BodyShop Business, December 2013 by Babcox Media

Hi-Tech Refinishes » New Year’s Web Resolutions » Infrared Heaters

December 2013//Vol. 32 No.12

www.bodyshopbusiness.com

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Inside

December December 2013

Vol. 32 No. 12

ON THE COVER Confessions of a Lean Rookie One man’s challenges in implementing lean/kaizen in a highproduction shop...and what you can learn from his experience.

FEATURE

38 The Heat Is On TECHNICAL

Infrared heaters are making a resurgence as shops search for a supplemental and more versatile way to cure coatings.

SHOP TALK Editor’s Notes

6 8 Publisher’s Perspective 14 Clark’s Corner Web Presence Management 20

Back from SEMA...and I want to pimp my ride. Farewell, 2013.

How do those who do it well...do it well? New Year’s resolutions for you and your website.

BODYSHOP BUSINESS (ISSN 0730-7241) (December 2013, Volume 32, Number 12): Published monthly by Babcox Media, Inc., 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333 U.S.A. Phone (330) 670-1234, FAX (330) 670-0874. Copyright 2013 Babcox Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Periodical postage paid at Akron, OH 44333 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BODYSHOP BUSINESS, P.O. Box 13260, Akron, OH 443343912. Member, BPA Worldwide

DEPARTMENTS Guess the Car ....................................................................................4 NASCAR Performance ......................................................................10 Industry Update ..............................................................................12 Tech Focus ......................................................................................24 Product Showcase............................................................................72 The Shop ........................................................................................76

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Guess

the Car

#128

SOLVED!

Reader Contest! Win $50! What vehicle MODEL does this picture represent? Fax your guess to (330) 670-0874. Include name, title, shop name, city, state and phone number. Or submit your guess with our online contest form by visiting bodyshopbusiness.com/guessthecar. The winner will be randomly selected from correct entries and awarded $50. Entries must be received by Dec. 31, 2013.

“I’m still waiting for him!” See the January issue for winner of Guess the Car #128.

Waiting for the rabbit = (Volkswagen) Rabbit

*Only one winner will be selected. Chances of winning are dependent upon the number of correct entries received. Employees of Babcox, industry manufacturers and BSB advertisers are not eligible to enter.

#127

#129

December 2013 | BodyShop Business

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WINNER

Cody Stinson, cleanup, Stinson Body Shop, Grovetown, Ga.

Delta 88 = (Oldsmobile) Delta 88

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Editor’s

Notes

Publisher

S. Scott Shriber, ext. 229 sshriber@babcox.com Editor

Custom Dreams eah, I’m thinking rim covers. And a big spoiler. I don’t know about you, but this year’s SEMA Show got me thinking about all the things I could do to my 2009 Honda Civic. As if my son hadn’t.

If I would’ve listened to my son, I would already have a giant spoiler, nitrous under the hood, “sick” wheels and footwell lights. But as I explained to the car crazy 13-yearold kid who has watched all of the “Fast and Furious” movies several times, I am 42 years old. Such additions to my modest Civic would look ridiculous and have people my age driving by and giving me contemptuous stares, muttering, “Aw, grow up!” Still, I’m considering moderate, subtle enhancements. I’m sure the SEMA Show has that effect on everybody. You go there and end up

Jason Stahl, ext. 226 jstahl@babcox.com Associate Editor

Gina Kuzmick, ext. 244 gkuzmick@babcox.com Contributing Editors

Charlie Barone, Mitch Becker, Mark Clark, Mark Claypool, Erica Eversman, Tom Ferry, Curt Harler, John D. Lyman Sr., Hank Nunn, Carl Wilson Graphic Designer

Lisa DiPaolo, ext. 281 ldipaolo@babcox.com Advertising Services

prowling the aisles and salivating like a wolf, ogling the delectable cars and thinking of all the possibilities. As I glided around the Global Tire Expo and spied the Lamborghini Aventador, I thought, OK, this is out of my price range, but I can turn my Civic into a mad whip. As I’ve said before, I’m not a car guy or a gearhead, but the SEMA Show gets me as close to that as I’ll ever be. And then the buzzkill. Someone actually published an article after the show titled, “10 Reasons You Shouldn’t Customize Your Car.” Negatively impacting resale value, negatively impacting performance, blah blah blah. Way to bring a guy down! I think I’ll stick to my modified tail pipe.

Jason Stahl, Editor Email comments to jstahl@babcox.com

Kelly McAleese, ext. 284 kmcaleese@babcox.com Director of Circulation

Pat Robinson, ext. 276 probinson@babcox.com Director of eMedia & Audience Development

Brad Mitchell, ext. 277 bmitchell@babcox.com Subscription Services

Ellen Mays, ext. 275 emays@babcox.com Tel: (330) 670-1234 Fax: (330) 670-0874 Website: bodyshopbusiness.com Corporate

Bill Babcox, President Gregory Cira, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Stankard, Vice President Beth Scheetz, Controller A limited number of complimentary subscriptions are available to those who qualify. Call (330) 670-1234, ext. 288, or fax us at (330) 6705335. Paid subscriptions are available for nonqualified subscribers at: U.S.: $69 for one year. Canada/Mexico: $89 for one year. Canadian rates include GST. Ohio residents add current county sales tax. Other foreign rates/via air mail: $129 for one year. Payable in advance in U.S. funds. Mail payment to BodyShop Business, P.O. Box 75692, Cleveland, OH 44101-4755. VISA, MasterCard or American Express accepted.

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Publisher’s

Perspective Farewell, 2013 t’s hard to believe 2013 is over. Where does the time go? Every month, I have the privilege of writing this column for you here in BodyShop Business, and I appreciate you, our loyal readers, for reading us.

The year was a challenging one filled with many changes. Next year will be no different. Rest assured that the one constant will be our commitment to bring you all the collision-related information you need on a timely basis and the way you want it. In 2014, we will have a completely new look on the electronic side with more innovative and creative ways to deliver information to you. Our website will be all-new, and there will be a new electronic version of the monthly publication. Also, there will be more video and smartphone applications. There has never been a more exciting time to be in the information business, and we are committed to staying out in front for you, our readers. Watch for announcements as all the new offerings become available. I can tell you what won’t change: our dedication to being at every collisionrelated indus-

try event and reporting the happenings to you. All the new technologies make this process fast and efficient. You will know very quickly what new equipment and procedures are available to improve your shop’s efficiency and bottom line. This is an excellent time to think back over the year and evaluate what worked and what didn’t. Plan to do the things that worked in 2014 and tweak the others. Don’t let the New Year arrive without some evaluation and planning. Now is a great time to give back. We are all very lucky to have a business that is essential. It may be changing, but it continues to be a part of the American economy. That’s more than many can say right now. Pick someone or some group and give a little back. Maybe it’s not money, but possibly time or talents. It will make the New Year more meaningful. Try doing it as an organization. It will improve your team’s attitude. Thank you for being a loyal BodyShop Business reader. We here at the magazine wish all of you, your employees and their families happy holidays and a prosperous New Year. See you in 2014!

S. Scott Shriber, Publisher Email comments to sshriber@babcox.com

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Track Talk The Bump Stops Here Shock technology is a very special tool in a NASCAR team’s tuning arsenal. NASCAR competitors simply can’t risk a substandard shock setup – it literally can be the difference between a 30th place finish or tasting champagne in victory lane. Most every team now employs at least one shock specialist who is charged with finding the right combination that will allow the racecar to get as low to the ground as possible without dragging the nose of the Gen-6.

Shock specialist Chris Golder is a vital member of Jeff Gordon’s ontrack success

Hendrick Motorsport’s crew chief Alan Gustafson relies on veteran shock specialist Chris Golder to make sure Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Axalta Racing Chevrolet SS has precise handling and comfort from Martinsville to Texas and everywhere in between on the circuit. Golder, 33, grew up in

Alpharetta, Ga., greasing his passion for restoring cars alongside his dad who owned an automotive repair shop. “I have always had an interest in cars,” said Golder. “I grew up with three younger sisters and no brothers, so cars were kind of a way for me and my dad to spend time together and bond.” After graduating from Georgia Tech in 2004 with a degree in mechanical engineering, Golder began his NASCAR career at Hendrick Motorsports. Today, as the shock specialist on the No. 24, he works with Gustafson to determine the best setup packages. “My main responsibility is the springs and the shocks,” explained Golder. “Springs are used to control the height of the racecar. At the bigger, faster tracks both the front and rear attitude is very important, so we work a lot with springs and spring rubbers, along with the shocks and bump stops.” Golder spends much of his time daily configuring shock-spring combinations for each racetrack to ensure Gordon has the best possible control over the car. “I run simulations to come up with good packages,” explained Golder. “I work up options around those packages to try and practice to get Jeff’s feedback.” NASCAR does not allow teams to run data during the race weekend, only during test sessions. So, simulation has to be spot-on. “Without data, sometimes we don’t know exactly what’s going on out there on the

track,” said Golder. “We have to be able to move quickly and make changes if needed since we only get about three hours of practice on a weekend.” On race weekends, you can find Golder working inside the No. 24 transporter. His workstation houses a shock dyno that moves at different displacements, enabling the team to measure different drive and track profiles. “The front shocks on racecars are what we like to call ‘aero inhibitors,’” explained Golder. “On the front shocks, we have bump stops that we fine tune to affect the attitude of the race car. There’s a great compromise between running a softer bump stop, which is going to feel better to the driver, verses a stiff stop that’s going to keep the car sealed down to the racetrack and help improve the aerodynamics.” That delicate balance has become one of the critical points on a racecar. No track is smooth as silk – Golder says short tracks

and rougher tracks are the toughest on shocks. How the car handles depends on which shocks are used and how resistant they are to motion. To control the movement, teams can tweak the piston, shims and oil inside a shock for each track. To keep the oil from foaming and losing its ability to compress and rebound, a shock is pressurized with nitrogen. NASCAR rear shocks can have no less than 25 pounds of pressure per square inch (psi) and no more than 75 pounds of pressure psi. Golder, who maintains approximately 130 shocks during the season, says he does almost 200 re-valve jobs per year and installs between 30 to 40 percent of the shocks on the racecar himself. “The easiest tracks on shocks are the superspeedways where you’re not worrying about mechanical grip,” said Golder. “The most technical tracks are the short tracks and rougher racetracks like Las Vegas and Atlanta.”

Shock therapy: NASCAR competitors can't risk a substandard shock setup – it can be the difference between a 30th place finish or victory lane.

Follow NASCAR Performance on Twitter and Facebook www.twitter.com/NASCARauto ■ www.facebook.com/NASCARPerformance

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Industry

Update

A Look Back at SEMA 2013 The 2013 SEMA Show is in the bag, and everyone remarked how much the Collision Repair & Refinish section has grown over the past few years. The Repairer Drive Education series presented by the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has matched that growth, making SEMA a premiere location for some of the industry’s top training.

Celebrities in the customization world made their token appearances, including Ryan Friedlinghaus, the Ringbrothers, Dave Perewitz and others. Plus, SCRS had its board meeting on the show floor for the first time, and a spirited discussion on parts procurement livened up the Collision Industry Conference held during the show.

Caliber Collision Centers Acquired By OMERS Private Equity MERS (OPE) Private Equity announced on Nov. 20 that it, along with existing management, has acquired Caliber Collision Centers from private equity firm ONCAP. Based in Dallas, Texas, Caliber is the largest independent provider of automotive collision repair services in the

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U.S. with a network of 157 collision centers located in California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma and Colorado. The company has approximately 3,700 employees and repairs more than 285,000 vehicles annually. “We are thrilled to partner with Steve Grimshaw, president and CEO of

December 2013 | BodyShop Business

Caliber, and his management team for the company’s next phase of growth,” said Tim Patterson, senior managing director at OPE. “We believe that Caliber will continue to distinguish itself as the market leader in the highly fragmented collision repair industry in the years ahead.”

»| Industry Update |« Mississippi Lawyer Updates Ohio Collision Repairers on PartsTrader Injunction ohn Eaves Jr., the lawyer representing Mississippi collision repairers who filed an injunction to stop State Farm from mandating the use of PartsTrader in that state, updated Ohio repairers on his latest legal efforts on Nov. 13 in Cleveland. Eaves, whose law firm has handled high-profile cases such as the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster and the BP oil spill, stated that his strategy is to replicate the injunction state by state, starting in Mississippi because, according to Eaves, they have a supportive attorney general and insurance commissioner. But he also admitted it might not be suitable for every

state, including Alabama, which he said has been “begging” him to bring the injunction there but he has so far resisted because he’s “afraid of the result.” So far, Eaves has talked to more than 150 shops in 22 different states, urging them to join in the effort to take back their business. “I learned that you aren’t concerned about [State Farm] sending you business, you’re concerned about them taking business from you,” Eaves said. “You call that steering. I call that tortious interference with a business relationship, and that’s against the law.” After a conference call that afternoon, Eaves said Florida has decided to

join the fight, and there are three or four other states waiting to follow. Eaves said his objective is simple: “To stop the damage about to occur with PartsTrader, and reverse the damage that has been done to [collision repairers] over the last 20 years.” “I liken PartsTrader to a virus,” said Eaves. “The way it’s designed, it forces shops to get on it, then the shops force the vendors to get on it, then the vendors have to force other shops to get on it. And that’s why we felt the injunction to stop it before it ever contaminated Mississippi was crucial.” Eaves explained the injunction was filed on Continued on pg. 46

Collision Repairers Discuss Insurer-Mandated Parts Programs at CIC ollision repair industry members from the U.S. and abroad packed the final day of the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) on Thursday, Nov. 7 for a panel discussion by the CIC Insurer/ Repairer Relations Committee on insurermandated parts procurement. The panel was moderated by Committee Chairman Rick Tuuri of AudaExplore, a Solera company, and featured the following industry professionals: 䡲 Terry Fortner (LKQ Corp.) 䡲 Randy Stabler (Pride Auto Body) 䡲 Andy Dingman (Dingman’s Collision Center/SCRS vice chairman) 䡲 Jim Sowle (Sewell Lexus/SCRS national director) 䡲 Michael Quinn (uParts, Inc.) 䡲 Darren Huggins (Van Tuyl Group) 䡲 Nick Bossinakis (OPSTRAX)

The discussion began with each participant detailing his experiences and opinions on the procurement of parts. Dingman said that the current issue in question is not the viability of electronic parts procurement as a tool in the repair process, but rather its forced implementation by outside parties. “I don’t think a repairer in this room today is going to say that they’re against electronic parts procurement,” Dingman said. “What it comes down to is the mandate. We’re always looking for solutions as an industry – I know I am at my shop every day – but in order to be a good solution, there needs to be tangible value attached. When there’s no value, just a mandate, I’m sorry but that’s not a solution. And it has nothing Continued on pg. 50

Washington Collision Repairer Exposes Shoddy Repairs to Local TV Station eff Butler, president of Haury’s Lake City Collision in Seattle, Wash., prides himself on quality repairs. That’s a big reason why he recently informed a local news station about the danger certain body shops are putting consumers in by performing shoddy repairs. KING 5 News did a special investigative report aided by Butler pointing out the mistakes made in a BMW and a Toyota that he re-repaired. “On the BMW, the new frame rail was improperly sectioned – it was a butt joint weld with a wirefeed welder. This is not allowed,” said Butler. “In the Toyota front-end frame, the shop cut a hole in the side of the frame, beat the buckle out, filled it in with filler and painted over it so it sort of looked okay. While this car might not fall apart driving down the road tomorrow, it could kill the occupant in a future collision.” In an interview with the station, Butler blamed the hack jobs on cost pressures. “[Insurers] are tying the hands of the body shop. That’s how [the body shops] get their work through insurance referrals, but it puts the insurer as the customer and not the person with the keys. It’s a conflict.” According to Haury, one vehicle owner sued State Farm in small claims court due to the insurer’s refusal to pay the full cost of repairs and won.

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Clark’s

Corner

By Mark Clark

How Do Those

Who Do It Well Do It? hen I began selling auto body supplies and equipment in 1970, I was fresh out of a beer-soaked college career and knew little about how the business worked. After just a few weeks of sales calls, I could tell who was good at it and who wasn’t. And then I made it a careerlong quest to ask the folks doing it well how they did it.

Running Lead » One of my early questions was about how body solder or body lead worked. I was selling 95 percent conventional (made with hard clay) body filler to fill my customers’ dents back to contour. But I still sold some lead in 1pound sticks (30/70 bar solder), along with tubs of bees’ wax and some wooden paddles, to a handful of restoration and foreign car shops. This was so long ago that all my long-established body shop customers had some techs who were 55 years old…as in born in 1915 and started out in the auto body repair business in the repair-it-all 1930s. Polyester body filler didn’t come along in quantity until after World War II, so all those guys could lead pretty quickly in their day. Like anything, practice makes perfect. Unfortunately, I never got anywhere near perfect or barely competent or even functional no matter how many of those craftsmen showed me how to run lead. The technician had to heat the stick of lead and the acidtreated bright metal surface to the same temperature, then spread the molten lead into shape with a wooden paddle lubricated with 14

December 2013 | BodyShop Business

bees’ wax until it started to cool and wouldn’t move anymore. After many tries, I could melt the solder into a dent on a flat panel and mush it around, but getting the molten lead to stay stuck on a vertical panel was way beyond me. The moment I got the work surface warm enough to add new lead, the existing lead re-melted and slid down the panel. No wonder catalyzed body filler caught on so fast! Plus, you wouldn’t die of lead poisoning as you metal filed the high spots down…as you smoked a cigar. Ah, the good old days.

Crying Over Spilt Paint » Another issue on my PBE Q & A was to figure out how the most productive (as in fastest with the least problems) painters differed from run-ofthe-mill painters. The best painters I asked offered enough answers to fill much more than this column, but there is an art to refinishing cars, and I had help from some real artists. Many years later, it came back to haunt me a couple of times. On a paint shop call on a busy Thursday afternoon, one of my former painting instructors was shorthanded and overloaded and asked if I would help him paint a couple. I did my best to talk him out of it. My record of ruining my customers’ paint work was well known to the old guys. Against my better judgment, I agreed to paint a solid color box side with catalyzed acrylic enamel. Once it was masked and prepped, I mixed the red paint (two quarts of factory package from my store, by the way),

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»| Clark’s Corner |« strained 33 ounces into the 32-ounce cup, tied the shop towel bandana around my no-drip (hah!) suction feed spray gun, stepped out of the paint room and headed for the booth. Directly in my path was a brand-new white pickup truck ready for delivery, except for a slight passenger door adjustment. Turns out I didn’t hook the ears on the paint cup tightly to the lid, and the overloaded cup dropped off the spray gun like an anvil, hitting the floor on the front edge and throwing all 33 ounces of very expensive red into a fast-moving puddle – which slowly landed all over the side of the white pickup. That was an expensive afternoon for me!

Exploding Silverware » When it was hands-on productive collision repair I wanted to learn, I had several role models who beat the flat-

rate times into the ground every week. No wasted effort was the wisdom I took away. Those guys took their tool box with them to the bathroom. Well, not really. But the fastest techs I knew took their tool box from one end of the car to the other to save steps. They usually had a box full of specialty tools, too. Fabricating a special tool to make a specific repair easier was part of their secret. Do the next one faster. After all, they could certainly bend metal into any shape they wanted. When one of these tool-heavy techs changed jobs with their overflowing roller cabinets and tool boxes, they usually asked to borrow my delivery truck with the hydraulic lift gate we used to deliver air compressors and 55-gallon drums. I was happy to loan the truck – and occasionally ended up along for the ride.

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You remember Rodney Dangerfield’s golf bag from “Caddyshack?” This particular body man with a new job had one top box stacked on two intermediate Waterloo Industries chests on top of a really tall roller cabinet. (This was long before every vo-tech student had a zilliondollar roller cabinet the size of an aircraft carrier deck.) I’ll bet there were 30 drawers in the whole stacked up thing – many filled to the brim with both purchased and constructed specialty auto body tools. He was not leaving his employment under happy circumstances. He and his old boss were both airing all their past grievances with each other at the top of their lungs. The painter’s helper liked the departing tech and continued to load the giant tool box tower onto the Tommy Lift on my truck while they argued. He pushed down the

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»| Clark’s Corner |« control arm that raised the gate and promptly looked over at the freshly raised voices. I watched helplessly from the back of the shop, where I had gone to get out of the way, as the gate rose slowly, the truck box dipped down slowly on the shocks and the tool tower crawled slowly upward while it tipped further and further forward. The noise sounded like a silverware factory exploding. Every drawer opened on the way to the ground and blew tools across the entire parking lot. Just like a junior high lunchroom, all the shop employees applauded. That was a good lesson about paying strict attention to the task at hand!

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This Isn’t the End » This is the final column in my 25th year of writing for BodyShop Business. I was charged with explaining a little about the industry, offering a little historical perspective and telling some stories. It has been lots of fun. Our industry stays the same in many ways; after all, we’re still repairing collision-damaged vehicles, but new technology to build the vehicles and profitably repair them bombards us daily. Take the time to listen to another possible solution to your shop’s workflow. Vendors, paint companies, coworkers and even insurance companies can all help your shop do better if you’ll just ask. I’m still asking those who do the tasks in this industry well for their advice, and we’ll talk more about it during my 26th year as Clark’s Corner continues. Thanks for listening! BSB Mark R. Clark is the owner of Professional PBE Systems in Waterloo, Iowa; he is a well-known industry speaker and consultant. He is celebrating his 25th year as a contributing editor to BodyShop Business.

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Web Presence

Management

By Mark Claypool

Resolve to Keep Your Online Marketing Resolutions! ast year, I started what I hoped would be an annual column challenging you to tackle some important issues related to your shop’s online Web presence. I described resolutions as promises you make to yourself in hopes of making a positive difference in your life and the lives of others – promises you make now as you consider a fresh start. You know…those promises you usually break before the second week of January! How about breaking that cycle? Let’s revisit some of those resolutions from 2013 and take a look at new resolutions for 2014.

2013 Resolutions » Did you take me up on any of the following challenges? Freshen up your website. Last year, I challenged you to update your website’s content a bit to be current and make sure the copyright at the bottom is current. Updated content shows search engines your business is alive and well. Sites more than five years old should probably be redesigned and updated. How is your site ranking? If your site isn’t showing up on page one of a search, using the most common search terms the public uses such as “auto body” and “body shop” plus “your town and state’s two-letter abbreviation,” you need to seriously think about having a true search engine optimization (SEO) specialist work on your site to help boost your rankings. Skip past the sponsored listings and map pointer listings and look for what are known as the 20

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“organic” search results. Are you on page one? Page one or bust, but...beware! This is an area where lots of developers throw around the term “optimization” or SEO, but few are really SEO experts. You don’t know what you don’t know, so this can be an area where you can be taken advantage of. Build a mobile version of your website. Did you? A huge percentage of people are going online with their phones, especially Generation Y (those under 30 years of age who do everything on their phones). These mobile versions are optimized for smaller screens and should have effective calls to action prominently displayed. Less is more, so don’t make these too complicated. Measure your online results. Are you measuring your online results with Google Analytics and Facebook Insights? Anything worth doing is worth measuring. Participate effectively in social media. Is your business effectively participating in Facebook and Twitter? Have you added Google+ to your social media efforts (see below – this is a 2014 resolution)? What does “participating effectively” mean? It means actively promoting your accounts, getting “likes” and “followers,” posting content regularly that elicits participation, commenting and sharing from people.

2014 Resolutions » If you haven’t tackled the 2013 resolutions yet, add them here, then add the following 2014 resolutions: I resolve to get more “likes” on Facebook. Our biggest challenge with our social media clients at Optima Automotive is to

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»| Web Presence |« 2014 Resolutions: 1. Get more “likes” on Facebook. 2. Claim my business’s Google+ page. 3. Post regularly on Google+. 4. Make sure my directory listings are accurate. motivate them to promote their social media pages to their customers. All it takes is for someone to hand the customer a flyer and have them scan a QR code. Not everyone will do it, but a percentage will. You don’t get if you don’t ask! Consider promoting posts through Facebook. It costs a few bucks, but your outreach to those who haven’t “liked” you yet increases dramatically. We’ve seen strong results with our clients when we promote posts for them. I resolve to claim my business’s

Google+ page. You really need to claim your Google+ page. Google has likely created one for you by now, but if you haven’t already, it’s time to verify your business and location through Google. This will allow you to enter your hours of operation, upload photos and control the content. And it allows you to start getting Circles of fans. I resolve to start posting regularly on Google+. Once you’ve verified your Google+ page, you’ll get more mileage if you start posting regularly to that page, much

like you do on Facebook. Google says you should be posting at least once every 72 hours. It needs to be a unique posting, not a copy of what you do on Facebook. And not all automotive stuff, either. As I’ve stated before, you and I eat and breathe automotive, but your customer base does not. Mix it up a bit with local events and charitable efforts you participate in, etc. I resolve to get my directory listings accurate and consistent. Having these consistent increases the potential of your site being ranked.

Follow Through! » Don’t let these resolutions follow the same path as most and go unresolved. Don’t you deserve better than that? Make 2014 your year for online marketing action! On behalf of myself and my team at Optima Automotive, I would like to wish you, your families and employees the very best during this holiday season. May 2014 be blessed and happy, and may your resolutions truly move your business to the next level online! BSB BSB Contributing Editor Mark Claypool has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of workforce development, business/education partnerships, apprenticeships and Web presence management. He is the CEO of Optima Automotive (www.optimaautomotive.com), which provides website design, development, search engine optimization (SEO) services and social media management services. Claypool’s work history includes stints at Metro Paint Supplies, VeriFacts Automotive, the National Auto Body Council (NABC), the I-CAR Education Foundation and SkillsUSA. He is the founder of Mentors At Work and cofounder of the Collision Industry Foundation. He served, on a volunteer basis, as the SkillsUSA World Team Leader for the WorldSkills Championships from 2003 to 2011.

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Technology

Focus Refinishes Create Every Color in the World Serie 500 from BESA for body shops and professional painters is a tintometric system specially designed for repainting cars and uses highly concentrated color bases mixed using different binders to achieve products that can be used in basecoat or single-stage systems. It’s highly adaptable and lets you work with HS or MS products, depending on your requirements and demands. It optimizes the number of coats applied and therefore increases body shop productivity, and can be used on spot repairs, panels and for complete car repainting. Specially developed for the U.S. and Canada are two binders that comply with current VOC 3.5 lb./gal. legislation. It has 68 color bases that can be used to create every vehicle color in the world. There are 35 solid colors, 10 metalized, 20 pearl and three Xirallic.

Lower Your Energy Costs The HP Process refinish system using Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes’ Air-Dry Technology allows you to turn the heat off and repair cars faster than ever before. As energy bills continue to rise, it dramatically lowers energy costs and puts the savings back in your pocket. With primers, basecoats and urethane HP Process clearcoats, the HP Process produces a finish that’s workable to sand and polish in 50 minutes or less. This not only impacts your environment by reducing your carbon footprint, it also impacts your bottom line, helping you to paint more cars. The P27/P30 SpectraPrime Air-Dry Primer Surfacers are applied wet-on-wet and are sandable in 15 minutes. Since the HPC15/HPC21 Clearcoats only need ambient temperature to achieve a 15- to 20-minute workable cure, there is no down time associated with temperature ramp up or cool down.

December 2013 | BodyShop Business

Compliant Alternative Is your current basecoat system delivering the quality and throughput you expect? Even in a regulated area, you now have a choice. BASF Onyx HD Low VOC Solventborne Basecoat System offers customers a unique new way to comply with regulation without compromising productivity or quality. This solventborne alternative dries quickly in most shop environments and meets all current and future regulations with no special equipment required. And Onyx HD provides all the benefits of conventional solventbornes using COLOR-MAX, one of the fastest, most accurate color tools in the industry. Why compromise when it comes to staying compliant? Onyx HD Low VOC Productive System, the cost-effective choice for lowered VOCs, delivers a tested system to enhance collision repair center performance with its innovative technology.

Direct-to-Metal Matrix System’s MP-200 DTM Primer Surfacer is a premium direct to metal (DTM) primer surfacer. This product is high build, fast drying and easy to sand. It was formulated to provide excellent adhesion and corrosion resistance and can be used directly on almost any substrate. This product can be used “coast to coast” as it is 2.1 VOC.

»| Technology Focus |« Low-VOC Sealer Micro-Gel, Anti-Settle Toner Technology PPG’s Envirobase High Performance and Nexa Autocolor Aquabase Plus waterborne basecoat toners incorporate the company’s micro-gel, antisettle technology – a significant advancement in ensuring consistent color matches. Unlike polyurethanebased toners, which need mechanical agitation, the interior shell of PPG’s true acrylic latex resin holds the pigment in suspension and doesn’t allow it to settle or separate. When gently rocked, the “fingers” or tendrils surrounding the latex core release, which lowers the viscosity and allows for easy pouring. Put into practice, the painter simply needs to shake the waterborne toner bottle back and forth, three to four times by hand, and it’s ready to pour. By eliminating the need for a mechanical mixing machine, PPG says painters no longer have to wait for toners to be agitated or experience the frustration that can come with mismatches as a result of improper agitation.

Transtar Autobody Technologies’ Signature Series 2.1 Low VOC Sealer is a direct-tometal sealer that has both leveling and gloss hold-out properties. The sealer is compatible with most basecoat/clearcoat and single-stage systems. Offering adhesion to a wide variety of substrates, the sealer can adhere to bare metal, aluminum, SMS, fiberglass, old paint finishes and all Transtar primers. Available in gray, the sealer can be made tintable using basecoat toners.

VOC-Compliant Primer Surfacer MRS-80 DTAM is a high-build primer surfacer that’s isocyanate-free and VOC compliant. It has corrosion-resistant properties, eliminating the need for pre-treatment primer over bare metal, aluminum, galvanized steel and other metal substrates. MRS-80 levels to a smooth surface and sands easily without loading sandpaper.

Durable Basecoat in Adverse Conditions ChemSpec USA’s Metacryl FC 3.5 VOC 2K Polyurethane Basecoat is a conventional solids basecoat for use with the Metacryl universal hardener system and zero VOC reducer for a mix of 4:1:2. Quick dry and recoat times combined with the activated base means higher durability and adhesion in adverse conditions.

Easy-to-Use and Simple-to-Blend Waterborne Pro-Spray H2O Waterborne Basecoat is part of a fully compliant, stand-alone, compact basecoat color system designed for vehicle refinishing. H2O’s European formulation and technology delivers solid, metallic, pearl and Xirallic basecoat colors that are easy to use and simple to blend while providing excellent color match and metallic orientation. Pro-Spray H2O Basecoats have higher pigment concentrations for true color and excellent coverage. And no special mix bank equipment is needed; simply shake and pour.

Ultra Productive UV Primer-Surfacer System Axalta Coating Systems’ UV Primer-Surfacer System is an advanced UV technology that cures Cromax UV primer in seconds. For spot or large panel repairs, this system helps you paint and deliver faster. The ready-to-spray primer is available in a quart-size container for use with a traditional spray gun, which provides convenience and sprayability for large repair areas. For spot repairs, the same primer is also available in an aerosol can. The ready-to-spray formula – with no pot life or mixing – means less shop waste. What sets this system apart is the handheld UV light (two sizes) that allows quick curing on a greater size repair area compared to traditional UV drying equipment. This also eliminates the challenges of drying hard-to-reach areas such as door jambs. The result is a primer that dries in seconds for immediate sanding. 26

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COVER STORY

ver the next few months, I will document my day-to-day struggles attempting to implement kaizen at a high-volume traditional shop. I’m sure we’ll share some laughs, tears, “uh huh” moments…and some “WTF” moments, too! I truly hope that all of this pain I’m about to endure for my own personal satisfaction of being able to say I conquered kaizen helps others along the way. I hope to detail what worked and didn’t work and also help shop owners figure out if they truly want to go down this road. Do you truly want to be a kaizen/lean facility, or will you just be happy calling yourself that because it sounds good?

Background » I don’t have an incredible backstory to throw out there for you guys filled with a bunch of who’s who in the industry. I grew up around my grandfather and father’s body shop, until my grandfather passed away when I was 17. After he died, my father didn’t want anything to do with the business anymore and moved on. Who knew that I would learn much more than how to sweep the shop floors and scuff panels 28

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COVER STORY » Confessions of a Lean Rookie before paint? Even way back then, I discovered that quality and the customer come first. My father wouldn’t let a vehicle out of the booth with a dirt nib in it, that simple. Kaizen/lean organizations take on the same beliefs of the small shops: the only way to make it is to please the customer and give them what they want. And what they want is quality, speed and price.

Crime Doesn’t Pay » Next, I went off to college, studying criminal law/ criminal justice, got to the finish line and decided it wasn’t for me. You see, I wanted more. I didn’t want to be your run-of-the-mill police officer (no disrespect to any police officers who put their lives on the line for us daily). I wanted more of a challenge; I wanted to be a homicide detective, where every day would be different and I wouldn’t get bored. But it took too many years on the force to get to that point. I could never see myself in a career where I did the exact same thing every day.

My Kind of Lean » Over the next eight years, I worked in all different aspects of the automotive industry, which increased my knowledge even more. I spent time being a mechanical tech, parts consultant, parts manager, manager of a truck accessory company and then full circle back to the collision industry as an assistant manager at the local dealership. We all know the typical horror stories that go along with traditional dealership body shops and their traditional thinking managers. I was able to catapult myself to shop manager in less than a year. I was putting together some of the first building blocks of a kaizen/lean facility but didn’t even know it and had never even heard those terms before. I built a strong team of people who, even though they were flat rate, had each other’s back. I got rid of the body techs who took naps in the cars or left

at 10 a.m. because they were out of work. I didn’t know it yet, but I was creating a winning culture. I displayed a lot of “stuff” on the shop floor: daily/monthly goals, how we measured up to those goals, tech efficiency, where the vehicles were in the shop, a schedule rack, etc. I was creating visual management. I had the people, the culture and some visuals that kept everyone informed. We had the customer as our main focus alongside speed and quality. But I didn’t have the other ingredients that I didn’t even know existed yet.

Slap in the Face » For the last five years, I had the pleasure of being mentored by a kaizen guru. Although we had our rifts from time to time, he truly gave me a plethora of knowledge that I can’t thank him enough for. Going from a traditional shop with some clever ideas of my own to being introduced to the Toyota Production System, kaizen and 5S made a lot of sense, but because we were already living in a kaizen organization every day, it didn’t slap you in the face and make you see that this was “the way” to do the work and the other ways were just stupid and not sustainable for the long haul. I got that slap in the face about three months ago. I took some much needed time off with my three young children and searched for something big that I could conquer. I’m not by any means an expert on kaizen or lean, but I do have an insatiable drive to be the best in whatever I do, an appetite for gaining knowledge and five years of learning under a very good teacher. So, I thought, why not see what I can do with all of that?

David vs. Goliath » I accepted a position at a high-volume shop with the intention of implementing lean and running production at the same time. Sounds easy enough, sign me up! Enter the “slap in the face.” The first day, I did the gemba walk. Just me, a notebook and a pen. Nobody knew who I was; they all thought I was a paint rep. I just walked around, talked to the techs and observed the insanity going on. I had no less than 10 million things in my mind that we could do right then to make things better. It was an awakening; I now truly understood the need for change. When I interviewed with the owner, he said he had knowledge of lean and that they had been heading down that path until they got sidetracked. What I walked into was some parts carts, outlined bays and 5S’ed material carts. There were no visuals anywhere, not

even a glimpse of flow, and no teamwork in an hourly shop. However, what he did have was an incredibly busy shop. I was aligning myself with another industry pioneer. He was one of the few success stories who built his business from the ground up, by himself by satisfying the customer. Customers were literally knocking down the door. When introduced to the team on day two, I quickly noticed that the closest thing you could relate the culture of this shop to was a deadly spreading cancer. When they weren’t www.bodyshopbusiness.com 29

COVER STORY » Confessions of a Lean Rookie

making snide comments behind my back about “chasing me out like the others” and taking bets on how long I would last, they were throwing each other under the bus every chance they got. I knew I had two ways to approach the situation: I could come in guns blazing and lay down the law, or slowly implement

very small things that would create immediate improvement and gain their respect. I chose a hybrid approach because the culture was so bad that there had to be a couple “public executions” as described in “The Art of War.” The team had been through their share of managers before and had to understand they were entering new territory. They were no longer going to be managed; they were going to be led.

First Two Weeks » The first two weeks went well. It seemed that the culture was changing and team mem-

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bers who I originally thought were too far gone were starting to come around. The main issues were on-time delivery, quality and vehicles staying on the lot too long before going into the repair plan. From day one, I was puzzled how anything got in or out on time. There were no visuals to go by except for two key racks, one for vehicles ready for the repair plan and one for vehicles outside waiting to be worked on.

Heijunka Board » The first thing I implemented was a heijunka board where everybody could see where every vehicle was in the system, when the target date was and if there were any sublet operations that needed to be done. Prior to the board, everything was run from a daily printout titled “Due Out Today” generated from production software. The daily printout gave you some information, such as

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COVER STORY » Confessions of a Lean Rookie “We don’t even have the parts for this car yet,” or, at 5 p.m., “I didn’t know that needed a wheel repair and an alignment.”

Repair Plan Visual » The next step was to set up a visual for repair plan priority and a production start rack. These tools were a constant visual on what to do next in the correct logical order. There were no longer techs walking around the shop for 30 minutes looking for a manager to find out what they were supposed to do next; it was visually there in front of their eyes, fail-proof. Fixing Quality » The next step was to try to fix quality. Knowing that this shop badly needed a standard process to follow, I also understood the time it would take me to run production and attempt to write a good process for each step of the operation.

Despite ownership claiming they wanted to take the company in this direction, it still came down to the daily bottom line. I decided the next logical step would be to put quality standards and checks in place. I knew from my previous experiences that if the team doesn’t have input or see the need for change, they won’t buy in. Due to the large number of techs, I decided to break them down into the areas that they typically worked in and let them create their own quality standards. The quality standards were based on customer needs and broken into two parts: what a certain area needed from the upstream operations, and what that area needed to provide to the downstream operations. All the standards were created and agreed upon by the team and posted in each area of the operation. Now, we simply needed to execute.

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Lack of Communication » While meeting with the team to create the quality standards, it became obvious that communication between sales (estimators) and the production floor was seriously lacking. This led to setting false expectations with the customer and missing out on what the customer actually wanted. The estimators would write quick, inaccurate parking lot estimates, schedule the customer and pre-order the parts. The customer would be given a target date based on the parking lot estimate; this step alone just blew all chances of making the customer happy. When the customer dropped off their vehicles for repair, there would be no interaction between the person who had knowledge of the damage and the customer. The keys were given to the people at the front desk and then handed off to the detailer. There was no communication between sales

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COVER STORY » Confessions of a Lean Rookie

and the production team on what the customer was asking for, what was related or unrelated, any concerns the customer may have had, or anything special the customer was asking for. The only thing they had to go by was that poor quality parking lot estimate. This led to four major wastes: excess movement, waiting, overprocessing and defects. Once the vehicle went into repair planning, the tech would have to call the estimator (who was downstairs), wait for them to finally come upstairs to the vehicle and then hopefully determine what was accident-related. The tech would then disassemble the vehicle, put the parts on the cart, move the vehicle outside and call the estimator back up to write the supplement, take the photos and order the parts. How accurate would you expect this process to be? Knowing the repair plan was the most important step of the entire process, I had to put some things in place fast. The first was to create a vehicle check-in sheet for the estimator to fill out with the customer at vehicle dropoff that would capture all related/unrelated damage and special concerns/expectations. The second was to get an estimator on the shop floor in repair planning. Despite much begging and pleading to stop all parking lot estimates and instead schedule the vehicle for repairs so we could identify 100 percent of Circle 36 for Reader Service

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the damage up front, I couldn’t get the owner to buy in. Luckily, I had an employee in the parts department who had his appraiser’s license and was looking for a bigger role in the company. I placed him in between the two repair plan techs with a computer, a camera, insurance guidelines and a little bit of training. Once again, all I needed now was execution.

Making Mistakes » Implementing lean is the easy part; dedication to the execution without wavering is what separates the real from the fake. As I said in the beginning of this article, I am by no means an expert. Do I think I’m going about this in the right order? Probably not. But that’s the point of this article: I want you to see some of the mistakes I made. I went from being mentored in a controlled environment to jumping in with the wolves and finding out the best way to implement lean on the fly. My next article will focus on past and current implementation, what worked/didn’t work, and why and where we’re headed next. BSB Tim Komoroski is a lean facilitator/operations leader for a collision center in Pittsburgh, Pa. He has spent 18 years in the automotive repair industry and gained knowledge of The Toyota Production System while working for The Body Shop @. You can email him at trkjr01@comcast.net.

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TECHNICAL

The By Jason Stahl ith the emphasis on speed and cycle time today, collision repairers have turned to curing technology as one answer to help them be as efficient as possible in getting work in and out the door.

Is On Infrared heaters are making a comeback as shops search for a supplemental and more versatile way to cure coatings. 38

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An IR Renaissance » Word is there has been a recent surge in popularity in infrared (IR) heaters after a period of dormancy due to a glut of product in the market. “There was a time when we were mostly just selling consumables and parts – because the market was so

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TECHNICAL » The Heat Is On saturated in shortwave IR,” says Ed Weihs, vice president of sales and marketing for AMH Canada Ltd. “Everyone had a short-wave infrared lamp. But people now seem to be stepping up in quality.” According to Weihs, the surge has taken place over the last 18 months, and shops’ main interest has been two things: overhead track systems and sidewall-mounted track systems that are off the floor, and installing these systems in prep stations. “Most of the hits are two-panel hits where you’re not painting the whole car, so to turn on a whole booth and bake for one or two panels becomes a bottleneck in the shop,” Weihs explains. “So if you roll the car out to a prep area and cure it with shortwave IR, you free up a booth, which helps in throughput and productivity.” Weihs says that multi-shop oper-

ations have been particularly committed to the “off the floor” concept for the obvious reason of creating better flow in the shop. “It makes it easier to move vehicles through the shop and allows you to create a better shop design,” he says. “You don’t want to impede movement.” The move to quality, Weihs says, has been driven by a variety of factors that are common to many industries when you’re putting low quality versus high quality equipment side by side. “Maybe with the low quality items they’re not getting the same performance, coverage area, uniformity of cure and quality of cure they’re looking for. They might find they’re replacing the less expensive lamps too often. If you look at the way stands are made, they’re not very substantial. It doesn’t matter so much

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in the little ones like the 1,200-watt, but if you’re getting into a 4,000- or 8,000-watt shortwave lamp, it has to be substantial.” There are the traditional uses of IR (curing filler and waterborne coatings, which repairers are using a combination of IR and heated air to do), but Weihs has also seen people using it for everything from heating material so it can be formed (motor coach and tour bus aluminum skins) to softening clay for modeling vehicles.

Drying Waterborne » Based on his own sales figures, Mike Bertrand of Hedson Technologies N.A. confirms a large upsurge in demand for IR heaters. “Waterborne does work with IR, so people are finding that out, especially if they’re working with that type of material in a humid environment,” he says. “Plus, all the old

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TECHNICAL » The Heat Is On hasn’t changed much except for the control side, where, by adding sensors and new reflector materials and shapes, Hedson has been able to make the IR curing process simple. “It’s now a one-button operation with a fast, conThe mobility of some IR heaters sistent result every single allows shops to free up booths by time. All of these things curing in prep stations. are driving markets for more and more of these arguments for IR are still valid – it’s machines,” he says. Not only has there been greater a very cost effective way to go, it offers line-of-sight curing for a fast, interest for lower ticket items at the effective cure for two panels on $5,000 price point, Bertrand says, down, and it can reduce cycle times.” but also the higher end paint curing Bertrand says consolidation also arch that can cost between $60,000 has helped in that more and more and $70,000, although he says “no organizations are running more pro- deals have been closed yet.” “It gets installed in the spraybooth fessional businesses and looking for best practices to improve efficiency. and is fully computerized where the Bertrand admits the product itself painter can highlight the panels they

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want to cure on the screen. The arch will come out and light up those different panels and then travel back to the parking area.” Bertrand can’t emphasize enough the effect waterborne coatings has had on the demand for IR units and that, in his opinion, air movement alone is not the solution. “We sell a ton of IR in Europe because they’re way ahead of us on waterborne, and for awhile there it was thought what you needed to dry water was just air. Venturis and whatnot help enhance drying, but IR is effective on water as well. IR can be used as a standalone, but most of the time if a car is in the prep area or booth, they’ll just leave the air going to enhance the overall process.”

Heat Plus Air » Joe Petro with Infratech describes the drying process from a more technical angle. He ex-

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TECHNICAL » The Heat Is On plains that with waterborne, the water is sitting on the surface and needs to be absorbed by the air and carried away. Air flow works because, if you’re pushing fresh air over it, the air you’re blowing is unsaturated and thus can absorb more and carry it away. But the story is different on high humidity days. “Even air flow has a hard time driving water out on those days because the air is saturated and can’t hold any more water, so how do you trick it and make the air capable of picking up more water and carrying it away?” says Petro. “You either circulate a lot of air if you’re only at 97 to 98 percent humidity, or you use heat to force more solvent or water into the air. That’s what IR is really effective at.” Plus, Petro says IR lets you heat only specific spots and you don’t have to heat the whole booth. And

you can roll the mobile ones around in the shop, using them in other work areas and prep bays. Petro agrees with Bertrand that there have been no whiz-bang technological advancements in IR over the last 15 to 20 years, other than in controls. “I like to think [Infratech] is innovative in regulating heat based on temperature versus distance,” he says. “We recognize distance isn’t always a luxury body shops have. Sometimes you only have 18 to 24 inches to position a heater. We offer controls with our digital temperature sensor where you type in ‘150 degrees’ and it scans the surface and regulates the heat output no matter what distance you are from the panel.” Interest at the SEMA Show bolstered Petro’s belief that IR is making a comeback, but he was discouraged to hear people bring up an old misconception.

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“When IR first came out, people loved it because we didn’t deposit dust in the finish, whereas venturis and air nozzles did,” Petro says. “But at SEMA, I had five people ask how much dust I was going to put in the finish, which was surprising because people stopped asking that question years ago and now they’re starting to ask it again. But that’s an airflow issue – and why people use spraybooths and good filtration to keep them clean.” Petro is encouraged to see that repairers are once again seeing the value in IR and interested in seeing how it can help their productivity. “People are going back to technology they understand and are comfortable with and are buying an extra one to two IR lamps, even small entry-level ones, to help move in that direction.” BSB

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»| Industry Update |« Mississippi continued from pg. 13 the basis of two things: the entire industry is opposed to PartsTrader, which he demonstrated to the judge by assembling shops, dealerships and vendors, and that the mandatory parts procurement program represented tortious in-

terference between the business relationship body shops have with their vendors. “But there’s also something that’s probably more important: this is an attempt to force you to breach your fiduciary duty to the customer,” said Eaves.

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Another goal of the legal action, Eaves explained, is to “reverse the damage” and get shops paid for procedures they performed but were not compensated for – a list of 62 items including feather, prime and block, denib and finesse, and masking door jambs. For each state, he’s recalculating such work for the period of the statute of limitations in that state – three years in Mississippi, for example. Initial estimates in that state are $675 per each $3,500 repair. “You do the work, and the insurer gets the profit. That sounded like something I learned in law school,” said Eaves. “We went back to Old English common law that is universal throughout the U.S. except for Louisiana and applied that. It’s a concept called unjust enrichment or quantum meruit, and it’s simple: Did you do the work? Yes. Did the insurer get the profit from it? Yes. Did they do anything for it? No. Then that money belongs to you. And that allows us not to have to prove there is a contract between you and the insurer.” Yet another part of the suit involves the “market research” insurers have been using, Eaves claims, to artificially suppress labor rates in certain areas. “I don’t know about your market research, but in Mississippi, State Farm likes to call shops and say, ‘Hey, your labor rate is too high! You need to go back to the survey and cut it down.’ We call that a ‘push poll’ in politics, which means it isn’t an accurate survey,” Eaves said. “So you take that $675 per vehicle and double it and you’ve got some real money on your hands.” Another way to defeat PartsTrader, said Eaves, is through the 1963 Consent Decree, which was written and signed in 1963 to eliminate insurance company manipulations of the collision repair marketplace. “The problem is you can have a

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»| Industry Update |« law, but if the police don’t enforce it, it’s of no value,” said Eaves. “That’s basically what has happened with the Consent Decree. So when this bill starts rolling out in January in the U.S. Congress, when the fire gets hot enough, I’m hopeful and prayerful that this ad-

ministration will see the value in enforcing that agreement.” In sum, Eaves said, “This is bigger than just a legal effort; this is a campaign. I sum it up three ways: you have the legal, political and media, which are the tools of war. You have the air support and ar-

tillery, but you have to have the ground troops. We have a political strategy. Many states are already filing bills in their state legislatures to stop PartsTrader. Five weeks ago, I was at a Washington meeting with members of the House and Senate, and we have a bipartisan commitment from Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate to reproduce the bill that has been introduced in New York, so we’ll be rolling that out in January – the anti-PartsTrader rollout in Washington.” Part of the battle, Eaves said, is to adequately inform consumers about the fight, because so far they don’t know about it. “But they will,” Eaves promised. “NBC and CNN have both been to our office and are going to be doing a documentary on this, not from repairers’ perspectives unfortunately but how this is going to injure the general public. My concern at the end of the day is we have a duty to the general public, and that’s what the media will talk about, and senators and congressmen as well. “I just want you to know that what you do is important, you have more power than you realize, and this is a fight that we can and will win. Your business survives because people trust you, and that’s why I’m assured a victory in this case.”

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»| Industry Update |« CIC continued from pg. 13 to do with change. I love change, as long as it’s for the better.” Sowle, who made headlines in July 2013 when Sewell Lexus was dropped from State Farm’s Select Service program after declining to participate in PartsTrader, explained that parts procurement in

his shop is designed to help the customer first and foremost. “We have a quick online process that’s set up to help us expedite the repair process, but more importantly to help the customer, regardless of who their insurance provider is,” he said. “It works independently of any spe-

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cific carrier. We declined [PartsTrader] because it doesn’t align with our customer service mission. Ninety days in, it’s very early to tell what the long-term impact will be on our business, but initially we’re pleased with our decision.” Van Tuyl’s Huggins added that the value in parts procurement of any kind, like any other aspect of business, relies on the freedom to choose. “Whether you fall into the repair sector, supplier, parts, whatever, it should be up to you to make the decision of what business tools you’re going to use. You’ve got to be able to choose what works for you,” said Huggins. As talks of the advantages and perils of parts procurement systems came to a head, Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) Executive Director and Insurer/ Repairer Relations Committee member Aaron Schulenburg touched upon the importance of keeping the focus on meeting the expectations of those in the audience and the committee’s intent to discuss insurer mandates as applied to these systems. “I think we’ve focused a lot on why parts procurement platforms may or may not be good, and I think the discussion may have gotten distracted by us as an industry focusing on where things work or don’t work,” said Schulenburg. “The reality here is that the market share is not being determined by who brings the best value proposition and who provides services that are needed by the consumer. I hear shops up here progressively looking to explore new solutions, and professionals who have gone down that road and found something to serve their needs and their customers’ needs. What happens if, after years of perhaps working with an e-parts procurement program and developing a system

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»| Industry Update |« that works great, that shop is asked to use something entirely different if they want to continue to do work in certain areas? That’s the real issue here.” Attendees lined up for an open mic session following the panel discussion, and some raised their voices and directed their ques-

tions to CIC Chairman George Avery of State Farm regarding the insurer’s requirement that Select Service shops use PartsTrader. Bill Burn of America’s Auto Body in Schaumburg, Ill., directly addressed Avery, asking him to find out why State Farm is asking shops to skew their numbers

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when it comes to PartsTrader’s effectiveness. “The Chicago market has lost efficiency, which has clearly caused delays. So this is my question: why would State Farm ask the Chicago shops to change the upload of the repair, the disassembly time, to after all the wasted time trying to get parts, get them all in line and then we can start to take your ticket. What that’s doing is skewing the numbers and making PartsTrader look like it’s working – and it’s not working. The delays are two to three days, and trying to get parts can take two to three hours. And these incorrect numbers are being communicated to skew the numbers and are effectively causing delays for consumers to get their cars. So why is State Farm asking the shops to skew their numbers?” Industry instructor Toby Chess echoed repairers’ previous comments on the importance of choosing the best solutions that work for them. “I’ve been to many body shops, and their continued growth and quality depends on performance. If the gentleman next to you in the shop does not perform, you get rid of him. You have that choice.” Chess then strode to the front of the LVH ballroom and held up a part presented at the previous day’s CIC as an example of an inferior repair. “When we keep getting our profits taken away from us, this is what we’re going to get. This is what’s going to happen as you lose out on profits. We need choice!” SCRS National Director C.J. Vermaak (Dan’s Body & Paint) posed a question to the panelists currently utilizing parts procurement solutions: “Have any of your vendors been forced to use the mandated procurement programs themselves in order to continue to provide you with the parts you buy?”

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»| Industry Update |« While Pride Auto Body’s Stabler replied that he has not, Van Tuyl’s Darren Huggins provided a different perspective. “I’m lucky in that regard because I do business with myself. I work with big metro markets, so it’s not a tough deal because I just do business with myself.” Schulenburg asked, “Darren, if your wholesale departments decided not to participate but your body shops wanted to, would you continue to do business with yourself?” Huggins answered that his wholesale departments are not all partici-

pating on that level, “but selling directly to me, it’s not an issue.” “I get this feeling as an owner and as a repairer that the impression of us is, if these so-called parts solutions weren’t mandated but put in place to be selected freely, that we as business people wouldn’t be savvy enough to pick them out on our own,” said Past SCRS Chairman Barry Dorn. “I disagree with that perception. Look how intelligent and innovative we’ve been in the face of years of downward pressure. We take offense to that, because at the end of the day, all

December 2013 | BodyShop Business

we want to do is operate our businesses in the most effective way possible. When we have third parties that come in consistently and constantly and try to explain to us how much better we can do, without us even going to them first, that’s unacceptable.” Addressing moderator Tuuri and State Farm’s Avery directly, Dorn offered his opinion on the real solution to the parts program dilemma. “Rick, you say we need to discuss solutions. George, the solution is that your folks need to talk to your partners. And I’m one of them. You

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need to talk to them and explain to them why one stakeholder is taking away from the other two, how that’s fair, how that’s efficient, how that’s right, and frankly, how that’s not corporate greed. I don’t blame you, your company or any insurer for wanting to make profits. But if we are in fact partners, we need to sit down and talk. If we want to fix that problem, let’s talk about the issue and stop dancing around it.” The discussion on insurer-mandated parts programs will continue at the CIC in Palm Springs, Calif., Jan. 15-17.

»| Industry Update |«

South Carolina Collision Repairer Writes State Farm CEO on Claims Delays South Carolina collision repairer has written a letter to State Farm CEO Ed Rust Jr., complaining about the wait time and lack of response from State Farm personnel on State Farm claims. David Montanaro of Coastal Collision Works in Charleston, S.C., believes State Farm is intentionally making his customers’ claims an “administrative nightmare” because he is not on Select Service.

The letter reads as follows: As of today’s date, we’ve been waiting 12 days on additional damage supplement approval for your policyholder/ our customer. After sending numerous emails and leaving several voicemail messages for your supplements person, we still have no response. Every time my supplement coordinator inquires about how to correct the ‘no response’ problem (with not only State Farm claimants but with State Farm in-

December 2013 | BodyShop Business

sured customers as well), he’s directed back to your supplements person. But the number of days it takes her to finally respond to a supplement request only increases. When we find additional damage, we typically stop repairs, document and send the pictures and/or video via email to State Farm for approval. But State Farm says they have to actually see the damage in person before they can approve it. The most ridiculous thing about this is that even

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though a State Farm adjuster is in our shop every other day looking at a vehicle right next to the vehicle we need a supplement approval on, they refuse to look at it without your supplement person’s approval, which is nearly impossible to get in reasonable time. What kind of customer service is that? We’re a small business and it’s astonishing how many administrative hours we spend just trying to take care of our State Farm customers. And do

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»| Industry Update |« you realize how this hurts your State Farm policyholders who want us to repair their vehicles? They’re becoming very educated on the way State Farm really feels about their policyholders. It also seems to me that this procedure is expensive and a complete waste of a State Farm adjuster’s time when they have to come back multiple times, instead of approving a supplement while he’s already here looking at another claim. By the way, we have all of the supporting dated emails and fax confirmations to show that State Farm is, in fact, receiving our requests. Coastal Collision Works

has a commitment to handle every damage claim that comes through our doors with integrity and speed. Our customers have come to expect the highest quality in repairs, paint and customer service from us. We actually explain to them all of the procedures during the length of time their vehicle is in our shop. Therefore, when State Farm makes you wait indefinitely for a supplement approval, our customers are informed of the details. What the customers deserve and should expect from State Farm is a quick and professional response on their claims because that’s what they think they’re paying for

December 2013 | BodyShop Business

when they choose you to protect their vehicles. As a matter of fact, according to the State Farm website under ‘State Farm’s Commitment to Our Policyholders,’ it states, ‘State Farm promises to be consistent, act promptly, explain decisions that are made with claims and to ensure their policyholders obtain all benefits available provided by the insurance policy.’ Perhaps this

commitment should be taught and instilled in each of your State Farm representatives because they’re obviously not honoring State Farm’s commitment to your policyholders. Montanaro wrote Rust on April 23, 2013, as well to explain what he called “serious issues” concerning State Farm’s treatment of his customers’ claims.

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»| Industry Update |«

National I-CAR Debuts New Steel Replacement and Sectioning Courses -CAR has launched its new live-only courses in steel parts repair and replacement. “The old general sectioning guidelines no longer apply with current models,” said Josh McFarlin, I-CAR director of curriculum and product development. Replacement of Steel Unitized Structures (SPS10) offers considerations when recommendations for OEM procedures for disassembly at factory seams are not available. It provides students with opportunities to learn from actual vehicle maker procedures for replacing parts at factory seams, to understand why certain parts need to be completely replaced and to learn the factors that impact decisionmaking when separating an assembly. Sectioning of Steel Unitized Structures (SPS11) provides the information technicians need to make proper decisions for sectioning. It defines sectioning and its differences from partial replacement at factory seams, shows how to pre-

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December 2013 | BodyShop Business

pare the vehicle for a sectioning repair, examines various types of sectioning joints and details part-specific sectioning considerations. The course uses classroom activities, props and demonstrations to illustrate detailed information on sectioning preparation and joint types. The new courses replace the SPS01 and SPS02 courses to provide more current information and better align with the Knowledge Areas in I-CAR’s Professional Development Program. As of the course launch, SPS10 is now a ProLevel 2 requirement and SPS11 a ProLevel 3 requirement for steel structural technicians. Estimators and appraisers can apply SPS10 and/or SPS11 courses toward their annual training requirements. Only those steel structural technicians who have previously completed both SPS01 and SPS02 will be exempt from taking the new courses to meet their ProLevel 2 and 3 requirements; SPS01 and SPS02 are no longer available.

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»| Industry Update |« Georgia Collision Industry Association Raises $2,000 for Local Collision Education Program he Georgia Collision Industry Association (GCIA) hosted its annual golf tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 2 to benefit a local collision repair education program. The event took place at the Trophy Club of Atlanta in Alpharetta, Ga., and raised $2,000 for Maxwell High School of Technology’s collision program through the help of the association’s sponsors. Gold sponsors of the event included: 䡲 Axalta Coating Systems 䡲 BASF 䡲 NAPA 䡲 AkzoNobel 䡲 PPG 䡲 Single Source Inc. “The average age of technicians in our industry is approaching 50

GCIA board member Michelle Coombs presents the check to instructor Sam Melaragno.

years old, so we’ve got to grow the younger people in the industry and make sure they’re educated on the new technology that’s in these vehicles,” said Howard Batchelor, executive director of GCIA. “We want to show [students] this is a great industry to work for, and we need to recruit more people into it.”

SCRS Reports Exhibitors Had Best Showing to Date at SEMA Show The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) is reporting that exhibitors are saying they had their most successful showings in the Collision Repair & Refinish section of the SEMA Show to date. “In a word, awesome!” said Frank Terlep, CEO of Summit Software. “I’m amazed at the level of growth that the Collision Repair & Refinish section of the show has ex-

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December 2013 | BodyShop Business

perienced in a few short years. What’s also very encouraging is the steady increase in the number of collision players coming through. Every year, we meet more and more buyers and professionals directly related to the business of collision repair, and in terms of quality leads, this was our best year yet.” Part of Terlep’s enthusiasm stems from how SCRS has pro-

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»| Industry Update |« moted the industry through the SEMA Show. “As soon as I heard SCRS was taking a larger role [at SEMA] with the Collision Repair & Refinish section, I immediately said, ‘I’m in,’” he said. “They do an amazing job of promoting the industry and the collision repair pros that comprise it, between a strong presence at the show itself and a ton of awesome educational opportunities. As I’ve experienced, every year that SCRS partners with the SEMA Show is better and better. If you’re into cars and the business of repairing them, there’s no place like SEMA for you.” Added Tim Morgan, managing director of Spanesi Americas, “I can’t say enough good things about this year’s show. Everything about the event is so exciting – from the new products to the nonstop traffic of current and future customers. We

don’t often get to meet all our customers face to face, so SEMA is a terrific opportunity for us to reach out to these people in person to thank them for their business, answer any questions they may have and tie together their experience as a customer.” The Spanesi team showed their support at the 2013 SEMA Show from various show specials to a celebrity booth appearance by television star Mark Boone Jr. (Sons of Anarchy) and educational support, with Morgan presenting “Maximizing Efforts Through Blueprinting and Shop Layout” on Thursday, Nov. 7 as part of SCRS’ Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series. “I’m completely blown away by how SCRS has helped bring an already fantastic event to the next level,” Morgan says. “From a training standpoint alone, they’ve raised

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December 2013 | BodyShop Business

the bar immensely. As long as SCRS is a part of SEMA, we will be, too.” SCRS says first-time exhibitor The Hertz Corporation was also pleased with their participation at SEMA. As Off-Airport Operations Region General Manager Pete McGinnis reports, “We had a great showing and experienced a lot of quality booth traffic. SEMA has proven to be a great opportunity for Hertz to increase its presence throughout the industry, and we’re confident working with SCRS will prove beneficial to ourselves as well as our future collision repair partners.” NAPA Paint & Supply (NAPA) showcased their largest exhibit space to date at the 2013 SEMA Show, and NAPA’s Chris Nichols, director of PBE (U.S Automotive Parts Group), noted a return on their investment with increased booth traffic and publicity. “We came to SEMA this year with a completely redesigned, expanded booth, and we experienced a great deal of traffic through our area every day of the show,” Nichols said. “We’ve participated in SEMA as part of the Collision Repair & Refinish section every year since SCRS has been involved in its development, and this was without a doubt our largest presence, not to mention the largest show.” “We’re encouraged and pleased to be witnessing a steady build in both size and support of the Collision Repair & Refinish section of the SEMA Show,” said SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg. “Every year, we’re proud to welcome a number of new exhibitors to the CR&R section, all of which embody the mission of SCRS to ‘educate, inform and represent the collision repair professional in all aspects of the industry.’ This year’s supporting companies are among the absolute best in the industry, and we look forward to working with them as we begin planning next year’s event.”

»| Industry Update |« National Auto Body Council Gifts Four Recycled Rides at SEMA Show our Las Vegas families facing difficult times were selected to receive newly refurbished vehicles at the National Auto Body Council’s annual Recycled Rides giveaway at the SEMA Show. Participants in this year’s multi-car gifting at SEMA include Enterprise Rent-ACar, State Farm Insurance, Allstate Insurance Company, Esurance and Hertz, who donated vehicles refurbished by Gerber Collision, Caliber Collision, Sterling Auto Body Centers and Collision Authority. The families were select-

ed by Family Promise of Las Vegas, which helps homeless and low-income families transition from homelessness to stability and independence. In addition, Family Promise received a 15passenger van donated by Enterprise Rent-a-Car and repaired by Gerber Collision in a surprise presentation. “Family Promise of Las Vegas does a wonderful job of helping so many families regain stability,” said Chuck Sulkala, NABC executive director. “We recognize that owning a car they can count on could be

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Howard Putterman (left) of Enterprise and Tom Csekme of Gerber Collision stand with Terry Lindemann, executive director of Family Promise of Las Vegas, in front of the donated 15-passenger van at the SEMA Show.

the key to regaining both their financial well-being and their self-respect. Recycled Rides is a wonderful program that enables so

many of us in the collision repair industry to partner with our colleagues and make a positive impact in peoples’ lives.”

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»| Industry Update |«

Corporate Garmat Announces Winners of 2013 Sharp Shooter Contest armat USA has announced the winners of its 2013 Sharp Shooter Contest. This is the third year for the contest, which was designed to recognize quality paint techs and shop owners who use Garmat equipment. Judging was based on the shop owner and paint tech’s dedication to providing quality paint jobs, superior customer service, attention to safety

and overall equipment knowledge. Candidates were also asked how Garmat could improve their Garmat experience with product improvements. The 2013 winner is Miguel Villalobos of Van Collision in Scottsdale, Ariz., who won a trip for two to SEMA 2013. Villalobos was accompanied by his manager, Brian Smith. In his testimonial, Villalobos stated, “I am very pleased with the re-

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(L to R) Van Collision Center Manager Brian Smith, Garmat USA Marketing Director Debbie Teter, winner Miguel Villalobos and Garmat USA General Manager Johan Huwaert.

sults I obtain by using the Garmat equipment, cleaner paint and faster dry time, but important to me is the fact that at the end of the day, I can go home with healthy and strong lungs to hug my family.” Villalobos was recog-

nized at Garmat USA’s Booth 10729 at the SEMA Show on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013 at 11:30 a.m. In addition to the grand prize, five finalists received Samsung Galaxy Wi-Fi tablets, one for both the tech and body shop owner. Vil-

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Product

Spotlight Waterborne-Breathable Air Combo System s the use of waterborne paints becomes more popular and in some areas, required, the need for clean and dry compressed sprayable air is a critical component. The need for the proper filtration to remove moisture, oil vapors, gaseous hydrocarbons, dirt, rust, scale, and other potentially dangerous contaminants is the minimum at best. Then if the dew point and relative humidity can be drastically lowered, you can create a quality of spray air necessary to properly apply today’s waterborne paint products.

Model 50-WB

The convenience of having a solution to comply with OSHA regulations for proper air supplied respiratory protection, and delivering Ultra Clean & Ultra Dry Air from a single system, is cost effective and efficient. The Model 50-WB can process up to 50 SCFM of Breathable Air or 35 SCFM of Ultra Clean & Ultra Dry Air, or any combination within those parameters.

Martech Services Company has been manufacturing

The Model 50-WB is designed to work with your existing compressed air source to properly filter and monitor the compressed air for Grade “D” Breathable Air, plus this system also provides Ultra Clean & Ultra Dry Air for use in spraying waterborne or solvent-based paints.

Quality Air Breathing Systems

This system can handle up to two painters at the same time. The Model 50-WB is a 50 SCFM system, and is also available in an 80 SCFM system.

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MARTECH SERVICES

For more information, contact your local jobber/dealer or

C O M PA N Y We’re serious about the air you breathe.

800-831-1525 www.breathingsystems.com

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»| Industry Update |« lalobos and top finalist John Michaels of Sheboygan Chevrolet Collision Center also received a SATA 4000B HVLP Camo Paint Gun. All entrants received a Garmat Sharp Shooter cap.

The contest winners included: 䡲 Grand Prize Winner Van Collision Center, Ariz. Painter: Miguel Villalobos Manager: Brian Smith Distributor: Joe Varley, Arizona

Spray Booths and Al Ortiz, Rely-On Equipment 䡲 Finalists Sheboygan Chevrolet Collision Center, Wis. Painter: John Michaels Managers: Jeff Wiegand, Randy Romanoski Distributor: Wakeman Equipment, Don Wakeman Park Place Bodywerks, Texas Painter: Juan (Carlos) Gonzalez Body shop manager: Eric McKenzie Distributor: Collision Equipment Specialists, Tom McNelly and Billy Allen The Big Lot Body Shop at Reliable Chevrolet, Mo. Painter: Jeff Spicer Owner: Paul Dittmeier Distributor: Collision Equipment Specialists, Tom McNelly, Billy Allen

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Global Imports (BMW/MINI) Painter: Neil Snyder Body shop manager: Will Messer Distributor: Boothworks USA, Greg Lax Rancho Collision Center, Calif. Painter: Ruben Solorio Manager: Shon Craft Distributor: Mike Renwick, CRE Spraybooths 䡲 Alumni Club 2012 Sharp Shooter Grand Prize Winner Crest Collision of Plano, Texas Painter: Gary Gonzales Manager: Kevin Kidwell Distributor: Collision Equipment Specialists, Tom McNelly 2011 Sharp Shooter Grand Prize Winner JM Lexus Certified Collision Center of Margate, Mich. Painter: Art Smith Manager: Bobby Glaize Distributor: Filterworks USA

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»| Industry Update |« American Honda Launches Two New Editions of Body Repair News merican Honda has announced two new editions of Body Repair News, a collision industry publication from American Honda covering new Honda and Acura model body repair information. The first issue covers the 2014 Honda Accord Plug-In and Hybrid. The second issue covers the 2011-’13 and new 2014 Odyssey, featuring a new, increased level of high-strength steel. Body Repair News, free to independent collision repair shops, is part of a series of American Honda publications created to support new models, highlighting new and different substrates and technologies. An edition of Body Repair News will be issued for every future new model. Any minor model change where significant body design changes are made will also have a body repair publication issued. Body Repair News summarizes new body and vehicle technology that may affect collision and other body repairs. However, it is not intended to replace the detailed information contained in the body repair and service manuals. Rather, it simply helps collision repair industry personnel understand why using the factory service information is so important to make safe and complete repairs. Moving forward, future editions of Body Repair News will not be announced but simply placed on American Honda’s Service Express website. Shops are encouraged to check the Service Express site periodically for updates.

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LKQ Corporation Donates $25,000 to Collision Repair Education Foundation LKQ Corporation has made a $25,000 donation to the Collision Repair Education Foundation. The $25,000 gift will support the foundation’s Collision Repair Education Campaign fund, which allows for the providing of annual student scholarships, school grants and the annual Ultimate Collision Education Makeover $50,000 school grant. “LKQ has been a consistent supporter of the Collision Repair Education Foundation on several levels,” said Collision Repair Education Foundation Executive Director Clark Plucinski. “Through LKQ’s part donations to collision school programs, monetary donations and having representation on our Board of Trustees, LKQ has shown a strong commitment to assisting the future professionals of the collision industry. It is only through this continued support that the Collision Circle 84 for Reader Service

(L to R) LKQ Vice President of Industry Relations and Market Development Terry Fortner, Collision Repair Education Foundation Executive Director Clark Plucinski, and LKQ President & CEO Rob Wagman.

Repair Education Foundation can help collision instructors in producing productive, efficient entry-level staff for the industry. We thank LKQ for their continued support and hope other industry leaders can follow their lead.”

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Product

Showcase Flameless Torch The MINI-DUCTOR II + contains new technological advancements that allow it to quickly release corroded or frozen hardware and other metallic components from corrosion and thread lock compounds. This handheld flameless torch is engineered for a 230-volt power source with full independent CE certification, generates 1,000 watts of power, contains an LED work light and features an ergonomic balanced design to reduce user fatigue. It includes a non-slip grenade handle and a custom heavy duty blow-molded case with storage. Induction Innovations Inc. www.theinductor.com Circle 150 for Reader Service

Portable Jack System The QuickJack portable jack system makes vehicle maintenance on and off the track quick and easy. Even with a 3,500-pound capacity, it remains lightweight and can easily be stored or relocated. It lowers to a 3-inch profile and features an opencenter design, rugged safety lock bars, quick-connect hoses, built-in flow divider for equalized lifting and remote pendant control on a 20foot cord. The system includes an eight-piece set of rubber lift blocks, convenient positioning handles and a mini portable hydraulic power unit. A 5,000-pound capacity version will be available in 2014. BendPak www.bendpak.com Circle 151 for Reader Service

Quickly Secure Parts and Control Painting The Magnetic Paint Clamps offer a quick, durable method for securing parts for controlled spray painting. The clamps allow for a more complete coverage area on smaller parts such as mirror covers, handles, fender flares, fog light bezels and moldings. They can easily be applied and anchored to the walls of booths even if they’re protected with plastic film or any other stable metal object. The magnetic paint clamps can hold up to five pounds on a solid magnetic surface. Dent Fix Equipment www.dentfix.com Circle 152 for Reader Service

December 2013 | BodyShop Business

Protect Customers’ Seats Constructed from a heavy vinyl-coated polyester fabric, the Seat Protector easily slips over a customer’s seat preventing the transfer of any substance on a worker’s clothing that could potentially damage the customer’s seat. The protector measures 58 inches in length and covers most seats from the top all the way down to the floor. Shoot Suit Inc. www.shootsuit.com Circle 153 for Reader Service

Create 40 Percent Less Overspray Featuring the award-winning ergonomically designed Apollo 7500 Multi-Function spray gun, the 1050VR offers advanced technology to effectively handle waterborne paints and coatings. The system provides efficient low-pressure atomization and maximum paint saving without a compressor, dryers or filters. Utilizing less energy, the 1050VR creates up to 40 percent less overspray and can finish small repairs faster. Apollo Sprayers International www.hvlp.com Circle 154 for Reader Service

Weld Various Metals The MultiMig 522 inverter welder can be used for welding and brazing aluminum alloys, galvanized sheet metal, stainless steel and high-strength steel. With synergic pulsed technology, it can weld thin aluminum with full penetration and no burnthrough, which is required by most OEMs for aluminum welding. Elektron’s push-pull torch can be used with the machine to maintain constant tension on the aluminum wire, which minimizes breakage issues. It can also be equipped with two separate torches simultaneously, each with different reels and wire.

Track Vehicle Service Progress on Mobile Device Service Portal allows body shops to customize their own mobile applications with logo, name and color scheme, plus various features. The main feature of the app is “My Garage,” which allows the customer to track their vehicle’s progress while it’s being serviced. Other features include reminders of upcoming maintenance, a GPS locator and customer rewards programs. The apps can be listed in both Apple and Google markets. InCheck Service LLC www.incheckservice.com Circle 157 for Reader Service

Easy-to-Use Clearcoat Suitable for all VOC regulatory environments, Sikkens Matte Select reduces shop clearcoat inventory, eliminates the learning curve for spraying a new clearcoat and prevents disruption of shop standardized procedures due to use of another topcoat. Providing uniform gloss control and crystal clarity during application, the additive can handle a variety of matte finish jobs ranging from spot repair to a complete re-spray.

Elektron www.chiefautomotive.com Circle 155 for Reader Service

15-Second TV Spots PreFab Ads has introduced three new spots tailored for 15-second media opportunities. “Cartoon Crash :15” uses fun, vintage cartoons of crashing cars to set up the body shop’s message. “Demo Derby :15” shows a busy roadway intercut with demolition derby crashes. “Tug-A-Car :15” shows a car ripped apart by tow trucks. These and 17 others can be viewed on the PreFab Ads website. PreFab Ads www.prefabads.com Circle 156 for Reader Service

AkzoNobel www.akzonobel.com/aac Circle 158 for Reader Service

Quickly Restore Headlights Diamond Magic uses multi-level microscopic submicron diamond compounds to cut degradation on headlights. When used with a buffing machine and polishing pad at 1,400 rpm, it cuts labor time from one hour to 10 minutes. This product can also be used on windshields, rust, bumpers and wheels. Diamond Magic www.diamondmagic.com Circle 159 for Reader Service

Easily Store and Access Supplies The Paint Booth Access Turntable allows you to store paint and other additional items out of the way until it becomes necessary to use them. By providing the opportunity for a technician to be mixing paint or preparing supplies at the same time another technician is spraying, the turntable increases productivity and improves organization. Global Finishing Solutions www.globalfinishing.com Circle 160 for Reader Service

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FACULTY POSITIONS ANNOUNCEMENT Assistant Professor, Automotive Technology Tenure-Earning Appointment

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Website: www.pittstate.edu/autotech PITTSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER

Contact: www.pittstate.edu/eoaa or Call 620 235 4973 for a Position Announcement Flyer

Body Shop Inventory & Web Software by Rossknecht Software www.rossknecht.com

A Windows® inventory system for Body Shops that also salvage vehicles or have new/used parts to sell – vehicle and parts inventory, invoicing, reports, instant sales totals, bar-code labels, digital pictures, electronic catalog of body parts. NEW: Put your inventory on your Website included. No monthly fees. $895 complete. Free Demo CD. bpsales@rossknecht.com phone 303-884-5315

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December 2013 | BodyShop Business

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The

Shop Ken Hernecek Collision Center Manager Fred Martin Collision Center 䡲 Barberton, Ohio

Talk about your collection of Chevelles. I currently have seven, but I’ve had a couple thousand over the years because I used to buy and sell them. The most I’ve ever had at one time was 39.

Why Chevelles? They’re an intermediate car, have good weight balance and go fast. And I like to go fast.

What’s the fastest you’ve gone on a public road? 160 miles per hour. Interstate 71 South. Stuff goes by pretty fast.

Are you still going that fast today? No, I’m a little smarter today.

Do you ever drag race anybody? Every year.

Is it spur-of-the-moment or prearranged? Both. And I do track racing as well. A couple of friends and I visit the local racetracks.

Why do you do it? The adrenaline rush. And the street scene is even more of an adrenaline rush because now you’re watching for people, police and everything else.

Is it the thrill also that you might get caught? It doesn’t matter where you go, if you’re out there doing something, you’re going to get caught. It’s just a matter of how much time is on your side.

Ever get hurt? I’ve been hurt a few times.

December 2013 | BodyShop Business

What do you say when you go to the hospital? Car accident. You’re trying to give them information to help them do what you need done, but you’re not going to tell them what was going on.

Is it harder to escape notice with red light cameras today? Yes, that’s why nobody does it that much anymore. Twenty-five to 30 years ago, it was every night, anywhere you went. Could be today, could be Tuesday, could be next Thursday, didn’t matter. It was just fun and it was the thing we did. We all drove fast cars.

Where do you keep your cars? I have a few at home, a few in a storage unit I rent, and two in my sister’s garage. Those two are special and that’s why they’re in her garage because it’s heated. I actually carpeted her garage, too. It’s nice because it keeps the moisture down and stuff like that.

Are they worth a lot? Last year when I started here at Fred Martin, I got an offer of $380,000 on my Roadrunner, so if you look at what I bought the car for ($12,500), yes, it’s worth something. I didn’t know when I bought it that the value would go up so much, I had just always wanted one. I wanted one, I got it, I traded up for a better one and the one I have now is the one I kept. It’s a really nice car, all stock. I’ve driven it about a mile in the 20 years I’ve owned it. It never comes out. I’m afraid someone is going to hit it or something and then it would be worthless. BSB

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