Profit from Total Losses » Improve Cycle Time » Corrosion Protection
November2013//Vol. 32 No.11
Meet Our
2013
Executive of the Year Joseph Carubba, CEO, Carubba Collision Corp.
www.bodyshopbusiness.com
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Inside
November November 2013
Vol. 32 No. 11
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ON THE COVER Joseph Carubba: 2013 Executive of the Year Meet the CEO of Carubba Collision Corp., the 30th individual to achieve BodyShop Business’ top honor since 1984.
FEATURES
40 Life in the Fast Lane BUSINESS
This body shop discovered that creating a “fast lane” for minor collision repairs was the key to improving its cycle time.
46 How to Profit With Non-DRP Total Losses BUSINESS
Tips on how to make money from total losses that most shops usually process for free.
52 Corrosion Protection: How Long Will Your Repair Last? TECHNICAL
BODYSHOP BUSINESS (ISSN 0730-7241) (November 2013, Volume 32, Number 11): 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 44334-3912. Member, BPA Worldwide
The increasing use of liquid deicer is putting more emphasis on properly restoring corrosion protection during a repair.
SHOP TALK Editor’s Notes
8 10 Publisher’s Perspective 14 Clark’s Corner 20 Web Presence Management
Let’s get out of the Dark Ages and into the light. Carve out your space in our industry.
The amazing chemistry of automotive refinishes.
Paint—it’s what you do.
It’s all we do. See our ad on page 41
It only takes a moment to destroy your reputation.
DEPARTMENTS Guess the Car ........................................................................4 Industry Update ..................................................................12 Tech Tips ............................................................................26 NASCAR Performance ..........................................................30 Product Showcase................................................................90 The Shop ............................................................................96
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Guess
the Car 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 Nov. 30.
#127
See the December issue for winner of Guess the Car #127.
#128
*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.
Delta 88 = (Oldsmobile) Delta 88
!
WINNER #126
“I’m still waiting for him!”
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SOLVED!
November 2013 | BodyShop Business
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Ann Marie Duffy, administrator, Coles Collision Center, Ballston Spa, N.Y.
IQ = (Scion) iQ
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Editor’s
Notes
Publisher
S. Scott Shriber, ext. 229 sshriber@babcox.com Editor
Seeing the Light he 2013 NACE Show is over, and I learned a few things. Actually, re-learned a few things. But it’s not me who needs to know them, because I don’t physically work on cars. It’s you! My job is to convey this information to you. So here goes.
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Thursday morning of the show presented a real eye opener for most of the folks attending the opening general session. Collision consultant Mike Anderson showed a slide listing several make/models of vehicles and asked the crowd if they had ever repaired any of these vehicles. Many hands went up. He then asked if anyone had ever performed a zero-point calibration (recalibrated the steering angle sensor) on any of these vehicles. Few raised their hands, if any. The sad thing is that zero-point calibration needs to be performed on most vehicles with Electronic Stability Control (ESC). And guess what? The U.S.
government mandated that all new vehicles have ESC by 2012. This is an essential safety feature of the vehicle designed to help the driver recover from a dangerous situation. And most repairers in the industry don’t know that they must take this step during the repair of these vehicles. What’s encouraging is that there was new, exciting technology on the show floor that can take care of this and many other diagnostics for us. You don’t even have to be trained; you hook up a module to the car, and an ASE-trained professional diagnoses and fixes the issues remotely. This diagnostic technology is the future of the industry. We are far beyond just bending metal back into shape again – I hope most of us understand that. The other part of the equation is insurers understanding that these diagnoses are part and parcel of proper repairs today, and repairers need to be compensated for them. Some feel insurers are still in the Dark Ages when it comes to OE repair procedures (such as performing a zero-point calibration after a four-wheel alignment), but it’s time they see the light.
Jason Stahl, Editor Email comments to jstahl@babcox.com
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
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 Carve Out
Your Space sit here planning to leave for AAPEX and SEMA on Sunday and I can’t help but reflect back on the excitement at NACE. The shops that attended were engaged and truly committed to growing their businesses and staying out in front. It was, to say the least, refreshing to see this level of interest in the future of the collision market.
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The MSO Symposium continued to be an incredible venue to learn and share ideas about what the future could be and ideas on how to get there. Multiple-location shops are certainly on the rise and definitely a positive strategy for moving forward in this business. Speaking of multiple-location shops, I had the pleasure of dining with Joe Carubba, the 2013 BodyShop Business Collision Repair Shop Executive of the Year. Carubba’s shops are in the Buffalo, N.Y., area, and it was refreshing to spend time with a person who has grown his family-owned shop so successfully. If you have someone you would like to nominate for the 2014 Collision Repair Shop Executive of the Year, please fill out the entry form on pg. 87. Thanks, Joe! Speaking of the future, Detroit in 2014 is go-
ing to be great. I cannot tell you the number of companies I talked with that are planning on exhibiting at the 2014 NACE. Many big players who have been absent in recent years are planning to attend and spend floor time with shops. When you combine that with all the great automotive opportunities in the Motor City, it’s going to be the place to be in July. I hope to see each of you there. This year’s SEMA exhibit is going to be the biggest yet. By the time you read this, we’ll probably already have seen each other. I know you’ll have seen many great new products and will be back at your shops figuring out how to integrate them into your businesses to make them more efficient. All of this activity is a good thing for our segment of the business. Activity means people are interested in our segment – and that means it has a future. Sure, it will spell change, but as I’ve said before, you should make sure you have a plan to navigate the changes and work that plan until you need to alter it. Don’t let outside distractions break your focus from moving your business forward. This is an exciting time in the collision market, and now is the time to carve out your space in it!
S. Scott Shriber, Publisher Email comments to sshriber@babcox.com
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Industry
Update
A Look Back at NACE 2013 Whether the dice rolled their way or not, everyone came away a winner at the 2013 NACE Show! Whether it was the robust educational offering, first responder emergency extrication demonstrations, presentations at the BodyShop Business-sponsored Main Stage or Recycled Rides giveaways, the industry came to work hard and show off the best it has to offer. From collision consultant Mike Anderson’s keynote address to various demonstrations on the show floor, the emphasis was on the increasing sophistica12
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tion of today’s vehicles and the increasing importance of performing OEM-recommended repairs to ensure that safety systems aren’t compromised. Equipment featured on the show floor ranged from customary pieces such as welders and frame machines to brand-new launches such as remote diagnostic modules and mobile business management tools. Attendees walked away looking forward to a new-andimproved Industry Week 2014, featuring NACE, CIC and I-CAR in Detroit July 28-Aug. 2.
»| Industry Update |« ASA Ohio Expresses
Indiana Auto Body Association Organizes Petition Against Insurer-Mandated Parts Programs The Indiana Auto Body Association (IABA) has organized a petition to stop insurer-mandated parts procurement programs and is urging collision repairers to sign it. In an email blast sent Oct. 24, 2013, the IABA wrote: To make change happen requires action, but it often begins by the smallest of actions. History has shown that changes begin not by the war to end all wars but by the individual battles that define the injustice and dedication to the need for that change by those willing to accept the challenge. Today, the industry is faced with one of its great-
est challenges that many feel is so important that it will require all the efforts of our trade associations and their members, as well as everyone else within our industry. The industry news is filled with State Farm’s PartsTrader commentaries, but even though in itself it is a fundamental infringement upon our industry, the issue is also greater than just this one program. This issue is about programs that insurers are now mandating that change our well-established business relationships, place vehicle owners in jeopardy and interfere with the free market system. It is also about the ag-
gressive pressure property casualty companies are placing on repairers for their monetary gain, placing the vehicle owners at risk and tortiously interfering with collision repairers’ business. Take the time to sign our petition to the state and federal attorneys general, legislators and the Federal Trade Commission. We will utilize this show of support to do whatever it takes to take back control of our industry. The IABA then asks repairers to click a button that reads, “Stop Extortion,” to go to the petition. To view the petition, visit www. bodyshopbusiness.com.
Opposition to PartsTrader in Letter to State Farm CEO he Automotive Service Association of Ohio (ASA Ohio) has sent a letter to State Farm CEO Ed Rust Jr. expressing the association’s opposition against any insurer-mandated parts ordering system. In the letter, ASA Ohio President Joe Sanfillipo III explains the association’s concerns surrounding State Farm’s new policy, which requires all collision repair shops participating in its Select Service program to electronically order parts through PartsTrader. After piloting a program in various locations throughout the Continued on pg. 60
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Oregon Collision Repairer Drops State Farm Over Labor Rate Dispute uring a meeting with his State Farm estimatics manager, Ron Reichen, president of Precision Body and Paint in Beaverton, Ore., chose not to re-negotiate his Select Service agreement with State Farm. The decision
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ended a 17-year relationship worth $2 million in business over the past year. “It was actually a business decision we had been considering for some time,” said Reichen. “Discussions came to an impasse over fair and reasonable rates and al-
lowances for aluminum repair. Our terminating the Select Service agreement stems from our company being a certified Tesla repair facility and the investments in time, equipment, training, specialized equipment and facilities which we could not offer for the
Montana Collision Repairers Support SCRS Position on Insurer Mandates The Montana Collision Repair Specialists (MCRS) has announced that it is in full support and agreement with the Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ (SCRS) position statement on insurer mandates. “We do not believe these programs enhance the interest of the consumer or the small businesses serving them,” read a statement by MCRS. “We support free enter-
prise and believe in the benefit of business relationships that have been built on trust and an understanding of the specific market needs placed on collision repair businesses. We believe the repair process is best left to the professionals repairing the vehicle without third party intrusion that hinders our businesses’ ability to safely, efficiently and profitably serve the consumer.”
rates State Farm was willing to pay. This will no doubt enable our company to re-evaluate and revise our pricing on other goods and services for the other manufacturers of which we are a certified repairer for, including Porsche, Audi, Volkswagen, Nissan, Volvo, GM, Chrysler and several others.” Along with all other insurers, State Farm has paid Precision’s posted aluminum labor rates in the past. With Precision being the only certified Tesla repairer in the state, it is believed that, with its growing popularity and its all-aluminum conContinued on pg. 60
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Clark’s
Corner
By Mark Clark
Auto Refinishes:
Amazing Chemistry! ’ve been around so long that I was there when acrylic enamel was introduced to the industry. I was there when isocyanate catalysts were first offered, when the OEMs started putting clear on the color and when the first three-stage pearls were applied to new cars. Without exception, each of the passing years has brought better chemistry to the refinish business. The part where properly applied refinish paints continue to look as good and last as long as the current year’s heatset, multi-component factory finishes is a neat trick indeed.
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Acrylic Enamels » Acrylic enamels, which are really a blend of several types of resin, were introduced in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They dried faster than the industry-standard synthetic enamels, were easier to re-coat, and the painter didn’t have sticky overspray on every inch of their body after a complete repaint. Generally requiring higher air pressures to atomize properly, some brands sprayed more like lacquer and some more like traditional enamel, depending on the paint manufacturer’s blend of ingredients. In all cases, they were better chemistry than the old alkyd enamels.
Isocyanate Hardeners » The advent of isocyanate hardeners made refinish coatings much more durable. The finishes were 14
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more flexible, more impact resistant, longer lasting in the sunlight and (maybe best of all) capable of being recoated immediately. No more waiting days to recoat and repair a faulty finish. In the early 1970s, many painters were quickly sensitized to the active isocyanates because they refused to wear effective respirators. It wasn’t “manly” to wear anything other than a particle mask. Those obstinate painters didn’t understand the difference between solvent exposure and isocyanate exposure. Spraybooth cabin air that was laden with solvent fumes would make the painter dizzy. The solvent that was inhaled through their lungs displaced the oxygen their blood was carrying to their brain. At high concentrations, it would cause a blackout and, at low concentrations, just a light head. Up until the industry started using isocyanate catalysts, the painter’s solution to a light head was to simply step outside into clean air and, within a few minutes, the oxygen in their blood was replenished and they felt better. If you kept exposing yourself to enough solvent (huffing lacquer thinner) until you lost consciousness, you would eventually do permanent brain damage. Isocyanate exposure was, and is, permanent. Isocyanate transfer is heat and moisture sensitive. The cilia inside your lungs react with the isocyanate particles to form an immediate and permanent bond. It hap-
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»| Clark’s Corner |« pens really quickly in the hot (98.6 degrees) and wet environment of your lungs. Then as now, the solution is to prevent inhaling any isocyanate fumes. At the least, wear a properly fitted, fresh charcoal respirator if you’re clean shaven or, better yet, a respirator that supplies fresh air. Manly or not, that stuff will kill you.
Cool Chemistries » Other cool chemistries that improved our business include ultraviolet screeners in clearcoats that were really clear. UV rays from the sun are the No. 1 enemy of most refinish coatings and, before we started to clear everything for gloss and durability, it was easy to hide the yellowtinted chemical screeners inside color coats. Early clear lacquers and enamels often had a really yel-
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low tint to them because they had no pigment to hide the screeners behind. It wasn’t a shop problem unless the base colors were white or silver. It was mighty difficult to blend the yellow refinish clear into the perfectly clear factory coat. Say thanks to the next paint chemist you see for their ongoing work to making clearcoats ever more resistant to sunlight and water-white clear at the same time. It’s also a pretty good trick.
Selling Cars » Attractive finishes sell cars, and the auto manufacturers are constantly looking for colors and effects that will cause the car buying public to say, “I’ve gotta have that.” Coated mica chips, three-stage finishes, ultrachromatic tints, and super smooth and glossy clearcoats all drive auto
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sales. The part where the local body shop can both duplicate the effect and the durability of those factory finishes is amazing to me. When I began in the business, the thought of a paint company offering a lifetime warranty on a repaired finish was absurd. Now it’s taken for granted, thanks to today’s super sophisticated paint chemistry.
Rust Happens » All this is leading up to what I think is the most amazing refinish product ever created in my 43 years in our industry. “Tell us, Father Time, what might it be?” Answer: Two-part epoxy primer. If sunlight is the main enemy of the topcoat, corrosion is the main enemy of auto refinish, period. Rust ruined more paint
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»| Clark’s Corner |«
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work than anything. For many years, rust prevailed no matter which acidic metal treatments you used or how carefully you primed the bare substrate. Certainly, it was partially because the talc (hard clay) that makes all primer surfacers fill up imperfections also wicked moisture through to the bare metal. I can’t count the shops that complained about their work coming back with rust under the finish, in spite of their best efforts to grind to bright steel, chemically clean the panel and properly apply the finish. No matter who’s product it was or how carefully the work was done, rust happened. When moisture meets steel, rust happens. The moisture-proof barrier that two-part epoxy primers provide is astounding. Within months of their introduction to the refinish industry, twopart moisture-tight epoxy primers put an end to most shops’ rust and corrosion failures. Remember, however, that even if they catalyze without isocyanates, the chemistry that crosslinks epoxies isn’t good for you either. Smells bad, is bad. Wear protection that supplies fresh air when applying any body shop coatings. Then, you can live long enough to someday spin these auto body tales of yesteryear, too. Who was that oldtimer? Hi ho chemistry, away! BSB Mark R. Clark is the owner of Professional PBE Systems in Waterloo, Iowa; he is a wellknown 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
It Only Takes a Moment to
Destroy Your Reputation ou’ve worked hard to earn your business’ good name and the reputation you’ve built in your community. Word of mouth is one of your greatest referral sources. Whether you’ve been in business for months, years or decades, your reputation hangs in the balance. One scathing online review and your sterling reputation could be tarnished at best, severely corroded or destroyed at worst. The time for online reputation management is here. In fact, it’s rather late if you aren’t doing it already.
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What Is Reputation Management? » Reputation management is monitoring your business’ online reputation, properly dealing with content that’s damaging to it, and promoting your good or great reputation and getting work from it. There are many different consumer review sources out there, including: 䡲 Google 䡲 Yelp 䡲 Yahoo! Local 䡲 Facebook 䡲 Twitter 䡲 Angie’s List Google is the biggest. Facebook gets the
most daily traffic, but only a small portion is reviews. Yelp, the subject of my column titled, “Is Yelp Making You Yell?” that appeared in the December 2012 issue of BodyShop Business, is pretty big, too, as are the rest. One bad review that will stay online virtually forever can reach hundreds, even thousands of people. How you handle it will make it better…or worse.
I See Crazy People » I say (tongue in cheek) that roughly 2 percent of the public probably should be institutionalized. You know who they are – people who cannot be satisfied, no matter what. They yell, scream, curse and ruin your day. A rational thought hasn’t traveled through their brains in this century. And…they’ve got access to the Internet and have learned how to make your life miserable there, too. Don’t these people have a life? But these nut jobs aren’t the only ones who leave bad reviews. Other people may have a legitimate beef with you. We’re not perfect; sometimes things go wrong. On a rare occasion, a disgruntled former employee, ex-spouse or competitor posts something. So what do we do with any of these? We respond. How to Respond » You need to respond to both good and bad reviews. First, you need to claim all your free business listings on these sites. To see how your business is listed, visit: https://www.yext.com/partner/optimaworldwide/ diagnostic.html. Next, look at all past reviews and respond. For good reviews, thank them and use language like, “We’ve been satisfying customers just like you for X years” or “Our customer satisfaction rate is consistently 98 percent.” Mix it up; don’t say the same thing on each
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»| Web Presence |« and every one of them. And keep in mind that it’s very important to praise your team! They earned the good review! As for bad reviews, try to assess whether the complaint was legitimate or not. Legitimate negative reviews provide you with an opportunity to get insight into poten-
tial internal problems that should be addressed. Consider them early warning signs! Your online response needs to be done in a professional, non-defensive way. Own up to mistakes, explain what you’re doing to make things right, then conclude with the same things suggested for responding to
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positive reviews such as, “Our reputation is important to us, 98 percent of our customers say they are ‘very satisfied’ with our work and recommend us to their family and friends.” For reviews that are not legitimate, you can respond like this: “We haven’t repaired a Bentley Continental in our shop, but we certainly could. Perhaps you meant to leave this review for some other shop? We’ve been delighting our customers since 1987!” Or, “We don’t recognize the name on this review, and your description doesn’t match anything we’ve done. We would be happy to take a look at your vehicle. Just bring it in and see why 98 percent of our customers are so happy with our work.” Rarely will you be able to get bad reviews removed, and to do so nearly takes an act of Congress. Check out this real-world example of a bad way to respond to a customer complaint: Unhappy Customer: Horrible customer service. Doesn’t warranty their work. Bob has very nasty demeanor with longtime customers. I wouldn’t recommend this company any longer. Attorney general will be alerted about their business practices. Response from owner: Sometimes a job takes longer than originally estimated. It’s clear that you do not understand what we had to do to fix your car and were so angry that you wouldn’t even listen when we tried to explain the situation to you. We are the experts. Just because it didn’t go as planned doesn’t mean you can complain on the Internet. This isn’t exactly what we had in mind when we suggested you respond. This angry shop owner did more to damage his reputation than if he had just left it alone. How could he have responded better? First of all, he should have taken a breath, counted to 10 and gone to his happy place. Then, he should have thought through how a professional business should respond: “We appreciate your input. We’ve been in business since 1981, and our long-term customers are our best re-
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»| Web Presence |« ferral source. We consistently earn high marks for our service. I’m sorry we didn’t ‘wow’ you with our usual service this time. Please come in to see us so we can address your concerns. Thank you.”
Monitoring Reviews For Free »
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With so many sites out there, how can you easily monitor your reviews? Google Alerts (www.google.com/alerts) can notify you every time your brand is mentioned. For Twitter, try TweetBeep (www.tweetbeep.com). There’s also something out there called, “The Rip Off Report.” If your shop is ever unfortunate enough to get slammed on this report, there’s not much you can do about it but respond. Postings on this report can be particularly nasty. Your good reputation deserves some of your time to monitor and manage it. You’ve worked too hard to let things just happen without paying attention to it. Do it! 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.optimaauto motive.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 co-founder of the Collision Industry Foundation. He served, on a volunteer basis, as the Skills-USA World Team Leader for the WorldSkills Championships from 2003 to 2011.
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Tech
Tips
By Karl Kirschenman
Without OEM Information, You’re Flying Blind ike is a great guy who runs a collision repair facility in Joliet, Ill. We’ve always had a good relationship, and he never holds back when we talk. Good or bad, you’ll get exactly what you asked for – complete honesty. Mike had only been using OEM repair information for a couple of weeks, so I called him looking for some feedback. I was not expecting to hear what he told me. I specifically asked him how he was doing using OEM repair information in his shop’s workflow. Mike told me that in the short time he had been using factory information, it had already saved his shop from having a serious delivery issue. And Mike has always
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taken pride in delivering vehicles to his customers on time.
Avoiding Disaster » Describing what happened, Mike said, “We had a Jeep Liberty in here. It had an OCS (occupant classification system) module and an ORC (occupant restraint controller) module. Luckily, we checked before we installed the new modules because, according to the OEM, you must install them one at a time. Install the occupant classification module (OCM) first and allow it to receive calibration data from the ORC. Then, install the ORC module and allow it to calibrate with the OCS. If you install both new modules at the same time, you have a serious problem – it sets an irreversible fault.
Mike avoided disaster by checking the OEM procedures for the OCS and ORC modules on the 2012 Jeep Liberty that came into his shop.
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How would we have known that? It would have been impossible to know that! Without OEM information, you’re flying blind.” Fortunately, Mike’s technician looked up the procedures ahead of time, and it’s a good thing he did. He saved the shop a lot of hurt. Basically, the OEM procedure says that the OCS components of the passenger side front seat cushion (including the cushion frame, springs, pad, seat weight bladder and pressure sensor, seat cushion foam and the OCM) are a factory calibrated and assembled unit. Once the OCS is installed and the electrical connections are made, it uploads calibration settings from the OCM and stores them in the memory of the airbag control module, also called the ORC. Any time one of the OCM components is removed or replaced for any reason, the OCM must be re-calibrated. Simple, right? Not really! Here is one of the warnings included in the OCS/OCM installation procedure: CAUTION: On vehicles equipped with the Occupant Classification System (OCS), never replace both the Airbag Control Module (ACM) (also known as the Occupant Restraint Controller/ORC) and the Occupant Classification Module (OCM) at the same time. If both require replacement, replace the OCM first. Then, perform the supplemental restraint verification test including an Ignition-On time of at least one minute before replacing the ACM. Both the ACM and the OCM store OCS calibration data, which they transfer to one another during the first minute of Ignition-On time after one of
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»| Tech Tips |« them is replaced. If both modules are replaced at the same time, an irreversible fault will be set in both modules. If the data transfer is not allowed sufficient time to complete between modules (at least one minute of Ignition-On), an irreversible fault will be set in the module requiring the data.
Do No Harm » Part of the physicians’ Hippocratic Oath says that they must do no harm. I think that goes for collision shops, too. When a customer brings in their vehicle, they expect the shop to know how to correctly repair it. They don’t expect the shop to damage it further. It happens, but it’s kind of bad for business, don’t you think? Mike summed up the value of OEM collision repair information when he said, “When you can show the insurance company and the vehicle owner that the car was repaired to factory standards, everyone wins!” NOTE: This repair/service information is excerpted from information published by the vehicle manufacturer and is intended for the purpose of promoting OEM collision repair information to trained, professional technicians with the knowledge, tools and equipment to do the job properly and safely. Before attempting any repairs described, refer to the complete article in ALLDATA Collision S3500. It is recommended that these procedures not be performed by “do-it-yourselfers.” BSB Karl Kirschenman, ALLDATA collision product manager, holds a bachelor of science degree in communication. He has more than 10 years of experience in the collision industry. © 2013 ALLDATA LLC. All rights reserved. All technical information, images and specifications are from ALLDATA Collision S3500. ALLDATA and ALLDATA Collision are registered trademarks of ALLDATA LLC. Jeep and Liberty are registered trademarks of Chrysler Group LLC. All other marks are the property of their respective holders. Circle 28 for Reader Service
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Track Talk Electronic Fuel Injection Marks Millionth Milestone Ever think about one million miles of racing? That equates to more than two round trips from the Earth to the moon and 40 trips around the Earth. In every NASCAR race, spark plugs and fuel injectors fire about 3.6 million times in each racecar. One million miles of racing? That’s more than 10 billion times. When Dale Earnhardt Jr. crossed the start/finish line at Charlotte Motor Speedway to lead lap 34 in October’s Bank of America 500, he logged the one-millionth mile of electronic fuel injection (EFI) in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) competition since the transition from traditional carburetors to EFI in 2012. It should come as no surprise that the milestone was under the radar, given that the switch to EFI itself has been smooth, almost seamless and virtually invisible.
Reliability in race cars, just as in passenger cars, has improved considerably over the last several decades. But the old adage remains true: racing is the ultimate test of a machine. If you want to find out what will break, take a car to a racetrack and push it to the absolute limit for a few hundred miles. Then do that every week for 36 weeks. When Freescale entered NSCS competition as the solesource supplier of automotive semiconductors, there was certainly enough concern to go around. Not just taking out carburetors, which have been used reliably for decades, but installing an entirely new system that included an engine computer, sensors, injectors and wiring. But not once in a million miles has the brain of the EFI system, the electronic control unit (ECU), failed, from the
A game-changer: EFI has provided NASCAR teams with a new way to gather information to win races via an electronic control unit that records a wealth of data. Photo credit: Getty Images
Leading lap 34 in last month’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. logged the one-millionth mile of EFI in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. Photo credit: Getty Images
electronics supplied by McLaren to the computing power supplied by chip maker Freescale. “The good news is, when it’s a non-event, we tip our hat to it because that means that it has done its job,” NASCAR Vice President of Competition and Racing Development Robin Pemberton said of the successful transition to EFI. “A million racing miles is one thing, but it’s probably almost equaled in test miles, and to my knowledge, we haven’t had any failures.” With its frequency and length of races, NSCS racing arguably puts more stress on the engine and the EFI system than any other competitive series. “Our short races are 250 miles, which is what other series run as their big races,” continued Pemberton. “With the full-bodied cars, with the minimal tires that we have, the brake heat and the (engine) heat that’s generated, we put everything to the test.” As a NSCS driver puts a racecar through its paces, the ECU records a wealth of data
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that can be downloaded and analyzed via the banks of laptop computers teams have in their garage stalls. “I think the big benefit has really been for the teams, because they’ve been able to pinpoint times when there’s been a failure (in the engine) and understand that,” said Steve Nelson, director of marketing for Freescale. “And it’s helped them when they go back and look at data to build engines that are more reliable. They can identify over-revs, missed shifts, all types of things.” Interestingly, the computer chips Freescale supplies for the EFI systems aren’t custommade for the highest level of racing. You’ll find the exact same thing in your street car. “The little chips we put into those engine computers are the exact same ones we put into passenger cars,” Nelson explained. “We don't specialtest them. They come right off the shelf. To do a million miles with zero failures with non-racing-specified parts is a really nice story for us.”
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COVER STORY
Joseph Carubba: 2013 BodyShop Business Collision Repair Shop Executive of the Year
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COVER STORY » Executive of the Year By Jason Stahl oseph Carubba, owner, president and CEO of Carubba Collision Corp., became the 30th collision repair professional to be honored with BodyShop Business’s prestigious Collision Repair Shop Executive of the Year award when he was recognized on Oct. 17, 2013, at NACE. BodyShop Business began handing out the award in 1984 to recognize true collision repair “visionaries” who have experienced great success through innovative thinking, overcoming challenges and persevering. Carubba’s collision career spans more than 33 years. He now leads a seven-store, family-owned and operated business based in Buffalo, N.Y. The main reason for the BodyShop Business staff selecting Carubba over dozens of other qualified candidates is his dedication to giving back to the industry. Not only has he grown his own business into a thriving, state-of-the-art operation, he has put in the time and resources to lift up the entire industry and be an example for his colleagues to follow. His industry-related activities are numerous: 䡲 Participant in the Collision Industry Conference 䡲 Advisory board member and past chairman for the Western New York Board of Cooperative Educational Services 䡲 Member of the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers 䡲 Advisory board member and past chairman of the Erie Community College Repair Program 䡲 Member of the Collision Repair Council of the Theory of Constraints 䡲 Board of directors, Western New York Better Business Bureau Carubba has also made numerous donations of time and money to charitable activities in his community, including: 䡲 The New York State Golden Gloves 䡲 University of Buffalo 䡲 U.S. military defensive driving class 䡲 Tonawanda Police Department K-9 unit and SWAT team 䡲 North Tonawanda SWAT team 䡲 Niagara County Sheriff’s K-9 unit 䡲 Western New York food bank We talked with Carubba to get his own personal take on why he and his organization have been so successful. BSB: If you could name one single reason for your success, what would it be? Carubba: We have great people. I know that has probably been said too often by other company leaders, but I truly believe it’s the people who work for us who have made us successful. The other factor is working harder and smarter – all those 12-hour days for 30-plus years pursuing a better way to do things. That’s what
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brought me to the Theory of Constraints (TOC) production system years ago. BSB: Consistency and quality are valued by both vehicle owners and insurers. How do you ensure this at your operation? Carubba: We have written standard operating procedures (SOPs) that are continually being taught by our in-house corporate trainer. He uses job instruction training, a method we picked up from industry expert Rich Alteri. Our trainer, Randy Pinkowski, and our managers are constantly doing audits on our SOPs and re-training when we see any failures. BSB: What operational system do you follow? Carubba: We’ve been using TOC for more than 12
At a Glance Location: Buffalo, N.Y. Established: 1955; Carubba Collision Corp. in 1981 No. Of Shops: 7 Square Footage: 13,000 (avg.) Owners: Joe Carubba and John Carubba No. Of Employees: 115 (16 estimators, 4 production managers, 45 body/paint techs, 10 disassembly techs, 14 detailers, 1 IT person, 25 administrators) Gross Sales: $19 million Repair Volume/No. Of Cars Per Month: 900 Average Repair Cost: $1,800 DRPs: 16
Behind the Bays Estimating System: CCC1 Management System: CCC1 Spraybooths: Nova Verta Lifts: Hunter, Rotary Measuring /Dimensioning System: Car-O-Tronic Welding Equipment: Car-O-Liner, Miller, Hobart, USC Nitrogen Plastic Welder Paint Mixing System: Dedoes, PPG Paint Manager Paint: PPG
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COVER STORY » Executive of the Year years now. It was another thing that was suggested to me by Rich Alteri. We also had a great implementer, John Thompson. Besides my father, I learned tons from those two guys. We depend on the system to run the shop; it’s brought us to a new level. Each job goes through the process, and we break up the shop into separate departments that all work for a global goal. It all starts with the damage discovery. An accurate and complete estimate is the key to good shop flow. Then, the job goes to the parts procurement process. During disassembly, each part that comes off the car is analyzed for damage, tagged and listed for repair, R & I or replacement. Photos are taken so that when the electronic parts order goes in, the photo accompanies the order. When parts are received, we double check each part upon delivery for damage and correctness. We use
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Marketing and Public Relations Manager Lou Fasolino (left) talks business with the boss.
parts carts for all take-off parts and new parts. We know that when we can hand over a job to our production departments and all the damage is identified and all the correct parts are there, the job will flow through the shop seamlessly. We dedicate a lot of square footage and staff members to the front end, but it pays off with good flow. It’s the
November 2013 | BodyShop Business
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reason we’re successful giving the proper price and promised date. We take in a lot of work, so we have to be sure that we aren’t clogging the shop with dysfunctional jobs. After the front end work is done, the production departments are very good at pulling the work through. Once in a while, we have a bottleneck in paint, but when that happens we dedicate more staff and hours to the paint shop. BSB: Comment on the sophistication of modern-day vehicles and how Carubba Collision Corp. is equipped and trained to handle them. Carubba: We’re continually upgrading our equipment, and we have some great alliances with vendors that are keeping us abreast of the new technology available to us. We’re also keeping current with I-CAR and manufacturer training and repair methods.
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COVER STORY » Executive of the Year BSB: What about the trend of consolidation? Are you looking to expand, and how quickly? Carubba: I am continually looking for good opportunities, but the deal has to be really right these days. But more of my focus the last two years has been on our SOPs so that when the right deal comes along, we’re ready
to transition our system into the new acquisition. I say “acquisition” because, through experience, I’ve found it’s much easier than a startup. BSB: Being a smaller multi-shop operator, do you have a strategy to compete with the mega-sized MSOs? Carubba: If mega-sized MSOs come
to Buffalo, we’ll have our hands full I’m sure, but if we continue to make quality, speed, cost and customer convenience our top priorities, I think we’ll do fine. I think you have to go head to head with each individual shop that is in your market area and not get distracted by the entirety of their organizations. Plus, I feel good about our customer loyalty. We’ve been repairing three generations of customers’ vehicles, and they keep coming back for a reason. I trust that will continue as long as we keep them happy and safe.
CSR Jill Collins goes over the estimate with estimator Greg Drago and tech Chris Gillitte.
BSB: Collision shops are having a tough time finding qualified technicians. What are you doing to ensure your operation has a good stable of qualified techs now and in the future? Carubba: We’re always growing from within. We have a mentorship program. On the production side, we’ve turned a lot of entry-level disassemblers into great A techs, on the paint side we’ve turned a lot of prep techs into phenomenal painters, and on the administration side we’ve turned a lot of guest services people into solid estimators. If we see the right work ethic and character, we work hard with people to move them up. That’s not to say we don’t have great career disassemblers, preppers and guest services people; we do, and they’re worth their weight in gold. But some people use those positions to springboard to other positions, and Circle 36 for Reader Service
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COVER STORY » Executive of the Year we encourage that when the circumstances are right. We also have an alliance with area colleges and vocational programs and do apprentice programs with them. Last but not least, I don’t burn bridges. When employees want to leave for what they think are greener pastures, I wish them well but also make sure they know to call me if things don’t work out for them. More often than not, we get them back. BSB: What do you think about the DRP/non-DRP rift in the industry? Carubba: I believe in DRP programs 100 percent. I’m very fortunate to be aligned with great insurance carriers. The carriers that view DRP shops as partners are fantastic to work with. The ones we’re aligned with share the same goals as us (quality, speed, cost, customer care and convenience). We go through stringent testing and auditing to stay on these programs, and we’ve earned their respect by taking care of our mutual customers. It’s a seamless process when we get a job that’s a DRP. I wouldn’t change it for anything. BSB: What are your thoughts on electronic parts procurement? Carubba: We use CollisionLink and electronic parts ordering. It’s great – why fight technology? The days of calling in parts orders are gone. There are too many chances that things could get lost in translation. The shop has to take the responsibility of ordering the proper parts, and electronic parts ordering is the first step. As far as insurers having a role in the parts process, I’m okay with it. I’ll try anything that our insurance partner wants me to as long as it has our mutual customers’ best interests in mind. And I trust that it will because that has always been the case for me in my 33 years in the business. BSB: Crashes have been declining since the late ’80s-early ’90s for many reasons, one being better technology. Circle 38 for Reader Service
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With a decreasing repair pool, have you explored other business ventures? Carubba: We stick to what we know best and we give it our all. I’ve tried in the past to branch off to various add-on businesses, but they became a distraction to our core business. My plan has always been to grow our market share, and we’ve been doing just that. There has been a decrease in accidents, and more vehicles are being totaled, but if we grow our customer base through great performance, the repeats and referrals will continue and thus we should be able to continually increase our sales and profits. BSB: What will the average shop look like in 10 to 15 years? Carubba: It will have more electronic equipment and be more industrialized. I see even more defined work areas for certain operations, and more specialists. The front office will have insurers, rental agencies and customer conveniences. It will probably be like walking into a doctor’s office or hospital. BSB: What have you done that other shops can mimic to improve their own business? Carubba: Implement TOC (we were the first in the area); have a rental car agency in your shop; offer defensive driving classes to your customers for free; have a separate area for customer reception, car rental and repair planning that’s away from the production area; heavily advertise; and recycle everything you take off that is recyclable. BSB
If you would like to nominate someone for the 2014 Collision Repair Shop Executive of the Year, please use the nomination form on pg. 87!
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BUSINESS
Life in the
Fast Lane The collision center at Gullo Ford discovered that creating a “fast lane” for minor collision repairs was the key to improving its cycle time. By Jason Stahl
everal years ago, Billy Coleman, manager of the collision center at Gullo Ford in Conroe, Texas, was staring at a cycle time he thought was pretty ugly: more than 10 days. Set on improving that number, he reached out to his 20-group for ideas, and one was the creation of a “fast lane,” or a dedicated area of the shop that handled only minor hits. But before rushing into it, he studied it by observing some shops in his 20-group that already had speed lanes.
S Gullo Ford’s custom-made 54-foot spraybooth can accommodate up to four vehicles at a time.
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“Some of them ran it with a dedicated booth and dedicated technicians, and others I found out didn’t really have a speed lane even though they said they did,” says Coleman. “The model I followed, however,
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was the one where the shops actually bought into the concept, bought specific equipment for it and committed staff to it.” That’s one lesson Coleman learned early on about establishing a fast
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BUSINESS » Life in the Fast Lane lane: be committed. He initially tried it before buying additional equipment, and it didn’t work very well. “Without the equipment and dedicated people, it’s very hard to do,” he admits. “My paint booths that are for the fast track only do fast track work, period. If I didn’t have work in that area, those booths would sit idle and I would have people with nothing to do. But I haven’t seen that yet.” That’s because Coleman’s shop, with $4.2 million in sales and eight DRPs, keeps fairly busy, cranking out 125 cars per month, 35 to 55 through the fast lane. If the fast track technicians get too busy, he will funnel some of their work to other bodymen who aren’t busy. Also, his heavy side painter sometimes has to work on lighter hits in order to get them done on time. But that’s all part of the ebb and flow of the business. “I have a production manager who works closely with the pulse of the shop and will move jobs when he needs to because the ultimate goal is to take care of the customer and get the car out,” Coleman says. “You can’t be rigid. That’s the mistake I’ve seen some people make with fast track. They say it has to be this or has to be that, but our deal is, it has to be done in less than three days, end of story.”
Gullo Ford’s speed lane has turned the speed lane techs into bumper specialists.
Staffing It Up » So how many employees and what type of equipment does Coleman solely dedicate to the fast lane? The three employees consist of one body tech, one refinish tech and a helper who “floats” where needed. A 54-foot spraybooth specially built to accommodate up to four vehicles at a time and refinish products that allow a 15-minute dry time for primer and buffing of clearcoat in 45 minutes are ideal for fast repairs. Coleman worked with a spraybooth manufacturer to custom design a booth that was conducive to quick repairs, conveying that he couldn’t
change the size of his paint shop and how many cars he felt they needed to be able to put through on a daily basis. “They said they had a booth made and designed to fit the area that wasn’t a drive-through, but they could convert it to a drive-through,” says Coleman. “They also had the mechanical built on top of the booth to take up less space. Ultimately, we put two 24-foot booths back to back and put a drive-through door in the middle so I can close it up and have two separate booths or open it up and have 54 feet of spraying ability with enough room in
Billy Coleman’s Fast Lane Benefits 䡲 We can better meet our customers’ expectations. 䡲 We use our equipment better (no more one or two parts being sprayed in a 31-foot spraybooth). 䡲 Creates a better work environment for our employees (don’t have to put out fires all the time). 䡲 Helps streamline the larger side of the shop because those techs know that heavy hits are all they work on. 䡲 Improves overall color match because of the extensive spray-out library our fast track painter has built due to all the bumper jobs he does.
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BUSINESS » Life in the Fast Lane between each car to not worry about overspray.” As far as finding the technicians ideally suited to fast lane work, Coleman says it takes someone special who can handle the high volume of jobs. “It should be someone who can multitask and not get flustered
when they have 10 cars torn down at one time,” he says. “They also have to be organized. Everything has to go on the shelf, and you can’t be losing fasteners, bolts and retainers. And everything has to be separated where they can put it right back together when it comes out of paint. You can’t be looking
for hamburger buns and what kind of meat you’re cooking if you’re going to serve a bunch of people at one time.” Coleman says his fast track guys are some of the highest paid in the shop, in part because they’re logging 55 to 65 hours a week turning 100 to 130 flat-rate hours. Although the shop’s total RO is well above the industry average at $2,800, the RO for jobs going through the fast lane is $1,500. The majority of the fast track vehicles come via Coleman’s DRPs. As a result of installing the fast lane, Gullo’s cycle time has dropped to 7.4 days overall (a far cry from the 10-plus days they used to achieve) and 3.1 days in fast track. Bumper jobs used to be a nightmare when they were the responsibility of heavy-line techs who had their own big jobs to do. Then, when the bumper went over to the paint shop, the tendency was for the painters to ignore it because they were trying to get out their 25- to 32-hour jobs. “They didn’t want to stop to work on them,” says Coleman.
Do Your Research » Coleman’s advice to shops considering doing fast track repairs is simple: have a plan and do your research. “You must design your fast track around what you have to work with and then, once you have that, you have to plan on what type of equipment to dedicate to it. You may already have all the equipment you need, but you need to say, ‘This booth is now my fast track booth and we’re not going to do complete paint jobs in it anymore or let that tri-stage pearl that gives us color match problems all the time tie it up.’” A fast lane, Coleman says, is a fast way to cure your cycle time ailments. “If you’re getting beat up all the time because your cycle time is high, you need to consider fast track.” BSB Circle 44 for Reader Service
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BUSINESS
How to Profit With Non-DRP
By Basil Fernimos re you still processing total losses for free? If you are, listen up – because the insurance industry is once again taking advantage of you!
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The Collision Capital » My shop was located in the most competitive city in the country for collision: Livonia, Mich., a suburb of Detroit. What made it so competitive? First, Progressive opened its first concierge center there. Plus, one of the largest Allstate-owned collision centers, Sterling, is located in Livonia, not to mention Collex Colli46
Don’t process total losses for free – take advantage of the huge profit opportunity when a non-DRP vehicle comes to your shop.
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sion, a strong multi-shop operator. Finally, there are several independent and dealership collision centers. Oh, and of course, everyone’s brother-inlaw is a collision tech, too! Detroit and the surrounding areas have the highest rate of unemployment, foreclosures, repossessed vehicles and uninsured vehicles (more than 34 percent). The labor rate in Detroit and the surrounding suburbs is among the lowest in the country, and we have more shops per capita than anywhere in the world. To survive and thrive here, we have to be very smart, work extra hard, and be creative with what we can charge for and how to get paid for it.
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BUSINESS » Total Losses One of the biggest challenges we face in our industry is the rising number of total loss vehicles. These total losses are a huge drain on our resources, with little to no profit.
One Billion Dollars Insurance companies want to spend more and more on advertising to gain market share, so they continue to drive down repair costs. We all know this. This advertising budget is being funded by the collision industry. You see, when insurers come to our shops and beat us out of profit-producing scenarios such as total losses, the profit saved goes directly to their advertising budget. Have you ever seen the commercial with the gecko? That company spends more than one billion dollars annually on advertising and marketing! Think about this when an insurer tries to get you to work for free.
DRP vs. Non-DRP » If you participate in a DRP agreement, and a customer is referred to you by that insurer, the following does not apply. However, when a non-DRP vehicle gets towed into your facility and becomes a total loss, there is a huge opportunity for profit. Over the years (and after multiple beatings by the insurance companydriven DRP “agreements”), we all forgot a simple fact: When a non-DRP customer chooses us to repair their vehicle and signs a repair order, the vehicle is ours, not the insurer’s. Do not ever forget this – ever again! What this allows us to do as businesspeople and capitalists is charge what the mar-
ket will bear for our service. The rule in my shop’s office was that if the adjuster wasn’t adjusting our price down, we weren’t charging enough. Before I explain the pricing structure, I need to clear up a few statements you’ll likely hear from the insurers. They’ll try to tell you the charges are illegal, but they’re not. We’re simply charging for our time, overhead and a small profit. Also, be prepared for this
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popular line: “The shop down the street doesn’t charge for this.” Well, they’re probably right about that, but they’re in your shop! My favorite one was, “You’re gouging us, and that’s not right.” I always enjoyed lessons on ethics from the insurance industry.
What I Got Paid For » Now, let’s take a look at the facts. I charged for the following and got paid:
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BUSINESS » Total Losses 䡲 Estimate fee – How much time do you spend on a detailed 142-line estimate? Write down the steps. 䡲 Processing fee – How much time do you spend processing a total, including finding a place to put it when it arrives at your shop, moving other vehicles, generating a check or PO for the towing company and creating a
customer file? Think it through; write down the steps. 䡲 Total loss fee – How much profit are you losing on vehicles that don’t get repaired because their salvage value is too high? Suddenly, it’s more cost effective for the insurance company to total the vehicle, cash out the customer and recover at least 35 percent
back on salvage. And what does the shop get? Nothing. Are you mad yet? 䡲 Storage – This is the only fee insurance companies are willing to pay, granted at a Third World rate. Think it through; write down what the space on your lot costs you per day. 䡲 Towing – If you’re not marking up tow bills, you need to be; it’s another missed profit-producing opportunity. 䡲 Securing the vehicle – What does it cost, for example, to keep rain and snow out of a vehicle that has missing body parts or glass? 䡲 Customer follow-up – How much time do you spend communicating with customers, packing up their personal belongings, pulling off the rusty license plate, and getting into the trunk to get their kids’ subwoofers out?
No More Free Work » Why are we expected to do all of this work and more for free? I know, it’s not about the insurance carrier, it’s about the customer. But if you’re not profiting on every ethical opportunity, your business will no longer be around to serve your customer! With that being said, are you going to get paid every time? No. Be prepared for the insurance companies to push back, as they will not just open up their checkbooks without an explanation. Have a detailed cost breakdown, along with a strong sales plan, as to why they should pay you. After all, what do you have to lose? Remember that insurers, despite what they say, are not your “partners.” You’re not getting paid now, you don’t have a DRP contract and it’s a free market – despite what the insurance carrier wants you to believe. BSB Basil Fernimos owned his own collision and auto repair centers for more than 25 years and retired at 44. He’s a master ASE-certified collision technician, I-CAR Platinum technician, state of Michigan certified technician and state of Michigan collision certified technician. He’s also a marketing, sales and business development expert as well as a public speaker. He can be reached at bazilracing@aol.com. Circle 50 for Reader Service
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TECHNICAL
Corrosion Protection: How Long Will Your Repair Last? Today’s metals are stronger than ever but thinner, too. How long do you think it will take for corrosion to compromise metal strength once it takes hold – especially with the increasing use of liquid deicer to combat snow storms? 52
By Mitch Becker ook at your work from the inside and see what’s under there. Do you see the welds? Do you see foams and/or adhesives? Take a peek and see how much corrosion protection you have. Living in Minnesota, you learn to deal with good and bad weather. The good is the beautiful, warm summers and beloved storms that bring hail and more business to the collision repair industry. The not-so-good, depending on your tolerance, is the cold
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winter, but that brings a steady flow of collision work from the ice and snow. But with that snow and ice comes methods of dealing with slippery conditions.
Pass the Salt » In the wintery states, we’re all familiar with sand and road salt. This means that along with increased business, we also get to deal with corrosion. With the increasing use of road salt and chemicals to control ice conditions in the U.S., and the introduction of new chemicals in
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TECHNICAL » Corrosion Protection southern states, can you afford not to take a peek at your work from the inside? In most vehicles, the factory corrosion protection is designed to give the vehicle long life. Car manufacturers have improved this protection over the years through much road testing, which has increased vehicle life dramatically. Remember when 100,000 miles was considered a lot for a car? If we were to buy a car today, we wouldn’t even flinch at that mileage. Most would say it has barely reached half its age. This began a trend that has owners hanging on to vehicles much longer than in the past – and has also increased the resale value of vehicles. I-CAR Corrosion Protection (CPS01) class is an excellent class to learn about the harsh conditions vehicles and your repairs will be subjected to.
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How Long? » This leads me to this question: How long will your repair last? A shop through all the best cycle time and best laid plans can be stopped dead in its tracks by comebacks, redos and the dreaded warranty. Many of you will argue that a repair shop does not get enough time to repair the vehicle right the first time. How much do you get paid for warranty? A simple quality control program can alleviate or prevent any work from leaving that may cause a warranty issue later on. ICAR put together a class called Inspecting Repairs for Quality Control (QUA01) to help shops see and realize what to look for. But, we’re a prideful bunch and tell ourselves that we know what we’re looking for. The problem is, who’s looking? Nobody is perfect every time repairing a vehicle – just as no vehicle
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With the increasing use of liquid deicer, which can invade more areas in a vehicle, panels have a better chance of looking like this after a collision if corrosion protection isn’t restored.
is perfect off the assembly line. But being consistent and catching the occasional “dangit” can prevent a repair from coming back – and eliminate unhappy customers.
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TECHNICAL » Corrosion Protection Corrosion Protection » Corrosion protection is one of my sore spots on this issue. In the past, corrosion took time to show its ugly side. Steels were thick, and corrosion stayed on the surface longer. Today’s metals are stronger than ever but thinner, too. How long do you think it would take to compromise the
metal strength once corrosion takes hold? Could a vehicle’s integrity be compromised? We know a shop’s reputation can definitely be compromised. Preventing this type of problem is fairly straightforward. 1. Maintain your equipment – Be sure your MAG, MIG and STRSW welders are running correctly and
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everyone knows how to use them. Attend a training class such as ICAR’s Squeeze-Type Resistance Spot Welding (WCS04), which features inshop demonstrations on proper STRSW. Never assume your people know how to use the equipment correctly. Many welds that fail are due to operator error – including operators not maintaining equipment. 2. Use recommended corrosion protection procedures – Almost all vehicle manufacturers have recommendations on protecting vehicles. They’ve learned the hard way, and it has been proven to work. You’re paid to do it, so do it. Look up all OEM procedures and follow recommendations diligently. When STRSW is called for, use the spot welders. When you can’t access both sides, use MAG or MIG welding. 3. Use correct primers – Some will disagree, but epoxy primers are invaluable in preventing corrosion. Unlike many self-etching primers, epoxy primers have excellent properties as barrier coats for corrosion protection. Car manufacturers have recommendations on epoxy primers and where to use them. Many of the new epoxy primers have much shorter top coat times than in the past, competing with the speed advantage of using self-etching primers. You can apply them by brushing, daubers and spraying, making them versatile for use anywhere in the shop. An example of duplicating as close to OE as possible is to jam the interior parts with epoxy primer prior to welding. This gives all interior components as close to factory specs as possible. Most vehicle manufacturers require epoxy primer as a barrier coat to be used where glass adheres to vehicles. The urethanes and primers used by glass professionals that go over the top of epoxy primer are not barrier coats and cannot form barrier coats. Although this is a different issue entirely, do not color coat or clearcoat pinch welds where adhesives for glass will bond unless recommended.
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TECHNICAL » Corrosion Protection 4. Clean and verify – Clean all application equipment. Before using, check that all tips and wands are spraying correctly. Verify coverage in vehicle. 5. Inspect all welds – Before the body fillers or seam sealers go on, check the welds. If you don’t know what porosity or heat affect zone is or don’t know what bad or good welds look like, take I-CAR classes WCS04, Steel GMA (MIG) Welding Theory (WCS06e) online, QUA01 and/or many of the other classes in the Steel Structural Technician role. It may have been a long time since you welded. Refresh yourself and be sure all your employees know what to look for and what’s expected of them for quality. Be sure to inspect the backsides where possible to verify penetration. I’ve met many people in the industry who do not know what a bad weld looks like. 6. Finish the weld – Be sure to clean the backside of all ash marks where possible and apply epoxy primer by either brush or dauber to
the interior or backside of welds. Corrosion happens on both sides from the heat of the weld. In interior areas, be sure to apply wax-based protection and flood areas to seal out moisture.
think once they’re used to it. The learning curve is fairly short, and the benefits of using on all-new and used parts when recommended are overwhelming. With all the harsh environments your repairs will be exposed to, you need all the protection available.
Seeing the Big Picture »
By not weld bonding, you’re forgoing a major corrosion prevention step.
7. Weld bonding – When recommended, do so. The adhesive does many things, corrosion being a major part. By not weld bonding, you’re forgoing a major corrosion prevention step. It’s not hard to apply and doesn’t take as long as technicians
Although there are many more steps I can add, I think you see the big picture. Following these steps will give you longlasting and safe repairs on every job. None of this will work, however, unless you use quality control procedures through the whole repair and not just after the vehicle is painted. You must find anything that’s overlooked before it costs more time and money. Simple tools to invest in would be a decent set of wands and tips for applying corrosion protection. It’s an additional cost, but they’ll be easier to use and maintain. A drywall camera or borescope would also be helpful to see in between panels and inside areas to verify welds and coatings. A must is wellmaintained welders.
Warranties and Reputation » When we see how long vehicles are going to be kept by the customer and the fact that some will be handed down to other family members, failure to properly protect these vehicles will cost a shop everything. States that may not have seen corrosion from road salt and chemicals in the past will soon learn the effects of these conveniences. The expense of warranties and the lost reputations can shut a shop down. So the question is, how long will your repair last? Can you afford not to take a peek? BSB Mitch Becker is a technical instructor for ABRA Auto Body & Glass. Contact him at (763) 585-6411 or mbecker@abraauto.com. Circle 58 for Reader Service
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»| Industry Update |« ASA continued from pg. 13
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country, State Farm intends to complete a nationwide rollout of the plan by the end of 2014. ASA Ohio states that it reviewed the information available on State Farm’s new parts procurement mandate and held open sessions to discuss the proposal. After reviewing the program and hearing concerns from ASA Ohio members, it was determined that the State Farm mandate had the potential to disrupt the relationship between automotive repair facilities and their parts vendors. Furthermore, the letter describes that the added influence such a mandate would give State Farm over collision repair market pricing would have a negative impact on repair facilities’
operations and would take even more control away from automotive repair professionals. The letter explains that the most efficient method of ordering parts is in a free market system, and goes on to state that disrupting this process through a single mandated system will negatively affect the relationship repair professionals have developed with their customers, who have trusted them to service their vehicles. In its letter, ASA Ohio encourages State Farm to offer the online parts ordering system to its Select Service network on a voluntary basis. Should the electronic platform prove to be efficient and improve the automotive repair process, ASA Ohio states, then the industry will adopt the program.
Oregon continued from pg. 13 struction, State Farm has now elected to deny Precision’s aluminum rates under the Select Service program. As a result, like all other insurers, State Farm will no longer be provided the concessions (e.g. storage) Precision offered in the past. “While insurers continue to adjust their rates based upon economic pressures, as vehicle technology advances with new sophisticated metals, manufacturing and repair techniques, repairers party to such programs as Select Service are precluded from keeping pace with their increasing costs,” said
Reichen. “We found attempting to do so, while maintaining the highest level of quality and service, to be both unreasonable and unsustainable, and as a business decision we elected to resign from the insurer’s program. “This was Precision’s last DRP relationship and, as in the past, we will continue to work with all insurers on our customer’s behalf. Precision is committed to its customers and our community and will continue to work diligently to serve them with the highest quality repairs and service in an expeditious manner regardless of which insurer is involved.”
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»| Industry Update |«
AASP-MN Files Complaint on PartsTrader with Department of Commerce he Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Minnesota (AASPMN) has filed a formal complaint with the Minnesota Department of Commerce requesting timely administrative and/or legal action to prevent State Farm from mandating that repair shops use the PartsTrader parts procurement system. The Complaint and Request for Relief is based on State Farm’s violation of Minn. Stat. § 72B.092, subd. 1(6). This provision, enacted in 2007, prohibits insur-
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ers from specifying “…the use of a particular vendor for the procurement of parts or other materials necessary for the satisfactory repair of the vehicle.” The complaint states that the mandated use of PartsTrader restricts market options for parts procurement, and therefore should be prohibited as intended by the legislature. For more than a year, AASP-MN has corresponded and met with Department of Commerce officials to express concerns regarding the mandated use of PartsTrader
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in other states. According to AASP-MN, the department was reluctant to act until State Farm indicated its intention to implement PartsTrader in Minnesota. AASP-MN is also pursuing this issue with the office of the Attorney General. Information has been transmitted to the appropriate officials to request that they work with, or in lieu of, the Department of Commerce to prohibit the implementation of PartsTrader as a violation of Minnesota Statute. In addition, AASP-MN has consulted with legal counsel
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to identify possible causes of action that could be brought before a court. In May of 2012, AASP was among the first industry associations to go on record stating that State Farm’s newly-mandated bidding process for parts procurement was an unprecedented and uninvited intrusion into the business of collision repair. AASP-MN says its efforts reinforce that position and are intended to protect the interests of the collision repair industry and give voice to its concerns.
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»| Industry Update |«
National Farmers Insurance New Claims Website Accepts All Three Major Estimating Systems n an effort to provide a more efficient and simpler way for non-Circle of Dependability shops to submit estimates, Farmers Insurance announced that it has launched a new Web-based program to submit estimates and supplements for approval. The new program, Choices, will accept any of the three major estimating software systems.
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To participate in the Choices program, a shop must register on the website, www.theshopofchoice. com/farmers. When a shop receives Choices claims information from the customer, they simply log in to the website and submit the estimate, photos and, if needed, request supplements. The estimate (Audatex, CCC or Mitchell) is accepted through the
November 2013 | BodyShop Business
website and imported into the Farmers claims system. No rekeying of estimates will be required to upload the data, creating a more efficient process for both shop and insurer. If a shop does not have one of the three major estimating systems, it can still use the website to submit images and the estimate. The estimate will be rekeyed by Farmers using its preferred estimating system. In managing the claim, the shop can follow the status through the website and, if needed, communicate with claims staff. Shops that are already registered to the “Shop of Choice” for oth-
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er insurance companies do not need to register again to participate in the Farmers Choices website. Once in the website, the shop will choose the option to submit a new estimate or request a supplement on a previously written estimate by a Farmers appraiser. This program is designed and developed around the NuGen IT Inc. Collision Data Exchange Technology. “Anything we can use to help streamline the process is good, and we’re looking forward to using this with more insurance companies,” said Mark Martin of Ankeny Auto Body, Ankeny, Iowa.
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»| Industry Update |« WIN Announces Opening of
Most Influential Women Nominations he Women’s Industry Network announced that nominations for the Most Influential Women (MIW) Awards opened Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013, and will be accepted through Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013. The winners will be recognized at a gala held during the 2014 WIN Educational Conference, May 5-7, 2014, at Paradise Point in San Diego, Calif. The MIW award recognizes women who have enriched the collision repair industry with
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their leadership, vision and commitment to excellence. “Being recognized as one of AkzoNobel’s Most Influential Women in the collision repair industry was simultaneously humbling and empowering,” said Linda Sommerhauser, owner of Autobody Color Company in Kansas City, Mo. “I was humbled because I knew that there were so many within the industry who could have just as easily been recognized for their many contributions.
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However, I also felt empowered because I was now part of a recognized community of leaders who were committed to making the path a little easier for others to follow.” In addition to the MIW awards gala, where honorees are presented with a Tiffany’s crystal award and custom commemorative pin, WIN has added a new element to the program this year. Recipients will have the opportunity to invest in the future of collision repair by men-
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toring a WIN scholarship winner as they continue their education toward a career in the industry. Honorees have held positions in every facet of the collision repair industry as shop owners, body and paint technicians, managers, wholesalers, lobbyists, suppliers, insurance adjusters, consultants, educators, editors and writers, and industry association directors. To nominate, visit http://thewomensindustry network.ning.com/.
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»| Industry Update |«
National Auto Body Council Welcomes
Overall Parts Solutions as Diamond Member he National Auto Body Council (NABC) welcomes its newest top-level Diamond member, Overall Parts Solutions, a leading parts procurement and logistics technology provider for the collision industry. Based in Grand Prairie, Texas, Overall Parts Solutions provides a collision parts tool called OPSTRAX, a Web-based parts coordination system designed to work with major esti-
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mating and management systems. “We look forward to being an integral part of the National Auto Body Council,” said Nick Bossinakis, president of Overall Parts Solutions. “With the help of many of our partners in the collision industry, we have been quietly growing our business. As we now take our business to the next level, we believe we have an obligation to support the work of the National Auto Body Council, which
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will strengthen and benefit all of us in the collision industry.” With the addition of Overall Parts Solutions, membership in NABC now includes 199 businesses and individuals representing all facets of the collision industry. OPS joins 26 other companies at the toptier Diamond sponsor level. “We appreciate the leadership demonstrated by Overall Parts Solutions, especially at the Diamond membership
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level,” said Chuck Sulkala, National Auto Body Council executive director. “This level of commitment sets OPS apart as a leader and helps the NABC to further our mission to identify, develop and implement initiatives that promote a positive image of the collision industry.” These initiatives include the Recycled Rides program, First Responder Emergency Extrication and Distracted Driving.
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»| Industry Update |«
Consolidation CARSTAR Shop Owner Opens Second Location in Central Ohio Region A top CARSTAR shop owner in the Midwest is expanding with a second location to serve the midOhio community. Tom Martin, owner of Sidney Body CARSTAR, Sidney, Ohio, is building a new location in Troy, Ohio. Located at 15 North Kings Chapel Drive, the new shop will be the 25th CARSTAR location in the state. “I am excited about the opportunity of coming to
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the Troy community and providing them with the award-winning service that we provide in Sidney,” said Martin. “Top-notch customer service is the
foundation that we have built our business on and our core belief.” Troy CARSTAR says it will offer an array of services and products for collision repair, including the latest in repair technology, rental vehicles,
national warranties on repairs and turn-key service for customers. “We congratulate Tom Martin on his expansion to a second store and their continued commitment to operational excellence,” said David Byers, CEO of CARSTAR. “We are thrilled to strengthen our presence in Ohio with another top-notch collision repair center.”
Cooks Collision Centers Acquires Four Sacramento Stores Cooks Collision Centers, a Roseville, Calif.-based collision repair company, has acquired four locations in the greater Sacramento area from Hayes Brothers Collision Repair. The Hayes transaction is one of five
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acquisitions in the past 12 months that have added locations to Napa, the Peninsula and the South Bay area. An additional location is scheduled to close at the end of this month. With this latest acquisition, Cooks now operates 33 loca-
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»| Industry Update |« Service King Acquires Tri County Collision Center in Texas Service King Collision Repair Centers announced that it has acquired Tri County Collision Center of New Braunfels, Texas. “We’re looking forward to partnering with a company with a rich history in New Braunfels like Tri County Collision Center,” said Jeremy Lennox, market vice president – South Texas, Service King. “Their commitment to innovation, quality auto body repairs and customer satisfaction aligns with Service King’s values and gives us great confidence that this will be a successful opportuni-
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ty for our growing team in South Texas.” Service King currently has 13 locations in the San Antonio market, but this will be the first in New Braunfels. “The most exciting elements of our growth is expanding our talented group of teammates as well as expanding our footprint in the South Texas region,” said Service King CEO Chris Abraham. “The Tri County team is now a part of the Service King family, and we take great pride in blending our rich cultures and values. We are com-
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Cooks continued from pg. 70 tions and is the largest independently owned and operated collision company in California, and the largest family-owned repairer in the country. “We are closing the year with several prime acquisitions that complement our growth strategy,” said Don Wood, who owns Cooks with his brother, Rick. “We have built a solid infrastructure for continued growth in 2014 and beyond.” Added Brett Hayes, co-owner of Hayes Brothers Collision Repair, “Part of our legacy is that we are a familyowned business. It gives us comfort to know that Cooks Collision, another family-owned business, will take good care of our employees and customers.” Symphony Advisors LLC and Veritas Advisors Inc. acted as advisers to Cooks Collision throughout the acquisition process.
mitted to carrying the torch of their pristine reputation in the local community and providing growth and opportunity for our new teammates.”
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Service King now has more than 80 locations in Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.
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»| Industry Update |« CARSTAR Shop Owner Opens Third Shop in Boston Area One of the top CARSTAR body shop owners in the Boston region is expanding with a third location to serve the Worcester community. Bob Waldron, owner of Waldron’s CARSTAR Auto Body in Marlboro, Mass., and Lancaster
A-1 A B CARSTAR in Lancaster, Mass., has opened a third location – Thomas Waldron CARSTAR Auto Body, located at 225 Grafton St. in Worcester. According to CARSTAR, this new shop will now offer an array
of services and products for collision repair, including the latest in repair technology, rental vehicles, national warranties on repairs and turnkey service for customers. “We congratulate Bob Waldron on his expansion to a third store and his continued commitment to operational excellence,” said David Byers, CEO of CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts. “We are thrilled to strengthen our presence in Boston with another top-notch collision repair center.”
Caliber Collision Acquires Four Houston-Based Shops Caliber Collision Centers has acquired four Hanley Brothers Auto Specialists locations in the greater Houston market. The acquisition brings the total number of Caliber locations to 12 in the Houston area and 148 nationwide. “Caliber’s acquisition of Hanley Brothers Auto Specialists locations expands our penetration and operational synergies in the Houston market,” said Caliber CEO Steve Grimshaw. “Over the course of our discussions with Ken Hanley and his team, it became very apparent that their culture is a perfect fit with Caliber’s customer centric approach toward restoring our customers to the rhythm of their lives.” Added Hanley Brothers CEO Ken Hanley, “We’re proud that Hanley Brothers is now a part of the nation’s leading collision repair provider. This partnership will allow the company to continue expanding across the Houston market, while providing Hanley Brothers’ customers with the same high standards of quality repair and personal service they’ve come to expect. Our partnership with Caliber provides Hanley Brothers’ staff and their families’ new career opportunities and a secure future in the collision repair industry.” Circle 74 for Reader Service
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»| Industry Update |«
Personnel Transtar Autobody Technologies Adds New Team Members ranstar Autobody Technologies has announced several personnel changes:
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Southeast Regional Manager Joe De Meis joins Transtar Autobody Technologies effective Oct. 1, 2013, as regional sales manager of the Southeast region. In this role, De Meis will be able to leverage his 20plus years of PBE experi-
ence. He currently works for Transtar Industries. Before coming to Transtar, he held various sales management positions with Sherwin-Williams in the Southeastern U.S. going back more than 20 years. De Meis earned a bachelor of science in marketing from Auburn University. He will be based in Charlotte, N.C., and report to Jeremy VanAlstyne, vice president of sales.
Marketing Manager Stacey Wilcox joined Transtar’s Brighton management team Oct. 7, 2013, as marketing manager. She came to Transtar from TechSmith Corporation, where she served as strategic marketing manager. Wilcox earned an MBA from the DeVos Graduate School of Management at Northwood University and a bachelor’s in communication arts and adver-
tising from Michigan State University. She will report to Mike Westrick, vice president and general manager.
Director of Training, Technical Services and Coloristics Steve Rogal moved into a new and critically important role as director of training on Oct. 7. He will leverage the PBE experience and knowledge he has gained after spending 15 months as marketing director. Training is a critical initiative for the company and Steve will be putting plans and programs in place. He will report to Mike Westrick, vice president and general manager.
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»| Industry Update |«
Chrysler’s Todd Chizmar Appointed to I-CAR International Board of Directors -CAR announced the appointment of Todd Chizmar of Chrysler Group to its International Board of Directors as a board member. Chizmar has been part of the automotive industry for nearly 20 years, the last 14 in technical and management roles at Chrysler. He is currently senior manager, Technical Training for Chrysler, a role in which he is responsible for the planning, development and execution of the company’s global technical training strategy.
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This includes curriculum design, development and course delivery for all technical training programs. Chizmar previously managed a department at Chrysler responsible for improving dealership repair processes and increasing customer satisfaction. Prior to that, he managed Chrysler’s Global Service Diagnostics department. He also worked for more than five years developing enhanced on-board diagnostics for Chrysler’s electronic control modules.
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Before joining Chrysler, Chizmar gained five years of hands-on automotive diagnosis and repair experience as a service technician for Clouser Auto Repair. He holds an MBA from Michigan State University and a bachelor of science in automotive technology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He is also an ASE-Certified Master Automobile Technician and Advanced Engine Performance Specialist. “Todd’s many years of
technical and management experience at Chrysler and firsthand expertise in automotive repair will enable him to add significant value to the I-CAR International Board of Directors,” said I-CAR Chair William Brower. “His insights will be particularly helpful as I-CAR begins to significantly increase its repair-related technical support of the industry through its new Repairability Technical Support and Knowledge initiative.”
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Âť| Industry Update |ÂŤ
Car Bench America Welcomes Bob Stevenson to National Sales and Training Team ar Bench America welcomes Bob Stevenson to the position of national sales and training. In his new role, Stevenson will be responsible for sales and training of Car Bench, inverter spot welders, computerized measuring, aluminum, steel and MIG brazing machines, selfpiercing riveting (SPR), aluminum repair tools, and most all other equipment needed to rebuild automotive body and chassis construction. Stevenson brings 20-plus years of collision knowledge and experience in both paint and equipment. He worked with BASF in New York City as a Glasurit and RM Diamont representative before holding a position with ICI Autocolor in New Jersey. Stevenson spent the last 16 years with Reliable Automotive Equipment (R.A.E.), a New Jersey-based company representing Wielander+Schill and Celette equipment. He has been recognized by the industry for his knowledge in the latest repair methods used by the automobile manufactures in the design and repair procedures to successfully restore vehicles to pre-accident condition. He can be reached at se-ce@live.com or (772) 828-9777.
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»| Industry Update |«
Babcox Media Announces Three New Appointments abcox Media Inc. is pleased to announce the promotion of Doug Kaufman to Publisher of Engine Builder and the company’s newest online destination, Speedville.com. Kaufman has been with the company for more than 20 years, most recently serving as Associate Publisher and Editor of Engine Builder magazine and digital properties. Speedville.com is a new digital destination for automotive professionals and automotive en-
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thusiasts who are looking for a blend of topnotch technical content along with up-to-theminute news and events, product information and entertaining resources from the racing, restyling and restoration marketplaces. “Doug Kaufman has been an integral part of the Engine Builder brand since he was named Editor back in 2000. The industry expertise he has accrued during that time will serve him well in this new role as publisher of Engine Builder and
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Speedville.com,” said Bill Babcox, President of Babcox Media. In addition to Kaufman’s new appointment, Brendan Baker has been promoted to the position of Content Director for Speedville.com. Baker has spent the past 10 years as Senior Editor of Engine Builder. As Content Director, he will be responsible for day-to-day online content management and site operations, while also continuing to support the Engine Builder team. Ed Sunkin will be re-
joining Engine Builder as Editor. Sunkin has served as the Editor of Babcox Media’s Underhood Service since 1999, however he was previously a member of the Engine Builder editorial staff for four years starting back in 1995. “It’s great to have Ed back on the Engine Builder team,” said Kaufman. According to Kaufman, “The Baker/Sunkin team will support each other on both the Engine Builder and Speedville.com properties but each will have primary responsibility for his brand.”
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»| Industry Update |« Dent Wizard Adds Two Members to
Business Development Team ent Wizard International has added two regional business development managers to its team. Laura Sobyak will oversee the Midsouth region, and Tim South will oversee the West region. Sobyak’s position is newly created, which the company says represents further expansion of Dent Wizard’s national sales coverage. In these roles, Sobyak and South will focus on growing Dent Wizard’s customer base for paintless dent removal, chip and scratch repair, bumper repair, interior repair, wheel restoration, hail damage repair services and more, as well as Dent Wizard’s new Frontline Fast, Ding Shield and MINT programs. Sobyak will report to Addison Thomas, Dent Wizard’s regional vice president for the Midsouth region, and South will report to Don Coleman, Dent Wizard’s regional vice president for the West region. Sobyak brings more than 20 years
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of experience in the automotive industry, including roles as sales and financing account manager, national sales manager, and, most recently, as territory manager for Southern Auto Finance Company. South has nearly 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, including roles as territory manager, financing account manager, and, most recently, as general sales manager for John Hine Mazda in San Diego, Calif. “The addition of talented, serv-
Babcox Media Names New Editor
of Underhood Service abcox Media Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew Markel to Editor of Underhood Service. Markel succeeds Ed Sunkin, who was named Editor of Engine Builder, effective Oct. 1, 2013.
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ice-oriented people such as Laura and Tim is representative of the commitment that Dent Wizard is making nationally in our steady transition from just PDR services to a broad menu of cosmetic reconditioning programs and services,” said Mike Black, chief operating officer for Dent Wizard. “We are asking Laura and Tim to ramp up the communication and share Dent Wizard’s true value proposition within the dealer channel. Our programs reduce the reconditioning cycle time and ensure our dealers sell cars more quickly, and for more money. We are excited to have both on our team.”
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Markel joined Babcox in 2000 as Associate Editor of Brake & Front End and was named Editor in 2003. He took on the additional role of Editor of Servicio Automotriz, when it launched in December 2004. An ASE-certified automotive technician, Markel worked as a technician and service writer prior to joining Babcox Media. He will continue as Editor of Brake & Front End and Servicio Automotriz, in addition to his new assignment with Underhood Service. “Andrew’s proven track record of success with Brake & Front End and Servicio Automotriz, combined with his technical expertise and aftermarket service heritage, make him the ideal individual to direct the editorial content of Underhood Service and ensure its continued success,” said Jim Merle, Publisher of Babcox Media’s Tech Group properties, which include the Brake & Front End, ImportCar and Underhood Service print and digital properties. Markel can be reached at (330) 670-1234 ext. 296 or amarkel@ babcox.com.
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»| Industry Update |«
Corporate Axalta Coating Systems Establishes Social Media Presence Axalta Coating Systems, North America, has announced that it has launched its social media presence across a variety of platforms. The coatings company aims to maximize momentum and visibility by establishing a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Visit Axalta at the following social media platforms: Facebook: facebook.com/AxaltaNArefinish Twitter: @AxaltaNARef Instagram: AxaltaNArefinish YouTube: youtube.com/user/AxaltaUS During the recent NACE in Las Vegas, Axalta posted live video from the show on its YouTube channel and Facebook page. The company will continue to bring breaking news and information via its social media channels. The company’s corporate video can also be viewed on YouTube. Circle 86 for Reader Service
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BASF Joins ASA as Newest Corporate Member
Web-Est Updates Collision Estimating Software
BASF has joined the Automotive Service Association (ASA) as its newest corporate member. “BASF is excited about the changes at ASA,” said Joe Skurka, manager, OEM and industry relations. “They’re off to a fresh start with a new leadership team and are strengthening relationships within the collision repair industry. A good example is the combined NACE/I-CAR/CIC conference in Detroit next year. We believe collaborations like this can help the collision industry thrive.” Added ASA Executive Director Dan Risley, “ASA is proud to have BASF among its first corporate members. BASF continues to display its professionalism and commitment to support and work with repairers as one of the industry’s leading paint and refinish companies. As such, it’s my pleasure to welcome them and their leadership team. We truly appreciate their support of ASA and our membership.”
Web-Est has announced new features for its collision estimating program: Multiple payments can now be applied on any estimate on the payment information tab after turning this feature on through your print profile set up in your rate profile section. You now have the ability to turn on/off printing on the PDF estimate of the estimate number and estimate ID number. See your print profile settings under your rate profile. You can now print an estimate directly from the Look Up Estimate screen without opening the estimate up. Time zones are now active on the customer profile page and will print the correct time for your time zone. You’re now able to delete saved customer information from the customer tab. You can delete saved insurance companies from the insurance tab.
BodyShop Business Collision Repair Shop
Executive of the Year Nomination Form FACTS ABOUT THE NOMINEE: Name and title of nominee: __________________________________________________________________________ Company name: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Nominee’s daytime phone: ( ) ______________________________________________________________________ Nominee’s company address: ________________________________________________________________________ City: ____________________ State: ___________ Zip: ____________________________________________________ Nominee’s date of birth: ___________Total number of years in the collision repair industry: ________________ Education (list schools attended, degrees earned): ______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________
NOMINEE’S COLLISION REPAIR INDUSTRY BUSINESS HISTORY: List shop(s) worked for and/or owned, dates and positions held. Review growth and development of business(s) this person has been in charge of: ________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ NOMINEE’S SIGNIFICANT COLLISION REPAIR INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTIONS: List any significant milestones, accomplishments, rewards, recognition, special achievements, etc. Review what makes this person different from the average shop owner: ______________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ INDUSTRY SERVICE RECORD/VOLUNTEERISM: List all industry association involvement, leadership positions and committee activities nominee has been involved in, including date, position held, special achievements attained, special honors/recognition and offices held: ________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ NOMINATOR INFORMATION: Name and title of nominator:
____________________________________________________________________________________
Nominator’s place of business: __________________________________________________________________________________ Nominator’s signature:
________________________________________________________________________________________
Nominator’s daytime telephone: (
) ____________________________________________________________________________
NOMINATION FORM MUST BE RECEIVED BY FEB. 1, 2014. Mail to: BodyShop Business, Executive of the Year, 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333; fax completed form to (330) 670-0874 or access the form online at www.bodyshopbusiness.com/execoftheyear/.
»| Industry Update |«
CAPA Tops 60 Million Certified Parts he Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) achieved another major milestone in September when it reached nearly 62 million CAPA Certified parts. “As the premier certification body for aftermarket automotive parts, this represents significant market penetration for CAPA parts with potentially 20,000,000 vehicles in the U.S. fleet with CAPA Certified parts installed,” said CAPA Executive Director Jack Gillis. This number represents the total number of parts CAPA Certified since 1990. As CAPA continues toward the 100 million mark, it says it has made a major impact on improving the quality of aftermarket parts as evidenced by the following: Part applications have increased by 16 percent per year for the past five years. Seventeen new manufacturers were added to the program in just five years – there are now 43 manufacturers fully capable of supplying high-quality CAPA parts. CAPA parts in the market have increased by 13 percent per year for the past five years. CAPA plastic parts in the market have increased 19 percent per year and lights have increased by 30 per-
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cent per year for the past five years. 2013 YTD statistics indicate that getting true, high quality parts into the hands of America’s collision repair shops and, most importantly, on the vehicles owned by American consumers is continuing. One of the reasons why CAPA says it is able to keep in-depth statistics on parts in the market is because every CAPA part has a unique number on a two-part, tamper-proof seal that is fully traceable. This seal protects shops and insurers from inadvertently using non-CAPA parts and allows easy proof of use. Shops are reminded that if the part does not have the bright, distinctive, yellow and blue CAPA seal, it’s not a genuine CAPA Certified part. “It doesn’t matter how the part is listed on the estimate, in a catalog, or on an order form – if the part doesn’t have the CAPA seal, it’s not CAPA Certified,” said CAPA’s Director of Operations Debbie Klouser. While metal parts have been the backbone of the CAPA program, plastic parts (bumper covers, grilles, etc.) and lights are currently the fastest growing part categories. “It’s no surprise that CAPA Certified bumper covers are in such demand as shops are tired of sagging, ill-fitting covers made of incorrect plastic materials,” said Gillis.
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For evidence of the importance of the right material in plastic parts, visit http://www.capacertified.org/ Adjuster/CAPA_bumper_video.wmv. While CAPA states that its standards are designed to protect consumers from poor quality parts, they also serve shops that want to maintain a strong reputation for high quality and reasonably priced repairs. On the lighting front, not only have CAPA Certified lighting applications increased by 30 percent a year, but the number of CAPA Certified lights in the market has more than doubled in the last five years. “While these numbers are significant, there are nearly 1,000 additional lights in the CAPA Certification pipeline,” said Klouser. One of the key reasons for the exponential increase of CAPA parts in the market, CAPA states, is that the standards themselves are strong, independently developed, truly effective and fully transparent. “Anyone can look at the standards, and when they do, they’ll find them to be fully capable of identifying parts that are true functional equivalents to the car company brand parts,” said Gillis. “Furthermore, we congratulate the 43 CAPA Quality manufacturers who have been exponentially increasing the number of CAPA quality parts they produce.” CAPA says it is indebted to its Technical Committee – 18 nationally recognized experts representing shops, insurers, manufacturers, distributors and quality control (CAPA TC Members) – for ensuring that the standards have been developed in accordance with ANSI Standards Development requirements. “As a consumer advocate, I know that full transparency and public vetting of standards is an absolute necessity for consumer confidence and credibility,” said Gillis. “The bottom line: CAPA is not afraid to fully embrace full transparency.”
Product
Showcase Control Gas in Welding Process Combining hot air and nitrogen plastic for maximum versatility, the Nitro Fuzer gives users ultimate control over how much gas is used in the welding process with the help of fine-flow control regulators, output pressure gauges and a flow gauge. Additional features include a pressure safety circuit to help prevent burned-out heating elements, electrically actuated air-nitrogen switch, melt-proof silicone and fiberglass braided hot welder hose. The system comes completely assembled and includes the various accessories from plastic welding rods to a hand seamer that a welder needs to accomplish tasks. Urethane Supply Company www.urethanesupply.com Circle 150 for Reader Service
A complete compressed air system, The Solution is designed to clean, dry and heat atomized air for today’s spraypaint requirements. It works with the existing compressed air source, features a fourstage filtration system equipped with an automatic moisture discharger and is shipped complete with a spray air hose. The controller in the system allows shops to set the temperature of the atomizing up to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Martech Services Company www.breathingsystems.com Circle 153 for Reader Service
Reduce Vapors and Contaminants The 0.1 Micron SuperStar Filter is designed to provide clean, dry, compressed air resulting in the removal of any vapors and contaminants down to 0.1 micron. Utilizing a four-stage filtration system, the filter contains flow ranges of 50 SCFM, 75 SCFM or 100 SCFM and can handle pressure ratings up to 250 psi. The 0.1 Micron SuperStar Filter includes a differential pressure gauge and comes with mounting brackets. Walmec North America www.walmecna.com Circle 151 for Reader Service
Flexible Anchor Pots These Anchor Pots can be installed in existing floors and wedged into an immovable position so techs can work in any position around a vehicle undergoing maintenance. Installation can be in any pattern of your choosing. Pro Tools & Equipment Inc. www.protools.ws Circle 152 for Reader Service
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Complete Compressed Air System
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Protective Metallic Paint System The Hyper Silver Kit is a two-can system containing a Hyper Silver basecoat that produces a highly metallic, deep silver look along with a clear topcoat that adds gloss, depth and protection from elements such as brake dust, road abrasion, chipping and fading. Dupli-Color www.duplicolor.com Circle 154 for Reader Service
»| Product Showcase |« Limited Edition Spray Gun
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, its remains lightweight and can easily be stored or relocated. It lowers to a 3-inch profile and features an open-center design, rugged safety lock bars, quick-connect hoses, built-in flow divider for equalized lifting and remote pendant control on a 20-foot cord. The system includes an eight-piece set of rubber lift blocks, convenient positioning handles and a mini portable hydraulic power unit. BendPak/Ranger www.bendpak.com Circle 155 for Reader Service
Versatile MIG Welder The SP-5 Smart MIG Welder welds stainless steel, aluminum and zinccoated steel. It contains three MIG torches for three base metals, TIG and MMA/stick. It features various settings to offer optimum weld quality. Pro Spot International, Inc. www.prospot.com Circle 156 for Reader Service
This limited edition SATAjet 4000 B high performance spray gun features a winning design by U.S. painter Carl Avery. Painters can choose between the “Super Saver” HVLP version and the “Super Fast” RP version with optimized high pressure technologies. Both spray guns are available in non-digital or digital versions, and with all popular nozzle set-ups. SATA USA www.SATAusa.com Circle 157 for Reader Service
Faster Cutting for Paint Removal, Filler Shaping The Cubitron II Clean Sanding Hookit Disc features 3M precision-shaped grain technology that provides faster cutting for paint removal, body filler rough shaping and feather edging that ultimately lasts long and delivers a finer, more uniform finish. The disc is 30 percent faster and lasts twice as long as conventional ceramic premium abrasives. Discs are available in 80+ and 120+ grit for 3-inch, 5-inch and 6-inch sanders and are designed to work with a vacuum or independently. 3M www.3Mcollision.com Circle 158 for Reader Service
Low-VOC Sealer The Signature Series 2.1 Low VOC Sealer is a direct-to-metal 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. Transtar Autobody Technologies www.tat-co.com Circle 159 for Reader Service
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Âť| Product Showcase |ÂŤ Two-Stage, 5-Micron Rated Filter
Increase Hiding on Yellow Surfaces The AUE-370YL is a 2.8 pounds-per-gallon, high-solid VOC urethane. Users of direct-to-metal technology can have 30 to 35 percent better hiding on yellow colors with this product. The increased hiding creates faster production and greater savings, since fewer coats are required. PPG www.ppgrefinish.com Circle 160 for Reader Service
Safely Load Disabled Vehicles The I-Bolt allows body shop technicians to safely load disabled foreign and some domestic vehicles on rollback wreckers and frame racks without causing damage. It provides quicker loading of disabled vehicles with tow eye holes by allowing the driver or technician to pull a vehicle on the rollback bed. It also includes a safety strap and a 3.5-inch steel flat snap hook.
The Extractor/Dryer is a two-stage filter designed to operate most efficiently within 25 feet of the point of use. Each model offers a standard 5-micron rating with lower ratings available. With flow ranges of 15 SCFM to 2,000 SCFM and pressure ratings of up to 250 psi, the Extractor/Dryer can be used for an extensive array of applications including air-powered tools, surface preparation, paint spraying, powder coating and pneumatic operated equipment. LA-MAN Corporation www.laman.com Circle 163 for Reader Service
Steck Manufacturing www.steckmanufacturing.com Circle 161 for Reader Service
Create Nearly Every Vehicle Color Serie 500 is a tintometric system specifically designed for repainting cars, making application and retouching easier. The system uses highly concentrated color bases that are mixed using different binders to create products that can be used in basecoat or single-stage systems. Serie 500 has 68 color bases that can be used to produce nearly every vehicle color in the world. BESA (Bernardo Ecenarro S.A.) www.bernardoecenarro.com Circle 162 for Reader Service
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Direct-to-Metal Primer Sealer The MP-210 is a premium direct-tometal primer sealer offering smooth application over a broad variety of substrates where a non-sanding technique will improve productivity. MP-210 provides high-quality adhesion and corrosion resistance and can be used directly on almost any substrate. Quest Automotive Products www.quest-ap.com Circle 164 for Reader Service
Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation (Act of August 12, 1970; Section 3685. Title 39. United States Code.) BodyShop Business is published monthly at 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, Ohio 44333-8318, Summit County. Headquarters and general business offices are also located at 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, Ohio 44333-8318, Summit County. Publication no. is 0730-7241. Filing date is 9/23/13. Issue frequency is monthly with 12 issues published annually. Annual subscription price is $69. BodyShop Business’s publisher is S. Scott Shriber. The editor is Jason Stahl, and the associate editor is Gina Kuzmick. All are located at 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, Ohio 44333-8318, Summit County. BodyShop Business is owned by William E. Babcox, located at 3550 Embassy Pkwy., Akron, Ohio 44333. Known bondholders, mortgagees and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities: none. BodyShop Business’s Extent and Nature of Circulation are: (Issue date for circulation data below is August 2013.) Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months A. Total No. Copies (net press run) 49,694 B. Legitimate Paid and/or Requested Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail) 1. Individual Paid/ Requested Mail Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541. (Include direct written request from recipient, telemarketing and Internet requests from recipient, paid subscriptions including nominal rate subscriptions, advertisers’ proof copies and exchange copies) 49,105 C. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation 49,105 D. Nonrequested Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail) 238 E. Total Nonrequested Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2) and (3) 238 F. Total Distribution (sum of 15c and e) 49,343 G. Copies not Distributed 351 H. Total (Sum of 15f and g) 49,694 I. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation 99.5
Actual no. copies of single issue nearest to filing date
48,077
ADVERTISER INDEX COMPANY NAME
PG. #
COMPANY NAME
Aframe Spray Booths Airomax/U.S. Body Products Airvantage Tools Inc. Amerex Corporation American Family Insurance American Honda Motor Co. American Honda Motor Co. AMH Canada Ltd. Anest Iwata USA Automotive Mgmt Institute Axalta Coating Systems BASF Corp. BendPak Bendpak Bernardo Ecenarro Blackburn’s Hubcap & Wheels, Inc. Blair CCC Cebotech Inc. Certified Auto Parts Association ChemSpec USA Chief Automotive Coastal Boot Coastal Boot Col-Met Spraybooths Crash-writeR Dent Fix Equipment DV Systems Eagle Abrasives Evercoat Farecla Inc. Ford Parts Garmat USA Garmat USA Harbor Freight Tools Herkules Equipment Corp. Homak Manufacturing Company Inc. I-CAR Induction Innovations Innovative Tools & Technologies, Inc. Island Clean Air
50 72 34 58 75 17 57 60 15 78 5 61 86 Insert 64 62 24 11 78 27 19 50 38 39 63 Insert 9 44 54 3 4 89 84 21 73 36 69 53 18 23 68
Kaeser Compressor 25 Klean-Strip Automotive 59 Lenco D/B/A NLC, Inc. 66 Malco Products 80 Martech Services Co. 28 Matrix System Automotive Finishes LLC 31 Maxzone Auto Parts Corp. 71 Mitchell International 22 Motor Guard Corp. 88 Motorcraft, Ford Motor Co. 6-7 NAPA 77 Nissan Motor Corp. USA 79 O’Reilly Auto Parts 81 PPG Industries 2nd Cover – 1 Pro Spot International Cover 3 Pro-Spray Finishes 51 RBL Products 37 RBL Products 39 Reflex Truck Liners 18 Rubber-Seal Products 16 Sata Spray Equipment 35 Scorpion Truck Bed Linings 28 Sherwin-Williams Co. 2 Sherwin-Williams Co. 41 Shop-Pro Equipment 43 Southern Polyurethanes 67 Spanesi 47 Steck Mfg Co. 24 Suburban Mfg. 80 Sunmight Abrasives 70 Northeast 2014 83 Tite Spot Welders 82 Toyota Cover 4 TYC/Genera Corp. 65 Urethane Supply Co. 29 U.S. Chemical & Plastics 45 Valspar/Debeer 55 Walmec North America 82 Wedge Clamp Systems, Inc. 74 Zendex Tool Corp. 86
PG. #
47,607 47,607
120 120 47,727 350 48,077 99.7
I certify that all above statements made by me are correct and complete. Pat Robinson, Circulation Manager
Find 1,000’s of BodyShop Business articles online at
www.bodyshopbusiness.com www.bodyshopbusiness.com 93
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November 2013 | BodyShop Business
»| Classifieds |« 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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The
Shop Paul Struhar Owner Centerline CARSTAR Collision Center 䡲 Strongsville, Ohio
So what’s the story with that giant pike on your office wall? My son caught it on one of our fishing trips when he was 7 years old. Fishing is my favorite hobby – I wish I had more time to do it!
Where do you usually go fishing? Northern Quebec, but last year we were able to go all the way to Manitoba. There are no phones, and you’re hours away from cell phone service. They fly you in and drop you off from a float plane. I still go with my son and sometimes we take my old vocational school teacher from high school, who is like a second dad to me. He’s an outdoor kind of guy and likes to fish and hunt. He’s in his 70s now, and I just like giving back to him.
What makes your relationship special with him? I don’t know, we just bonded really well my junior and senior year of high school. They no longer have an auto body program anymore, which makes me sad, but when I was in it, I had such an interest in it that he took me under his wing and spent a lot of time with me. While the other kids were running around being kids, I was focused and wanted to do the work and learn. I think he saw that in me.
Whose ’62 Pontiac is that out front? Mine! I just bought it. We’re going to touch it up; it doesn’t need a lot. It will be my cruise car. I had been looking for one, and I had always had one. I sold the last one 10 years ago, so I’ve been on the hunt.
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Your son, Paul Jr., runs the shop with you. Is he going to own it one day? I’m hoping to one day be able to pass the business on to my kids. I never promoted it to them or said, ‘Some day, this will be yours.’ I totally let them choose what they wanted to do. I told them they didn’t have to do this. I said, ‘This was my dream; you can have your own. You can be involved as much as you want or as little as you want.’ Paul Jr. likes the business and is involved, so hopefully I’ll be able to have a retirement some day.
Does your daughter want anything to do with the business? No. The only thing she does is come in part-time to do the bookkeeping. She’s into horses!
Has her love of horses rubbed off on you? No, but I’ve done everything I can to support her passion. She first got involved with horses as a Girl Scout at a campout where they had horseback riding. Then, we bought her lessons, and by the time she was 13, we leased a horse after seeing an ad in the paper. Then we ended up buying one, and there have been many since then. Today, she has two and some day will have her own farm to keep them on.
Speaking of pets, what about the dog in your reception area? That’s Bruiser, Paul Jr.’s dog. I was never for having a dog in the shop, but his house was undergoing some remodeling and he didn’t want him to get hurt, so he brought him into the shop. Now, he’s our new mascot! He hangs out mostly in the parts office and every now and again will peek his head out. BSB
Circle C3 for Reader Service
Circle 98 for Reader Service