midwestern november 2014 issue

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

On Tuesday, August 26, attorneyJohn Arthur Eaves and shop ownerBill Fowler, of Bill Fowler’s Body-works in Southaven MS, appeared onthe Drake and Zeke Show, a popularearly morning radio talk show in theMemphis, TN area. The reason fortheir guest appearance was to explainthe MDL lawsuit to consumers andeducate them on their rights duringthe collision repair process in hopesof raising awareness about this im-portant issue impacting collision re-pair facilities across the country.

To begin, the radio hosts summa-rized the lawsuit they planned to dis-cuss. In January 2014, Eaves filed acomplaint against insurers on behalfof 21 collision repair shops. Thoughthe lawsuit began in MS, it has spreadand continues to gain traction so thatit is now a national lawsuit, involvingsix states, which will be tried by a sin-gle judge in FL. Multiple insurershave been implicated in the complaintas the habit of insurer steering is an in-dustry-wide problem.

Fowler pointed out that steeringhas become so pervasive in the indus-

by Stacey Phillips, Assistant Editor

Sixty-five collision repair shop own-ers recently traveled to WashingtonD.C. to educate Congress about thestruggle body shops face to protectconsumers when providing a com-plete and safe repair. The majority ofthem were part of a Nationwide Anti-Trust Multi-District Litigation filedearlier this year against multiple in-surance companies in several states.(See also other cover story this page.)

After more than 150 meetingswith representatives and senators overa three-day period, the result was anoutpouring of support for an industry

faced with the challenge of insurancecompanies dictating how they run

Congress Expresses Support of Repair Industry inResponse to Owners’ Trip to Washington D.C.

Attorney John Arthur Eaves and Shop Owner Bill Fowlerappear on Memphis Radio to Discuss MDL Suit

See Congress Support, Page 34

See Memphis Radio, Page 32


Last month we reported on the finalclosing of the purchase of HolmesBody Shop’s seven locations by CooksCollision Centers. The Holmes acqui-sition was initiated in May 2012 andconcluded with the seventh Holmeslocation closing in September of thisyear, after our last issue went to press.With 35 locations in CA, Cooks is thelargest independently owned and op-erated collision repair organization inthe state.

But Holmes is not even the latestmedium-sized MSO to be acquired bylarger consolidators in California. InSeptember, Service King CollisionRepair Centers acquired Marco’s Col-lision Centers, also a medium-sizedMSO having seven locations in

Southern California. Shortly there-after Service King reached an agree-ment to acquire Car West Auto Body,an MSO with seven shops in NorthernCalifornia.

Is there some kind of ‘rule of sev-ens’ at play here? More seriously, wewanted to know what forces weredriving the acquisition of small tomid-size MSOs and why they seemmore attractive than individual shopsfor acquisition.

Nearly 20 years ago DavidRoberts, the co-founder and formerChairman of the Board for CaliberCollision Centers, wrote an articlepredicting the future of consolidationsin the collision repair industry. It wasentitled Shop Consolidation: Is it In-evitable? Undoubtedly, Roberts an-

See MSO Consolidations, Page 30

MSO Consolidations in CA Heat Up Industry

Matt Parkerwith House Speaker John Boehner

Pro Spot is Ford’s Rotunda Supplier of the YearCarlsbad’s Pro Spot is very proud to beawarded the supplier of the year awardby the Ford Motor Company RotundaProgram. Pro Spot was approved byFord to supply aluminum repair equip-ment to the Collision Repair Programfor repairs on the new 2015 Ford F-150all-aluminum body truck. The Ford Ro-tunda Dealer Equipment Program is anational program endorsed by Ford

Motor Co. to their dealer base, sellingservice and body shop repair equip-ment. The approved equipment in-cluded: the SP Pulse MIG welders—the most sold Ford-required MIG

welders in North America, the Alu-minum Dent Repair Stations, Fume Ex-tractors, and the SPR Riveter; all ofwhich contributed to the winning of theSupplier of the Year award. “We wouldlike to thank Team Pro Spot for all oftheir hard work and all of our customersthat have supported us in purchasingour aluminum repair products. Thismeans a lot to our team at Pro Spot,”said Ron Olsson, Pro Spot President,“I’m overwhelmed and very honored towin this award from Ford. We havebeen working very hard and appreciatethe trust in our equipment and of course,the overwhelming amount of orders wehave received for the aluminum pro-gram.”

The 2015 F-150 is revolutionizingthe repair industry by mainstreaming alu-minum repair. With the hard work byFord Motor Company in designing a re-pairability-focused, all-aluminum bodyF-150, shops across the country are get-ting prepared to repair the top selling ve-hicle. Pro Spot is proud to be recognizedas a supplier of quality aluminum repairequipment to the Collision Repair Pro-gram and the 2015 Ford F-150 truck. ProSpot looks forward to continuing to de-sign innovative equipment for shops andtechnicians to repair vehicles back to OEstandards.

(l to r) Mike Berardi (Ford Director of Serv-ice Engineering Operations), Ashley Olsson(Pro Spot Director of Communications), RonOlsson (Pro Spot Founder & President) andSteve DeAngelis (Ford Manager of Techni-cal Support Operations). Photo Credit: Ash-ley Olsson

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Publisher & Editor: Jeremy HayhurstGeneral Manager: Barbara DaviesAssistant Editor: Stacey PhillipsOnline Editor: Victoria AntonelliContributing Writers: Tom Franklin,John Yoswick, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess,David Brown, Rich Evans, Ed Attanasio,Chasidy Sisk, David LuehrAdvertising Sales: Joe Momber, SeanHartman, Bill Doyle, Norman Morano(800) 699-8251Sales Assistant: Louise TedescoArt Director: Rodolfo Garcia

Serving Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky,Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio,Wisconsin and adjacent metro areas.Autobody News is a monthly publicationfor the autobody industry. Permission toreproduce in any form the materialpublished in Autobody News must beobtained in writing from the publisher.©2014 Adamantine Media LLC.

Autobody NewsBox 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018;(800) 699-8251 (760) 603-3229 Faxwww.autobodynews.comEmail: [email protected]

Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 35Automotive International . . . . . . . . . 20BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 31Car-Part.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10CarcoonAmerica Airflow Systems . 16Certified Automotive PartsAssociation (CAPA). . . . . . . . . . . 15

Charles Gabus Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Color-Dec North America, Inc. . . . . 12Dent Magic Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Dent Tools Direct USA . . . . . . . . . . . 4DJS Fabrications, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . 40Equalizer Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . 26Erhard BMW of Bloomfield Hills . . . . 8Erhard BMW of Farmington Hills . . . 8GlasWeld Systems, Inc. . . . . . . . . . 26GM Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . . 33Graham Auto Mall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Hall Volkswagen-Mazda . . . . . . . . . 17Honda-Acura Wholesale PartsDealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-25

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers . 33Jake Sweeney Chevrolet . . . . . . . . 28Kia Wholesale Parts Dealers. . . . . . 37Laurel Auto Group of Westmont . . . 19

Lexus Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 37Loaner & Rental Insurance byNorthland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Luther Hopkins Honda . . . . . . . . . . 23Malco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Maplewood Toyota-Scion . . . . . . . . . 9Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 36Mercedes-Benz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . . 31Mitsubishi Wholesale PartsDealers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 29Morrison’s Auto Parts . . . . . . . . . . . 13Motor Guard Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6PPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2SATA Spray Equipment . . . . . . . . . 11Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers . . 32TG Products, Inc. - The Rail Saver . 14The Sharpe Collection ofAutomobiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Toyota of Des Moines . . . . . . . . . . . 21Toyota of Grand Rapids . . . . . . . . . 23Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers . . . 34Valspar Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Volkswagen Wholesale PartsDealers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Inde

xofAdvertisers

ContentsREGIONAL

ABRA Auto Body & Glass Continues

Its Expansion With Openings in

Iowa and Illinois. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

ABRA Helped Raise $100K for People

with Disabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Attanasio - Chicago Body Shop’s

Anti-Texting Campaign Catches Fire . . . 31

CARSTAR Expands MSO Network in KY . . . 6

Collision Shop Expands to Middletown, Ohio . 6

First Amendment Rights Questioned

in Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Gerber Collision & Glass Opens

New Center in MI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

IL Body Shop Sells Building . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Illinois Shop Gives VoTech Interns

Real-World Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Iowa Auto Body Shop Owner Suspected

of Homicide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Ken Borth Auto in Iowa Has New Owner. . . 8

MI Establishing Test Town for

Driverless Cars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Michigan Governor Signs Drugged

Driving Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

New MI Law Allows Drivers Community

Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

New MI Law Bars Tow Truck Drivers

from Harrassing Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

New Top End Cadillac to be Built in

Detroit in 2015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Ohio University Improves Costs in

Fleet Utilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Recent Classic Car and Motorcycle

Show in Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Santa House Built by Ohio Shop Owner

Supports Community. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

TX Company Sued by MN Attorney General

for Selling Extended Auto Warranties . . 16

WI Auto Repair Shop Creates Special

Military Cart for Southwest Airlines

to Carry Fallen Soldiers . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Wisconsin Repair Shop Owner Participates

in Wheels to Prosper, Seeks Nominations

for Gift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

COLUMNISTS

Attanasio - Body Shops are Tapping into

the Persuasive Power of Video . . . . . . . 14

Attanasio - Gas Monkey Garage and Dodge

Recruit Mötley Crüe to Rock Dallas . . . 18

Franklin - Are You Marketing to Merely

Survive or Are You Trying to Grow . . . . 27

Luehr - Lean Implementation Strategies . . 20

Sisk - Record Numbers Attend Pro Paint’s

7th Annual Trade Show . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Yoswick - DRPs 20 years ago, Early

CCRE, ADP Revises Labor Times. . . . . 22

Yoswick - Energy Transfer in Today’s

Vehicles Makes Measuring, Multi-Point

Pulling More Important . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

NATIONAL

Alcoa Forecasts Record Auto Sheet

Shipments in Q4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Attorney John Arthur Eaves and Shop

Owner Bill Fowler appear on Memphis

Radio to Discuss MDL Suit . . . . . . . . . . 1

Axalta Paint Used on NASCAR Qualified

Racers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Car-O-Liner Participation Enhanced

With Social Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Chevrolet Brings Back the Corvette

Stingray in Time for SEMA . . . . . . . . . . 36

Congress Expresses Support of Repair

Industry in Response to Owners’ Trip

to Washington D.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

I-CAR Launches Two New Refinish Courses. 39

Mercedes Will Train 26,000 in the

Brand’s New Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Omix-ADA to Give Away 2014 Jeep

Wrangler at SEMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Penta Pieces Together Old Ford Pickup. . . 38

PPG Waterborne Shop Conversions

Exceed 10,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Pro Spot is Ford’s Rotunda Supplier

of the Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Recent MSO Consolidations in CA

Heat Up Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

SEMA: Sales of Auto Parts & Accessories

Reach $33B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Takata Airbag Recall May Include

GM Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Three Types of Parts Account for

50% of Sales Online. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

www.autobodynews.com | NOVEMBER 2014 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

Autobody News is pleased to introduce Norman Morano who joined ourteam in October as an Advertising Sales Manager. Norm has been a SalesDirector for 13 years handling Hammer & Dolly, New Jersey Automotive,New England Automotive, AASP-News/MN and Wisconsin AutomotiveNews. He has also sold exhibitor space for the past four years at theNortheast Automotive Trade Show. Norm graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1982 witha BS degree in Environmental Studies. After college he travelled extensivelybefore attending Law School at Rutgers University School of Law. He was

admitted to the bar in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and has kept his NJ bar license active. Born andraised in Nutley, NJ, Norm has also lived in Orono, ME, Berkeley, CA, and Sydney, Australia. Beforeconcentrating on automotive advertising he had his own sign company building his sales contactsthroughout NY, NJ, PA, CT and DE. When he isn't working, Norm enjoys biking, yoga, surfing, motor-cycling, movies, pizza and the New York Times. He has been a resident of the Jersey Shore for the past26 years. Contact Norm to discuss your advertising needs at [email protected].

New Talent Joins the Autobody News Sales Staff

Norman Morano is Our Newest Regional Sales Manager

Contact Norm at: [email protected] to discuss your advertising needs.

In terms of dollars spent on automo-tive replacement parts through onlinepurchasing, or e-tailing, three cate-gories represent half of the dollar vol-ume in 2013, according to E-Tailingin the Automotive Aftermarket fromthe Auto Care Association.

The top three product categoriesare braking systems (primarily padsand shoes); ignition and engine (fuelpumps, alternators, ignition coils, etc.);

and glass, mirrors and lamps.The E-Tailing in the Automo-

tive Aftermarket digital study ana-lyzes the online retail market forsales of aftermarket parts, and servesas the foundation for the Auto CareAssociation to provide a unified esti-mate of online sales within the after-market.

For pricing and more informa-tion, visit www.autocare.org/etailing.

Three Types of Parts Account for 50% of Sales Online


by Victoria Antonelli, Online Editor

On December 5, Kubly’s Automotive inBrodhead, WI, will donate a refur-bished Chevrolet Malibu to a luckyfamily in need through a programcalled Wheels to Prosper.

The giveaway will take placeduring the annual Fire N Ice festival,which attracts over half of Brod-head’s 3,500 residents, according toDusty Kubly, owner of Kubly’s Au-tomotive.

“Originally, I didn’t intend to givethe car away at the festival,” said Kubly,

“but it seemed like the perfect opportu-nity, especially with Christmas aroundthe corner.”

Kubly’s Automotive is the firstshop in Wisconsin to participate in

Wheels to Prosper, a national non-profit run by shop owners who con-tribute donated, restored vehicles todeserving people. Kubly initially heardabout the program after meeting theco-founder, Jim Anderson, while tak-ing business management trainingcourses in California.

“I’ve been in business for 21years; it’s time to pay it forward,” saidKubly. “I want to support those whohave supported me by giving back tothe community.”

On September 26, Kubly sent outthe first flyer letting the community

know that the shop will betaking nominations for thecar giveaway from nowuntil November 21. NBC15covered the story on themorning of September 29,and by that afternoon, he re-ceived 16 nominations.

“The letters and responseswe’ve read have been out ofthis world,” said Kubly. “Ithas only been a week and Ialready know I want to do

this every year.”Seven judges have been ap-

pointed to choose the winner, includ-ing Kubly’s wife, Roxy, local businessowners, and members of the Chamber

of Commerce. Kubly said he wants toremain unbiased and not participate inthe picking.

“Local business owners and politi-cians were excited to get involved,”said Kubly. “Everybody wanted to lenda helping hand.”

Kubly bought the Chevrolet Mal-ibu from a private party in a differenttown. According to Kubly, the cardoesn’t run, and the hood, gaskets, flu-ids and brakes need to be replaced, justto name a few things.

“The car will be 100 percent func-tional before the giveaway,” he said.

Napa Auto Parts and Murray’sAuto Salvage will be supplying thenecessary pieces, Body Crafters

Auto Body will be making the paintlook new, and Patti Reavis at StateFarm Insurance has offered to helpset up car insurance for the futureowner.

“Brodhead isn’t a small town, it’sa big family,” said Kubly.

Kubly would also like tothank Speich Oil Companyand Piggly Wiggly Groceryfor contributing to the run-ner-up prizes. The two run-ner-ups will each receive a$150 gas card and a $75grocery certificate.

As of October 4, Kublyhad received 22 nomina-tions for the giveaway.

The outpouring of sup-port has inspired the repairshop owner to put togetheranother event to benefit

the community. On October 11, hewill hold a free car care clinic, wherehigh school students will be taughthow to check their fluids and “listento their car.”

“The main reason for this is tomake people aware,” said Kubly. “Acar is the second biggest investmentyou’ll make in your lifetime, after ahouse. It’s important to understandhow it works.”

Wisconsin Repair Shop Owner Participates in Wheels to Prosper, Seeks Nominations for Gift

Kubly’s Automotive in Brodhead, WI

Dusty and Roxy Kubly and their two children

ABRA Auto Body & Glass Continues Its Expansion WithOpenings in Iowa and IllinoisABRA Auto Body & Glass an-nounced the opening of its newestfranchise in Fort Madison, IA, alongwith the acquisition of Corpo Colli-sion Center in Schaumburg, IL. It’sABRA’s 50th franchise and the com-pany’s second acquisition in Illinoiswithin 14 days.

The additional openings in bothstates increased ABRA’s total repaircenter portfolio to 247 in 19 states.

In September, ABRA acquiredConsolidated Auto Service Center inForest Park, Illinois and on October 3the company announced it had ex-panded in the Chicago area with theacquisition of AutoWerks of North-brook, Inc. in Illinois – about an hournorthwest of downtown Chicago.Terms of the transaction were not dis-closed.

Duane Rouse, ABRA’s Presi-dent and CEO, said the company’ssuccessful expansion is simply a re-flection of consumer demands andchanges in the collision repair indus-try. “The expectations of vehicleowners and insurance partners con-tinue to grow,” he said. “The favor-able outcomes we’ve achieved inIllinois and around the Midwest are adirect result of industry experience,

superior processes and our commit-ment to quality. We’re a trusted namein these communities.”

“It’s about meeting the demandof our customers and insurance part-ners in the community,” said MarkWahlin, ABRA’s Vice President ofFranchise Development/Relations.“Expanding operations in Iowa makessense. Offering top-quality collisionrepair and glass service across thecountry is what ABRA is all about.”

ABRA plans to continue expand-ing in the months and years ahead aspart of its aggressive national growthstrategy. It is actively seeking new op-portunities to acquire repair centersand integrate them into its industry-leading operating system.

Interested parties in major mar-kets should contact Scott Gerling,Vice President of Corporate Devel-opment ([email protected] or763.585.6210).

For franchise opportunities insmall and midsize markets contactMark Wahlin, ([email protected] or 763 585 6315).


Courage Kenny Foundation andABRA Auto Body and Glass areproud to announce they raised morethan $100,000 to support peoplewith disabilities.

Both organizations partner an-nually to improve the lives of thosewith disabilities in Minnesota andwestern Wisconsin through a golffundraiser supporting Courage KennyRehabilitation Institute’s sports andrecreation department.

More than 100 golfers played atthe renowned Hazeltine NationalGolf Course in Chaska, MN on Sep-tember 8. The annual charity eventhelps supports Courage Kennysports and recreation programs forpeople with disabilities.

“We are proud of our longtimesupport of Courage Kenny Founda-tion,” said Duane Rouse, presidentand chief executive officer ofABRA. “It is rewarding to see theresults of our contribution and ef-forts reflected in the smiles and ac-complishments of Courage Kennyclients.”

The institute’s sports and recre-ation department offers leisure andcompetitive athletic endeavors forpeople with disabilities.

ABRA Helped Raise $100K forPeople with Disabilities

CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Ex-perts announced on October 8 thatCARSTAR Hall’s Collision Centerhas joined North America’s largestcollision repair MSO network, ex-panding its presence in Kentucky.

CARSTAR Hall’s CollisionCenter is located at 3947 Bard-stown Rd. in Louisville, KY, and isowned by Harold Hall. Hall, whohas been in business since 1967 andat his current location since 1970,joined CARSTAR for the “knowl-edge, training, and expertise” thatthe company can offer a shop want-ing to grow. The shop is managedby Hall’s son, David.

“My father met another CAR-STAR owner who seemed happywith his business,” said David Hall.“At that point we made contact withCARSTAR, and went from there. Weneeded knowledge, and didn’t wantto move forward alone.”

CARSTAR Hall’s Collision Cen-ter has a 35,000 square foot building,which is equipped with three down-draft paint booths and five frame racks,along with an in-house towing service.The shop is also up-to-date with pho-tographic and imaging software andcomputer estimating software.

CARSTAR Expands MSONetwork in Kentuckyby Victoria Antonelli, Online Editor

For the past two years, Mike’s AutoBody of Sandwich, IL, has given ed-ucational tours to students in body

shop classes at Indian Valley Voca-tional Center. At IVVC’s Sandwichcampus, first year students get abasic knowledge of collision repairand refinishing procedures. Secondyear students get advanced trainingon frame and structural repair.

On September 12, two sessionsof 10–15 students gathered aroundwhile technicians worked on and ex-plained the latest project—the trans-formation of a 1962 Chevy wagon

into a show car.“The students really enjoy ex-

periencing how an actual bodyshop works, as opposed to learn-ing about it in a classroom,” said

Stacy Skillin, whohas co-owned the 30-year-old shop forseven years.

Stacy’s segment ofthe tour covered officefunctions, such as in-surance company deal-ings and scheduling,while fellow co-ownerShane Skillin showedstudents commonlyused equipment, in-cluding the paint boothand frame machine.

“We encourage stu-dents to apply for internships at ourshop, so they can get real-life expe-rience while still in college,” saidStacy. “One of our current employ-ees was an intern [at one time].”

Stacy and Shane also gave thestudents interviewing tips, stressingthe importance of first impressionsand projecting professional behav-ior and attitudes.

Illinois Shop Gives VoTech Interns Real-World Experience

Students gather around for a demonstration at IndianValley Vocational Center

www.autobodynews.com


by Ed Richter, Journal-News.com

With business booming at his colli-sion shop on Liberty-Fairfield Road,owner Mark Briscoe decided a lit-tle more than a year ago that it wouldbe a good time to open another shopin his hometown of Middletown.

Liberty Collision Center openedits new, 10,500-square-foot facility at3363 Cincinnati-Dayton Road onAug. 11 and had its grand openingfrom 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 14.Briscoe believes the shop is on trackto do $500,000 in business by the endof 2014. He said the other shop,which opened in 2003 is having arecord year and he expects to reachhis goal of $2.5 million for the year.

“We were bulging at the seamsand I felt there was a need for abody shop in Middletown,” Briscoesaid. “I grew up in Lemon Twp.under AK’s stacks. Middletown hasalways been my home.”

The new shop features state ofthe art equipment and two paintbooths, a waiting area and an esti-mation bay. He said the shop can dobody work and other auto work in-cluding windshields. Ron Cantrell,the company’s sales and marketingdirector, who worked for 18 years

as claims manager for NationwideInsurance, said he’s working to getinsurance companies to list the newlocation on its vendor lists.

“There’s not a lot of auto bodyshops here which means a goodgrowth potential, Cantrell said. “Wehave great visibility and easy ac-cess.”

Briscoe, who has been in theauto body business for about 30years, also has a family backgroundin the business as his father alsoowned a body shop in Middletown.

He considered locating the newshop in Monroe and Trenton, butthey were not viable. Briscoe endedup working with fellow Lemon-Monroe High School alumnus PaulSivak, who developed the propertyand is currently building a specula-tion building for another businessnext door to the shop.

Briscoe said the average turn-around time for a repair is two daysfor the state of the art facility and thatthe shop works with local vendorsfor parts and other materials. At bothshops, they can work on 20 vehiclesat a time.

“We have room to grow andthis shop has the potential to do asmuch as the other store,” he said.

Collision Shop Expands to Middletown, Ohio


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Ohio University Improves Costs in Fleet Utilization Fleet utilization metrics are the cor-nerstone of a new Ohio University-based initiative to increase vehiclesharing and dramatically reduce costsfor the university. Nearly every facetof managing the 450-vehicle fleet isexpected to be enhanced using thecomprehensive Web-based fleet man-agement information system, Fleet-Commander. The announcement wasmade on Sept. 17 by FleetComman-der creator Agile Access Control, Inc.

According to university offi-cials, Ohio University (OU) is re-quired by the Ohio Department ofAdministrative Services (DAS) toreport on its fleet utilization in orderto identify opportunities to savemoney. This initiative will stream-line its fleet management operationsand provide clear visibility of fleetcosts. OU’s short-term goals formanaging its fleet with FleetCom-mander are to:

● Automatically capture accu-rate fleet utilization data;

● Present real-time utilizationdata in the form of fleet dashboardsand reports to enable fleet managersand business analysts to understandvehicle use;

● Automatically generate vehi-cle use charges and produce billing

files bound for the university’s ac-counting systems; and

● Improve efficiency of itsmaintenance processes and controlmaintenance costs.

In an effort to achieve theirgoals, OU will be equipping fouruniversity vehicles with Agile’sFleetShare keys-in-the-vehicle dis-patch technology as well as collect-ing odometer values and other tripdata with Agile’s Utilization and Di-agnostic Chips (UDCs). The tech-nologies reduce the occurrence ofhuman error in the data collectionprocess while providing data for re-ports instantaneously. No duplicatedata entry is required.

Agile FleetShare facilitates carsharing by enabling drivers to accesskeys via a secure ID card scanned atthe windshield. No fleet staff isneeded to dispatch the vehicles, andtrip statistics are automatically col-lected. Fleet drivers reserve vehiclesonline at their convenience viaFleetCommander. Vehicles can beparked geographically where theyare needed to further improve serv-ice to fleet drivers and encourage carsharing.

Dale Kabrick, who has served as thebody shop manager at Ken Borth AutoPlaza in Iowa for the past seven years,has assumed ownership of the bodyshop and service departments, ac-cording to reports by Randy M. Cau-thron, spencerdailyreporter.com.

Kabrick took ownership of thecollision, repair and service operationin south Spencer on Oct. 1. Previousowner Ken Borthwill continue to runthe car dealership and rental service.

From collision and auto bodywork, to general mechanical service,Kabrick said he and his staff canservice all cars from the newest mod-els, to foreign and domestic – includ-ing European vehicles, according toCauthron. Tyne, Kabrick’s wife, has afull-time job in the OB unit atSpencer Hospital, but plans to helpwith business operations.

Kabrick studied auto collisionat Northwest Iowa Community Col-lege, and worked as a mechanic forthree years prior to his position atKen Borth Auto Plaza. Reports byCauthron state that the company hasa website in the works – kbauto-body.com – where customers can goto review a complete list of servicesand schedule appointments.

Ken Borth Auto in Iowa HasNew Owner

The owner of an auto repair shop inWaterloo, Iowa is a suspect in a recenthomicide case. Anthony Tronca,owner of AJT Auto Repair, was ar-rested on September 16 and is currentlybeing held at Black Hawk County Jailon drug and weapons charges.

Lt. Michael McNamee of theWaterloo Police Department saidTronca is a suspect in the homicidebut has not been officially charged.

On Sept. 9, 44-year-old RonaldDean Randall of Waterloo was re-ported missing. Waterloo Policesearched a wooded area south of Wa-terloo off highway 218 and located abody believed to be Randall’s. An au-topsy report determined that the deathwas a homicide.

Tronca’s girlfriend, JessicaOgden, was arrested on Sept. 15and later released on bond.

Anyone with information con-cerning this investigation is encour-aged to call the Waterloo PoliceDepartment at 319-291-4340 or CrimeStoppers at 855-300-8477.

Iowa Auto Body Shop OwnerSuspected of Homicide




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New Top End Cadillac to be Built in Detroit in 2015Cadillac announced it will elevateits growing portfolio with a new,top-end, high-technology car. Theas-yet unnamed Cadillac will gointo production in the fourth quarterof 2015 at the Detroit-Hamtramckassembly plant.

The addition of this new Cadil-lac is part of a previously announced$384 million investment in the facil-ity on Detroit’s east side. Tools andequipment unique to the Cadillacmodel were installed recently.

“The objective for this upcom-ing model is to lift the Cadillac rangeby entering the elite class of top-levelluxury cars,” said Cadillac PresidentJohan de Nysschen. “Currently indevelopment, this new rear wheeldrive-oriented sedan uses completelynew, custom-designed materials on aunique vehicle architecture.

“In addition to new technologyin the car itself, we are instituting in-novative manufacturing techniquesto assemble it with the precision de-serving of a luxury make.”

Positioned above today’s CTSand XTS product lines, the new top-of-the-line Cadillac adds to ratherthan replaces any model in the port-folio. The model name will be an-nounced soon. It will make its

public debut in the first half of nextyear.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snydersaid, “Michigan takes great pride inbeing recognized as the automotivecapital of the world, GM’s choiceto build its Cadillac flagship sedanat Detroit Hamtramck is a testa-ment to the spirit, resolve and tal-ented workers residing in ourcommunities and state, and demon-strates the high quality of what‘Made in Michigan’ means. Andit’s another sign of the amazingcomeback underway that’s buildinga strong foundation and bright fu-ture for all Michiganders.”

Four of seven Cadillac models– the ELR at Detroit-Hamtramck andthe CTS sedan and ATS sedan andCoupe are built at Lansing GrandRiver – are assembled in Michigan.

“This is another testament tothe power of collective bargainingand what can be achieved when weall work together,” said UAW VicePresident Cindy Estrada, wholeads the union’s GM Department.“Our members work hard and takegreat pride in creating quality prod-ucts that drive the industry forwardand make these achievements pos-sible.”

Kentucky auto body shop ownerJohn Russell claimed his FirstAmendment rights were violatedwhen Sheriff Deputies would notallow him to put up campaign signsin front of his business, CampbellCounty Autobody. In response, hefiled a federal lawsuit in Juneagainst Campbell County officials,Kentucky Attorney General JackConway and Secretary of State Al-ison Lundergan Grimes.

In 2012, Russell permitted sev-eral candidates running for office toplace political signs in front of hisbody shop in Cold Spring for the pri-mary and general elections.

According to court documents,Campbell County Deputy Sheriffsremoved the signs, because theywere within 300 feet of a pollingplace located at First Baptist Church.The Church is located across a four-lane highway from the auto bodyshop, which is approximately 150feet away. Kentucky law prohibitspolitical signs to be placed within300 feet of a polling place.

The judge ruled in favor ofRussell in Oct., and CampbellCounty agreed not to enforce the300-foot-rule on private property.

First Amendment RightsQuestioned in Kentucky

Axalta Coating Systems paint wasused on six of the 16 motorsportsteams’ racecars that qualified for the2014 Chase for the NASCAR® SprintCup in Sept.

Axalta partnered with both Hen-drick Motorsports and Stewart-HaasRacing. Each race team sports Ax-alta’s brilliant paint colors on its race-cars. The six cars and drivers includefour from Hendrick Motorsports: No.24 Jeff Gordon; No. 5 KaseyKahne; No. 48 Jimmie Johnson;No. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. and fromStewart-Haas Racing: No. 4 KevinHarvick and No. 41 Kurt Busch.

“We started the season feelingvery confident that our paint couldfind its way to Victory Lane manytimes during the season,” said WadeRobinson, Axalta’s Strategic Mar-keting and Racing Director. “We arehonored that these Axalta-sponsoredteams have wins in nearly half of allthe points races this year (13 of 27).We could not be more proud. It’sbeen a magical year for Axalta Rac-ing.”

Axalta Coating Systems is “TheOfficial Finish” of Hendrick Motor-sports and “The Official Finish” ofStewart-Haas Racing.

Axalta Paint Used onNASCAR Qualified Racers


The Baileys Harbor Community Asso-ciation of Wisconsin hosted its annualClassic Car and Motorcycle Show fromSeptember 26-28, with most events tak-ing place at or near Kendall Park andTown Hall, at Wisconsin 57 and CountyF. The car and cycle show was held onSept. 27, along with a craft show, livemusic, food and drink, and more. Theweekly farmer’s market occured on thefollowing day. There was also an “or-ganized ride” of classic cars and motor-cycles through Door County, accordingto greenbaypressgazette.com.

IL Body Shop Sells BuildingSterling Bay Cos. added another build-ing to its growing portfolio in the Ran-dolph-Fulton Market neighborhood.The Chicago-based developer paid$2.25 million for a 7,500-square-footindustrial building at 1043 W. FultonMarket St. occupied by Aberdeen AutoBody Repair, according to a report inchicagobusiness.com. The one-storybuilding is one block west of a SterlingBay office development that will be thefuture home of Google Inc.’s Chicagooffices. The developer bought the in-dustrial building from Edward JosephMcDonagh, owner of the shop.

Recent Classic Car and Motorcycle Show in Wisconsin

A new Michigan law prohibits towtruck operators from harassing driv-ers at the scene of a car accident ordisabled vehicle.

Tow truck drivers who use ag-gressive, badgering or unethical busi-ness practices to solicit customers willface a $1,000 fine. Gov. Rick Snydersigned the legislation October 9.

Tow service operators won’t bepunished for offering assistance aslong as they leave if they’re told theirservices aren’t needed.

The law also prohibits local gov-ernments from requiring towing serv-ices to pay a fee for responding todisabled vehicles as a contract termbetween a towing service and thelocal government.

The legislation was sponsoredby Republican Rep. Dale Zorn ofIda.

New MI Law Bars Tow TruckDrivers from Harrassing Drivers

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder hassigned a law allowing drivers whoowe extra “responsibility” fees forcertain offenses to do 10 hours ofcommunity service instead.

The option would apply fordrivers assessed $400 in fines overtwo years for not having mandatoryauto insurance.

Drivers fined $300 over twoyears for operating without a validlicense also could do communityservice.

Extra fines for the offenseswent away in 2012, but some mo-torists still owe them for old of-fenses.

Snyder signed the legislationSeptember 23. It’s sponsored byRepublican Sen. Bruce Caswell ofHillsdale and supported by Secre-tary of State Ruth Johnson.

Also on September 23, Snydersigned bills easing county treasur-ers’ ability to collect delinquenthotel taxes, creating standardizedlicensing requirements for phar-macy technicians and continuingfees paid by hazardous waste gen-erators.

New MI Law Allows DriversCommunity Service

The Boyd Group Inc. (the “BoydGroup”) announced on Sept. 3 theopening of a new Collision &Glass Repair Center in Roseville,Michigan. The center was openedunder the Collex brand name andwill transition to Gerber Colli-sion & Glass at a later date.

The repair center is approxi-mately 25,000 square feet with24,000 square feet of productionspace. This center is located in a fa-cility that previously housed anauto dealership at a busy intersec-tion on a well traveled four-lanestreet.

“We are pleased to both ex-pand our presence in the Michiganmarket while also furthering our tar-geted growth rate of 6 to 10 percentthrough single store-additions,” saidTim O’Day, President and COO ofthe Boyd Group’s U.S. operations.“This center will help us to reachnew customers and better assist ourinsurance partners in the Metro De-troit area.”

The Boyd Group is continu-ously looking to add new colli-sion repair locations to itsexisting network in Canada andthe U.S.

Gerber Collision & GlassOpens New Center in MI

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder hassigned laws to target drivers underthe influence of drugs after twoyoung men were killed in a head-oncollision by a repeat drugged driver.

The legislation signed Oct. 14allows police to conduct a prelimi-nary roadside analysis for controlledand other intoxicating substances. Aconditional bond is to be placed onmotorists arrested for drugged driv-ing and the information entered intoa law enforcement database.

Legislators sponsored the billsafter the July 2013 deaths of Rus-sell Ward and Koby Raymo in St.Clair County.

A woman who crossed thecenter line and struck their vehiclehad been pulled over six times infive years for drugged driving, butofficers didn’t know she had multi-ple offenses because they weren’tlisted in the Law Enforcement In-formation Network.

Michigan Governor SignsDrugged Driving Laws

Michigan’s Department of Transporta-tion, the University of Michigan, and13 companies are contributing to the$6.5 million, 30-acre testing ground,according to reports by Devin Con-nors, escapistmagazine.com. Michi-gan, home of three American majorauto manufacturers, wants the facilityto be within their state lines.

On the north edge of AnnArbor’s University of Michigan flag-ship campus, a ghost town will be setaside for the driverless. The test townis being built by the Michigan DoT,the aforementioned university’s Mo-bility Transformation Center, and 13private-sector companies, includingBosch, Econolite, Ford, General Mo-tors, and Toyota, according to Con-nors.

The facility will include everyday driving occurrences, like trafficlights and stop signs, and obstacleslike robotic construction crews andpedestrians popping out from behindparked cars. Car-to-car communica-tion is the main technology beingtested, according to Connors.

MI Establishing Test Townfor Driverless Cars

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When Richard Kalashian isn’t work-ing as a service writer at S&S Researchin Genesee, Wisconsin, he spendsmuch of his time supporting veteransthrough the VFW (Veterans of ForeignWars) organization. His most recentproject involved creating a special cart

to carry fallen soldiers at Milwaukee’sGeneral Mitchell International Airportwith the support of the employees heworks with in the auto repair shop.

About a year and a half agoKalashian was waiting for a friend atO’Hare International Airport when henoticed a casket being unloaded froma military plane and placed on a bag-gage cart. As a veteran himself, hesaid it just didn’t feel right with thegrieving family watching across thetarmac. “They treated it more or lesslike regular baggage,” said Kalashian.

“It kind of bothered me becausewhen I came back from a Vietnam tourat O’Hare field some 40 years ago I re-member how unwelcome I was when Iarrived at the airport. Kalashian re-called how his parents brought him asuitcase filled with clothes and he wentto the men’s room at the airport tochange into civilian clothes.

“That all created a flashback for me,”said Kalashian. “I know how I felt andhere we have a fallen soldier who gavehis life and is treated like baggage.”

Kalashian, who served in Vietnamfrom 1968-69, said he knew that some-thing needed to be done. “I decided tocontact Southwest Airlines and ap-proached them with the idea of usingone of their carts and redecorating it togive honor to our fallen soldiers,” hesaid.

In September, the airline com-pany gave him the approval to goahead with the project. Bob Williams,Kalashian’s boss and the owner ofS&S Research, offered to lend a hand.“I don’t feel veterans get their fare

share,” said Williams, who servedeight years in the Wisconsin NationalGuard’s 128th Air Refueling wing forthe Air Force. “We wanted to honorthe ones that fought for our freedom.”

After the cart was stripped andsanded, Williams and Kalashian workedtogether to come up with a design withthe help of Modern Ink. Nearly all of the

materials needed for the projectwere donated by local busi-nesses and the remainder camefrom the money Kalashianraised for the VFW.

Williams said it was a teameffort that included John Rileyin the body shop, Chuck Goshfrom C&M Auto Parts, whosupplied miscellaneous parts,Jerry Kachelmeyer from Sin-gle Source who supplied paint,Doug Kaempfer from Dou-

gies’s Pinstripes, and Ron Scheel fromModern Ink, who supplied the graph-ics. Kalashian’s daughter, Laura Houli-han, also helped spread the word throughsocial media.

“It kind of puts a tear in my eye,”said Kalashian. “They know I’m aVietnam veteran and they’ve been sup-portive of me over the years and theyall volunteered to help on the project.”

Kalashian began working forWilliams at S&S Research seven yearsago after retiring from a Saturn dealer-ship as a service manager. Williams,who has owned S&S Research since1977, specializes in auto and collisionrepair. Over the course of owning hisown business, Williams said he learnedthe importance of connecting with thecommunity, especially during the chal-lenging times.

In 2009, he found out that thatWisconsin Department of Transporta-tion wanted to widen a 17-mile stretchof Highway 83 in front of his business.Since the highway was the main ac-cess to his shop, he created alternativedirections for existing and potentialcustomers and kept them updatedabout the construction process throughhis website and social media to ensurehis business survived.

Now five years later, he has 13 em-ployees and was recognized for beingone of the nation’s top repair facilitiesby Monday Morning Mechanic/AutoProfit Masters.

“We’re family-owned and con-cerned about veterans and the com-munity,” said Williams. The shop hassupported local veterans over the

years by fixing vehicles at no chargeand donating money from car showsto those who are in need. Much of thisis through the VFW where Kalashianorganizes fundraising activities and isa service officer. Over the last yearand a half Kalashian raised more than

$24,000 and said whether they are onactive duty or retired, 100 cent of themoney goes to the veterans.

Now decorated in red, white andblue, with a painted gold eagle and redribbon, the veteran’s cart is ready tobe used by Southwest at the airport.

Kalashian said that other airlines haveshown interest in expanding the proj-ect but nothing is finalized.

“It means a lot to me,” saidKalashian. “I think Southwest Airlinesrecognized that there was a need tohonor our fallen soldiers in a more re-

spectful manner. They stepped up tothe plate and let me use one of theircarts to transform it into a patrioticmilitary casket cart to honor our fallensoldiers on their final homecoming.I’m hoping other airlines will followin Southwest’s direction.”


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Santa Claus has a new home in Bryan,Ohio, thanks to a local auto body shopowner. Jim Kozumplik of Auto StylesCollision & Repair spent the last fewmonths building a Santa house at his bodyshop, to show his support of the commu-nity and expand his customer base.

The business owner recently com-pleted the Williams County LeadershipProgram offered by the Bryan AreaChamber of Commerce and the partici-pants needed to decide on a class project.Kozumplik, who has lived in the Bryanarea for 40 years, said the town has al-ways had the same Santa house and hesuggested that the group build a new one.

After purchasing the basic shelland the necessary materials with fundsdonated by the surrounding community,including the Kiwanis and Rotary clubsas well as Spangler Candy, the leader-ship team began working on the projectin June.

Every time he went to visit localcommunity groups, he invited them tostop by and check on his progress. “I’vehad 100 people I never met before walkthrough my shop to look at the Santa

house,” said Kozumplik, who openedAuto Styles in 2004.

He had been working at a nearbyChrysler dealership running their autobody shop, and was approached to

open his own business. Four years afterrunning it with a partner, Kozumplikrealized it wasn’t a good fit and theywent their separate ways. “Most tech-nicians don’t realize what it entailsuntil they start. You have to be mentallyready,” he said. “It’s not just workingon cars all day. There’s so much more.”

Auto Styles is part of State Farm’sDirect Repair Program (DRP). “I can’tsee how shops can run without being aDRP,” he said. “What I do is go to localagents, set up a personal relationshipwith them and they give me customerson a daily basis. Being that we’re in asmall, rural area, it’s essential.” Cur-rently, Kozumplik said 95 percent of hisbusiness is through insurance but thatcan change from month to month.

The business owner said he doesnot use aftermarket parts for his repairs.Instead, he purchases parts from YarkAutomotive Group and Brown Automo-tive. Both Toledo-based businesses arepart of the Conquest program, whichoffers collision-related OEM parts to in-dependent auto body shops at aftermar-ket prices.

When an insurance adjuster sug-gests that Kozumplik uses aftermarket

parts, let’s say for a new bumper, hesaid, “I won’t do that. I’ll buy a newbumper at the same price so the cus-tomer is getting exactly what the man-ufacturer put on the vehicle.”

Running a mechanic shop on site aswell as his auto body shop has allowedKozumplik to diversify his business. “Idouble my customers and can do every-thing in-house,” he said. “You have to beable to diversity your income stream tomake it in a small town like this.”

Working in a county of approxi-mately 30,000 people, Kozumplik saidhe tried advertising on the radio and innewspapers but he found what worksbest to drive business is serious publicrelations and building personal relation-ships. When his business got hit with therecession, like others across the nation,he found that getting his name out in thecommunity and building their trust, hasmade a big difference over the years.

This includes his volunteer effortsbuilding a bathroom for the country li-brary, and supporting car shows and fes-tivals in Bryan. “Being in a small town,it’s hard to run a business,” said Kozump-lik. “The more you can do within thecommunity you’ll be further ahead.”

Santa House Built by Ohio Shop Owner Supports Community

The Leadership Williams County team workedon the new Santa house that will be ready inNov. Front row (l to r), Rob Imber, Williams Cnty.Family YMCA, Kayleigh Horton, Gabrielle Hortonand Jim Kozumplik, Auto Styles and CollisionRepair. Back row, (l to r), Dan Yahraus, executivedirector of Bryan Area Chamber of Commerce,Tim Martin, Current Office Solutions, TysonHorton, Williams County Public Library, IsaiahHorton, Bruce Deardorff, Parkview PhysiciansGroup, Jennie Koch, First Federal Bank andJeff Mumma, First Federal Bank. (Staff photoby Abby Welsh)

In a world where we are constantlybombarded by texts, tweets, status up-dates, and emails, it’s no surprise thatmany people read fewer books andseem to have some form of ADD. Ayoung person recently told me withpride that he hasn’t read a book sincehigh school.

“I like pictures,” he said.So, on a planet where almost

everyone has a short attention span,how do we communicate effectivelywith the masses? The answer for someis through video—short, sweet and tothe point. Several body shops have ex-perienced great success by workingwith the same video production/mar-keting company and the videos they’reproducing are creating a buzz through-out the collision industry nationwide.

Absolute Perfection Media (APMedia) in Sykesville, MD, is the com-pany producing these attention-gettingvideos for body shops. They’re thehottest new video production companyserving the collision industry and shopsare clamoring to work with them. Pres-ident Lee Emmons is now workingwith more and more shops owners whohave seen his past productions forMark’s Body Shop in Baltimore City,MD, and K & M Collision in Hickory,NC. The appeal stems from their direct,no-nonsense approach. Emmons haslearned the collision industry along theway, he said, and now he’s known asthe “body shop video guy.”

“The power of video and YouTubehas become apparent and now collisionshops want to tell their stories using thisformat,” Emmons said. “These shopsare willing to take on the insurance com-panies and this is the way they’re doingit. We’re also producing videos to edu-cate their customers about things likecertifications and the use of OE parts.These shops have learned that thesevideos are highly effective and very af-fordable and we can turn them out ratherquickly. Once a shop does a few of thesevideos and sees the response, they wantto do more. I’m traveling to K & M nextweek to produce a series of videos abouttheir manufacturers’ OE certifications.Some of the videos I’ve produced forbody shops have gone viral and gaineda lot of national attention, so we’re get-ting new collision clients all the time.”

The Vice President of Operationsat K & M Collision, Michael Brad-shaw, has produced a series of videoswith AP Media and posts them all onhis YouTube Channel.

“We have approximately 10 onthere right now and maybe five morein production. We take an educational

approach to many of the consumer-re-lated issues in this industry, includingtitles such as, Has Your Car Been Re-paired Safely (Watch this case and staysafe after an accident)?; Do You Qual-ify for Diminished Value? (The Insur-ance Company May Owe you Money);An Epidemic of Unsafe Collision Re-pairs; Post Repair Inspections; What isSteering?; Who Guarantees Repairs?;and An Open Letter to the North Car-olina Attorney General.

Short videos with a succinct mes-sage have proven to be highly effec-tive, Bradshaw explained, although insome situations longer, in-depth videosalso work well.

“We were doing longer videos atfirst, mostly 4–6 minutes in length, butnow we’re trimming them down to twominutes and our most recent ones arecoming in at 90 seconds. When we’redealing with certain subjects, the longervideos work just fine, but we also pro-duce shorter ones to convey the mes-sage quickly and present the topic in away that the viewer can absorb easily.”

If you’re getting your car fixedby K & M Collision, you’ve probablyseen one or more of the shop’s videos.

“We loop all of them together andshow them on a monitor in our recep-tion area at the shop and we’ve gotten

some great feedback about them fromour customers,” Bradshaw said. “In-surance adjustors also tend to see themtoo!”

Mark Schaech, Jr., is the second-generation owner of Mark’s Body Shopin Baltimore City, MD. He startedworking with Emmons at AP Media

several years ago.“We have now produced at least

five videos with AP Media and they’rebeing seen by shops all over the coun-try,” Schaech explained. “We let shopsuse them, as long as they give us anoutbound link. These other owners arerealizing that these short videos are ef-fective, because they can easily con-vey the information that we want tocommunicate, because this is a verycomplex industry and the average per-son doesn’t really know what’s goingon.”

Schaech, 41, took over the busi-ness from his father in 2000 and backthen they had six DRPS. But, todaythey have none and some of theirvideos document why.

“The first one we did with APMedia was about a post repair inspec-tion video and it had immediate im-pact,” Schaech said. “A Mazda hadbeen repaired by another shop under an


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

Body Shops are Tapping into the Persuasive Power of Video

Lee Emmons of AP Media shooting a video for K & M Collision in Hickory, NC, featuring theirreceptionist, Caitlin Adams See Power of Video, Page 16

insurance company’s DRP and it wascompletely hacked and butchered. Itwas a death trap and it eventually gottotaled and the driver got paid off. Ourvideo told the story and showed the ev-idence clearly, and that was why itworked so well. Since coming out, theMaryland Attorney General and the In-

surance Commissioner has seen thevideo and body shops show it to theircustomers all the time. We get greatfeedback about it and it’s also helpingus to get higher rankings on Google.”

Currently, AP Media is producinga series of four automotive certifica-tion videos for Mark’s Body Shop.

“K & M has done a few OE cer-tification videos and they’re power-ful, to say the least, so we’re doingthe same,” Schaech said. “They did a

Porsche certification video and nowthey’re on top of all the search rank-ings as a result. We use video to in-form and educate our customers, butenhanced SEO is also a big part of it.Years ago, we spent a lot of money oncable advertising and the responsewas weak, but these videos cost usless and they get us more response.We’ll be making more all the time,because we can new see they pay forthemselves in the end.”


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by Jennifer Bjorhus

MN Attorney General Lori Swansonis suing a Texas auto warranty com-pany for deceptive tactics, saying it’sviolating its promise of a full refundwithin 30 days.

The lawsuit is part of a broaderinvestigation into extended auto war-ranty practices, Swanson said.

The state is seeking unspecifiedcivil penalties, and restitution for af-fected customers of Enterprise FinancialGroup Inc. of Irving, TX. The companyhas sold more than 3,700 extended autowarranties to Minnesota customers since2009, according to the state’s lawsuitfiled Sept. 24 in Hennepin County Dis-trict Court. The warranties, also called

service contracts, typically cost between$1,600 and $2,600.

Auto warranty companies havebeen a perennial source of trouble forconsumers, from annoying robocallsand deceptive warranties to companiescollapsing and leaving policyholderson the hook, according to Bjorhus.. Inan interview, Swanson said she thinksthe improving economy is creating anopening for bad sales practices. “Thesecompanies really seem to be on theuptick here,” she said.

A bulletin her office issued Sept.24 cautions Minnesotans about highpressure sales tactics and urges themto vet companies and contracts beforesigning up. Scout for prevalent loop-holes, it says.

The warranty pitches are familiarto many Minnesotans. They come byofficial-looking postcards or phonecalls: the warranty on your vehicle isrunning out, buy a new extended war-ranty from us. People may think theyare getting bumper-to-bumper cover-age when they are not.

Enterprise Financial Group did notreturn several messages seeking com-ment. Its website says it provides con-sumer and vehicle protection programsfor dealers, financial institutions, insur-ance companies and manufacturers.

According to the lawsuit, Enter-prise uses other marketing companiesfor sales such as Precise Auto Protec-tion Inc. and Auto Processing Center.

The warranties go by a range of

names such as TechChoice New Ulti-mate Coverage and Dent Zone AutoBody Guard PDR Contract and VurgeFull Throttle Coverage. They are dif-ferent from the warranties that comewith a new car, which are backed bymanufacturers such as Toyota or Fordand typically cover a much broaderrange of problems.

Enterprise informs customersthey can cancel the contracts within 30days of purchase for a full refund if noclaims have been paid. However, thecompany makes it difficult for peopleto cancel with confusing instructionsand runaround, the lawsuit said. Thefull story is available at:http://www.startribune.com/local/276990761.html

Texas Company Sued by MN Attorney General for Selling Extended Auto Warranties

Continued from Page 14

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Pro Paint, the largest PPG PlatinumDistributor in the Midwest, held their7th Annual Trade Show on Tuesday,August 12 at the Orchard BanquetHall and Restaurant in Baldwin, WI.The largest trade show in the region,the event offered a variety of vendorsdemonstrating their products, six edu-cational seminars, and a special guestappearance by NHRA’s John Force.Dayna Hennessy, co-owner and eventplanner for Pro Paint, notes “every-thing went as planned and exactly aswe’d hoped. It was one of those per-fect events; we could not ask for any-thing better.”

Hennessy was excited to see allof Pro Paint’s hard work come tofruition so successfully. This year’sevent attracted a record number of in-dustry professionals, class participantsand vendors from various segments ofthe industry, and attendees flew infrom all over the country. Hennessystates, “All of the seminars were well-

attended, and people seemed to enjoythe information that was presentedand their ability to ask questions spe-cific to their individual situationswhich is always more beneficial. At-tendees were even able to use creditsfrom the seminars to get re-certified.”

The educational portion of theevent began at 10AM with PPG’s six-hour presentation on “EnvirobaseHigh Performance Waterborne Recer-tification,” during which attendeeswere updated on new products andtechniques. Participants in this coursewere able to move up to the next levelof PPG Certified Technician status.From noon until 2PM, attendees wereable to choose from “Collision ShopBest Practices” presented by DarrellAmberson, Chairman of the Automo-tive Service Association (ASA), and atwo-part seminar which covered“Proper Gun Set Up and Care” withMichelle Striggow of Graco, and“Pre-Treatment Premier” presented by

Doug Van Duyne, a member of theBoard of Directors of CCAI-TC.

A third course, “Hands On Intro-duction to House of Kolor Shimrin2”by Nick Dahl, also began at noon andran for four hours, and during thisseminar, attendees were encouraged tobring their gun and respirator as theycovered products and processes, un-dercoats, karrier bases, and effectpacs. From 2PM through 4PM, a sem-inar focused on “Improving TransferEfficiency and Reducing VOC Emis-sions Along with the Virtual PaintSystem” was held by the MinnesotaTechnical Assistance Program (Mn-TAP) with Paul Pagel as presenter andJeremiah Treloar of the Iowa WasteReduction Center. At 3PM, PPG led aone-hour seminar on “Adjustrite Esti-mating,” a web-based Class A truckestimating program that is used andregarded by insurance companies.

The trade show, which was openfrom 4-9PM, featured representatives

from over 100 product lines, and at-tendees enjoyed a minimum 10% dis-count on any purchases made at thisbuying trade show. Participating ven-dors included 3M, AASP, AmericanTape, C’Aire, Dynabrade, House ofKolor, Innovative Tools, Inver GroveHonda & Toyota, Kadingers, LutherAuto Group, MADA, Malco, MirkaAuto Refinish Solutions, Norton, Pli-ogrip, PPG, Presta, Reading Tech-nologies, SATA, SEM, Stericycle Inc.,TG Products Inc., Transtar, UPOL,USC, WACTAL, Walcom USA, Wis-consin Parts Advantage, Wizards,Zorn, and others.

The vendors spent a lot of timewith customers and future customers,answering questions and demonstrat-ing their products. Hennessy states,“Our main vendors set up extensivedisplays and had six to twelve repre-sentatives manning their booths. It’sflattering that our vendors feel the Pro


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Record Numbers Attend Pro Paint's 7th Annual Trade Show

See Record Numbers, Page 38

Richard Rawlings loves fast cars,pretty women and having a good timeall the time, so it was a no-brainerwhen the Fast N’ Loud star opened hisown bar about a year ago, followed bythe purchase of a concert venue in Oc-tober.

The Gas Monkey Garage brand isspreading throughout the country andnow, Rawlings has headquarters wherehe can combine food, music, libationsand cars.

In conjunction with Rawlingsand Dodge, Charger, Challenger andViper owners are about to get theshow of a lifetime in Dallas on Nov.1. The dealers will convene at GasMonkey Live to attend a concert fea-turing Mötley Crüe, while dining onGas Monkey Burgers, Bock BatteredChick Fried Steak, 3-Cheese TruffledMac and Red Chile Grits. It’s a one-of-a-kind highly exclusive event opento Dodge owners looking to have anamazing time while showing off theirvehicles to fellow gear-heads.

Head of Dodge Marketing &Communications, Mark Malmstead, isexcited about the upcoming concertand the chance to partner with Rawl-ings and Mötley Crüe for this un-precedented event.

“We’re big fans of Fast N’ Loudand we met with Richard Rawlingsand The Discovery Channel at theSEMA show last year and started dis-cussing the idea of working together.We talked about an in-show place-ment, which has yet to air and Richardhas done some dealer commercials forus. The relationship has just continuedto evolve from there. We love the wayRichard Rawlings operates, becausehis show is a little different than

what’s out there and he has an edge.As we sat down with him and got toknow him better, we decided to domore with Richard. So, he appearedfor us at the Woodward Dream Cruisein metro Detroit recently and every-one went crazy.”

Rawlings and his show couldn’tbe any hotter. Discovery Channel cur-rently airs Fast N’ Loud in 80 coun-tries worldwide. The reality TV starhas also opened another Gas MonkeyBar N’ Grill in the international termi-nal of Dallas/ Fort Worth Airport. Ifthe Gas Monkey restaurants continueto do well, Rawlings says he wants toopen “15 or 20 more.” He and histeam are currently scouting for loca-tion No. 3, which will likely be out of

the area, but still in Texas.How did the band, the man and

the brand all come together for thisone-of-a-kind event?“Dodge is currently sponsoring Möt-ley Crüe’s Farewell Tour,” Malmsteadsaid. “Last month, Richard purchasedGas Monkey Live, a music venue thatwas formerly owned by country starToby Keith. So, Richard asked us,‘Can you get Mötley Crüe to play atmy new place?’ He was pretty insis-

tent, so Tim Kuniskis (Dodge and SRTbrand CEO) made it happen, basicallyto get Rawlings to stop asking.”

Dodge was pleasantly surprisedwhen it all came together, Malmsteadsaid. “If we can get Mötley Crüe toplay at a bar, which they normallydon’t do and celebrate our 100th an-niversary with a big owner party at GasMonkey Live, we thought wow. Itstarted out as a crazy idea and now it’shappening. The band was a little reluc-tant at first and they had to move a fewdates around, but then they finally saidyes.”

Cars, cars, cars will be an integralpart of the evening and many of themwill get as much attention as MötleyCrüe, according to Malmstead. “We’rehoping for 2,000 people and 1,000 cars,both vintage and late model DodgeChallengers, Chargers and Vipers. Peo-ple can get thrill rides in a Dodge Viperdrift car and a Dodge Challenger SRTHellcat that night as well. We’re going

to provide show parking that night, be-cause the event is foremost a car show.You must own one of these vehicles toattend and you have to send in a photoof it, but the event is free for owners.”

Mötley Crüe has been rockingthe world for 33 years, and is stillgoing strong. Rock stars Vince Neal,Tommy Lee, Micki Sixx and MickMars are all car crazy. Earlier this yearthe video for Mötley Crüe’s classic“Kickstart My Heart” was re-releasedwith new Dodge scenes added.

The video for country musicstar’s Justin Moore’s version of theballad “Home Sweet Home” (from theNashville Outlaws: A Tribute to Möt-ley Crüe album) also showcases a2015 Dodge Challenger Scat Packparked outside the club.

For Dodge Challenger, Charger andViper owners who want more infor-mation about the event, visit:www.dodgerocksgasmonkey.com.


with Ed Attanasio

Media and Publicity for Shops


Gas Monkey Garage and Dodge Recruit Mötley Crüe to Rock Dallas

Mötley Crüe will be performing at a Dodgeowner-only event which is part concert andpart car show on Gas Monkey Live on Nov. 1in Dallas

The Gas Garage Bar & Grill will be THE place to be for Dodge Challenger, Charger and Viper ownerswho can get themselves and their vehicles to Dallas for the concert and car show, which alsocelebrates Dodge’s 100th anniversary


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One of the biggest complaints I hearfrom shops is that it is so hard to getpeople to change their habits and con-form to a new way of doing things.Unfortunately, failing to implement apermanent change initiative has be-come the norm at most collision repairshops these days. Some of this resist-

ance we bring on ourselves by what Ilike to call the “Flavor of the Month.”I am sure most of you can relate to thisscenario when the boss returns fromNACE or some great seminar and allof a sudden he wants to fix everythingovernight! These changes rarely takepermanent hold in the organizationand the more changes managementtries to implement, the bigger the joke

it becomes to the staff. Sad, but sotrue!

There are many reasons that peo-ple are resistant to change, but I amsurprised at how often it is the owneror manager himself that is the realproblem! The art of communicatingand understanding what make your

people tick are of utmost importancethese days. The old “iron-fisted” man-agement style of yester-year rarelyworks these days.

How are you going to get yourstaff to buy-into change initiatives andconsistently perform the vital steps re-quired with new processes such asBlueprinting, and other lean concepts?Many great books have been written

on the subject of change, and I recom-mend you read them and learn asmuch as you can to better understandthe behaviors and intrinsic values ofyou and your team. In addition to youdoing some studies of your own, Ihope you will find these 3 tips helpfulto your change efforts.

ConvenienceOne of the biggest reasonspeople don’t follow the stepsis because the steps are toohard to perform. Call themlazy, call them whatever youwant, but the reality of it isthat if you give someone atask that is critical to successand the task is too difficult, itis human nature that it likelywon’t get done consistently ifat all. Let me give you an ex-ample. Let’s say that at yourbody shop, you have discov-ered that checking the re-

placement parts for correctness (mir-ror matching) is CRITICAL to yoursuccess. So if you remove the oldparts from the car and throw them intoa big messy pile in the corner, do youreally think the parts guy is going todig through that heap to find the partshe needs to mirror match vs. the newreplacements? Probably not going tohappen, right? You must make critical


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]

Lean Implementation Strategies

Would you expect your parts person to dig through thismess to perform a mirror match?

“One of the biggest reasons people don’tfollow the steps is because the steps are

too hard to perform”

to success tasks as easy as you possi-bly can if you want them to get done.Convenience also means keeping

tools, information, and anything elsethat would be needed to perform acritical task close and easily accessi-ble. Things not getting done are oftennot a work ethic problem as much as itis a spatial or procedural problem.

SpaceIf you were trying to shed a few

pounds and decided that you need toquit eating donuts, do you think itwould be better to have the box of

donuts that your rental car providerjust gifted sitting on your desk, orwould it be better to place the deli-cious box of devilish delight as faraway as possible? My point is to setup your shop space to help drive thevital behaviors to succeed. A classicexample of this is when it comes toBlueprinting. One of the vital behav-

iors of Blueprinting, in my opinion, isto have your estimating computer outwith you at the damaged car. Can thishappen at your shop, or are your esti-mators still writing everything downon a piece of paper and then walkingthis back to their office to enter aquestionably accurate supplement intothe estimating system? If this isn’t badenough, I still see many shops that letthe technician write the supplement ona piece of paper and then put it on theestimator’s desk to key in. What kindof behavior does this spatial arrange-ment encourage? Think about it!

Make it UnavoidableMake it difficult for people to do thewrong thing. Can you think of anytasks critical or otherwise that arebeing successfully performed at yourshop consistently? What is differentabout those tasks that you can learnfrom and apply to your new initiativesand critical tasks? The act of moving avehicle into the technician’s stallmakes it pretty unavoidable that it willget seen and worked on by the techni-cian. Making a task unavoidable isquite often a visual thing, and some-thing that has to get done before it cango to the next step. Consider the use

of visual quality control in betweendepartments to eliminate defects, andmake it hard to screw up!

Outcomes• Recommended readingo Leading Change – Kottero Influencer – Patterson, Grenny,Maxfield, McMillan, Switzer• Make critical tasks conveniento Tasks that specifically lead toyour company’s success like Blueprintsteps, parts mirror matching, customercommunication, etc. must be made tobe EASY!• Setup office and shop spaces to in-fluence vital behaviorso Is communication a problem?Consider how your office is set up.o How far do people have to walkto get parts, information, etc?• Make critical tasks unavoidableo Think visualo Make it hard for people to screwup!


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29 years ago in the collision repairindustry (November 1994)Recently I read an article that was criti-cal of industry leaders who had nottaken a stand against DRPs. It broughtto mind a discussion I once had with (amember) who said there are things as-sociations can do that make some mem-bers happy, but that don’t meananything. He called it “feel good stuff.”

For association leaders to de-nounce all DRPs when half or more oftheir membership participate in directrepair programs would be nothing morethan “feel good stuff.” It feels good tothose who are not DRP shops, but whatabout those member shops who chose togo DRP?

It’s very easy to criticize associa-tions that have a neutral position onDRPs, but what would happen if theycame out against them? The best any as-sociation can do is to rally against theabuses where they exist; to support leg-islation that protects a consumer’s right

to choose the repair facility; and to dowhat it can to advise its members onhow to determine if DRPs are a wisebusiness decision for them.

There are a number of individuals,some of them leaders, who continue toyell about DRPs without offering anyreal solutions. But regardless of whatthey have said, it’s the collision repairprofessionals who have voted by mak-ing the business decision whether to par-ticipate in these programs.

All the yelling in the world won’teliminate DRPs. Those of you who can’taccept that reality can keep yelling, oryour can roll up your sleeves and go to

work on the 65 per-cent of businessthat will never beDRP. Learn how tobetter market yourbusiness and sellcollision repairs.Bury the DRP bo-geyman and get to

work. It’s in your best interest.—From an editorial by John Loftus,

then the executive director of the Soci-ety of Collision Repair Specialists(SCRS), published in Collision Expert.Loftus retired from SCRS in 2000.

15 years ago in the collision repairindustry (November 1999)Mike Melfi said the Coalition for Col-lision Repair Equality (CCRE) wasfounded about three years ago as an or-ganization to help like-minded shopsowners around the country “take backcontrol” of their businesses and reduceinsurer influence over the industry. Itwas incorporated as a for-profit com-pany so that it would never have to di-vulge a list of its members (which theorganization refers to as “sponsors” or“clients”). About 80 people – includingabout a dozen attorneys – attended thegroup’s recent meeting in Phoenix.

“These attorneys are just now real-izing that there’s money to be made in

property damage litigation,” said AnnSpink, a Louisiana shop owner and vicepresident of CCRE. “We believe thatlegislation and education is part of theanswer but litigation is the bottom line.The reason CCRE exists is to try to puttogether the documentation and the ex-pert witnesses to help these attorneysunderstand how to litigate for us. Andbecause they’re class action attorneys,we don’t have to pay them, just help ed-ucate them.”

Shop owner Melfi told CCRE par-ticipants he had predicted the first non-OEM parts lawsuit “victory” would taketwo years. “It took three years,” he ad-mitted. “But now I have another predic-tion. If steering continues, one day onthe 6 o’clock news, you’re going to seean executive of an insurance companyin handcuffs being put in a federal mar-shal’s car being charged with federalracketeering.”

– As reported in Parts & People.The non-OEM parts lawsuit victory


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DRPs 20 years ago, Early CCRE, ADP Revises Labor Times

with John YoswickHistorical Snapshot

—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].

John Loftus

Melfi referred to was the $1.1 billionjudgment against State Farm in 1999,which the Illinois Supreme Court over-turned in 2005. A class action lawsuitfiled in Illinois earlier this year allegesthat seven of the Top 10 insurers violatefederal racketeering laws by illegallyconspiring to use their direct repair pro-grams and other means to enforce “anartificial market value for collision re-pairs.”

10 years ago in the collision repairindustry (November 2004)A widespread and significant drop inADP refinish labor times discovered inrecent weeks will be corrected in ADP’sNovember CD update release, whichthe company says has been sent to ADPcustomers.

“The operational issues with the re-finish times in the October CD are re-vised in the November CD,” ScottJenkins, senior director of “EstimatingSolutions” for ADP said. “The Novem-ber CD is consistent with the SeptemberCD. If the user did not load the OctoberCD, they were not impacted. We are in-structing our customers to load the No-vember CD immediately upon receipt.”

The October CD included manydecreased refinish labor times of 10 per-

cent or more. Refinish times for 2000-2004 Ford Taurus hood, for example,dropped from 3.9 on the SeptemberADP CD to 3.4 on the October CD.Times for a 1999-2004 Pontiac GrandAm fender dropped from 2.4 to 1.9, andthe front door time for a 1999-2004Chevy Cavalier dropped from 3.1 to 2.8.

Although some have looked forsome sort of intent behind the wide-spread reductions, ADP, while avoidingusing the term “mistake,” maintains thatthe problem was an “operational issue,”not an attempt to shave labor times.

“Some of our clients have experi-enced an operational issue regarding re-finish labor on hoods, doors, fenders,roofs, decklid/tailgates and back doors,”Peggy Adams, operations manager forclient services for ADP, wrote in anemail response to questions about theOctober CD. “All new estimates createdwith the November CD reflect the up-dated refinish labor. We apologize to ourclients for any inconvenience we mayhave caused.”

The issue has resulted in a flurry ofemail activity between shops and indus-try organizations since it came to lightin early November. Part of the concernwas fueled by the fact that various ADPpersonnel were giving conflicting - or,

at a minimum, ambiguous - responsesto questions about the labor timechanges. An ADP tech support em-ployee, for example, told one ADP shopcustomer in the Pacific Northwest thatthe revised times were based on “newtime studies” ADP had done.

– As reported in Autobody News.Prior to shops accessing the estimatingdatabase information over the Internet,the system providers sent monthly up-dates to the data to shops on compactdiscs. ADP’s Claims Services Group(including its estimating system) wasacquired by Audatex (now AudaEx-plore) in 2006.

5 years ago in the collision repairindustry (November 2009)In the transcript of a small claims appealtrial involving two of customers of G &C Auto Body of Santa Rosa, Calif., Cal-ifornia Superior Court Judge JamesBertoli took State Farm to task for itsrate survey process and arguments re-garding reasonable repair costs.

Shop owner Gene Crozat’s cus-tomers had won after filing small claimscourt cases against State Farm insuredswhen the insurer refused to pay all of G& C’s charges. The insurer appealedboth cases, and the court heard the two

appeals together over two days.Bertoli said State Farm could use

whatever method it specified in the in-surance contract to determine a reason-able price in first-party claims, even ifthey determined that price, “by readingchicken entrails, and consulting with thethree witches from MacBeth (which is)just about as accurate as the survey it-self is. I think that survey from a statis-tical standpoint would get a first-yearcollege student a flunking grade.”

But in a third-party case, the judgesaid, a reasonable charge “implies arange of charges” and “no particularcharge can be said to be the only rea-sonable charge.” He said State Farm didnot try to establish that G & C’s rate wasunreasonable, and it appears to fallwithin a reasonable range of prices.

“Quite frankly with regard to thethird-party claims, this Court does notbelieve they should have been litigated,”Bertoli said in finding for Crozat’s cus-tomers. “I think the answer is clear, andI quite frankly see it as an effort on be-half of the insurer to try and suppress theprice charged by someone outside oftheir range.”

– As reported in CRASH Network(www.CrashNetwork.com), November16, 2009.


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Some industry ob-servers estimatethat only about 20percent of vehiclesin collision repairshops are actuallybeing measured aspart of the repairprocess. Richard

Perry, who oversees training for ChiefAutomotive, believes that changes invehicle materials and structure mean

that at least four times that percentageshould be measured.

“If that vehicle is impacted, itshould be measured,” Perry said. “Weusually know what’s going to happenwith the damage; we just don’t knowthe extent of it, where all it’s gone,how far did it travel through the vehi-cle. You’ve got to be able to find it tofix it. So before the repair we need toanalyze what’s wrong to develop a re-pair plan. During repair, we need to

measure multiple points, and monitorthose during repair because as youstart to make repairs, more than onepoint is going to move at a time. Weneed to monitor all those points.”

Perry said in the past, techniciansmight gauge the extent of the damageby checking to see if the vehicle’sdoors open and close; if they did, theyfelt it was safe to presume the damagehad not extended beyond the passen-


Industry Insightwith John Yoswick

John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon who has been writingabout the collision industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Net-work (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com). Contacthim by email at [email protected].

Energy Transfer in Today’s Vehicles Makes Measuring, Multi-Point Pulling More Important

If you still think of Chief Automotive as pri-marily a pulling equipment company, thinkagain. Mike Cranfill, vice president ofglobal collision and new business develop-ment for the Vehicle Services Group (whichincludes Chief Automotive) said changes inthe company’s revenue sources reflectchanges in the industry itself.

“I like to think we’re an informationcompany, because if you take the training,the measuring equipment and the data we

provide, almost half of our business isthere,” Cranfill said.

Vehicle Services Group (VSG) is itselfa segment of Dover Corporation, a globalproducer of equipment, systems and serv-ices in a variety of businesses. In additionto Chief, VSG brands include Rotary Liftand Elektron welders. It has about 1,200employees in the U.S., Germany and China.

Its measuring, pulling and weldingequipment sales each account for about

21 percent of its overall revenue, but itssingle biggest revenue source is the vehi-cle measuring data it sells directly to col-lision repairers and also to the estimatingsystem providers.

Does Chief collect data on the vehi-cles that shops are measuring with itsequipment?

“We do not collect it,” Bob Holland,VSG collision director for North America,said. “With our licensing agreement, we

have the right to collect it, but we do not.”Cranfill some companies, such as

those that offer vehicle history informa-tion, may seek that information, but Chiefdoesn’t share it because the informationtells only part of the story.

“The risk is: What does it mean?”Cranfill said. “Even if the data shows the carmeasurers to factory specs, can you guar-antee the repair was proper? Maybe youused heat when you’re not supposed to.”

Chief Automotive Sees Itself as Source of Information As Much As Equipment

See Energy transfer, Page 28

Richard Perry of Chief Automotive discussesthe value of multiple-point pulling during arecent demonstration in the shop at Chief’sheadquarters in Madison, Ind.

Richard Perry

By now most shop owners and man-agers have realized that when it comesto marketing, one size does not fit all.Franchises and multiple shop opera-tions that account for about 15 percentof the shops in the U.S. are in a posi-tion to approach marketing from an en-tirely different perspective from theindependent shop owner. But 72 per-cent of the shops are still independent,single-location shops and many ofthese shops market just to keep surviv-ing. The question then becomes, whatdo you mean by “grow?” Growth bycloning or opening other locations ismore of an operational strategy than amarketing proposition. Real growth foran independent shop is simply aboutgetting more vehicles in the door andenjoying more profit on every job.

Franchises and MSOs can affordto advertise just to build name recog-nition to try to drive business to anyshop in the group. But few independ-ents can afford to spend marketing

dollars solely on building name recog-nition. A marketing plan has to differ-entiate a shop from the competitionand provide a strong reason to selectthat shop over all the others. A recentarticle in Inc. Magazine might suggestone way to do that. A software com-pany originally called “37 Signals”changed it’s operating philosophy andchanged its name to “Basecamp,” thename of a project management prod-uct that represented 87 percent of theirsales and 90% of their recent growth.

This reminded me of a strategicmove made by Colonel Harlan Sanderswhen he was operating a small chain offast food operations with about 100items on the menu. He was having se-rious trouble trying to grow so he hireda consultant named David Thomas.The first thing Thomas did was cut themenu down to a handful of items andrenamed the franchise operation, “Ken-tucky Fried Chicken.” From there on,the growth was phenomenal. Now ob-

viously most shops can’t eliminate anyof the steps needed to restore a vehicleback to pre-accident condition, but theycan always choose what they want toemphasize in their marketing. And thismay be the key to convincing the buy-ing public that this shop is the right onefor them.

If you decide to try this approachto marketing, the next question is“what to emphasize?” Paint specialtyshops like Maaco have already begunto capture some of the body work thatindependent shops rely on, but theykeep paint as their central focal point.While any shop is free to make refin-ishing quality their main marketingemphasis, there may be reasons tochoose a different emphasis. One bigadvantage an independent shop hasover franchises and MSOs is the veryfact of their uniqueness. While theseother shops may have a cookie-cuttersameness look, the independent shopowner can individuate any way he or

she chooses. I’ve seen a number ofshops that emphasize the family as-pect of their business. Photos of sev-eral generations of owners adorn thewalls, the website and any ads. Theemphasis, of course, is “we care morebecause for us it’s personal.”

Another key factor in marketingemphasis choice is shop location. Ashop in Silicon Valley or other high-tech region may thrive best with anemphasis on the technical aspects ofcollision repair. A contemporary focuson hybrids and exotic metal repairspecialties could communicate well inan area like this. In an entirely differ-ent direction, I ran across a shop inhorse country that emphasized a spe-cialty in working on horse trailers andlarger transport vehicles. In an agelike ours where big box stores havebecome the norm, a lot of peoplechoose to look for vendors who un-derstand their particular niche in life.


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Are You Marketing to Merely Survive or Are You Trying to Grow?

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

See Trying to Grow, Next Page

ger compartment. But vehicle manu-facturers have strengthened both thelower and upper structures of vehicles,further reducing the impact of visibledamage to the passenger compartment.

“I’ve seen some vehicles that hadstraight-on impacts at 50 mph, yet youcan open and close the doors like fac-tory,” Perry said. “The passengercompartment does not react they wayit used to. But that energy is still going

somewhere; something further back inthe vehicle has to give to absorb thatenergy. So that old way of thinking, ofnot measuring everything, results inoverlooking something. That’s whywe need to measure the entire vehicleeach time.”

Perry believes eight measuringpoints is the minimum that should beused to ensure all the damage is lo-cated, though the total number will de-pend on the severity of the impact.

Start with four on the center structureof the vehicle, he suggests, then oneon each of the front and rear cornersof the vehicle.

When it comes to pulling, multi-

ple towers allow more precise move-ment, he said, given that damage canbe in three directions: lateral, verticaland length-wise.

“The more hook-ups you can puton at your initial pull, the more thatdamage is going to come out the wayit went in,” Perry said. “But you needto be monitoring it as you pull so youknow you’re going in the right direc-tion.”

Multiple pulling also reduces theamount of force used at any singlepoint.

“If you put more combined forceon a vehicle but less at each locationby doing multiple simultaneouspulling with equalized pressure, youcan repair a lot of things that youcouldn’t before because you’re notgoing to rip and tear it,” he said.“You’re not going to damage and dis-tort it because you’re not putting asmuch pressure at each location.”

Perry shared his measuring andpulling concepts while working on anactual damaged vehicle during a re-cent demonstration in the shop atChief’s headquarters in Madison, IN.Among the features of the company’s“LaserLock” measuring system hepointed out was the dual monitors thatallow a technician to have both meas-uring information and OEM repair in-formation readily accessible.

“The OEMs used to sit on thesidelines because who knew betterabout repairs than anybody else? Thetechnician,” Perry said. “After all,he’d been doing it for 20 years, andthings hadn’t changed that much. Butwith the many changes to vehiclestoday, who knows most about a vehi-cle now? The OEMs. They designedit. They engineered it.”

That said, Perry believes anotheradvantage of using Chief measuringdata is that the company doesn’t justuse OEM build data but actuallymeasures vehicles off the tires and inclamps just as is done in shops. Thatensures the system offers more accu-rate, real-world measuring data, hesaid, because such a set-up takes intoaccount the slight sagging the frontand rear of a vehicle does when it is

up in clamps.Perry said another key message

to technicians in his training is thatmeasuring is almost always the solu-tion to challenging repairs.

“If you can’t figure out what theproblem is, take more measurements,”Perry suggests. “You’ll find it eventu-ally. You’re just not measuring farenough. You’re not taking enoughpoints to identify all the damage.”


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Energy transfer

Lee Daugherty, global data product managerfor Chief Automotive, points out the type ofmeasuring data available through the com-pany’s LaserLock system

Jerry Ralston explains the final assemblyprocesses that Chief frame equipment undergoesat the company’s Madison, Ind., headquarters

Bryan Brown demonstrated the newestElektron welder during a recent media tour ofChief Automotive’s headquarters. Elektron andChief are among the brands owned by VehicleServices Group, based in Madison, Ind.

Choosing which of these to focus onbrings us back to the question, do youwant to market to just survive, or doyou want to really grow?

Whatever you decide to empha-size in your marketing, to make it agrowth proposition calls for an all outeffort. For example, a shop located inan area where campers and large SUVsare commonplace might choose to em-phasize oversize frame machines andlarger spray booths able to accommo-date them. To make this a growthmove, the shop would have to displaythese capabilities more prominentlywith colorful photos and stories of ex-ceptional jobs on the website and liter-ature. But they would have to go

beyond this to go out and be involvedin trade shows, vehicle shows, clubpresentations and more. Choosing anemphasis that encompasses a lot ofpeople opens up an entire horizon ofopportunities to get out and connectwith prospective customers. Not everyshop owner is comfortable with thiskind of glad-handing, but if the realgrowth is out there to be gotten, it’sworth while hiring someone with theskill to go out and get it.


Trying to Grow



swered, “the answer is ‘yes.’ ”Fast forward to the present time

Roberts told Autobody News, “In thelast 24 months nearly $3 billion ofsales volume in the collision repair in-dustry has changed ownership, whichis 10 percent of the entire industry.”

Roberts is currently the ManagingDirector and Automotive ServicesGroup team leader for FOCUS Invest-ment Banking. He said there are severalreasons for this sudden acceleration, in-cluding the availability of acquisitioncapital and the number of MSOs look-ing to sell. “There are more than 44MSOs with $20 million or more in rev-enues with another 110 between $10and $20 million.”

“Consolidators are looking to getbigger and achieve more scale, whichhas rewards for the acquirers as wellas for insurers and consumers,” saidRoberts, whose company has officesin Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Wash-ington D.C.

“Large insurers have increasinglyrewarded the best performing consol-idators and large MSOs with morevolume. Cars are repaired faster, withless hassle, and more predictable costsand quality.”

We asked Lillian Maimone, for-mer CEO and co-founder of Marco’sCollision Centers, for her perspectiveon the industry. She was excitedabout her upcoming retirement, say-ing, “Marco and I have nothing to doand all day to do it, and we like it that

way. It’s a wonder-ful sense of free-dom and piece ofmind.”

“Seeing thetrends in the newcars and the newequipment that wasnecessary to repair

these cars, I saw ourselves having avery difficult time competing againstthe consolidators. We knew it wouldcost my company hundreds of thou-sands of dollars in new equipment andtraining,”

While running Marco’s, whichwas established in 1972, Maimonesaid her primary function was ensur-ing the company was ready andgeared for the future. “My focus wason dealing with possible threats andopportunities,” she said.

In order to stay informed about

trends in the industry, Maimone regu-larly attended conferences, talked toindustry leaders and listened closelyto what others were saying in forumssuch as the Mitchell webinars, for ex-ample.

“I went to Pepperdine’s businessschool [and used those skills in ana-lyzing the industry.] I spent a lot of mytime looking at what is happening inthe industry and how it was affectingmy company,” she said. Eventuallyshe and husband Marco decided they“didn’t want to be in the game any-more.”

When employees asked why theysold, she explained, “We were the pow-erhouse in our area. We were the bigfish in the little pond.” With the changesin the industry and larger MSOs com-ing in, she said they realized how in-creasingly difficult it would be tocompete.

For example, the benefits theygained as a midsize DRP over theyears were no comparison to the gainsmade by the national DRP programs.She invited her employees to considerthe buying opportunities with the na-tional DRP accounts, rather than localones. “I figured whatever percentage


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MSO Consolidations

Lillian Maimone


Autobody News asked Vincent Romans, thefounding partner of The Romans GroupLLC, to comment on the recent MSO con-solidations. Romans has over 30 years ofconsulting and operating experience withdomestic and global enterprises. The Ro-mans Group LLC, established in 1996, pro-vides business, market, financial, andstrategic development advisory services tothe property and casualty auto physicaldamage insurance, automotive services,property restoration, and related supplychain segments.

Why are we seeing an increase inthe number of consolidators acquiringMSOs and do you think this trend willcontinue? We are at the early stage of con-solidation, contraction, convergence andconstructive transformation in the collisionrepair industry. Within this industry con-struct, private equity has stepped up its in-terest in acquiring MSO consolidators. Thisinterest is backed by unprecedented privateequity and strategic buyer cash seeking in-vestment opportunities in the MSO modelwhich today provides strong cash flow,growth through both organic and acquisitiongrowth and shorter term investment cyclesthat ultimately drive higher valuations.

How will it affect the collision repairindustry? We will continue to see large mul-tiple location operators (MLOs) be acquiredby the four MSO consolidators. The still

fragmented industry will continue to con-tract to a more normalized number of re-quired collision repairers throughout theUnited States over the next decade. Today,three collision repair segments, ≥$20M,≥$10-20M and the franchise multiple loca-tion, MLO, operators represent 24% of theUS collision repair market. I expect this mar-ket share for these three segments to growover the next three years. Additionally, weshould shortly see the first MSO with annualrevenue of $1.0B. Through September YTD2014 we have seen $650.0M in annual rev-enue transferred through multiple locationtransaction acquisitions among the fourMSO consolidators.

What are the relevant issues facingthe collision industry today? There are nu-merous trends and prevailing conditions thatoffer both risk and opportunity for repairerstoday. No one trend or prevailing conditionhas the impact that the confluence of theseprevailing trends and conditions have. It iswhen one understands that these individualprevailing conditions are part of a conflu-ence of many individual dynamic prevailingtrends and conditions, that you start to real-ize the order of magnitude and the exponen-tial impact they have and will continue tohave on the new world order of collision re-pair within the broader auto physical dam-age ecosystem. We will continue to seehow one company's transformation is an-

other's disruption, while one company's in-novation is another's disintermediation.Some of the short and long term conditionsinclude, but are not limited to changingmacro-economic influences, globalization,consolidation causing industry structuralchanges, telematics and the movement toan integrated electronic claims processmodel, accident avoidance technology as-sociated with semi-autonomous and even-tually autonomous vehicles (VEHBOTS),private equity and strategic buyers, predic-tive analytics, down turn in accident fre-quency, MSO performance contracts, hybridclaims management models, insurers em-bracing the MSO model, trained technicianshortage, parts procurement, repair seg-mentation, urbanization and others too nu-merous to mention here.

How does an independent shop fit inthe picture? Independent high perform-ance, brand recognized shops will continueto provide solid alternatives to the largeMSO consolidator model especially with in-surance companies that embrace their owncustomized repair models and prefer tohave non-MSO providers in the market or amix of MSO consolidators and local marketindependents. Additionally, specialty repair-ers who perform any number of niche mar-ket or high value repair alternatives will havea place in the future collision repair industry.

See Vincent Romans, Page 33

Vincent Romans of MSO Specialists The Romans Group on Consolidation

Admittedly, the owner of a well-known 80-year-old body shop inChicago was guilty of texting in hisown vehicle for several years until hesaw more than a few damaged cars inhis shop caused by his customers’lapses in attention while texting.Rather than ignore what is now an na-tional epidemic that causes 1.6 millionaccidents annually, Bob Gottfred, theowner of Erie-LaSalle Body Shop, de-cided to start his own anti-textingcampaign.

Erie-LaSalle Body Shop wasfounded in 1934 and over the years ithas become a neighborhood institu-tion in downtown Chicago. “We’re thelongest continuously owned auto bodyof its kind in Chicago and Illinois,”Gottfred explained. “We now have ahandful of third-generation customerscoming in here and it’s great to heartheir stories about when their grandfa-ther or even great grandfather broughthis car here decades before. Addition-

ally, we have expanded our servicearea by acquiring a 30-year body shopon the southwest side of Chicago.”

Gottfred, 64, had what he de-scribed as a “marginal interest” in carsas a kid, so his path to owning a bodyshop wasn’t part of his life plan, hesaid. “I grew up working here in theshop as a teenager and to be honest, Iwasn’t crazy about it. I had no inten-tion of taking over the shop, but whenI came home around Christmas time in1975, my stepfather told me he could-n’t do it anymore. His health wasn’tvery good so he said, ‘If you’re inter-ested -- hop in” or he was going to sellit. So, in January 1976 I started runningthe business full-time and then eventu-ally bought out my stepfather in 1995.”

Today, both of Gottfred’s sonswork with him at the shop and eventu-ally the business will belong to them –but not tomorrow, Gottfred said. “Jim(36) and Jay (34) could take over rightnow and do a great job, because they’velearned the business and they’re ready.They’re right at the hand-off point nowand I know it would be a seamless tran-

sition, but I’m not quite ready to retire.I currently work on customer acquisi-tion and foster the great relationshipswe have with the insurance companiesand agents, so it works well right now.Opening the new shop in a very differ-ent market has also been a challenge. Ilike to be the rainmaker around hereand take a lot of the administrative stuffoff my sons’ radar, so that they can con-centrate on the most important things,such as quality and customer service.”

New proposed anti-texting lawshave gained more momentum in thiscountry, most recently led by a docu-mentary called “From One Second tothe Next,” a cautionary tale about thedangers of texting while driving. Thefilm was funded by mobile providersAT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizonand has received major awards and ac-colades.

The genesis of Gottfred’s anti-tex-ting campaign began when he decided


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Social Media for Shops


Chicago Body Shop’s Anti-Texting Campaign Catches Fire

See Anti-Texting Campaign, Page 35

Erie-LaSalle started getting involved in an anti-texting campaign after creating this fire hydrantto raise money for 51 Club, an organization thatraises money for families of firemen killed in theline of duty

try that insurance companies often at-tempt to take control at the accidentscene, moving the damaged vehicleagainst the consumer’s wishes andtrying to coerce the vehicle owner toagree to having the repair completedat one of their DRP shops. Althoughthe consumer has the right to choosewhere their vehicle is repaired and itcould easily be argued that the insur-ers are taking advantage of their cus-tomers, it is easier and cheaper forinsurance companies when they gettheir way, as they often do in these sit-uations.

When questioned about why in-surers are so adamant about steeringdespite the possibility of being sued,Eaves noted that insurers profit greatlyby this practice as the benefits to themoutweigh the risk; this is the reason hispending lawsuit and other lawsuits arenecessary. Fowler reminded listenersthat this is a battle the collision repairindustry has been fighting for 25years, but it has come to a point wherequality repair shops will go out ofbusiness if nothing is done to “rectifythis travesty.”

Moving on to the topic of after-market and OEM parts, Fowler saidthat his opinion has changed. Previ-ously, he believed it should be the cus-tomer’s choice whether or not to useaftermarket parts, but because mostconsumers don’t understand the dif-ferences and implications of usingthese parts, he now feels that it is thecollision repair professional’s respon-sibility to educate the consumer. Hereiterated that “testing proves that af-termarket parts do not always performthe same as genuine OEM parts.”

In response to the radio hosts’question about whether “imitationparts” have been implicated as thecause of any accidents, Eaves unam-biguously stated that the use of poorquality aftermarket parts has caused amultitude of accidents across thecountry. Unfortunately, few peopleare aware of this concern becausethese settled cases included confiden-tiality agreements to prevent themfrom becoming public knowledge.Furthermore, as many parts, includ-ing windshields, tires and airbags, di-rectly affect the safety of the vehicle,investment in parts is more crucialthan ever. According to Eaves,YouTube features many videos on

how aftermarket parts affect vehiclesafety, and documentaries are cur-rently being filmed on this issue aswell.

Eaves is not optimistic that thelawsuit will go to trial quickly, but heis prepared to fight this battle for quitesome time if necessary, noting “this isbigger than just a lawsuit; it’s a cam-paign!” Part of this campaign includesasking Congress to support legislationto restore the proper balance of powerbetween the insurance industry andthe collision repair industry. As prece-dent for his request, Eaves cited theConsent Decree, a similar situation inthe 1960s when insurance companiestried to dictate which parts could beused and how much they would payfor repairs. The U.S. Department ofJustice sued the insurance industry,and the resulting ruling was that in-surers cannot force collision repair fa-cilities to compromise the quality oftheir repairs. Thus, the balance ofpower between these two industrieswas restored if not enforced. Eavessaid he hopes that his current effortswill yield the same results for themodern collision repair industry.

Directing his attention to whatconsumers can do to aid in this battle,Fowler reminded consumers that theyhave the right to choose the facilitythat repairs their vehicle, and he en-couraged them to act on this right bytaking their car to whichever shopthey prefer. He cautioned that it is ared flag if the insurer insists on dictat-ing where the vehicle is repaired, andthis could indicate that the insurer isengaging in other unsavory practices,such as mandating which parts areused in the repair.

Though vehicle manufacturersprovide specific repair information tomaintain a vehicle’s safety, Fowlersaid he has experienced firsthand thatsome insurers will demand used partsbe installed, even though both he andthe manufacturer warned that such apractice could compromise the vehi-cle’s safety. Despite insurers’ tendencyto use intimidating in their interactionswith both consumers and repair facil-ities, Fowler states, “there are shopsthat try to do what’s right, but they arevilified, disparaged and essentiallysqueezed out of business.”

Eaves agrees that it is imperativefor consumers to trust the facility re-pairing their vehicle as their lives arebeing placed in the hands of these pro-fessionals, and a poor quality repairjeopardizes the safety of the con-

sumer, their family and anyone else onthe highway. The importance of find-ing a trustworthy repairer is so greatthat Fowler founded www.safecars.us,a website that promises to place theconsumer’s safety above all else andplans to feature member shops whohave committed to this goal.

Although Fowler believes thatsome insurance agents would like todo the right thing for their customers,the rules are passed down from the in-surance companies’ corporate offices,leaving the agents powerless to makechanges. Unfortunately, the insurersare the only ones to benefit, and thesepractices are actually performed to thedetriment of the collision repair facil-ities, the consumers and even lendinginstitutions as an improperly repairedvehicle is apt to create a situation ofdiminished value.

When radio hosts questioned whysome insurance companies have de-partments that deal in diminished val-ues, Fowler notes, “they pay whenthey’re forced to pay, but they are nevergoing to voluntarily do the right thingbecause it’s not profitable, and every-thing they do is profit-driven.” In fact,he warns that diminished value canoccur to such an extent that the vehicle

should have been declared a total lossbecause it is no longer safe to be drivenon the road! Luckily, diminished valueis an issue that consumers are becom-ing increasingly aware of, and Fowlerencourages anyone with doubts aboutthe safety or integrity of a repair to geta post-repair inspection. His shop willgladly inspect repairs and provide ob-jective assessments, as will many shopsacross the nation. As the show ended,Fowler encouraged consumers to standup for their rights. Though he wouldlike to believe that the insurers look outfor their customers’ best interests, hisobservations indicate that they are onlyconcerned with profits. “This war hasbeen going on for a long time, mostlybehind the consumers’ backs, but it af-fects everyone because if a car is un-safely repaired and out of control, it isdangerous to everyone on the highway.The U.S. public needs to be concernedwith this issue… You never know whatbattles you can win until you fightthem. Doing nothing only ensures youwill lose.”

To access to the radio broadcast, goto http://www.iaba.info/Documents/Newsletters/Issues/2014/10%20October/Full%20Stories/Article%207.html (link is at the bottom of the page).


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Memphis Radio

of claims would drop as a result ofthat is enough to make me know thatwe will be in trouble,” she said.

“My employees are better off thisway,” said Maimone. “Several havebeen given a promotion and better op-portunities. I couldn’t give them that.”

Shortly after acquiring Marco’s,Service King reached an agreementto acquire Car West Auto Body, anMSO with seven shops in NorthernCalifornia. With these additions aswell as the 62 Sterling Collision Cen-ters the company acquired earlier thisyear in April, Service King now has191 shops in 20 states, including 18in CA.

Service King, based in Dallasand founded nearly 40 years ago, toldAutobody News that, due to companypolicy, they weren’t able to commentfurther until their acquisition of Car-west was finalized.

However, Service King releasedthe following statement: “Our recentSterling Autobody acquisition andMarco’s Collision Centers acquisitionserve as a platform for our growth in

the California market,” Chris Abra-ham, the CEO of Service King, said inthe press release. “The addition of CarWest and their 360 teammates will give

us an even greaterfootprint in theheart of SiliconValley. We are ex-cited to have theteam on board andlook forward to de-livering the Serv-ice King standardof exceptional cus-

tomer service and high quality repairsin these communities.”

“People are selling because of manydifferent reasons,” said Farzam Af-shar, CEO of VeriFacts Automotive, awell-respected training company thatdescribes itself as the industry’s only“independent onsite quality verifica-tion service and in-shop technician as-sessment provider.”

One reason, Afshar said, “is thatthey able to get a very high rate of re-turn on their investment. In addition,business owners increasingly need tocompete with consolidators in theirbackyard while vehicles are becomingmore complex.


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MSO Consolidations

Some of these models might include vari-ous types of repair segmentation; e.g. alu-minum or other new material/technology,fleet, small hit expedited repair, paintlessdent repair, cosmollision, ethnic market, andcar auction repair. As MSO consolidatorsgain in the breadth and depth of their reachand coverage in markets around the coun-try, insurers will look to balance their localmarket networks with strong performingand recognized branded independent opera-tors. The balance of power will be normal-ized as long as the independent’s metricsand service offering are comparable to theMSO consolidator. Insurers also want tohave local market independents and MSOscompeting with the MSO consolidator sothat the best peer performance is alwaysbeing established in a market among all cur-rent and prospective repairers.

What is the benefit/challenge ofbeing an MSO vs. a single-location shopwhen forming a relationship with insur-ance companies? MSO consolidators andmany non-consolidator MSOs have the per-sonnel, sales/marketing structure andbudget to frequently call on insurance com-pany corporate decision makers as well asmulti-level contacts regionally. They partici-pate on insurance company advisory or re-

view boards which brings them to the tablefor input, old business and new conceptdiscussions, and collaboration on currentand future business process and perform-ance models. They develop multi-level per-sonal relationships that help when issuesneed to be resolved quickly. However, ifservice deteriorates somewhere in thecountry for a larger MSO it could have neg-ative ramifications across their nationalfootprint or some other regional market oftheirs. The MSO consolidator offer insurersbroader multiple market coverage thansmaller MSOs and independents. However,local market MSOs and independents canand do market that they provide that laserfocus local market performance that insur-ers want. Many independents and localmarket MSOs position and market them-selves as high performers relative to theMSO consolidator in their geographicniche. A strong recognized brand with topperformance metrics relative to a MSOconsolidator can give the independent andlocal market MSO a competitive edge whenvying for insurer DRP business. MSO con-solidators are also offering self-managedand co-managed capabilities for cus-tomized and new DRP models, quality as-surance and self-audit process andprocedures, call centers, and single point ofcontact, all of which helps reduce costs forthe insurer while positioning the MSO con-solidator for business that the independentoperator may find more difficult to secure.


Vincent Romans

Farzam Afsharfile photo


their body shops.“We wanted to make the legisla-

tors aware of what the insurance com-panies are doing to the consumer,”said Matt Parker, owner of ParkerAuto Body in Louisiana who is part ofthe lawsuit. “The insurance industryshould not tell us how to repair cars.We’re the professionals here, notthem. We have all the liability, theydon’t,” he said.

Tony Passwater, Executive Di-rector of the Indiana Autobody Associ-ation and President of AEII ConsultingServices, said that what started asmulti-district litigation in April withjust five states, including Mississippi,Florida, Tennessee, Indiana and Utah,and later by Louisiana, is now part of amuch bigger action to regain controlthat he termed “The Movement.”

He said, as part of “The Move-ment,” shop owners representing adozen states went to Capital Hill “…todiscuss the growing concerns for con-sumer safety, the mandating by insur-ers to require repair shops to useuntested and unsafe parts on vehicles,and the intimidation tactics the insur-ers use when a repairer refuses to doso.”

“Most [members of Congress]have had their car repaired and werevery empathetic and were already con-cerned about the issue, so we werevery encouraged by the response,” saidthe lead attorney John Arthur Eaves,Jr. of Eaves Law Firm in Jackson, MS.

Eaves said many were still notaware of the Robert Kennedy-era 1963Consent Decree and now is an excel-lent opportunity to ask them to help

enforce what is the official public pol-icy of the United States government.He said the body shops plan to visitWashington D.C. again in Novemberwhen congress comes back into ses-sion and the hope is that a bill will be

introduced at that time. “The law willreally be a codification of the policy ofthe United States that was set in 1963.”

It was that year that the U.S. De-partment of Justice, under the direc-tion of Attorney General RobertKennedy, investigated the concerns ofthe collision repair industry and found265 insurance companies, and the

three major trade associations that rep-resented insurers, were in violation ofthe Sherman Antitrust Act. An An-titrust Consent Order was signed bythese companies on October 23, 1963,requiring that insurers must refrainfrom “fixing, establishing, maintain-ing or otherwise controlling the pricesto be paid for the appraisal of damage,or to be charged by independent ordealer franchised automotive repairshops for the repair of damage to au-tomotive vehicles or for replacementparts or labor in connection therewith,whether by coercion, boycott or in-timidation or by the use of flat rate orparts manuals or otherwise.”

“If you look at the Consent Decreeand read it, it would look like some-body from today wrote it because allthe things they’ve been doing since the40s they are continuing to do,” said

Parker. “To be honest withyou, everything they’re doingis against the law.”

Parker, who has been in thebusiness for 30 years, said theConsent Decree mandates thatinsurance companies are sup-posed to be in the business ofinsurance, “not telling us howto repair cars, not writing es-timates, not telling peoplewhere to get glass put in theircar. We’re the only business in

the world that has to try to figure outhow to make a profit when we can’teven set our own rates.”

Eaves originally filed the lawsuitin April on behalf of more than twodozen body shops that claimed 16 in-

surance companies manipulated laborrates and other charges and weren’tcompensated for their work.

The Mississippi lawyer said thelawsuit is largely based on antitrust is-sues that surface when insurance com-panies get involved with body shopsby telling them what labor rate theycan charge, what percentages they’re

not going to pay for, andwhat parts they have to puton a car. In the 1970’s, thelabor rate was $16 and themechanical rate was $15.Currently, Eaves said thebody shop rate across thenation is usually half of themechanical rate with nojustification. He said this isdue to insurance companiesthat have artificially sup-pressed the rate and is aclear violation of the Con-sent Decree.

Another main component of thelawsuit is against steering. “Most statesin the country say it is illegal for insur-ance companies to purposely interferein the business relationship of the cus-tomer and the body shop,” said Eaves.However, insurance companies do itregularly, telling customers they have to

go to their DRP body shops or selectservice shops. “That’s a big part of ourlawsuit and one of the things we think ispure violation of the proper balance be-tween the two industries,” said Eaves.“By having the same practices exposedby all body shops in one litigation, thejudge can more clearly see that this is apattern of practice,” said Eaves.

Eaves said that in addition tothese challenges faced by shop own-ers, the industry also has to adapt tonew technology. “Only the shops thatactually get paid for what they do willhave the resources necessary to investin all of this technology,” said Eaves.“That’s basically what the lawsuitcomponent is all about… making surethat people who do the work and do itright get paid for it so they can con-tinue to provide that service to theAmerican customer.”

The next court date is set for No-vember in Orlando, FL. “The allega-tions that are part of the multi-districtlitigation being heard in Florida are notin line with State Farm’s mission toserve the needs of its customers, andour long, proud history of achieve-ments in advancing vehicle safety,”said Dick Luedke, spokesperson for


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Congress Support

See Congress Support, Page 39

(l to r) Joe and Karen Enneking of Enneking Body Shop inIndiana, Congressman Luke Messer and Tony Passwater,Executive Director of the Indiana Autobody Association inWashington D.C.

(l to r) Tony Passwater, Executive Director of the Indiana Au-tobody Association; John Arthur Eaves, the lead attorney forthe case; and Karen and Joe Enneking from Enneking BodyShop in Indiana, during their trip to Washington D.C.

to participate in the Great Chicago FireHydrants Project, a public art exhibitionthat celebrates the heroism of Chicago’sfirefighters. This citywide public art in-stallation features oversized replicas ofChicago’s iconic standard fire hydrants,designed, painted, decorated and/ordressed by local artists, architects, andeven fashion and interior designers.These colorful sculptures are placedthroughout the city in tribute to thework and heroism of Chicago’s belovedfirefighters. At the conclusion of eachyear’s exhibition, the hydrants are gath-ered for a final exhibition before being

auctioned, with net proceeds benefitingcharities that support the families of firevictims and other fire safety programs

in the Windy City.As part of his company’s ongoing

philanthropy, Gottfred decided to par-ticipate in the project. “We purchaseda five-foot fire hydrant made out offiberglass for the project to decorate,”Gottfred explained. “We painted thewords ‘Texting & Driving, It Can Wait’on the fire hydrant and then decided totake the whole thing one step further.We had purchased a little Smart Car awhile back and we have our logo on theside of it. We use it to shuttle customersaround or pick up parts and we love it.We thought maybe we can use theSmart Car and the hydrant together toget our anti-texting message out there.We disassembled the front end of theSmart Car and parked it out front of our

shop and made it appear asthough the Smart Car had justbashed into the fire hydrant.We get 40,000 people drivingby our shop every day and sopretty quickly everyone wastalking about it.”

Then last October, Gottfreddecided to use Halloween asan opportunity to take his anti-

texting message to another level, hesaid. “We put a dummy in the frontseat of the Smart Car and deployed an

old airbag we had sitting around andstrapped it to the steering wheel. Later,I went out there and the local policeand fire department were out in frontof the shop. Someone had reported a

car accident with serious injuries, andafter we explained what was going on,we all laughed about it and they took afew photos. We left it there until theend of November and then the hydrantgot auctioned off, raising $500 for the51 Club. We bought it originally for

$1,500 and that money went to Club51 too, so we donated $2,000 total,which was nice.”

Once Gottfred got involved in hisanti-texting campaign, he stopped tex-ting altogether. “When people use theircell phones while driving, the bottomline is that they’re distracted,” he said.“I was doing it too, because you get atext message and your first reaction isto respond to it. But in the end it can re-ally wait. We get damaged cars in hereall the time and the customers willnever admit that they were texting whenit occurred, but I know many of theseaccidents are the result of texting.”

Gottfred teaches CE (ContinuingEducation) classes to insurance agentsand now he has created a class deal-ing with the topic of texting. “We dis-cuss how to insure teenage drivers andwhat can happen when they text,” hesaid. “I show some gruesome videosto get their attention and to raise theirconsciousness about texting.”


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Anti-Texting Campaign

Bob Gottfred (center) has been running Erie-LaSalle Body Shop since 1975 and soon hissons Jim (left) and Jay (right) will be takingover the reins

Erie-LaSalle Body Shop was founded in 1934 and over theyears its iconic neon sign has become a Chicago landmark

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Chevrolet Brings Back the Corvette Stingray in Time for SEMAThe SEMA Auto Show isn’t just anevent for established aftermarketcompanies to showcase their latest

creations. It’s also a chance for newplayers in the business to introducethemselves to the industry. This year,Revorix falls under the latter cate-gory, and it’s prepared a special pro-gram for the Chevrolet CorvetteStingray. The new aftermarket com-pany has just set up its business inAnaheim, California with the solepurpose of creating aftermarket

products that highlights a car’s“functional beauty." Seeing as it’sstill a relative neophyte in the indus-try, you can’t fault Roverix from en-listing the help of Rowen Japan,considered as one of the best after-market car body specialists in Japan.

Together, the two companies cre-ated the Revorix Corvette Package,which features a comprehensive list ofnew aerodynamic components de-signed to give the Corvette Stingray asportier look and improved dynamics.There are no performance upgradesbut that’s not overly important whenyou’re a new entry to the market look-ing to make a name.

The important thing is to estab-lish yourself first, and one way to doso is to build a body kit that will catchpeoples’ attention, which is exactlywhat it has with the Revorix CorvettePackage. It’s a tough task catchingsome eyes at the SEMA Auto Show,but Revorix, with the help of RowenJapan, might have the kit to pull it off.

The 2015 Stingray


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PPG Waterborne Shop Conversions Exceed 10,000PPG Industries’ (NYSE:PPG) automo-tive refinish business has now convertedmore than 10,000 collision centers in theUnited States and Canada to its water-borne systems, with the majority of theseconversions taking place in National Ruleareas rather than in low-VOC (volatileorganic compound) compliant regions.

According to Tim Jones,PPG wa-terborne segment manager, more than10,000 collision centers in North Amer-ica are now using PPG waterborne prod-ucts, with more than 50 percent of theseshops in National Rule markets. Thismeans most PPG customers choose touse waterborne products and systemseven though they are not required to doso to meet low-VOC regulations. Theydo so voluntarily because they want toimprove their productivity, he said.

“Waterborne is not just a compliancesolution anymore,” Jones said. “More than10,000 PPG customers in the U.S. andCanada see the value in superior colormatching, excellent throughput and per-formance, consistent color mixes and otherkey qualities that our waterborne productsprovide. PPG has a long-standing com-mitment to the collision repair industry todeliver high-quality and time-saving prod-ucts. ENVIROBASE® High Performanceand AQUABASE® Plus products are eas-ier to blend and apply; our customers ap-

preciate this and see a real difference intheir shops’ productivity.”

Jones attributed the success ofPPG’s waterborne products to factorssuch as a highly-effective and easy CON-VERT WITH CONFIDENCE® transi-tion process and the service and supportcustomers receive from PPG and its best-in-class distributor partners. “Collisioncenters are converting to PPG’s water-borne with great results,” he said. “Shopsare finding the actual conversion to wa-terborne is simple. They’re also findingthat we support them and view their pro-ductivity as a measure of our mutual suc-cess.”

Envirobase High Performance andAquabase Plus products are now in theirthird generation. PPG introduced its wa-terborne technology to the internationalOEM (original equipment manufac-turer) market in 1986 and brought theworld's first commercialized refinishwaterborne basecoat to market in 1992.Since then, PPG has added new primersand clearcoats to the two brands andwill, according to Jones, continue to ex-pand the product lines’ offerings.

For more information about PPGand Envirobase High Performance andAquabase Plus waterborne products,call 800-647-6050 or visit www.ppgre-finish.com.

Omix-ADA to Give Away 2014 Jeep Wrangler at SEMAOmix-ADA, a manufacturer of Jeep,truck and off-road accessories, an-nounced on October 7 that it will useits Off Road Success Center (Booth#34000) at SEMA to give away afully-loaded Jeep.

Forty semifinalists will be se-lected over the course of November4-6, and the winner will drive awayin a brand-new, fully-equipped AnvilBlue 2014 Jeep Wrangler UnlimitedRubicon on the last day.

The winning Jeep will be outfit-ted with Rugged Ridge’s new Sum-mit restyling package, whichincludes the company’s XHD Modu-lar Bumper, grille inserts, and an up-

graded rear tire carrier, making it notonly look good but also ready totackle any off-road excursion, ac-cording to reports by Scott Rousseauof off-road.com.

Off Road Success Center Omix-ADA will also host several civil-ian Jeeps, including pre-WWIIprototypes to the modern day JKWrangler.

The Off Road Success Cen-ter will also exhibit a custom2015 four-door Jeep Wranglerbuilt for SEMA Cares; a com-mittee dedicated to supportingthe education of students pur-suing careers in the automotiveaftermarket. The SEMA CaresJeep is designed to raise aware-ness about the committee’scharitable efforts as it tours theUnited States. It will be outfit-

ted with one of Omix-ADA’s exclu-sive Rugged Ridge restylingpackages and later auctioned as partof SEMA Cares’ fundraising effortsin 2015, according to Rousseau.

Anvil Blue 2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubi-con. Photo Credit: www.offroad.com

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SEMA: Sales of Auto Parts & Accessories Reach $33BSales of automotive specialty-equipmentproducts continue to climb, reaching $33billion in 2013. The number represents a6.7 percent increase over the previousyear and marks the fourth consecutiveyear of growth, according to the SEMAAnnual Market Study that is available atwww.sema.org/2014samr.

“The Specialty Equipment Marketproduced the highest growth since therecent recession,” said Chris Kersting,SEMA president and CEO. “There are anumber of factors that figure into thisupward trend.”

The special-equipment market in-cludes products that enhance a vehicle’sperformance, styling, comfort, conven-ience and safety. Among the factors driv-ing the industry’s growth are:● Street performance products ac-counted for 26% of sales. The renewedfocus on performance models by theOEMs has helped drive interest in thissegment. New models such as the ScionFR-S, redesigns like the 2015 Mustang,and high-performance packages such asthe Hellcat Challenger have inspired theindustry and consumer alike to aim forincreased performance.● There was a healthy upward tick forthe truck market. Sales of specialtyequipment for light trucks grew 8% in2013 to post the market’s best sales year

since 2007. New truck sales continue toclimb amid anticipation for major re-designs to several flagship pickups. Asthe SUV/CUV sector continues to grownine of the top 30 sellers in the US),crossover products present an opportu-nity to diversify and expand light-truckproduct offerings.● The 2014 SEMA Show is shaping upto be the biggest yet as industry opti-mism continues to build. New this yearis SEMA Ignited, a special consumerand media attraction on Friday nightafter the Show. SEMA Ignited mesheswith other consumer-facing associationprojects, all part of a long-term plan toenhance awareness of specialty prod-ucts.● The US economy continues to showpositive signs for industry growth, withgross domestic product rising and un-employment rates dropping. Forecastersare generally predicting sustained mod-erate growth for the US economy overthe next few years. Meanwhile, car buy-ers have shown renewed enthusiasm,pushing new-vehicle sales upward to-ward pre-recession levels.

The SEMA Annual Market Reportis conducted yearly to help SEMA-member companies understand the in-dustry and make informed businessdecisions.

The regional recall of millions ofU.S. vehicles with potentially de-fective airbags made by Japan’sTakata Corp. may expand to in-clude General Motors models, ac-cording to documents filed in Sept.with U.S. regulators.

More than 4.3 million carsproduced by automakers, in-cluding Honda Motor Co., Fiat’sChrysler Group and ToyotaMotor Corp., are affected by theregional recalls. They began inJune in certain high-humidityareas of the United States afterthe National Highway TrafficSafety Administration started in-vestigating reports of airbag ex-plosions in Florida and PuertoRico.

The regional recalls initiallyaffected nine automakers, but doc-uments filed by Takata for a Sept.meeting with NHTSA and the af-fected companies listed GM forthe first time as being potentiallyaffected. The Takata documents,posted online by NHTSA, said thenumber of vehicles produced bythe largest U.S. automaker was un-determined.

GM declined to comment.

Takata Airbag Recall MayInclude GM Vehicles

Mercedes-Benz USA and its dealersare spending about $30 millionover the next four years to train26,000 employees and immersethem in the brand’s culture.

Later this year, the first waveof employees will go through atwo-day program called the BrandImmersion Experience at the Mer-cedes-Benz factory in Vance, Ala-bama, near Tuscaloosa.

The investment includes a $6million revamp of the visitor cen-ter at the factory for classroomtraining, including digital interac-tive displays.

“We have been driving hardfor the last few years on the cus-tomer experience,” said GarethJoyce, vice president of customerservices at Mercedes-Benz USA.“It is not just about the product; it isall about the package and how youlook after the customers as well.

“This is just one of the build-ing blocks in our portfolio to drivethat program forward through ourdealer network.”

Mercedes Will Train 26,000in the Brand’s New Culture



Paint trade show is worth the time andeffort and they have stated that ourevent is the best attended and mostsuccessful show for sales.”

She adds, “Everyone enjoyed thetrade show and had a great time, es-pecially getting to interact with 16-time NHRA Funny Car ChampionJohn Force. He’s a wonderful personto have at this type of event as he’s notthe ‘behind-the-velvet-ropes’ type ofcelebrity; he took pictures, signed au-tographs and spent time visiting withattendees. We were so pleased to havehim at our event and cannot sayenough about him!”

Dinner and refreshments, whichreceived rave reviews, were providedduring the event by Pro Paint. In ad-dition, pre-registered shop personneleach received a $10 BP gas card tooffset travel expenses, and attendeeshad a chance to win a variety of doorprizes, including the grand prize of a50” flat LED 3D TV.

Pro Paint’s Annual Trade Show isa strong regional show and Hennessybelieves people are becoming more

apt to attend regional shows since “thecloser location requires less timeaway from work, plus attendees havethe opportunity to discuss the prod-ucts directly with the regional repre-sentatives of the vendors, notsomeone who takes a name and num-ber and has someone contact them ata later date. Our attendees have statedhow much they appreciate the livedemonstrations and being able to seethe actual products. It also gives theattendees a chance to build relation-ships with all members of the ProPaint team. We feel this is what makesour event such a success and arethrilled with how well this year’sevent went.”

The Pro Paint 8th Annual TradeShow has been scheduled for Tues-day, August 11, 2015.


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Penta Pieces Together Old Ford Pickupby Marie Thomas Baird, SentinelEducation Editor, Sentinel-Tribune

The F-100 pickup truck refurbishedby Penta Career Center studentslooks just like new.

Like it did when it was built in1965.

The Ford truck, which was soldto the district for $5,000, came “onpallets, in boxes, with nuts and boltsin a five-gallon bucket,” said BobAnderson, auto tech instructor.

After more than three years ofwork, the truck was finished this fallby students in the auto tech and autocollision classes.

Students have changed the truckfrom standard to automatic shift,added power steering, power discbrakes, air conditioning and a stereo.It still has the TWIN I BEAM logoon the front fender.

Anderson said 99.95 percent ofthe work was done by students.

The truck was finished in timefor Penta’s car show last month, anddrew the attention of several gradu-ates.

Anderson said he wants peopleto see the truck, painted silver andred, and not say “So Penta built it,what did you expect?”; rather “We

want them to see it and say, ‘Wow.’”He estimated over the past

three years, 95 students have workedon the project.

“We thought it was worth it,”Anderson stated.

Auto collision students MichaelSeibert from North Baltimore, andQuinn Hendren from Elmwood, werejust two of the students who startedon the project last year as juniors.

Hendren said it was differentwork, not done today.

Seibert recalled the truck bedwas still in storage when he enteredthe class.

Superintendent Ron Mattersaid Mathews Ford Oregon has ex-pressed interest in putting the truckin its showroom.

It also may make its way intothe Detroit Auto Show next year.

Anderson said he hopes to bringback as many graduates as possibleand sign their names on the insidehood.

Follow us on Twitter:@autobodynews

Accept no Substitutes!

State Farm Insurance.“A vibrant, profitable auto colli-

sion repair industry is in the interest ofState Farm,” said Luedke. “At thesame time, we are advocates on behalfof our customers for reasonable repaircosts. We believe repairer profitabilityand quality auto repairs that are rea-sonably priced can both be achieved.

“Our customers choose wheretheir vehicles are going to be re-paired. We provide information aboutour Select Service program while atthe same time making it clear they canselect which shop will do the work,”he said.

Parker Auto Body was part ofState Farm’s Select Service DRP untilearlier this year. Since the businessowner left the program in April, he saidthey have steered a substantial amountof business away from him. “Just inshort pays alone I have over $150,000worth of claims they won’t pay,” hesaid. “Operations that we actually dothe vehicles to make the vehicles safethat they won’t pay us to do.

“These shops need to stand upfor what’s right and quit letting the in-surance industry run their business forthem,” said Parker. “They are just ter-rified that the insurance companiesare going to steer the work away.”

Parker acknowledges their con-cerns but said, “We’re just as busy nowas we were because we’re educatingconsumers.” He has found it beneficialto explain to consumers what the insur-ance companies are doing. “They needto take their businesses back and theyneed to run their own businesses.”

When Autobody News went topress this month, an additional 25states were in the process of filing law-suits to meet an Oct. 31 deadline be-fore returning to court in November.“What we want to achieve is numberone, that the safety and the quality ofrepairs for the American public is re-stored,” said Eaves. “The industry willnever be the same after this.”

When contacted by AutobodyNews, Allstate Insurance Companyand Progressive both said that due tocompany policy, they do not commenton pending litigation. Stay tuned toAutobody News for more develop-ments.

“Fixing cars is become more andmore challenging than ever before,”said Afshar. “The vehicles are so dif-ferent now and they may look thesame outside but what’s inside is notthe same.” With the standards set bythe Insurance Institute for HighwaySafety (IIHS) and the Corporate Av-erage Fuel Economy, cars need to belighter but still pass safety require-ments.

Afshar said another challengefor those in collision repair is em-ploying proper technicians with theright mind set. Afshar, who sold hisMSO Sterling Automotive Group in1998, said technology is moving sorapidly that detailed knowledge,training and equipment is becomingeven more necessary for shops to besuccessful and he encourages tech-nicians to be open-minded and learnnew techniques that they’ve neverused before.


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Car-O-Liner has entered the social mediarealm, and is now offering a variety ofnews ways for consumers to connectwith the company. These channels in-clude Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+,Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinter-est. Car-O-Liner President Jeff Kern, saidhe is excited about the new social mediacommunications and anticipates theseactivities will benefit business relationsthrough technical knowledge sharing.“Our social media connection allows usto not only share our activities, but alsojoin the conversation through communi-cation with both our customers and theindustry,” he said. “It is important to lis-ten and be heard as we extend our reachthrough these interactive tools.”Follow Car-O-Liner at:

Facebook: facebook.com/carolinercompany

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/car-o-liner?trk=top_ nav_home

Google+: https://plus.google.com/102972787963006534481/posts

Twitter: @car_o_linerInstagram: @car_o_linerYoutube: https://www.youtube

.com/channel/UCFZEhZcZS4Xo4CwannUGcEQ

Pintrest: http://www.pintrest.com/carolinerauto/

Car-O-Liner ParticipationEnhanced With Social Media

I-CAR announced that two newcourses are now available to RefinishTechnicians: Refinish Materials andApplication Blending (REF08e) andColor Theory, Mixing Toners, andTinting (REF09). These courses havereplaced Color Theory, Application,Tinting, and Blending (REF03).

Josh McFarlin, I-CAR Direc-tor of Curriculum & Product Devel-opment stated, “Nearly all repairsrequire some level of refinishing andtypically, refinish work gets noticedfirst by the customer. Refinish Tech-nicians who take these courses willlearn how to correctly prepare andrefinish a vehicle to ensure properoverall appearance, which can helpimprove customer satisfaction andincrease productivity through bettercycle times and reduced rework.”

Refinish Materials and Applica-tion Blending (REF08e) is an inter-active online course, worth 2 credithours. It is complete with demon-strations on conventional blendingand reverse blending, as well as dis-cussions on using a blending additiveand a blending bed.

I-CAR Launches Two NewRefinish Courses

Alcoa Inc, the largest US aluminumproducer, forecast profit from auto andaerospace components will increase inthe Q4 as it sells a record amount of themetal to carmakers.

Alcoa, which is shifting its focusto manufacturing components and al-loys, said it would deliver a recordamount of aluminum sheet to au-tomakers this quarter as car and truckmanufacturers use more of the light-weight metal. Earnings in the com-pany’s rolled products segment, asupplier of aluminum sheets to car,airplane and packaging manufactur-ers, will more than double from ayear earlier.

Alcoa is benefiting from highercommercial-jet orders and a shift toaluminum components instead ofsteel among automakers such as FordMotor Company, which plans to makeits F-150 pickup truck with aluminumbody panels.

Mr Lloyd O’Carroll, a Rich-mond, Virginia based Analyst at North-coast Research Holdings LLC said that“Auto body sheet has a much highermargin than anything except aircraft. Ithink 2015 is going to get a pretty biglift of usage on the F-150 and of courseall of the margin benefit of that.”

Alcoa Forecasts Record AutoSheet Shipments in Q4

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midwestern november 2014 issue

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