because of his passion, presence,and knowledge. Mike was unable toaccept the award in person because hewas working with a collision repaireractively engaged in the activity he wasbeing recognized for.

“I was brought up in this businessto give back as much as I can,” An-derson explains. “My dad drilled itinto me, and so did other influentialfigures in my life, including SheilaLoftus, formerly of the WashingtonMetropolitan Auto Body Association(WMBA) and Elainna Sachire, presi-dent of Square One Systems, who

moderated a 20 Group that had a last-ing impact on me. These mentorschallenged and encouraged me to seethat helping others opens the door tothe best kind of success, that which islong-lasting and true. Whether I’msharing information or providing edu-cation, I try never to lose sight of thatimportant fact.”

Anderson was presented with theaward later in the week during one ofhis seminars in St. Louis, MO. FrankLaViola from Enterprise Rent-A-Carsat Anderson in front of the classroomand read the original presentationspeech from the awards ceremony.

“Even though I couldn’t make it,just the thought of being in the com-pany of all those industry greats makesme speechless,” added Anderson. “Ionly want to help, so this recognition ishumbling, but at the same time verymuch appreciated.”

Collision Industry Non-IndividualService AwardThis award was created for SCRS tospotlight contributions to the collisionrepair industry from a corporate orcompany level. The 2014 award wentto the Collision Repair EducationFoundation (CREF), which is taskedto secure donations that support qual-ity collision repair education programsthat promote and enhance industry ca-reer opportunities.

Approximately 60,000 studentshave been touched by the CREF pro-grams, and close to 2,000 instructors

and 1,150 schools support the programs.In 2013 alone, CREF coordinated morethan $18 million in donations to highschools and colleges across the country,with support from each side of the “in-dustry aisle.”

“We are surprised and absolutelydelighted by the award,” stated ClarkPlucinski, CREF executive director.“Sometimes we wonder if the work wedo is recognized as providing some-thing the industry desperately needs,and then a validation like this awardcomes along and we’re reminded thatit most certainly is. The support con-tinues to pour in and it makes a hugedifference for our students. I want toexpress my incredible thanks to SCRSto make the commitment to thank us atthis level; their involvement makesthis award especially meaningful.”

Regional Lifetime Achievement AwardJohn Mattos was a third-generationautomotive refinish supplier. The ProFinishes PLUS enterprise he ownedtogether with his cousin Joe Mattosremains a spiritual successor to thepaint business started by his grandfa-ther in 1928, a tradition passed downto his father and uncle and most re-cently to John and Joe.

While John was generous with histechnical and refinish product knowl-edge, it is his work with the WMABAfrom its inception in 1967 to the pres-ent for which he is fondly remembered.

“John was a good evangelist forWMABA in the early days, perfect forspreading the word because he had agregarious personality and close rela-tionships with many body shops in the

area,” said Joe. “His commitment tothe association lasted close to fourdecades; he never stopped spreadingthe word about WMABA achieve-ments, sharing his ideas how to makethe industry stronger and better, and

fostering leadership in others.”Joe didn’t know until the presen-

tation itself that he would be acceptingthe Regional Lifetime AchievementAward on behalf of his cousin. “I re-ally wished John could have beenthere to accept the accolades himself,”he stated, “but it was extremely grati-fying and quite an honor to see a life-time full of effort on behalf of ourindustry validated in a most meaning-ful way. It was quite an event and veryspecial to us indeed.”

Individual Lifetime Achievement AwardThe Lifetime Achievement Award isSCRS’ truest mark of distinction and arare recognition dispensed only tentimes in the over three decades of theSCRS existence. In 2014, the specialhonor went to Gary Wano, Jr., owner of

G.W. & Son Auto Body Shop in Okla-homa City, OK, a professional whowas raised in the industry and consis-tently exhibits his devotion to it—somuch so that the award seemed theonly way to properly recognize him.

“The Lifetime Achievement Awardis a symbol of the most exemplaryamong us, and Gary Wano certainly fitsthe description,” said Jeff Hendler whopresented the award to Wano. “He neverhesitates to assist those who need it andhas a knack for bringing out the best insomeone, whether they’re close to homeor half way around the world. Thisaward speaks volumes of his integrityand unselfishness, and as much as it isan honor for Gary to receive the award,nothing could top the honor I felt pre-

Winners of Society of Collision Repair Specialists Industry Achievement Awards

Frank LaViola, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, andMike Anderson

Ronald Reichen, SCRS Chairman, andDomenic Brusco, CREF Treasurer

Barry Dorn, SCRS Past Chairman, and JoeMattos

See Achievement Awards, Page 42

On Wednesday, April 30 and Thurs-day, May 1, the National Auto BodyCouncil (NABC) held several meet-ings at I-CAR’s Corporate Offices inHoffman Estates, IL. Their StrategySession was held at 8AM on Wednes-day, and on Thursday, their 8AMCommittee Meeting preceded their10AM Board Meeting. This series ofmeetings was scheduled as part of theNABC’s ongoing efforts to build ontheir three-year strategic plan to con-tinually enhance initiatives that pres-ent a positive image of the collisionrepair industry in local communities.

Nick Notte, NABC Board Presi-dent, explains “as an organization, wecontinually review and consider wayswe can reach more collision repairerswho could benefit from the commu-nity initiatives we have developed.One of our goals is to partner and de-velop a synergy with other industrygroups which collectively benefits allof us in the collision industry.”

As such, key topics at these meet-ings included finding ways to increasecollaboration with other industry or-ganizations and to reach a broader au-dience of collision repair professionalsthrough the use of targeted industrysegmentation data. NABC’s efforts tocollaborate with other industry organ-izations can be seen in the upcomingCollision Industry Breakfast whichwill be held at the Skills USA compe-tition in Kansas City in June; thebreakfast is being jointly sponsored bythe NABC, the Collision Repair Edu-cation Foundation (CREF) and I-CAR.

In regards to their second effortdiscussed at the meetings, the NABChopes to utilize industry segmentationdata to ensure the organization isreaching the broadest possible audi-ence of collision repairers with a focuson all classes of facilities, includingeverything from small independentshops to larger multi-shop operations.

The NABC has also engaged in a con-certed effort to develop ways bywhich to further define and enhancethe value propositions provided totheir members. Notte notes, “sinceJanuary, we have had a record numberof new members join the NABC aswell as many who have renewed theircommitment.”

Recycled Rides also continuesto be one of the NABC’s main ini-tiatives, and they plan to hold pre-sentations about this and other coreefforts at upcoming industry events,including June’s Skills USA as wellas in July when they attend NACEin Detroit. Notte says, “NABC’s sig-nature initiative, Recycled Rides,has gained significant traction incommunities nationwide, and we areenthusiastic about our goal to donate300 vehicles this year. We are ener-gized and want to capitalize on thispositive, collaborative momentum inour mission to promote a positive

image of our collision industry.”

NABCwww.NationalAutoBodyCouncil.org520-548-2000


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Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton hassigned the Women’s Economic SecurityAct (“Act”) into law. The Act is a majorpiece of legislation aimed at improvingworking conditions for women that willhave a significant impact on Minnesotabusinesses. A combination of at leastnine different bills, the Act is intendedto reduce the gender pay gap and to pro-vide greater workplace protections forpregnant women and nursing mothers,among other things.

The Act adds a protected classunder the Minnesota Human Rights Act,Minn. Stat. Section 363A, et seq. (Ef-fective immediately) The Act expandsthe list of protected classes under theMinnesota Human Rights Act to include“familial status.” “Familial status”means “the condition of one or more mi-nors being domiciled with (1) their par-ent or parents or the minor’s legalguardian or (2) the designee of the par-ent or parents or guardian with the writ-ten permission of the parent or parentsor guardian. The term also includes anyperson who is pregnant or in the processof securing legal custody of a minor.

Pregnancy and parenting leaveunder state law is expanded to 12weeks. (Effective immediately) The Actdoubles allowable unpaid leave underthe Minnesota Parental Leave Act from6 weeks to 12 weeks and allows em-ployees to use leave for pregnancy-re-lated needs.

Additional protections for preg-nant and nursing women. (Effective im-mediately) The Act allows employeesto bring a civil action to enforce theirright to express breast milk during un-paid break times. In addition, employ-ers with at least 22 employees arerequired to provide reasonable minoraccommodations (e.g., water, food, anda stool) or a reasonable, temporary po-sition transfer for pregnant workers.

Wage disclosure protection. (Ef-fective immediately) The Act creates anew Section 181.172 of the MinnesotaStatutes, to prohibit an employer fromrequiring non-disclosure by an em-ployee of his or her wages as a condi-tion of employment or to take anyadverse employment action against anemployee for disclosing or discussingthe employee’s own wages or anotheremployee’s wages, which have beendisclosed voluntarily.

Expanded allowances for sickleave. (Effective immediately) The Actallows employees to use existing earnedsick leave under certain circumstances

related to sexual assault, domestic vio-lence, and stalking. It also allows grand-parents to use existing earned sick leaveto care for an ill or injured grandchild.

Protections imposed for victims ofstalking and sexual assault. (EffectiveOctober 5, 2014) The Act expands eli-gibility for unemployment benefits tovictims of stalking and sexual assault.

Certification for state contracts.(Effective August 1, 2014) The Act re-quires businesses with more than 50 em-ployees seeking state contracts worthmore than $500,000 to certify their com-pliance with existing equal pay laws.

Funding for women and high-wage, high-demand, non-traditionaljobs grant program and to promotewomen entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses. (Effective July 1,2014) The Act allocates money to es-tablish a program to increase the num-ber of women in high-wage, high-demand non-traditional occupations. Italso appropriates $500,000 for grants toWomen Venture and the Women’sBusiness Center of Northeastern Min-nesota to facilitate and promote the cre-ation of women-owned businesses inMinnesota.

Next Steps for Minnesota EmployersEmployers in Minnesota should takethe following actions to ensure compli-ance with the new law:

Update workplace policies and em-ployee handbooks regarding unpaidleave and sick leave. Even employersthat are not covered by the federal Fam-ily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)must now grant an unpaid leave of ab-sence to an employee who is: (1) a bio-logical or adoptive parent in conjunctionwith the birth or adoption of a child; or(2) a female employee for prenatal care,or incapacity due to pregnancy, child-birth or related health conditions. Theleave is determined by the employee,but it must not exceed 12 weeks, unlessagreed to by the employer.

Further, an employee also may usepersonal sick leave for absences due toan illness to or injury of the employee’smother-in-law, father-in-law, andgrandchild (which includes step, bio-logical, adopted, and foster grandchild),in addition to the employee’s child,adult child, spouse, sibling, parent,grandparent, or stepparent.

An employee also may use per-sonal sick leave for safety leave,whether or not the employee’s em-ployer allows use of sick leave for that

purpose, for such reasonable periods oftime as may be necessary. Safety leavemeans leave for the purpose of receiv-ing assistance because of sexual assault,domestic abuse, or stalking, whether onbehalf of the employee or employee’srelatives as defined above.

Offer reasonable accommodationsfor health conditions related to preg-nancy or childbirth. Reasonable ac-commodations must be offered to anemployee if she so requests, with theadvice of her licensed health careprovider or certified doula, unless theemployer demonstrates it would imposean undue hardship on the operation ofthe employer’s business. Such accom-modations may include: (1) more fre-quent restroom, food, and water breaks;(2) seating; and (3) limits on lifting over20 pounds. Retaliation against an em-ployee for requesting or obtaining suchan accommodation is prohibited.

For nursing mothers, an employermust make reasonable efforts to providea room or other location, other than abathroom, within close proximity to thework area that is shielded from viewand free from intrusion and that in-cludes access to an electrical outlet. Re-

taliation against an employee for as-serting rights under this section is pro-hibited.

Avoid discrimination based oncaregiver or parent status. The law adds“familial status” to the list of protectedclasses under the Minnesota HumanRights Act. Employers are generally pro-hibited from discriminating against preg-nant women and parents with childrenunder the age 18 at home and should notbe asking applicants whether they havechildren or care for children at home.

Be aware that employees are enti-tled to voluntarily disclose and discusstheir wages. Employers may not requirenon-disclosure of an employee’s wagesas a condition of employment, requirean employee to sign a waiver whichpurports to deny an employee the rightto disclose the employee’s wages, ortake any adverse employment actionagainst an employee for disclosing theemployee’s own wages voluntarily.

Certify compliance with the EqualPay Act. Employers seeking state con-tracts in excess of $500,000 must certifyto the commissioner of administrationtheir compliance with the federal EqualPay Act.


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Auto Damage Experts Will Perform Inspection and Verificationfor Assured Performance Network’s Certified Repair ShopsAssured Performance and Auto Dam-age Experts (ADE) announced at thelatest Collision Industry Conference(CIC) that ADE has been chosen toperform the inspection and verifica-tion of Assured Performance Certifiedrepair facilities across the country.

The Assured Performance certi-fication program provides a third-party assessment of a shop’s abilityto properly repair today’s complexvehicles back to the manufacturer’sspecifications by having the propertools, equipment, training, and facil-ity. Assured Performance and ADEwill work together to deliver an ac-curate and efficient process to assessthe participating shops’ capabilities,providing the consumer with an ac-curate and credible national networkof competent and reliable shops tochoose from in the event of a colli-sion. ADE has been long known forits superior vehicle appraisal and val-uation services, but ADE also pro-vides a suite of services including,but not limited to:● Detailed Collision Forensics● On-Site and Remote Pre-Repair In-spections, ensuring the accuracy of anestimate● In-Process Repair Monitoring en-

suring the proper processes and mate-rials● Post-Repair Inspections and Verifi-cations, providing confirmation of anaccurate repair● Training and Assistance in DamageAnalysis, equipping shops and adjus-tors with the most up-to-date infor-mation on repair specifications andtechniques.● Assessment of Required Repairsand the manufacturer’s recommendedprocesses and materials● Coaching/Consulting for day-to-daybusiness operations

“Assured Performance has devel-oped a first-class program, which offerssignificant value and opportunities to itsqualified members,” said Barrett Smith,ADE’s Founder and President. “We’reexcited and proud to work with AssuredPerformance in helping quality repair-ers take advantage of the many benefitsof the Certification program, includingrecognitions from numerous OEMs.”

For more information on AssuredPerformance visit www.assuredper-formance.net.

For more information on AutoDamage Experts, visit www.Auto-DamageExperts.com or e-mail:[email protected].

AudaExplore Launches Cloud-Based Fully Scalable EnterpriseBody Shop Management SolutionAudaExplore(TM), a leading data-driven solution provider to insurancecarriers, repairers, dealerships andfleet owners, today announced thelaunch of MSO Pro(TM), a cloud-based enterprise body shop manage-ment (BMS) solution that deliversunmatched capability to managemultiple repair locations and busi-ness functions through one experi-ence.

Featuring enterprise-level func-tionality with a dashboard-driven de-sign, MSO Pro is based upon proventechnology, which has alreadyprocessed tens of thousands of repairorders, and millions of dollars in col-lision repair revenue. The solution isan open architecture design that inte-grates with estimating platformsfrom AudaExplore or other technol-ogy providers to deliver unique cus-tomer moments and increase repairerproductivity through the following:

● Predictability: Repairers canmake better, more informed deci-sions that impact customer satisfac-tion and profitability outcomesthrough customer satisfaction report-ing, predictive production loadscheduling and standardizing processacross multiple repair locations.

● Scalability: No matter the sizeor number of locations, from a singleshop looking to grow into an MSO toorganizations opening their 100th lo-cation, the platform combines robustperformance analytics and reportingwith applications for all businessfunctions including: HR, Sales, Cus-tomer Relationship Management andOperations.

● Efficiency: Reducing complexIT integration across business func-tions and locations with its stablecloud-based accessibility via singlesign-on, self-service management ofadministrator permissions and thor-ough user adoption training and sup-port.

“We’re excited to bring to mar-ket a proven and comprehensive en-terprise solution--the first of its kinddesigned for MSOs,” said GordonHenderson, VP of Collision RepairSolutions, AudaExplore. “MSO Probreaks new ground in collision repairoperations, filling a void in whichmany MSOs have chosen to eitherbuild their own homegrown systems,or deal with the limitations of single-shop or low-volume solutions that re-quire ongoing add-ons to supporttheir multi-shop businesses.”

20 years ago in the collision repairindustry (June 1994)The association representatives at the(Society of Collision Repair Special-ists’ Leadership Conference) meetingwere in unanimous agreement on oneissue: insurer involvement in partspurchasing. A resolution, passed unan-imously, recognized the right of insur-ers to pursue programs they view ascost-saving, but called for the insur-ance industry to consider repair in-dustry concerts when developing anysuch program.

The resolution listed some of theindustry’s concerns regarding insurerinvolvement in the ordering or pur-chasing of parts, specifically:

• that insurers will use such pro-gram to force or intimidate a shop touse parts suppliers with which theshop does not want to do business;

• that the programs would sub-stantially reduce shop profits;

• that inefficiencies could result

from delays caused by such problemsas inaccurate parts numbers used inthe electronic process;

• that return of parts might bemore complicated (because of the dis-tance of the participating supplier, forexample); and,

• that the quality of service pro-vided by parts suppliers may suffer ifthe choice of suppliers is limited bysuch a program.

—as reported in Collision Expert

15 years ago in the collision repairindustry (June 1999)How much more money can the insur-ance industry squeeze from collisionrepairers? Try $2 billion to $4 billion.That’s the figure presented in an articlecalled “Achieving World-Class ClaimsPerformance Using Innovative SupplyChain Management” in McKinsey’sProperty-Casualty Insurance Annual.

How could the insurance indus-try realize this savings? By creating

super direct repair programs.“In general,” the report said,

“channeling more repair volume tofewer network participants leads tobetter prices and other concessions.”

David Friedman, one of the au-thors of the report, amplified the point.

“Let’s say State Farm says to theirDRP providers, ‘We think you’re thebest of the best and we’ve got a newhigher-grade program where we’ll

channel even more work to you andwe’ll have less inspection.”

—As reported in The GoldenEagle. By mid-2000, State Farmwas piloting a “Select Service” pro-gram with Sterling Collision shops(prior to that chain being owned byAllstate) in several markets; theprogram eventually replaced the in-surer’s “Service First” program, sig-nificantly reducing the number ofparticipating shops.

10 years ago in the collision repairindustry (June 2004)Tom McGee would like everyone inthe collision industry to ask them-selves two questions: What led you toget into this industry, and did you everexpect when you started out to bedoing what you’re doing now?

McGee, the CEO of I-CAR, posedthose questions to about 60 people at-tending an I-CAR “industry forum” inChicago as a way to introduce his con-


Auto Body Parts Receive Consumer Discount at AutoPros USA Parts Retail WebsiteAuto body parts are now under newterms of sale at the Auto Pros USAwebsite. All import and domesticparts shippable are receiving newsticker prices for purchasers. Dis-counts for select types of auto partscan be hard for consumers to locatedue to the increase of freight costs forautomobile parts shipments. The AutoPros USA company is now providinga discount for all used auto body partsavailable for sale at http://autopro-susa.com. The entire inventory ofAmerican and imported models ofparts that are available for public salethis year has been lowered in retailprice. New contracts with agencies of-fering better prices has helped to con-figure the current discounts that arefound when shopping on the companyhomepage in 2014.

“The vehicle body parts that areoffered are in preowned and in after-market condition to provide easy se-lection options for parts purchasers,”an Auto Pros source said.

The automobile replacementparts for sale that are marketed on theAuto Pros website to consumers nowfeature a new phase of warranty cov-erage. The extension of warranty pe-riods now included for most parts

sales is already calculated in thequoted prices.

“American and foreign au-tomaker brands can be found usingour search location tool on our home-page to discover all components dis-counts in place,” confirmed thesource.

The Auto Pros USA companywebsite now provides consumers withthe updated toll-free phone line usedto support customers not shoppingthrough the homepage this year. Thenumber at 1-888-230-1731 is now inplace for consumers to use for locat-ing company supplied parts.

The AutoProsUSA.com com-pany provides discounts for vehicleparts and accessories that can be pur-chased through its Internet portal.This company has launched a data-base available to consumers with hun-dreds of suppliers currently quotingprices before purchase. The AutoPro-sUSA.com company has a staff of ex-perts contributing to the customersupport now available daily. The au-tomotive partners that are foundthrough the company website changeperiodically as different distributorsare included in the North Americannetwork.

BASF Automotive Refinish recentlyrecognized five collision repair shopsas 2013 Performance Group Shopsof the Year at its VisionPLUS Busi-ness Solutions Performance GroupConference in Clearwater, FL. Colli-sion repair shops that utilize BASF’sVisionPLUS Business Solutions, andparticipate in the program’s Perform-ance Group meetings, were eligiblefor the award. The 2013 winningshops are:● Auto Body Specialties, Springfield,OR, Byron Davis, Owner.● Crystal Lake Automotive, Lakeville,MN, Jim Siegfried and Karl Drotning,Owners.● Frank’s Autobody Collision Solu-tions Network, Vernon, British Co-lumbia, Canada, Matt Brunelle, JesseBrunelle, Dave Brunelle and ReneBrunelle, Owners.● LaMettry’s Collision, Richfield,MN, Joanne LaMettry, Owner.● Center Square Motors, Blue Bell,PA, Chuck Dietch, Owner.

The five winners were selectedbased on criteria including sales im-provement; overall gross profit im-provement; Vision PLUS PerformanceGroup meeting attendance; and meet-ing participation and contributions.

BASF Recognizes 5 Shopsas Shops of the Year

The U.S. automotive aftermarket isexpected to grow on a compound an-nual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.4 per-cent until 2017, according to the“2014 Joint Channel ForecastModel” produced by the AutomotiveAftermarket Suppliers Association(AASA) and the Auto Care Associa-tion. The model predicts that the totalaftermarket sales will grow from$238.4 billion in 2013 to $273.4 bil-lion in 2017, an increase of $35 bil-lion over four years. “The forecastmodel demonstrates that despitestrong new vehicle sales, historichigh gas prices and a flattening ofmiles driven, our industry is poisedfor steady growth,” said KathleenSchmatz, Auto Care Associationpresident and CEO. “Why? The av-erage age of vehicles is 11.4 years,the oldest ever, and the age mix ofvehicles continues to favor older ve-hicles, creating a robust sweet spotfor service and repair.” Said BillLong, AASA president and COO,“The forecast model anticipates thatgrowth in population, employmentand income will lead to an increasein miles driven and the number ofvehicles on the road resulting inlong-term aftermarket growth.”

Automotive Aftermarket isExpected to Grow 3.4% PY

June Retrospective: ASA Position, CAPA, CIC

with David BrownShop Showcase

with Attorney Martin ZuradaBody Shop Law

with Domenico Nigro

The Community-Focused Body Shop

with Janet ChaneyShop Showcase

with Frank SheroskyIndustry Business Beat

with Chasidy Rae SiskAssociations Assembling

with Chasidy Rae SiskWestern Associations

with Chasidy Rae SiskOld School Know How

with Chasidy Rae SiskAssociations Assembling

with Chasidy Rae SiskSoutheast News


with Chasidy Rae SiskNational Associations

with Chasidy Rae SiskNorthwest Associations

with Chasidy Rae SiskSouthwest Associations


with Chasidy Rae SiskNortheast Associations

with John YoswickHistorical Snapshot

with Ed AttanasioShop Showcase

with Ed AttanasioMedia Matters

with Ed AttanasioOld School Know How

with Ed AttanasioAdvertising Advantages

with Ed AttanasioAssociations Assembling

Association Meetingswith Thomas Franklin

Western Associationswith Thomas Franklin

—John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has a bodyshop in the family and has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988.He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription,visit www.CrashNetwork.com). Contact him by email at [email protected].

Solera’s Tony Aquila, speaking at an interna-tional collision repair conference in 2009,said businesses should focus on ‘value’rather than price, “because cheap sucks.”

cept for some websites to help attractmore young people into the industry.

“Nobody ever explains the careeropportunities,” said McGee, who saidhe’s now the head of an internationaltraining organization but started out inthe autobody “hobby class” in hishigh school. “I use the example oftouring the DuPoint lab and looking atpeople who used to be techniciansnow working in the chemistry area inproduct analysis. Guys who worked inthe stall next to me at my first job outof college now work for GM andDaimler-Chrysler. Did I expect themto go there or me to go here? No. Butwe don’t show parents what these op-portunities are to allow them to un-derstand that kids can make a goodcareer and living in this industry.”

McGee, drawing on his own ex-perience as the father of three kids,ages 7 to 12, suggested that I-CAR de-velop age-based websites that wouldinclude such interactive activities asracing and other games, drag-and-drop customizing of vehicles, triviaand printable coloring books thatwould give kids reasons to visit thesites…The sites would let kids tinkerwith cars “virtually,” and also helpthem see that collision repair skills

can lead to rewarding careers not onlywithin shops, but also with paint com-panies, information providers and in-surers.

—As reported in AutobodyNews. I-CAR launched two such web-sites in 2005. CollisionCareers.org isstill live, though it is fairly static andoffers little in the way of career path“stories” as it did in the early days.CollisionKids.org is no longer an ac-tive site. McGee left I-CAR in 2008and is now with the Automotive Train-ing Institute.

5 years ago in the collision repairindustry (June 2009)Tony Aquila, CEO of Solera, Inc. (theparent company of AudaExplore) toldthe 250 IBIS attendees (shops, insur-ers and vendors from about two dozencountries) that businesses moving for-ward can take one of two roads.

“I think you can just focus on‘faster, better, cheaper,’ but to me,that’s a dead-end,” he said. “It reallydoesn’t take you anywhere, becauseeventually, you can’t make it that muchcheaper, and you start to erode yourprofitability, then you start to lose yourenthusiasm and vision, and everythingkind of unravels. Or you can focus on

what we believe, which is ‘faster, bet-ter, more valuable.’ Focus on high-value things that allow you theopportunity to innovate. Because thenprice is not the issue. It’s about thevalue you are delivering. We make nobones about it: When we do something,we want to get paid for it becausewe’re doing something high-value.”

Aquila was asked how his com-pany’s shop customers can use thatconcept when they feel continuallysqueezed by insurers.

“If the customer is saying theywant cheaper, then I would argue to mypeople that we’re not doing a goodenough job providing more value,”Aquila said. “When you focus on justprice, the value curve is out of the equa-tion. That means innovation is not hap-pening. You’re not giving them moreservices. When customers say to me,‘We need it cheaper,’ then I immedi-ately think: What do I have to do to addmore value so they stop talking aboutcheap. Because cheap sucks. It’s notgood for any of us. What we need toconcentrate on is how do we get thewaste out of the process.”

—as reported in CRASH Net-work (www.CrashNetwork.com),June 29, 2009.


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I-CAR® reinforces their ongoingcommitment to providing improvedservices to industry professionals bylaunching the first of many en-hancements to the I-CAR website.These first enhancements are cen-tered around the user registrationand tracking portal, myI-CAR.com,with improvements that includemore user-friendly, streamlined reg-istration and login pages, along withredesigned, personalized landingpages for faster navigation and easeof class scheduling. Users will seean immediate difference during thelogin process and find navigationeasier as soon as they enter the site.The new landing pages have graph-ically-focused visual navigation foreasy identification of quick links tofrequently utilized resources and in-formation. Some of the new high-lights include immediate visibilityto Gold Class and Platinum recog-nition status, expiration dates andreports that provide specific detailson training required by students andbusinesses in order to achieve ormaintain their Platinum or GoldClass status. Visit www.i-car.com orcontact Customer Care at 800-I-CAR-USA.

I-CAR Enhances Website,Other Improvements Coming


NSF Certifies 500 Sheet Metal Parts Made by GordonNSF International has certified 500 dif-ferent sheet metal hoods and fendersfrom Gordon Auto Body Parts Co.,Ltd. via the NSF Automotive CollisionReplacement Parts Certification Pro-gram. The NSF certification of 500unique sheet metal parts includes morethan 700 different models from allmajor auto companies. NSF certifiedparts now cover more than 20,000 ve-hicle applications and represent a sig-nificant increase in the number of sheetmetal certified parts available in themarket. This 500 parts certificationcomplements Gordon’s already certi-fied steel bumpers and bumper brack-ets. To earn certification, Gordonautomotive parts were independentlyreviewed and tested against OE serv-ice parts and all hoods and fenderswere fitted to vehicles to ensure properfit. NSF International also regularlyaudits Gordon’s OE-ready manufac-turing facilities and quality systems toensure that they meet or exceed eachof NSF’s stringent requirements.

“Achieving this important certifi-cation from NSF International is es-sential as it underscores the quality andintegrity of our automotive parts interms of fit, form and function. Welook forward to certifying more autoparts in the near future,” said RichardWang, Gordon Auto Body Parts Co.

Executive Assistant to President. “ThisNSF certification occurs in conjunctionwith the increase in Gordon’s sheetmetal parts inventory so we are pre-pared to offer these NSF certified partsto ensure inventory levels can meet theanticipated growth in demand.”

“Earning NSF certification un-derscores Gordon’s commitment to en-suring that high-quality collisionreplacement parts are available so bodyrepairers, insurers and distributors canmake more quality repairs using NSFcertified hoods, fenders, steel bumpersand bumper brackets,” said BobFrayer, Director of NSF Interna-tional’s Automotive Collision Certifi-cation Programs. In addition to sheetmetal components, the NSF Automo-tive Collision Replacement Parts Cer-tification Program tests and certifieslamps, bumper fascias, reinforcingbeams (rebars), step bumpers, plasticcomponents and absorbers. NSF alsooffers automotive collision parts dis-tributor certification, which requiresdistributors to have quality manage-ment systems in place that addresstraceability, service and quality issues.This includes having an effectiverecords system, inventory systems totrack orders and parts through the sup-ply chain, and an ISO 9001-certifiedquality management system.

Car-O-Liner Offers Free Value-Added Design PlanningCar-O-Liner®, a leading globalprovider of collision repair equipmentto the automotive aftermarket, offersWorkShop facility design planning forCar-O-Liner equipment placement asa free value-added service throughlocal authorized Car-O-Liner Distrib-utors.

Through this service, shops ad-dress challenges posed by limited spaceor awkward building layouts by de-signing a concept for how Car-O-Linerequipment will best fit to optimizework flow, thereby providing confi-dence that their equipment investmentwill maximize both technician produc-tivity and shop profitability.

After consulting on the objec-tives of the facility, the Car-O-LinerDistributor will work with shop oper-ators and their architects to plan andvisualize the most effective layout

from a top view in 2D. The uniquefootprint of the building is accuratelyrepresented to include structural at-tributes such as garage bay openingsas well as doors, windows, lighting,

and more. Equipment can be rotatedand moved, in real time, to determineoptimal placement with considerationfor vehicle flow restrictions, safety,and other requirements of the space.At any time, the design can be viewedin 3D from any angle with the abilityto save and print high-resolutiondrawings and specifications. In addi-tion to 3D renderings, a detailed re-port of the Car-O-Liner equipmentspecifications selected for the layoutcan be printed to quickly and easilymake the design a reality.

To learn more about how aWorkShop facility design plan canimprove your efficiency, contact yourlocal Car-O-Liner Distributor, visitwww.car-o-liner.com, or call toll free(844) 833-9419.

As of May 12, 2014, you can now reg-ister to attend the 2014 SEMA Show atwww.SEMAShow.com/register. Theannual trade show for the automotiveaccessories market is set for Tuesday–Friday, November 4–7, 2014, in LasVegas, NV.

You can register as an attendee,exhibitor, and media member:

Attendees: Distributors, retail-ers, installers, and buyers who will bemeeting with exhibitors at the SEMAShow should register as an attendee.Applicants may be required to submitproof of employment in the industry.During registration, attendees will beable to sign up for special events and

seminars, including those offered bythe Society of Collision & Repair Spe-cialists (SCRS), Tire Industry Associ-ation (TIA), and more. Approvedattendees who register before the earlydeadline in October 2014 will receivetheir badges in the mail.

Exhibitors: Theexhibitor category isfor company person-nel working in thebooths of exhibitingcompanies. To securean exhibitor badge,individuals will needto have the uniquepassword and user idthat was provided,via email, to the pri-mary contact at theexhibiting company.The primary contactmay register the en-tire staff at one time

quickly and easily. Exhibitor badgesare not to be used for non-employees,including contest winners, contrac-tors, and vendors. During registration,exhibitors will also be able to ordercomplimentary tickets to the SEMAIndustry Awards Banquet. Tickets tothe banquet, which is attended by3,000 attendees and considered bymany to be the industry’s premier cel-

ebration, sell for $50 each.Media members: Editors and

journalists covering the SEMA Showcan register for complimentary mediacredentials. Applicants may need tosupply proof of media affiliation,such as bylined articles or businesscards. All approved media will beable to pick up their credentials on-site in the SEMA Show Media Cen-ter, which includes exclusive servicesand amenities to assist with reportingfrom the event. During registration,media are able to secure a ticket tothe LTAA Media Preview—a brand-new event that will give media ex-clusive early access to new productson Monday, November 3, 2014, theday before the SEMA Show officiallyopens.

“There are many advantages toregistering early for the SEMA Show,”said Peter MacGillivray, SEMA vicepresident of events and communica-tions. “Early application expedites theregistration process, which is the firststep to developing a personal plan forthe show. Whether you’re an exhibitor,buyer, or media, having a plan in ad-vance of the event is the best way toensure success.”

Complete details about the SEMAShow and registration are available atwww.semashow.com.

SEMA Show Registration Now Open

senting it to him.”Receiving an award of this mag-

nitude was hard for Gary to process ini-tially. “I have to say maybe I still don’tbelieve it,” he said. “In my 51 years oflife, the only milestones more incredi-ble than this one were the birth of mychildren.

Family is so important to me, Iwouldn’t have had the time availableto offer help to other repairers aroundthe globe had I not been blessed withmy sisters Kristi Wano and TammyTomberlin and my parents Gary, Sr.and Leona, who were willing to focuson the day-to-day operations of ourstore. “Their contribution also al-lowed me to work with some of thebest leadership in the industry, theSCRS board. SCRS helped me growinto the professional I am today, andit’s no surprise as I see all of the at-tributes listed for this award in eachSCRS board member. They share apassion for the industry and aspire toa level of fortitude and selflessness intheir drive for industry improvement.If we keep moving forward, I have nodoubt the best is yet to come.”


Achievement Awards


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ABRA Auto Body & Glass, a lead-ing national damaged vehicle repaircompany, announced the purchase ofall 24 Collision Centers of Americarepair centers in Chicago, Illinois,the surrounding communities, andNorthwest Indiana. Terms of the dealwere not disclosed.

“They’re a great company. Iknow our employees and customerswill be in good hands moving for-ward and will receive the same per-sonalized service and top-qualityworkmanship they have enjoyedwith us over the years.”

ABRA is one of the largest andfastest growing multi shop repair op-erators in the country. Today’s trans-action boosts its nationwideportfolio to 218 collision repair cen-ters in 17 states.

“ABRA is one of the mosticonic brands in the collision repairindustry,” said David Mulder Sr.,founder and president of CollisionCenters of America. “They’re a greatcompany. I know our employees andcustomers will be in good handsmoving forward and will receive thesame personalized service and top-quality workmanship they have en-joyed with us over the years.”

ABRA Acquires 24 CollisionCenters of America Locations

The Automotive Management Insti-tute (AMI) is accepting applicationsfor the $1,000 Arrowhead SpecialtyMarkets "High Octane" Scholarship.The scholarship, which is awardedto an Automotive Service Associa-tion (ASA) Mechanical Divisionmember who strives to be, or ispresently working in a managementcapacity. The scholarship will beapplied toward the recipient’s ex-penses to attend the 2014 Congressof Automotive Repair and Service(CARS) in Detroit, July 31–Aug. 2.CARS is sponsored by ASA and of-fers an educational lineup of AMIseminars, technical training coursesand industry sessions, an expositionand the opportunity to network withother automotive service profession-als. To be eligible, applicants mustwork in the mechanical repair in-dustry; must demonstrate an interestin self-improvement through educa-tion and training; must own or workfor a business that is an ASA mem-ber in good standing; and, if the ap-plicant is not the business owner,must be recommended by the owner.To request a scholarship application,call AMI at (800) 272-7467, ext.101.

AMI Taking Applications for$1,000 High-Octane Award

Allstate Corp., the largest publiclytraded home and auto insurer, hiredAlan Gellman from Wells Fargo &Co. to oversee marketing at its Es-urance unit. Gellman will be chief mar-keting officer, reporting to EsuranceChief Executive Officer Gary Tolmanin San Francisco. He held marketingroles for the past 10 years at WellsFargo, the auto insurer said. Allstate hasramped up advertising spending to wincustomers from big spending rivalssuch as GEICO and Progressive Corp.

Solera Holdings Inc. says it is buyingthe insurance and services division ofprivate equity-owned Pittsburgh GlassWorks LLC for $280 million, expand-ing the Texas-based insurance soft-ware company’s business to includeautomobile repair and claims man-agement services. Solera’s acquisitionof the insurance division, which is ex-pected to close by the end of June, willbe paid for entirely with cash, thecompany said. Pittsburgh GlassWorks is owned by NY-based privateequity firm Kohlberg & Co. LLC.

Auto parts retailer Advance AutoParts Inc reported a 21 percent risein quarterly profit, helped by the ac-quisition of the biggest operator ofthe Carquest chain of auto repairshops and car parts stores. AdvanceAuto completed the acquisition ofGeneral Parts International Inc inJanuary, making the company thelargest auto parts retailer by sales inthe United States. Advance Auto’snet income as reported rose to$147.7 million in the first quarterended April 19 from $121.8 milliona year earlier.

Bloomberg reports Esurance toTake on Advertising Giants

Solera Buys Pittsburgh GlassWorks’ Insurance Business

Advance Auto Profit Up 21%,Acquisition Boosts Sales

The Society of Collision RepairSpecialists (SCRS) Member Serv-ices E-Catalog was created tohelp SCRS members do businesswith other members. If you are arepair facility, share it with yourfriends and colleagues; if you arewith an association, pass it alongto your membership. If you are acorporate or company member,share it with your customer baseor post to your social media ac-count. View the catalog at:http://scrs.com/index.php?id=e-catalog.

SCRS Member’s E-Catalog


According to Ford, 850 Ford dealer-ships have enrolled technicians intraining courses to learn how to docollision repairs on the 2015 alu-minum F-150 pickup. Ford said thenumber exceeds its goal of having 750dealerships enrolled in the courses bythe end of 2014.

The training courses will betaught by instructors from I-CAR.Jason Bartanen, I-CAR director ofindustry technical relations, calls itone of the biggest technical trainingprograms of its kind ever. So far, I-CAR has scheduled about 700 classesin locations around the country. Deal-ership training begins this month.Training for independent collisionshops and insurance estimators beginsin June.

“Because of the magnitude andvolume of this vehicle, I think we’regoing to see a fantastic response tothis course,” he said.

Ford’s shift from steel to alu-minum on its biggest-selling vehicleis an enormous industrial undertakingand affects everyone from the factoryfloor to the collision repair shop. Fordwants to be sure collision repair spe-cialists know what they’re doing thefirst time a damaged aluminumpickup rolls into a shop.

Ford sold 763,402 F-series trucksin 2013. It doesn’t report sales of theF-150 separately from the rest of the Fseries, but Ford production statisticsshow that 69 percent of all F-seriesproduction was F-150 in 2013.2-part course

The I-CAR training course willbe divided into two segments. Thefirst teaches general aluminum repairtechniques, including aluminum weld-ing and the operation of rivet guns.The second concentrates on particulardesign elements of the 2015 F-150 it-self.

Ford has offered to pay the costof one technician per dealership forthe training course, which takes abouttwo days and costs about $1,000.Dealerships that want to have morethan one trained technician will paythe additional expense to send extratechnicians.

To work on aluminum, Fordrecommends that dealerships withbody shops and independent repairshops buy new tools, including spe-cialized rivet guns, MIG (metal inertgas) welders and specialized vacuumsystems. Ford has estimated dealer-ships can buy the equipment theyneed to get started for $30,000 to$50,000.

When aluminum is bent or bro-ken, it behaves differently than steel.Aluminum does not have the “metalmemory” to resume its original shape,as steel does.

Ford strongly recommends col-lision shops set up separate areasfor working on aluminum becauseof steel-aluminum contamination is-sues. Galvanic corrosion, similar torust, can occur when the metalstouch each other. Combustion canalso occur when the two metalsmix.

Among the training requirementswill be a weld test in which techni-cians will be asked to perform sixwelds from two positions. I-CARwelding experts will travel to dealer-ships and repair shops to be sure thatthey have acquired the proper alu-minum-handling equipment and thatit is installed properly, Bartanen said.Independent shops

Roughly 20 percent of Ford’s

more than 3,000 dealerships havebody shops; the rest outsource thework to other dealerships or to inde-pendent collision repair shops. Fordsaid it has enrolled about 420 inde-pendent shops and hopes to enroll 750by year end.

Technicians aren’t the only oneswho need a better understanding ofthe aluminum repair process: Insur-ance adjusters do, too.

Said Bartanen: “This trainingwill be open to the insurance industryso insurance adjusters will know whatto do and can write more accuratedamage assessments.”

I-CAR and Ford experts also willoffer lectures and demonstrations onrepairing the new F-150 at the Inter-national Autobody Congress & Expo-sition (NACE) July 30-Aug. 2 inDetroit.

The 2015 F-150 is scheduled toarrive in dealerships in the fourthquarter.

Ford Dealerships Exceed Enrollment Goals for Collision Repair Training on F-150

BMW Group’s joint venture withSGL Group will spend $200 millionto triple the capacity of its carbonfiber products plant in Moses Lake,WA. The factory will become theworld’s largest producer of carbonfiber, with an annual output of 9,000tons by 2015 when the expansion iscompleted. The plant provides car-bon fiber reinforced plastics forBMW’s family of i electric and plug-in hybrid cars—the i3 electric com-pact car and the i8 plug-in hybridsports car. The i3 has just been re-leased in the US and the i8 is tolaunch in August. The carbon fiberhas been used to produce 5,000 i3cars at BMW’s factory in Leipzig,Germany, which has a daily output of100 vehicles. With the expansion,BMW said it will be able to use thecarbon fiber for other models “atcompetitive costs and in large quan-tities.” The redesigned 7-series flag-ship sedan due in two years isexpected to make extensive use ofcarbon fiber. The joint venture, SGLAutomotive Carbon Fibers, is 49 per-cent owned by BMW. The partnershave spent $100 million on the plant,which has 80 employees. The expan-sion will create 120 additional jobs.

BMW Joint Venture to TripleCarbon Fiber Plant Capacity

The U.S. government lost $11.2 bil-lion on its bailout of General Mo-tors, more than the $10.3 billionTreasury estimated when it sold itsremaining GM shares in December.The $11.2 billion loss includes awrite-off in March of the govern-ment’s remaining $826 million in-vestment in "old" GM. The U.S.government spent about $50 billionto bail out GM. During the com-pany’s 2009 bankruptcy, the govern-ment’s investment was converted toa 61% equity stake in the automaker,plus preferred shares and a loan. TheUS bailout of GM and Chryslersaved 1.5 million jobs in the UnitedStates, according to the Center forAutomotive Research in Ann Arbor,MI. GM just posted its 17th consec-utive profitable quarter. Earnings,however, were hurt by a $1.3 billioncharge for the costs of various re-calls, including for faulty ignitionswitches on 2.6 million cars. GM isunder investigation by the JusticeDepartment, U.S. auto safety regu-lators and Congress over its failureto detect the faulty ignition switchfor over a decade. The U.S. Securi-ties and Exchange Commission isalso investigating GM.

US Government Says It Lost$11.2 billion on GM bailout

A representative of GMG Envirosafewarned attendees of the Collision In-dustry Conference held April 9–10that OSHA is cracking down on bodyshops to ensure workers are protectedfrom isocyanate exposure. BrandonThomas, chief operations officer ofGMG, a company that offers OSHA,EPA and DOT compliance solutions,said a study done by OSHA’s coun-terpart in Britain found that paintersin a body shop environment have 80times the risk of occupational asthmafrom isocyanates than industrialworkers. It’s precisely for that reason,Thomas said, that OSHA is targetingthe collision industry more aggres-sively than others. According toThomas, OSHA has fined body shops$1.6 million over the last three years.OSHA’s enforcement division has in-creased inspections 25 percent overthe last four years because they havea bigger budget, and there is an aver-age of 4.33 citations per inspection.OSHA’s goal, Thomas said, is toeliminate isocyanate exposure alto-gether in two ways: engineering con-trols (spraybooth, mixing rooms,ventilation, gun washers, etc.) and ad-ministrative controls (PPE trainingand processes).

OSHA Cracking Down onIsocyanate Exposure

The Certified Automotive Parts As-sociation (CAPA) incorporated itsVehicle Test Fit (VTF) program in1999 and since then, CAPA has per-formed more than 10,000 VTFs toensure that the gap, flush and fit ofCAPA parts rival those of OE parts.Since then, there has been a dramaticincrease in the quality of the after-market parts submitted for testingunder CAPA’s rigorous certificationstandards. CAPA says its programwas so successful that after it was ini-tiated, the Collision Industry Confer-ence (CIC) performed blind test fitsto compare CAPA Certified parts toOE service parts. CIC participantsselected the CAPA Certified part fiveout of eight times. “While todayCAPA’s unique vehicle test fitprocess has become the industry-ac-cepted standard for test fitting after-market parts, it was entirelyinnovative when we introduced it,”said Debbie Klouser, CAPA’s direc-tor of operations. “Considering all ofCAPA’s extensive certification re-quirements, the VTF has played thesingle most critical role in today’s ac-ceptance of CAPA Certified parts asthe best way to contain repair costswithout compromising quality.”

CAPA Reaches 15 Year Mile-stone for Vehicle Test Fits

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The owners of Coastal CollisionWorks, David and Susan Monta-naro, filed suit on March 6 againstState Farm in the SC Court of Com-mon Pleas for defamation, unfairtrade practices, breach of contractwith their insureds and breach ofagreement with Coastal Collision.The shop is located at 2543 SavannahHwy, Charleston, SC, 29414. BeckySnelgrove and Steve Fields arenamed in the suit as State Farm rep-resentatives.

Coastal Collision Works accusesState Farm of engaging in a course ofaction to artificially depress the pricefor the repair of damaged automobilesin the Charleston, SC, area. In addi-tion it accuses State Farm of:

● Attempting to persuade CoastalCollision Works and other Charlestonbody shops to agree to repair automo-biles for an amount less than they or-dinarily charge in exchange forprompt adjustment of losses; for re-ferral of business; and for being listedby State Farm as a “preferred” shop.

● Attempting to persuade Coastal

Collision Works and other Charlestonbody shops to repair automobiles onthe basis of the State Farm estimate ofdamage instead of performing an in-dependent evaluation of damage.

● Attempting to persuade CoastalCollision Works and other Charlestonbody shops to not use new parts but tosubstitute parts of an inferior quality;to repair instead of replace parts re-quiring replacement; and to ignoredamages that might not be recogniza-ble by the customer.

● Arbitrarily refusing to pay rea-sonable costs associated with neededrepairs.

● Refusing to pay the fair marketprice of parts, insisting that any bodyshop doing State Farm repairs orderfrom a specific parts supplier and thenrefusing to reimburse the body shopsfor the extra time involved in orderingparts from the specified parts supplier.

● Refusing to pay for certain re-pairs and operations necessary in therepair of damaged vehicles.

In addition, the shop says StateFarm falsely accused the owners of

charging noncompetive prices and ofperforming work not reasonably nec-essary for a proper repair, which hasdamaged the shop’s reputation andcaused it monetary damages.

According to the plaintiffs, StateFarm violated the South Carolina Un-fair Trade Practices Act by steeringcustomers to competitors, citing theState Farm Select Service Program.

The plaintiffs have requestedtriple damages from the court.

A State Farm spokesman had notresponded to a request for comment atpress time.


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South Carolina Shop Files Suit Against State Farm CitingBreaches of Contract and Defamation

This spring, four CARSTAR AutoBody Repair Experts stores wererecognized by Mitchell, as recipi-ents of the 2013 AutocheX™ Solu-tion Premier Achiever Awards.“Repair shops are making a com-mitment to their customers on adaily basis,” said Jim O’Leary, VicePresident of Mitchell Repair Solu-tions. “It’s important for Mitchell torecognize these efforts and honorthose teams that have gone aboveand beyond to deliver some of theindustry’s best service.” The 12thannual Premier Achiever Awardshonor collision repair shops thatconsistently achieve the highestcustomer satisfaction scores asmeasured by the AutocheX solu-tion, either independently or as partof an insurance-sponsored repairprogram.

The CARSTAR shops honoredthis year were:● Walt’s Autobody CARSTAR –Topeka, KS● ABC CARSTAR Body & Frame– Prescott, AZ● Superior Auto Body CARSTAR –Pinellas Park, FL● Autobody ResurrectionCARSTAR – Lakeland, FL

Four CARSTAR Shops WereRecognized by Mitchell



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Valspar Automotive is the 32nd Na-tional Auto Body Council (NABC) Di-amond Member.

“From the time we first visitedwith NABC representatives at theSEMA Show in 2013, we knew thiswas an important mission that we needand want to support,” said Peter Will-man, Valspar Automotive North Amer-ica general manager. “Communityinvolvement matters to us, which iswhy it was an easy decision to join andhelp further the NABC mission and itsprograms.”

“We applaud and welcomeValspar’s leadership commitment tothe NABC,” said Chuck Sulkala,NABC executive director. “Valspar’smembership at our highest Diamondlevel represents a strong endorsementof the value and important work byour entire membership as we continueto strengthen and build a positiveimage of our collision industry.”

View all NABC Diamond Mem-bers at:nationalautobodycouncil.org/mem-bership/diamond-members.

Valspar Joins National Auto Body Council

NACE has announced the schedule isnow available for the Collision RepairExecutive Symposium (CRES), for-merly the MSO Symposium. TheMSO Symposium has been an ex-tremely popular, sold-out event duringNACE since it premiered in 2011,drawing attendance from the largestmulti-shop operators in the collisionrepair industry. This all-new CRESbusiness event now caters to a broadergroup of collision repair executives al-lowing it to be more inclusive of someof the best, as well as the largest, oper-ators in the marketplace. This year’sevent includes key changes in contentincluding a focus on management, op-erations and participation from insur-ance company executives presentingleading information on industry trends.

Designed for collision repairmulti-shop operators, as well as opera-tors looking for high-growth strategies,mergers and acquisitions, divesting, andoperational excellence, CRES is sched-uled for Friday, August 1. The NACE |CARS Expo will take place Thursdayand Friday, July 31-Aug. 1, with educa-tion beginning Wednesday, July 29, atthe Cobo Convention Center in Detroit.

Registration for CRES is $150 be-fore June 14 and $250 following, and isavailable online at http://www.NACE-expo.com/Content/Register/3/ for qual-ified shop owners. This “nextgeneration” CRES event provides in-formation for high-growth shop ownersand multiple-store operators that is un-paralleled. This year’s CRES includesan Expo Pass, as well as a ticket to theOpening General Session and WelcomeParty Thursday, July 31, allowing formultiple networking opportunities forshop owners and MSOs throughout theevent.

“A significant amount of time,effort and planning has been in-vested in developing the fresh con-tent for this year’s all-new formatfor CRES as we strive to deliver rel-evant, high-level content for this im-portant and rapidly growing segmentof the collision repair industry,” saidRussell Thrall, Collision Week pub-lisher, symposium moderator andco-producer.

Dan Risley, ASA president and ex-ecutive director, and CRES co-producerstated, “Some businesses are preparingfor expansion through growth or acqui-

sition while others are preparing formerger or divestiture. This symposiumwill provide information essential in un-derstanding market conditions andpreparing for the future, regardless thesize of the business.”

Sponsorship opportunities for theCRES are selling quickly, with 12sponsors confirmed to date: ASA, Au-daExplore, AutoZone, Axalta Coating

Systems, BASF, Car-O-Liner, ChiefAutomotive Technologies, Collision-Week, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, PPG,UniCure and Universal Technical Insti-tute. It is co-produced by ASA, NACEand Russell Thrall.

CRES will be moderated by ateam of experts including Marcy Tieger,Roger Wright, Erick Bickett and Rus-sell Thrall.


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NACE Announces CRES/MSO Symposium Agenda

As of May 6, 2014, both online attendeeregistration and housing reservationsare open for the 32nd annual NACE |CARS 2014 Expo & Conference athttp://www.naceexpo.com/Content/Register/3/. Part of Industry Week, the col-lision and service repair industry’s pre-mier networking event, the NACE |CARS 2014 Conference will be heldJuly 30–August 2, 2014, and the Expowill be held July 31 and August 1, 2014,at the COBO Convention Center in De-troit, MI. Other Industry Week eventsinclude many board and associationmeetings on July 28, 2014; the Colli-sion Industry Conference (CIC) sum-mer meeting on July 29, 2014; and theI-CAR Conference and Gala 35th An-niversary Networking Event on July 30,2014.

View the Conference Program andSchedule-At-A-Glance at:http://www.naceexpo.com/page.cfm/Action=Seminar/libID=1/listID=1/t=m/goSection=5.

Expo passes to access the showfloor only can be purchased for $35.Individual, 90-minute conference ses-sions are available for $75 per sessionor individual three- or four-hour con-ference sessions are available for $150per session. A Day Pass is $250, andSaturday Mechanical Sessions are$150. A full-access Super Pass is $315for members and $365 for non-mem-bers. All prices noted reflect early birdpricing, which is in effect through June14, 2014. I-CAR Add-On Education,the Collision Repair Executive Sym-posium (CRES)/MSO Symposium,

and Technology and Telematics Forum(TTF) events are available at an addi-tional charge.

New for 2014, all registration op-tions include the NACE | CARS ShowFloor Receptions in the evening on July31 and August 1; the Opening GeneralSession the morning of July 31, 2014;and The Assembly - Industry Forum inthe afternoon on July 30, 2014. Addi-tional details on these events will be re-leased in the near future.

Special discount pricing is availablefor Automotive Service Association(ASA) members, and discounts are alsoprovided for other industry organizationmembers. All NACE | CARS exhibitorswill be offering substantially discountedExpo Passes and 10 percent off any con-ference purchase (excluding I-CAR Add-

On Education). Attendees are encouragedto contact an exhibitor to redeem this dis-count. For a list of current exhibitors, visithttp://fp37.a2zinc.net/clients/Stonefort-Group/NC14/public/eventmap.aspx. Inaddition, special discounts are availableto students and educators focused in theautomobile repair industry.

Additionally, NACE | CARS partic-ipants are encouraged to book hotel reser-vations early, as the rooms are filling fast.Attendees and exhibitors can review thehotels within the official housing blockand reserve their rooms online.

NACE | CARS 2014 Agenda Announced and Online Attendee Registration Opens



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Many repairers are unaware of thebreadth of data being extracted fromtheir servers, where it is being ex-tracted from, what settings they couldemploy to better control the flow ofinformation, or even how that infor-mation may be used beyond its in-tended purpose. For years, the Societyof Collision Repair Specialists(SCRS) has alerted its members aboutthe potential risk and liability associ-ated with inadequate control over esti-mate data and business information.

For example, SCRS was notifiedof growing concerns relative to thecollection of data through participa-tion in the PartsTrader parts procure-ment program. As the program rolledout across the nation, more questionsbegan to arise when end-users noticedkey identifying information from non-State Farm estimate files populatingtheir PartsTrader dashboard. The re-pairer concern surrounds the amountof non-voluntary information beingprovided through the data collectionprocess, which could offer valuableinformation surrounding market vol-ume and shop volume, raising furtherconcerns over the potential of violat-ing agreements with non-involved car-riers by sharing information with anunrelated third-party.

SCRS researched the issue withPartsTrader, and each of the estimat-ing system providers to identify themeans and extent in which the data is

being accessed and collected, and in-quiring if repair facility end-usershave options to restrict non-requireddata from being collected, accessed, orshared. As a result of that research,SCRS issued an article outlining theresulting responses from each of thetechnology organizations. The articleconcludes that:

Technology has increased theability to communicate informationamongst businesses; however, the in-crease of applications that indiscrimi-nately extract data in the backgroundfor unknown or unintended purposesis a concern for repairers who haveobligations to protect data generatedby their business.

There are advancements beingmade, or already in place, from someestimating system providers that allowcollision repair facilities to maintainbetter control over the data files beingexported from the estimating systemsto other data collection sources.

The solutions and options foreach estimating system vary, so it isimportant to compare capabilities ofthe software programs relative to fea-tures that allow greater control overunwanted data transfer, and to makeany necessary profile changes in linewith individual business practices.

Read the full article at:http://scrs.com/data/uploads//2014-april-scrs-examines-repairer-ability-to-control-data-flow.pdf.

SCRS Examines Repairer Ability to Control Data

NABC Appoints Dan Young to Board of DirectorsThe National Auto Body Council(NABC) appointed Dan Young,CARSTAR senior vice president ofinsurance reltions, to its Board of Di-rectors. Young will complete a two-year term vacated by Mark Lovell ofLKQ Corporation because of in-creased business commitments.

As part of his responsibilities onthe NABC Board of Directors, Youngwill also serve as chair of the NABCDistracted Driving Initiative, an intra-collision industry effort to educate

young drivers onthe dangers ofinattentive anddistracted driv-ing.

“We are de-lighted to wel-come Dan to ourBoard of Direc-

tors,” said Chuck Sulkala, NABCexecutive director. “Dan’s consider-able industry experience from boththe collision repair as well as insur-ance perspectives will be invaluablein helping NABC enhance commu-nity service programs that our mem-

bership can use to make a positiveimpact in their local communities.”

Sulkala also thanked MarkLovell for his years of service to theNABC. “We appreciate the signifi-cant investment of personal time thatMark has dedicated to NABC as amember of the board and especiallyfor his efforts to pioneer, develop,and chair the Distracted Driving Ini-tiative,” said Sulkala.

”I have been a long-time sup-porter of NABC and its initiatives togive back and help those in need,”said Young. “I am honored to havean opportunity to work with my col-leagues on the Board of Directorswho are all committed to NABC’smission to identify and implementprograms that promote a positiveimage of our collision industry.”

Another automotive industry organ-ization will be joining Industry Weekand the NACE/CARS 2014 Confer-ence & Expo in Detroit MI. TheEquipment & Tool Institute (ETI)will hold their board meeting Tues-day, July 29, 2014, at the WestinBook Cadillac in Detroit,. Dan Ris-ley, Automotive Service Association(ASA) president and executive di-rector, stated “We are thrilled to haveETI join us in Detroit this year. Thisis a very important and respected or-ganization, and their support is sig-nificant to Industry Week. Theoverriding purpose of the event is tobring the industry together, and ETI’sinvolvement is another example ofcollaboration.” “ETI is pleased to beholding our summer Board of Direc-tors Meeting in Detroit in conjunc-tion with Industry Week,” said JessieKorosec, ETI meeting and eventmanager. “The Westin is an excellentvenue and we are looking forward toa successful meeting.”

Visit www.etools.org andwww.naceexpo.com to learn more.

ETI to Hold Meeting withNACE CARS in Detroit

MCR Safety donated over 26,000 pairsof safety glasses and goggles worthnearly $50K to the Collision RepairEducation Foundation (CREF). Theywill be distributed to collision schoolprograms across the country for fall2014.

“We protect people and areproud to contribute our safety eye-wear to help support CREF ef-forts...We hope our contributions willfoster safety awareness throughouttheir careers,” stated Glen Herald,MCR Safety COO.

CREF director of develop-ment Brandon Eckenrode noted,“On behalf of the thousands of col-lision students that this donationwill assist and help keep them safewithin their collision school pro-grams, I would like to thank MCRSafety for their continued support.This in-kind donation will be one toremember, and it was awe-inspiringto have a semi-truck deliver 15 pal-lets of the donated glasses and gog-gles. As collision school instructorscontinue to face shrinking programbudgets, this type of donation helpsfree up additional funds that cannow be used elsewhere within theircollision program.”

MCR Safety Donates 26,000+Pairs of Safety Eyeware

Dan Young



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