New-School Marketing Âť Windshield Replacement Âť OEM Data
November 2014//Vol. 33 No.11
www.bodyshopbusiness.com
Estimating: Waste of Time or Pathway to Profit? We help you decide.
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Inside
November November 2014
Vol. 33 No. 11
30
ON THE COVER Estimates: Waste of Time or Path to Profit? The insurer is going to write what they want, so why bother writing your own sheet? Here are some good reasons why.
FEATURES
44 Refresh Your Marketing BUSINESS
Old-school marketing is out, and new-school is in. So ditch your “Free Estimates” sign and get with the program.
50 Shattered TECHNICAL
With lane change and blind spot monitoring, we take a look at the increased need for scan tools to properly replace windshields.
SHOP TALK Editor’s Notes
8 10 Publisher’s Perspective 14 Clark’s Corner 22 Web Presence Management I’ve fallen victim to the SEMA effect.
Sometimes we take automobiles for granted. Measuring color with a spectrophotometer. Google’s “Physical Web”may revolutionize marketing.
BODYSHOP BUSINESS (ISSN 0730-7241) (November 2014, Volume 33, 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 2014 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
DEPARTMENTS Guess the Car ....................................................................................4 e-Buzz ..............................................................................................6 Industry Update ..............................................................................12 Tech Tips ........................................................................................26 Product Showcase............................................................................86 By the Numbers ..............................................................................92
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Guess
SOLVED!
the Car
See the December issue for winner of Guess the Car #139.
Reader Contest! Win $50! What vehicle MAKE 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. *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.
#139
For Esther = (Subaru) Forester #138
!
WINNER “Is that you, Maximillian?”
#140
“OK, Kid, time to get in the game!”
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Dan Lally, production manager, H & T Collision Center, Virginia Beach, Va.
See Max = (Ford) C-Max
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e-Buzz
The latest online content from BodyShop Business September 25 — We are now seeing a live demo of Chief’s measuring system...
Like • Comment • Share
: BodyShop Business Readers Group
What was the best idea you ever had for your business? WE WANT TO KNOW!
Greg Lobsiger
The best thing I ever did for my shop was swallow years of family pride of being in this business and got some outside help. In March of 2008, I was very close to a nervous breakdown. I was cold called by a consulting firm and almost hung up on them, but decided to hear what they had to say. Since then, we’ve nearly tripled our gross sales and feel very much more in control. I have realized insurers are a factor, but the biggest problem I had in my shop was the owner – me! I’ve worked with a variety of different consultants since 2008, and we now have a shop that has put in a flow line where the cars are chained together. We’re not great at it, but we definitely see the problems that we were burying before flow and want continuos improvement to be our foundation. – Greg Lobsiger, administrator, Loren’s Body Shop
@BSBMagazine: Learn all about U.S. Chemical & Plastics’ expanded product line that they’ll unveil at #SEMAShow: http://ow.ly/DdNhF #collision.
Find 1,000’s of BodyShop Business articles online at www.bodyshopbusiness.com 6
November 2014 | BodyShop Business
They Said It On
bodyshopbusiness.com Collision Repairers Rate Visit to Capitol an ‘A’ Comment by No Bush!: Of course they act interested; it’s how they get the vote. Senators, congressman and the appointed house speaker are professional bullshitters – they will leave you with a feeling of euphoria as if they’ll actually do something and yet do nothing. It’s their game, and nobody plays it better than a politician. Boehner is actually laughing inside thinking, ‘Oh my God, this country is full of idiots! God love this country!’ A Dealership Body Shop Manager’s Woes Comment by MrAutobody: So true. The body shop orders, receives and checks the parts, plus eats damage on the parts, returns them, stores them, etc., and makes little parts profit. The parts department books the parts to an RO and makes the profit. Dealer principals need to wake up. How about the dealer that closed his shop as it wasn’t making a profit, then the next month couldn’t figure out why the parts department sales were down! All those repairs to damaged panels plays into insurer metrics, too, and they expect more repaired panels from everyone.The dealer I now work for treats me like an independent, separate utility meters and all. Comment by Mike: Look at what’s needed now in aluminum tools, plus continuing education requirements. Vehicles now are equipped with as many components as Apollo 1. Plus, the collision rate is $58 an hour compared to the mechanical rate of $95, and you’ve also got all the insurer BS. If you owned a business, what would a good manager do? Contract out the work and use your space for more profit of $95. I’m an independent family shop that’s probably going to branch into more mechanics and component sales.
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Editor’s
Notes
Publisher
S. Scott Shriber, ext. 229 sshriber@babcox.com Editor
Jason Stahl, ext. 226 jstahl@babcox.com
The SEMA Effect
Managing Editor
Gina Kuzmick, ext. 244 gkuzmick@babcox.com Contributing Editors
’ve coined a new term: the “SEMA effect.” What is the SEMA effect? It’s an uncontrollable urge, after attending the SEMA Show, to trick up your ride.
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I fell victim to this effect recently – a full 10 months after the 2013 SEMA Show. I guess that goes to show how long this affliction can last. What did I do? I installed LED lights in the footwells of my ’09 Honda Civic. That’s right – bright, glowing lights of a variety of colors that can be set in a variety of different modes, including one that blinks in time with your music. Oh, I’ve had to endure comments like, “What are you, 13?” and, “You men are all the same!” But you know what? I like them. They’re cool! And when I set them on blue, which matches the lights on my dashboard, they’re actually pretty taste-
ful and – dare I say it – classy. OK, maybe that’s a stretch, but at least I didn’t put them underneath the car or something. The lights now are in addition to my modified tailpipe. And I shall do no more customizing of my car. Promise. OK, maybe a small, subtle spoiler at some point, NOT one of those garish batwings I’ve seen! One of my co-workers brought up a good point when he said, “Hey, man, you might think about turning them off at night. Otherwise, you’ll be a cop magnet!” Gosh, I never thought of that. In fact, when I initially bought the Civic, I figured since it was gray and one of the most common vehicles on the road that I would become invisible to the fuzz. In fact, not long after I bought it, I was heading down the highway and nearly panicked when I saw a cop barreling up from behind me. When he drifted past me, I thought, “By God, it’s true! I really do have Harry Potter’s Cloak of Invisibility!” And here I am attracting undue attention now. Tsk, tsk. When they pull me over, I’ll just say I fell victim to the SEMA effect.
Jason Stahl, Editor Email comments to jstahl@babcox.com
Mitch Becker, Mark Clark, Mark Claypool, Erica Eversman, Tom Ferry, Kristen Hampshire, Curt Harler, 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
Randy Loeser, ext. 285 rloeser@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 John DiPaola, 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 Sometimes
I Forget
ven though I’ve spent my entire life in and around the automobile business, I still forget how much these machines are a part of our lives. How could I forget the three trillion miles we travel or the $255 billion in business we generate here in the automotive aftermarket every year alone? Well, it’s really the 240 million vehicles the oddballs like a 1923 air-cooled Franklin on the road today that make it all possible. touring car and, of course, two electric cars Along the way in the last 100 or so years, from yesteryear (who says hybrids are new?). the personal automobile has become such a Bob's favorite car is a 1939 Ford Roadster. The part of our fabric that we tend to take it for oldest car was a 1906 Baker electric, quite a granted. Given my background, that’s contrast to the Art Arfons Salt Flats jet car that really hard to imagine. was there also. For those of you who rememOnce every year, I’m reminded of my own ber, it was the “Green Monster.” infatuation with it and am always glad when The diversity of the collection is impossiI am. About five years ago, a service adviser ble for me to explain here in words. The told me about a car show going on that other impossible thing for me to explain is particular night. I don't make a habit of the opportunity to see them all in a casual crashing parties, but for some reason – environment. You see, Bob believes cars are after some coaxing from my adviser – meant to be driven. They all run except the I loaded up the family and showed Baker, and they get taken to shows and are up. It turned out to be quite an often seen running around town. There evening, and I was astounded to find were no “Do Not Touch” signs, and every out that it was all done by word-ofone of them was open and ready for inmouth – other car enthusiasts telling spection. This is absolutely unheard of each other. It was so popular, the today with a collection of this magnitude. police were there to direct traffic and This was all made possible by the genhelp with crowds. erosity of one man. Why? Because he This was all made possi- shares the same love of the automobile that ble by one car lover who this nation has had for the last century. decided to share his colThis industry is a great place to work, lection with the rest of and if you’re reading this, I know you us. This rare individmake your livelihood from it. It’s easy to ual is Bob Jones. His take cars for granted, but thanks to people collection is one of like Bob who give back to the industry, we the most unique can be reminded of their importance and I’ve ever seen. No the enduring place they hold in our counBentleys or Fertry. Thanks, Bob, and see you next year! raris, just really cool cars that all of us either had or knew someone S. Scott Shriber, Publisher that had one. Of E-mail comments to sshriber@babcox.com course, there were
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Industry
Update (Left to right): IABA President Tony Passwater, Attorney John Eaves Jr., and shop owners Karen Enneking and Joe Enneking.
Collision Repairers Rate
Visit to Capitol an ‘A’ By Jason Stahl ixty-five collision repairers who are part of the national, consolidated lawsuit filed against
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various insurers for short-pays visited Washington, D.C., in September to educate congressmen, senators and their staff on the 1963 Consent Decree.
Based on the 150 meetings they had, lead attorney John Eaves Jr. said the experience was overwhelmingly positive. “The [congressmen and senators] were very, very
supportive,” he says. “One of the reasons is that 80 percent of the people we visited with had a bad experience trying to get their car fixed.” Matt Parker, owner of Parker Auto Body in West Monroe, La., rated the experience an “A.” “Everyone, including Speaker of the House John Boehner, was very receptive and told us they would help if we could get something up there to them,” says Parker. “They asked questions and wanted to know about things. They were all very receptive because most of them have had accidents and been screwed by insurance companies. I couldn’t tell you how many of them told us they had not been treated fairly by an insurance company.” Tony Passwater, executive director of the Indiana Auto Body Continued on pg. 60
New York Artist Creates ‘ArtRod’ Using Pro-Spray Paint New York fine artist Steven Vaughan has created an “ArtRod” for a client that has gained national acclaim for its uniqueness and one-of-a-kind paint job using Pro-Spray products. The car, a 1970 Saab that ended up being two feet longer when completed, is a rolling piece of art complete with drawings of nuclear explosions, cowboys with gas masks, angels and superheroes, and Marilyn Monroe giving the peace sign. The car 12
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transitions from war in the front to peace in the back. “I wanted the front end of the car to look like three knives coming at you, so I used the idea of cutwaters from an old Chris Craft, chrome tips from an old wooden boat,” says Vaughan. “I wanted that chrome and reflective quality in the front, so I used aluminum and polished it. On the sides, I was going for a cross between a Bonneville Salt Circle 120 for Reader Service »
»| Industry Update |«
National AutoBody Research Launches Ray Gunder Real-Time Labor Rate Survey ational AutoBody Research (NABR) has announced the launch of its Ray Gunder Real-Time Labor Rate Survey in Florida and Georgia. This survey measures the current range of market prices for shop labor and material rates in the collision repair industry, based on factors such as a shop’s location, training, equipment and certifications. As repair shops complete the survey, NABR’s Variable Rate System (VRS) automatically and continually calculates the range of market-based rates for several labor rates including body, paint, frame and mechanical labor, as well as paint and material rates. “In our research of the auto collision repair industry, we found that existing labor rate surveys were not useful for shops or insurance companies because those surveys
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were taken only annually or once every several years and resulted in only one rate per market and one rate for all shops,” said Richard Valenzuela, CEO of NABR. “Those surveys did not make any consid-
tinually increasing costs, for example. Within one market, there is a range of competitive labor rates, not just one rate. Also, there are differences among shops in their level of Continued on pg. 64
ASA Celebrates New Headquarters Location The Automotive Service Association (ASA) announced it held an open house on Oct. 13 to celebrate its move to a new national office at 8209 Mid Cities Blvd., North Richland Hills, Texas. Attendees included ASA board of directors, (L to R) Collision Division Director Dan Stander; local businesses and staff. Secretary/Treasury Roy Schnepper; Chairman Darrell “In response to the growing Amberson; Chairman-Elect Donny Seyfer; Mechanical needs of our members, ASA took Division Director Bob Wills; and General Director Gary Keyes. a proactive assessment of the specific ways in which we serve the membership and the industry,” said Darrell Amberson, AAM, ASA chairman. “Our new headquarters puts us in an optimal position to be effective, efficient and pertinent for the long term. We’re serving our members today, and ensuring we’ll be here for them tomorrow as well.” With the move, the association’s primary phone number is now (817) 5142900. The old number, 800-ASA-SHOP (272-7467), has been discontinued.
Flats racer from the 1930s and a tank. The wheel wells have flat surfaces on top and then bow out, and that gave it that tank-military feel.” For the paint, a friend of Vaughan’s recommended he go with an auto grade paint versus paint marketed to fine artists as useable on automobiles. He first did a test with a brand other than Pro-Spray and the edges were lifting. “Because there is a lot of masking on this car, I couldn’t have that,” Vaughan says. “I didn’t want to fight that battle.” Based on the recommendation of a friend, he went with Pro-Spray and got the results he wanted. « Circle 121 for Reader Service
eration for changes in the market or key differences among shops. “The reality is that the marketplace is constantly changing with forces of supply and demand, advancements in technology and shops’ con-
“The Pro-Spray metallic silver became the basecoat because I knew I wanted that reflectance underneath everything, and then I used washes of color over that,” says Vaughan. “Then, I did gradations down the sides of the car for the nuclear sunset look because I knew the artwork would be different on both sides and the gradations would give it continuity. If I kept the sides like a black-and-white image with the sunset colors behind, it would work from side to side because it would have symmetry. The trick was that I couldn’t make a mistake because I couldn’t go back and duplicate the gradation if I did, so it took a lot of preplanning and some careful work.” Continued on pg. 62 www.bodyshopbusiness.com 13
Clark’s
Corner
By Mark Clark
Measuring Color pectrophotometry is the quantitative measurement of the reflection or transmission properties of a material as a function of wavelength. Aha, now I see. No wait, say that middle part again? No matter how it works, that really expensive and fragile device your shop uses to locate a color match quickly is truly a marvel of technology.
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Spectro Retro » Like so many things with a science vocabulary, the Latin root of the device called a spectrophotometer explains its meaning: “spectro” as in “color,” “photo” as in “light” and “meter” as in “measure.” So, using light to measure color. Roger that. We’re certainly not the only industry interested in measuring color. When the very first spectrophotometers appeared in the refinish industry in the 1990s, I interviewed a major manufacturer of the devices and wrote a couple of articles about what I learned (see BodyShop Business March 1994 and October 1998). I recall clearly what my first interviewee said about color standards. He used apple juice as his example. If there were three clear glass jugs of Brand X apple juice on the grocer’s shelf, and two were one shade of tan and the other was darker or lighter, which one would you buy? Neither is the answer because you wouldn’t know which color was “correct.” His point was that lots of industries need to measure and control the color of their product closely. As part of their due diligence, auto 14
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manufacturers use spectros to check their color standards as the cars leave the paint line. We’re all clear on why their standards might drift off; the same color code is often applied in multiple manufacturing plants, which may employ different spray equipment, oven conditions and robotic spray paths. Typically, the OE spray equipment is on a five-year replacement cycle so that the same code sprayed in the same plant may drift off when the latest robots are installed. In any event, it’s always different in different plants, so perfectly exact color standards are very hard to hold, hence the proliferation of alternate formulas each new model year.
Modern Marvels » Today’s generation of refinish spectrophotometers are super sensitive, laboratory-quality measuring computers and need to be treated with the respect such high-dollar, high-tech devices require. The optical bench – the plane where the readings take place – must be protected from bumping and jarring or the sensitive alignment will be ruined. Always transport the unit in its custom case, because even a quick trip across the street on the seat of the jobber’s delivery truck can jostle the delicate alignment of light sources and receivers. Careful daily calibration is a must. Each unit will come with a matched set of calibration tiles, one black and one white. White reflects all light, and black absorbs all light. This internal check makes sure the light source is optimum by varying the micro-voltage current to the bulb(s) and checking that all the optics are receiving accurately. Clean the tiles thoroughly before each reading, and periodically clean the optics using dry (no moisture or oil) compressed air at low pressures.
»| Clark’s Corner |« Blasting the dusty unit with 175 PSI shop air will likely do more harm than good. When operating the spectro (also called a camera, photohead or, in many shops, the brick), great care must be taken with the vehicle you’re reading. Since the goal is to have your
reading match one within the paint company’s database, your panel needs to be as clean and glossy as the lab panel they read the standard from. A quick swipe with some glass cleaner does not make it sufficiently clean. Each area to be read needs to be mechanically polished with a buffer
– every time! Dull, dirty or curved surfaces will cause a poor outcome. Flat panels polished smooth offer your best chance of success. Additionally, don’t move the unit from horizontal to vertical panels; read each color from the same orientation. Don’t rotate the spectro end for end, either; keep the unit’s position consistent and held tightly to the panel.
How They Work » There are two basic philosophies about how the spectrophotometers will read the colored panel. One version uses a single white light source (white light contains every color), and the other method uses a series of colored LED lights fired off one at a time. In both cases, the light receptors (photodetectors) within the unit will read three or five angles of the color in all three axes. The computer within the reader will then interpolate (guess) what all the missing angles would look like using some seriously complicated math. The best human eyes can distinguish about 100,000 different colors. A refinish spectrophotometer can distinguish about 2,000,000. The color will then be plotted out at multiple angles on all three axes (hue, chroma, value, or cast, saturation, light/dark, or any of the other possible names for the three planes of color theory. No wonder people are confused by the terminology surrounding color; the same axis has several correct names! Now, the system is ready to look for a similar plotting in the database. Components » The spectro has two basic components: the “eye” and the “brain.” The eye measures the light beam’s intensity as a function of its wavelength (measured in nanometers) and diffracts the light source(s) Circle 16 for Reader Service
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»| Clark’s Corner |« into a rainbow. The brain plots the data points (spectral reflectance curves) from each receptor and guesses at the missing angles, creating a graph. I find it helpful to think of the output from the spectro as a fingerprint. Taking the print is rela-
tively easy, but finding a match is the hard part. Most refinish paint manufacturers have an enormous stockpile of spectro readings taken from spray-applied, metal laboratory panels. To be most valuable, the readings must have all been taken using the same type
of spectro your shop is using to read colors. Most units download their current readings automatically when the reader is placed into its dock. Some units require external cable connections to access the plotted colors. However it’s done, the system now looks to match the mathematical pattern of your reading with their database of similarlooking plots. Many spectro units will offer a match rating, guessing at how closely the two plotted curves resemble each other. Generally low numbers indicate a close match; higher match ratings indicate fewer common plot points. Some units will offer to “adjust” the formula they found by calculating which additional tint colors could bring the points closer together. Not specifying which car manufacturer or which paint code is called a wild card or no-code search. While the spectro might calculate a suitable color axis curve, the color it finds may not contain the same tinting bases as the OEM color. The machine might think it matches by looking at the reflectance curve, but it’s not a visual event and the color may appear different from some angles in natural light. In general, you’ll be better off to tell your shop’s color reader what auto brand and what color code you’re trying to match.
Blending In » In my initial 1994 interview, I was warned that while a spectrophotometercreated match on solid colors was often successful on the first try, color matching anything with reflectants in it is much more difficult. But we’ve come a long way in the past 20 years in generating a suitable formula for metallic, mica and pearlescent colors. Sometimes referred to as “texture,” today’s units are designed to plot out where within Circle 18 for Reader Service
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»| Clark’s Corner |« the paint film and how sparkly those little reflectors are. While much better than it used to be, metallic sparkle of any kind remains difficult for the units to identify and create an accurate scientific algorithm. Because the color looks different from head-on and from the side (face and flop,) getting a good match is tough. Highly reflective colors like silver metallic may blind the spectro with all their bling. All this leads to the conclusion that productive collision repair is done most quickly and successfully when the painter prepares to blend onto surrounding panels rather than hope for a butt match from any source. Remember to prep those panels extra well as the thin edge of any blend needs really good adhesion. There is
LOVE Your Spectrophotometer
Treat your spectrophotometer well by observing the following general rules: Transport: Always carry the unit safely closed inside its custom carrying case. Even the slightest thump can affect the accuracy. Maintain: Keep the optics clean by gently blowing dry and clean compressed air at low pressure across the device. Have your unit professionally recalibrated and tuned up by the authorized service center at regular intervals. Calibrate: Use only the perfectly cleaned calibration tiles that came with your unit as they’re matched by serial number to provide the most accurate color plotting once true black and white are established. Do it after every trip in the carrying case, but at least once each day. Operate: Machine polish the panel on the vehicle to be read. Hand polishing or a hasty wipe with glass cleaner is not sufficient. You need your panels to be as clean, smooth and glossy as the laboratory panels they use in the database. Take all readings with the same orientation. Don’t rotate the unit side to side or top to bottom; don’t switch from horizontal panels to vertical panels in the same series. Take the most consistent readings possible for best color match.
also no substitute for using sprayout cards. Who knows what the color will look like when your
painter sprays it, in your shop? You will – if you spray and clear the color on a metal or heavy paper cardstock. Lastly, enrolling in a multi-day color adjustment class from I-CAR or the paint companies will help a bunch when you’re trying to move the color that last little bit toward an acceptable color match.
Lucky Us » We’re fortunate as an industry to have such widespread availability of spectrophotometers and their corresponding databases of thousands of sprayed colors. Color match is the painter’s most common problem. These expensive and sophisticated devices help ease the burden. Treat the spectro reader your shop uses with great care, and it will make your paint shop more productive every day. Technology rocks! BSB Mark R. Clark is owner of Professional PBE Systems in Waterloo, Iowa. He’s a popular industry speaker and consultant and is celebrating his 26th year as a contributing editor to BodyShop Business. Circle 20 for Reader Service
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Web Presence
Management
By Mark Claypool
A Glimpse
Into the Future ptima Automotive employs people the ability, via Bluetooth broadcasting, to who are charged with being what “beacon” their information out to their lowe call “futurists.” They’re cal area, reaching you when you reach out responsible for keeping their eyes to the Physical Web for information. open for the dreams and long-term plans of Local businesses will have the opportuthe movers and shakers in technology. nity to showcase products and services. They look for what’s Bus stops will be able out there in the to tell you when the future, not what’s next bus on your route available today or anwill arrive. You’ll be nounced to be available to pay parking able in six months. fees directly from your So, with that in mind, phone. Vending maare you ready to hear chines will give you about the most revonutritional information lutionary thing that’s on the products you’re coming? It’s a Google thinking of buying. initiative called the And you won’t need Physical Web, and it’s cash to buy them – totally cool! your phone will pay Bus stops will be able to tell you what you owe when when the next bus on your you select what you The Future » route will arrive. You’ll be able to want. You’ll be able to Imagine a future pay parking fees directly from walk up to a movie world where you’re walking down a city your phone. Vending machines theater and get movie times, reviews, buy street and you sudwill give you nutritional tickets and more. You’ll denly crave an Italian information of the products be able to rent a ZipCar beef sandwich. You you’re thinking of buying. and pay for it based on pull out your smartwhere they’re parked. phone and type in or And so much more – all without having to narrate “Italian beef sandwich” into the download an app. Everything will be just a Physical Web project. A ranked list of simple tap away. search results comes up, you pick one and it opens in a full-screen browser window as a URL Web page. Privacy Concerns » If you’re like me, Wait…isn’t that what we can do now you’re probably worried that you’ll be with search engines? Yes, but these results walking down the street and get I’m talking about in the future will be bombarded by buzzing alerts for this prodcoming to you via smart devices located uct, that dessert or some service. Not to near you. These smart devices will have worry, say the developers. The core princi-
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»| Web Presence |« ple of this system will be no proactive notifications. You’ll only see what you ask for. One of the things you can ask for – if you want – is to receive “push notifications” where you approve getting messages from merchants you want to hear from. When do those donuts from this morning go on sale this afternoon? What’s today’s lunch special at your favorite diner? Also, the beacon works one-way, so these broadcasting devices won’t have the ability to receive any information from your phone. Another concern is that you could be tracked. However, given the fact that these are Bluetooth broadcasts, the user’s smart devices would be gathering information without actually connecting to the beacons. Tracking isn’t possible. But, once the user clicks on the URL in a search result, they will then be known to that particular website.
Development » The Physical Web isn’t owned by any particular corporation, though Google is behind it. It’s being created as “open source” so that the technology will be available to anyone, and during the development stages everyone is encouraged to experiment with it and provide developers with feedback. It’s currently being tested and is set up as an app, but the final version won’t be an app, per se. Rather, it will just be standard on all smart-phones and tablets someday. Apple has something to say about that, however, and is taking steps to create its own iBeacon system and other app concepts. Apple never met an idea it didn’t try to re-engineer and call its own! Cisco predicts that there will be
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50 billion smart “gadgets” by the year 2020. Intel estimates that number at 15 billion in 2015, so the explosion of smart devices will change everything in the next five years as we communicate with these via our smartphones, tablets and wearable devices. Can implants be far away? To see the Physical Web today in its experimental form and start testing it for yourself, enter this link and check it out: bit.ly/ 1pcCrOU. It’s early, so there won’t be much broadcasting going on just yet, but that’s going to change.
Brainstorming » It’s time to brainstorm how you might use the Physical Web in your business. Towing companies could broadcast from busy intersections where collisions happen frequently. Body shops could promote their detailing services. Mechanical shops could promote their oil change and tire services, and broadcast wait times for state inspections. You could provide customers with an opportunity to review what makes your business special while they’re in your waiting room. The world as we know it will be changing. Let’s be ready together! BSB BSB Contributing Editor Mark Claypool has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of workforce development, apprenticeships, marketing and Web presence management with SkillsUSA, the I-CAR Education Foundation, Mentors at Work, VeriFacts Automotive and the NABC. He is the CEO of Optima Automotive (www. optimaautomotive.com), which provides website design, SEO services and social media management services.
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Tech
Tips
By the ALLDATA Collision Team
shifting malfunction) and/or P1738 (automatic transaxle internal malfunction) with/without U0401, or other DTCs stored in memory. Numerous other DTCs (with the above DTCs) may also be set.
Repair Procedure
What’s New in the Collision Industry?
1. Verify customer concern 2. Replace the valve body assembly with a new one. NOTE: Replace the transmission oil pan bolts and hose clamp at the connector boot with new ones. 3. Perform the Initial Learning Procedure, per OEM instructions. 4. Verify repair.
2015 Chrysler Sedan hat’s new in the collision industry? How about the growing number of shops leaning toward OEM certification? Also, there are the rapidly evolving vehicle technologies, improved shop systems and a significant increase in the need for manufacturers’ repair procedures. The trend to become OEM certified is being driven mostly by the increased use of aluminum and other newer construction materials. The whole point, of course, is to make vehicles lighter and more fuel efficient. But not everyone is ready for the first all-aluminum F-150 to roll into their shop. Aluminum and other new materials require up-to-date equipment and advanced techniques, which puts more emphasis on having more training and accurate information. In today’s complex environment, estimators, production managers, technicians and parts managers require solid, reliable, factual OEM information.
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The good ol’ days are now the “anything-but-simple” days. Beyond what materials a vehicle is made of, you need vehicle-specific electronic reset information, OEM structural repair procedures, SRS information, DTC data, safety precautions and more. It’s good business to repair vehicles to factory standards. It alleviates risk, both for the shop and for the families who rely on you to make their cars “like new.” Whether you’re faced with a minor question or a major problem, manufacturers’ information leads to faster resolutions. Here are a few examples of OEM repair information that could save you time and money. These are just brief excerpts from the complete articles to illustrate the diversity of information available.
2012-2013 Mazda3 Some Mazda vehicles (VINs lower than JM1BL******733728) may experience the MIL on with DTC P0780 (gear
November 2014 | BodyShop Business
NOTE: Removal process is the same for both sides of the vehicle. 1. Raise and support the vehicle. 2. Remove the tire and wheel assembly. 3. Remove the stabilizer link to spring link nut and separate the stabilizer link from the spring link. 4. Support the outer end of the spring link with a jack stand or equivalent. NOTE: Discard the spring link to knuckle bolt and nut after it’s removed. It is not reusable. 5. Remove the spring link to knuckle bolt and nut. 6. Slowly lower the jack stand or equivalent and remove the spring from the vehicle while separating the spring link from the knuckle. NOTE: Mark the location of the inboard cam bolt with a paint marker or equivalent to assist in retaining proper wheel alignment specification. NOTE: On all-wheel drive models, the spring link to cradle bolt
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»| Tech Tips |« will contact the rear differential unit when attempting to remove it. To remove it, partially remove the bolt, cut it in half, then remove the remaining portion of the bolt. Install the new bolt and cam nut in the opposite direction from which it was removed. NOTE: On front-wheel drive mod-
els, the spring link to cradle bolt will contact the rear suspension crossmember shield when attempting to remove it. To remove it, remove the rear suspension crossmember shield first. 7. Remove the spring link to cradle bolt and nut and remove the spring link from the vehicle.
Toyota Body Sectioning Body sectioning with the use of any weld-on salvage components is not an approved repair procedure for Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles. Body sectioning is not approved for the following reasons: 䡲 Quality of salvage components cannot be certified or verified. 䡲 Installation welding can reduce strength and safety from the original design. 䡲 Body and drivetrain components can exhibit poor fit and alignment. 䡲 Squeaks, rattles, wind noise and water leaks can occur. 䡲 Extensive corrosion potential can occur.
2013-2014 Ford Escape Some 2013-2014 Ford Escape vehicles equipped with 1.6L or 2.0L gasoline turbocharged direct injection (GTDI) engines and built on or before 9-152013 may exhibit a rattle/buzz noise or vibration from the right rear floorboard on acceleration between 1,5002,500 RPM. This may be due to a high frequency oscillation from the fuel pump being induced through the fuel/vapor line bundle routed on the right underside of the vehicle. A new fuel/vapor line isolator clip is now available. BSB © 2014 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. Mazda and Mazda3 are registered trademarks of Mazda Motor of America, Inc. Chrysler is a registered trademark of Chrysler Group LLC. Toyota, Lexus and Scion are registered trademarks of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. and/or Toyota Motor Corporation. Ford and Escape are registered trademarks of Ford Motor Company. All other marks are the property of their respective holders. All trademarks are being used solely for reference and application purposes. Circle 28 for Reader Service
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COVER STORY
Estimates:
Waste of Time or Path to Profit? The insurer is going to write what they want, so why bother writing your own sheet, right? But writing your own estimates increases profits due to decreased cycle time. By Patrick Yurek stimates are as much a part of the collision repair industry as golf balls are to a golf tournament – there’s simply no way to do without them. There’s at least one estimate for every job that comes through the shop, and it provides technicians with a guide for what they’re supposed to do. Also, the estimate defines how much is charged or paid for the job. But the question is, is it really necessary for the shop to write an estimate?
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Why Bother? » Before the days of DRPs – back when blueprinting was something used exclusively by the building trades and “lean process” was what technicians did when they didn’t have work – shops wrote their own estimates. Today, I know of a great number of shops that think writing an estimate is a waste of time. After all, the insurance company is going to write whatever they want anyway, so why should they waste their time writing a sheet? 30
Let’s start with insurance company generosity. If anyone reading this thinks insurance appraisers are out to “give away the farm” or offer “free money,” please call me – I have some oceanfront property in Arizona that you can buy really cheap. The fact of the matter is that responsible appraisers look out for their company and insureds, making sure neither is taken advantage of by lessthan-honest shops – while some of the more aggressive appraisers try to beat shops into submission. Either way, I’ve yet to meet an insurance appraiser who has any interest in a shop’s profitability and bottom line. If you want to get paid fairly, you need to write your own sheet. “But Patrick, can’t we just write a supplement for the insurer’s estimate?” Sure you can…if you want to lose money. Far be it from me to say anything about an appraiser’s pay or bonuses being tied to “severity,” but it (almost?) appears that most appraisers
November 2014 | BodyShop Business
COVER STORY » Estimates want to write as little as possible. I’m not sure if it’s too hot out for them (here in Arizona, the A/C in the company car beats getting outside in the 105-degree heat and actually looking at the damage), too cold (back in Buffalo, the heat in the company car is better than getting out in the cold to look at the damage), too wet (in Charlotte, it rained a lot and the company car was dry, which was better than getting out in the rain and looking at the damage), or if the majority of appraisers I dealt with were simply lazy. All I know is that I saw a great deal of “short” sheets, along with hearing, “If you need anything else, give me a call.” I call them driver’s seat estimates. Combine these factors with company guidelines of, “If you can’t see it, don’t write it,” and you can see why insurance estimates are often less than complete. So you write a supplement…but how enthusiastic is an appraiser
when it comes to supplements? (It means they have to do extra work). Once the insurer’s sheet is written, it seems (at least to me) that the appraiser is often offended when you need something more – they’re put off that you couldn’t just fix it for what they wrote. (Thankfully, the days of, “I’ll make it up on the next one,” are long gone). Most insurance appraisers have absolutely zero hands-on experience. So when they write four hours on a quarter panel, in their mind, they think it’s fair. When you call for a supplement asking for eight hours, they think you’re hijacking them because they simply don’t know. But because they don’t know, and because in their mind four hours is fair, you might get lucky and get an additional two hours. You (and the tech) just got shorted.
If you want to get paid fairly, you need to write your own sheet.
Why not get it right the first time? If you hand them a sheet that shows eight hours, there’s a better chance that they’ll at least start at six. And then when you explain why it’s eight, you’ve got a far better chance of getting what you need.
Ask vs. Give » Long ago, I learned that no appraiser is going to volunteer payment for the “extras.” It would be unusual for an insurance appraiser to write for a fender apron replacement and include all of the additional procedures necessary to complete the operation. Most commonly, the insurance estimate will say something minimal like “replace fender apron.” In some www.bodyshopbusiness.com 31
COVER STORY » Estimating cases, the insurer’s sheet will list a couple of the more obvious add-ons: R&I overflow tank, R&I windshield washer fluid reservoir, etc. But what about 1) lay back wiring harnesses 2) R&I brake system components 3) R&I relays 4) R&I hoses and 5) R&I horn? These five operations are at least an hour’s worth of labor (more like two hours, by my book). They need to be done, and the technician is going to do them...but for free? The point here is that if you don’t ask for it, you most likely won’t get it. Plain and simple. Note that as someone who started on the floor, worked up to management and then on to ownership, I’ve always been against giving work away at the expense of the technician. If management wants to give away labor, let it be at the company’s expense and not borne on the back of the guy
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or gal actually doing the work. If management/owners want to give labor away for free, let it come off the bottom line – pay the tech for what he/she did and simply reduce the shop’s profit on the job. (This would end the practice of free labor soon, I promise). Another thing to consider is that if the insurer writes the initial estimate and the shop writes the supplement, the shop wrote the sheet in the long run anyway – why not simply write it first, catch all of the damage and list all of the parts in the first place?
Downstream » There are straightforward profitability reasons for writing your own estimate, but there are also valid “downstream” reasons as well. Parts. A properly written estimate provides a wealth of information. The parts list is the first factor.
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If you haven’t noticed, the first part to go on is in the deepest – and if that part is missing, you can’t put any other parts on until you get that inner part. At face value, it’s kind of not really your concern – the only transparent impact is that the insurer has to pay for a couple extra days of rental. But in reality, it bogs down the entire process of the shop – you’ve tied up a stall in a technician’s bay, you’ve disrupted the flow of the paint shop and you’ve automatically back-logged the next jobs coming in. By knowing what parts are necessary based on an accurate estimate, you can more accurately blueprint the job. Then, everything will flow more smoothly. Be sure to look at the part diagrams, too – you’ll often find brackets and braces that are hidden from view but are absolutely necessary to do the job.
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COVER STORY » Estimating As I write this, I have a 2014 Ford Fusion Titanium at the shop. It’s an $11,672 job – but we can’t deliver it because nobody ordered an $11 shield that goes under the rear bumper. There’s not many things as frustrating as not depositing $11,000 because of an $11 part. Let’s say a longtime customer has
their car towed in. It’s not a huge hit, something you can turn around in five days. The insurance company involved isn’t one you have a relationship with, so you can’t just get started on it the way you could if it was one you’re a DRP for. Three days after arriving on the lot, the insurance appraiser comes out and writes $4,750.
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The next day, you order the parts off the insurance estimate and get it inside to disassemble it. (Please don’t say teardown – it sounds horrible to consumers. Their car is already torn up, and now you want to tear it down, too?) Upon disassembly, you find an additional $2,750, so you call the appraiser to get him back out for a supplement. Two days later, he shows up and agrees with your findings, so you go ahead and order the rest of the parts. Two days after that, the parts arrive and the car makes its way through the shop. It’s a nice $7,500 job and, at 40 percent gross profit, the shop earns $3,000. However, had you written an accurate estimate in the first place, you could have gotten that $3,000 three days sooner by avoiding the supplement delay. In those three days, you could have been 60 percent of the way through the next job. Shops make money when techs are working on vehicles – there’s no profit when a car is sitting idle. Hours. There are still a great number of stupid (yes, I called you stupid) shops out there that schedule jobs “in on Monday” and “out on Friday.” Those shops are stupid because they have no idea how much money this practice is costing them. If a job with 20 hours on it is scheduled out on Wednesday, then that job needs to be replaced with another 20-hour job – on Wednesday, not Monday. Maybe we need to back up. If your shop’s carrying capacity is 250 hours, you need to have at least that many hours in your shop at all times to remain productive and profitable. If you have four body techs capable of producing 160 percent efficiency based on “book” hours, you need to have 256 body hours in your shop at all times (four techs x 40 hours per week x 160 percent efficiency = 256 hours). Anything less and your body techs are going to be idle. Too much more than that and they’ll be buried, and if they’re buried for too long,
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COVER STORY » Estimating quality (not to mention morale) is going to suffer. It’s a fairly delicate balance, and it can’t be managed by car count. This flows through to the paint shop as well. If the vehicles aren’t leaving the metal shop, they’re not getting into the paint booth. If this poor planning (poor estimating) results in multiple simultaneous delays, the eventual result will be a flood of jobs in the paint shop. And if the vehicles are in the paint shop, they’re not in reassembly, leaving metal techs empty-handed while the paint shop is swamped. Big jobs. Train wrecks present a special problem in that there are a ton of hours and usually all sorts of delays, no matter how accurate the estimate. Bigger jobs equal bigger problems – that’s the nature of the business. But once your shop is dialed in, you can adjust accordingly, allowing for additional parts delays due to
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What’s In An Estimate?
䡲 Sub-model: The VIN decoder in the estimating system does the basic tasks – year, make and model, but I’ve seen estimates that listed the wrong submodel (such as LT when it was actually an LS). This can lead to ordering the wrong part, which can end up with a vehicle tying up a stall and stalling production. 䡲 Options: While the data providers do a semi-decent job of identifying the standard options installed on most vehicles, I don’t believe any of them can identify if the vehicle has an add-on option for a rearview camera. Let’s say you’ve got a minivan that was hit in the rear. You take your basic notes and open a new estimate, decode the VIN and start with the rear bumper cover. The system wants to know if it’s got parking sensors – get it wrong and you’ll order the wrong part and end up waiting for the right part to come in, tying up a stall and stalling production. So you go back out, look at the cover and sure enough, it’s got parking sensors. Back to the office. Replace the cover (with sensors), replace the reinforcement, replace the liftgate…oops! With or without camera? Darn, back out to the lot to see if it’s got a camera. Yep, it does. Back to the office. Now the computer wants to know if it’s got a power liftgate…darn! Back out to the lot. You get what I’m saying. Take plenty of notes, list all the options on the vehicle and then write the estimate for all damage. Do not rely on the estimating system to identify the options installed. Actually, I have a checklist I use when inspecting a car that has all the common options as well as extra lines so I can list anything that’s unusual. 䡲 Color: How many parts are ordered by color? There are enough that entering Continued on pg. 38
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COVER STORY » Estimating availability and whatever else you normally experience. The secret to minimizing these delays is having the proper blueprint from the very beginning and identifying as much of the damage as possible. Appraiser disagreements. It’s not uncommon for an appraiser to disagree with judgment times, and sometimes an insurance appraiser will want to use alternative parts, but it’s pretty rare for an appraiser to outright deny replacement of a part. Some parts are obviously OE only – and for some reason, it seems that these parts are the smaller pieces that hold up a job. Getting them ordered as soon as possible can accelerate the repair. If you write a thorough sheet that’s honest, you’re actually doing the appraiser a favor and making his job easier. I’m sure just about every shop knows of at least one appraiser who takes their sheet out to the car and
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Continued from pg. 36 the color code is well worth the additional 10 seconds it takes to list it. 䡲 Production date: Now the computer shows two different parts – through 3/2013 or after 3/2013. Hmm. Back out to the vehicle on the lot. How many times are you going to go back and forth? 䡲 Mileage in: When I was managing a Pontiac dealer body shop in Buffalo, we had a guy come in and accuse us of driving his car some 300 miles and burning up a tank of gas. At that time, I was a lazy estimator – I didn’t bother getting the odometer reading, and it cost me a tank full of gas. Immediately following that incident, I began taking pictures of the fuel gauge reading as well as the odometer on every job that came into the shop. 䡲 Mileage out: By taking a photograph of the odometer when the vehicle is ready to be delivered, you can show you didn’t – or did – drive the vehicle. I know that a lot of shops don’t test drive vehicles before returning them to the customer. Not only is this a recipe for disaster, you’re sending profits down the road as well. As a consumer, I wouldn’t want to be the one to road test my vehicle after a hard hit – I would want the repairer to do that for me. And if there’s something still wrong, I want it fixed before I get my vehicle back. Customers really don’t want to be on the interstate going 60 miles an hour and suddenly feel a hard vibration. Road testing hard hits can avoid a bad image by correcting unseen damage before the customer gets their vehicle. Plus, you can charge for the road test. There really isn’t one good reason not to do it. Documenting the mileage out (by photographing it as well as entering it on the final bill) justifies the road test fee.
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COVER STORY » Estimating copies it into their system. That’s what you should strive for on every job. I’m equally sure that almost every shop knows at least one appraiser who’s tightfisted. The tougher adjusters – those who consider some of the additional operations necessary to properly do the job as more of a “wish list” – can usually be swayed with logic and reason. A lot of times, the penny pinchers are that way because they’ve had to deal with shops who padded the bill on everything. Be honest, be fair, but by all means be firm. I once had an appraiser in the shop who wrote to cover the interior of a vehicle, but he said the labor was included. The labor is included in what, the material cost? That was the only other thing on that line – $5 or something like that for material, the labor column said “inc.” I walked over to the plastic dispenser, pulled about 10
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feet out, cut it off and dropped it on the floor. I then whistled and snapped my fingers as if I were ordering a dog to jump up…nothing happened. Then I asked the painter’s helper to show me a picture of his nine-month-old son, and when I showed the photo to the appraiser, I told him that the kid goes through a lot of diapers and that by not paying the labor, it was impacting the kid. He looked at me, smiled and added the labor. If you identify that little bracket that goes up inside there, right behind the panel, the insurance appraiser will include it 90 percent of the time. In order to identify that little hidden bracket, the job needs to be disassembled. My shop has two customer authorizations forms: one allowing us to disassemble to identify the damage, and the other to authorize the repair. We take tons of pictures, then disassemble to the extent necessary to
November 2014 | BodyShop Business
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identify all of the damage. The estimator then writes the sheet. That way, when the insurance company arrives, we can hand them everything they need to write a good sheet. We also provide them with the pre-disassembly photos, and if they need it, we can slap the vehicle back together enough so they can take their own pictures, although that’s rare. The vast majority of appraisers we deal with know we’re honest. If it’s a new vehicle, the parts have already been ordered. If it’s an older vehicle, we’ve already sourced used parts. The repairs are in motion even before the insurer comes out.
Supplements » Even with the most efficient system of blueprinting and the most accurate estimating possible, there will still be a supplement here and there. Making sure supplements are handled quickly can make the dif-
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COVER STORY » Estimating ference between a job going smoothly and getting delivered on time and having an $11,000 repair sit while you wait for one last little plastic part. Have you ever gone from the office back to the paint department to check on something with the painter and had a body man stop you and tell you he needs a radiator bracket for a job? While you’re in the paint shop, the painter’s helper asks you about your weekend camping trip, you talk to the painter and when you get back to the office the phone is ringing. By the time the day is over, you’ve forgotten about the bracket. I’ve seen “hats” that flash different colors that can be put on top of vehicles to signify specific stages of repair or technician needs. However, a very simple yet highly effective means of non-verbal communication is bright, neon-yellow paper. The technician can write the RO
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number and the reason for the supplement on it and tape it to the windshield. As the estimator or manager walks through the shop, the papers are almost impossible to miss. Once the estimator goes over what’s needed, he also has a tangible item to take with him. That’s a great way to ensure that the bracket isn’t forgotten.
Simple Business » Instead of treating shop-written estimates as a dreaded “necessary evil” – or worse, a waste of time – shops that write their own estimates understand that a properly written, thorough estimate is essential to ensuring consistently smooth shop flow and maintaining profits. Shops that don’t are throwing profits away in the form of delayed repairs. And delayed repairs equal delayed deposits. It’s simple business, really – the sooner a job gets delivered, the sooner you get paid. And the sooner it gets
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delivered, the sooner you have room for another job. Eliminating delays for supplements, parts, etc., is the easiest way to accomplish this goal. Start writing your own accurate estimates and watch monthly profits increase due to decreased turnaround (cycle) time. BSB Author Patrick Yurek is the owner and president of Collision Consulting LLC (focusing primarily on DV appraisals – www.CollisionConsulting.com) and also owner of Arizona Collision Center in Tempe, Ariz. He has 35 years of industry experience and has held every position from sweeper to owner. Among his credits are several PPG certifications and GM technical certificates. He’s past president of the GM Service and Parts Managers Organization of Western New York and a court-certified expert witness. He can be reached at info@collisionconsulting.com or (480) 984-0800.
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BUSINESS
Instead of a customer going to the trouble of coming in to get an estimate, why not go to them?
Refresh Your
Marketing O Old-school marketing is out, and new-school is in. So ditch your “Free Estimates” sign and get with the program. By Cam Mashburn
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ut with the old, in with the new. Some of the marketing strategies utilized in today’s collision repair industry are as outdated as Grandma’s living room carpet. They’ve been exhausted so much that they could be used in a GEICO commercial with the tag, “Everybody knows that.” In other words, they’re a waste of valuable ad space. Every time I see repair facility ads with taglines such as, “Free Estimates” or “All Makes and Models,” I cringe. Hats off to the industry for making those bits a staple, but it’s time to refocus.
BUSINESS » Refresh Your Marketing Find Your Selling Points » Instead of pushing the same selling points as your competitor down the street, get creative. What can you offer that they can’t or don’t? Selling points will vary, but several should be standard. One selling point should be a lifetime warranty. Most insurance company service agreements specify that a facility must include this on their work, so use that to your advantage. Customers want to have peace of mind that quality work is performed on their vehicle. Market that peace of mind by guaranteeing your work for life! If you’ve been in the industry any amount of time, you know the importance of cycle time. Most of you are already tracking cycle time, so why not use it as a selling point? If you average four days start to finish, that should be shouted from every mountaintop. Market that you’re faster than the industry average. It’s a fast-
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paced world, and people want their vehicles back yesterday. Would you rather promote yourself as working on all makes and models or that you’re faster than the opposition? It’s pretty simple. Being locally owned is another selling point that applies to most shops. Big box retailers are becoming a thing of the past. People are slowly trickling back to hometown businesses. However, mega chains continue to pop up on every block. If other business trends are any indication, people prefer locally-owned repair facilities. Even if you’re an MSO, this can be valuable since most of you still fit the bill.
Service Sells » Customer service is a selling or failing point. It’s not just about being nice to your clients; it’s about serving them. Find services to offer them. Yes, offering free estimates is a service, but it’s expected in today’s
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industry. With technology becoming more and more accessible, we need to welcome it with open arms. CCC just launched CCC One Touch, which uses Windows-based tablets to operate CCC One estimating. It’s obvious what this product will do to make our lives easier, but how about our customer? Sure, it’s appealing to be able to impress a client with your tech savviness, but that doesn’t translate into a real selling point. Let’s generate a real benefit to our customers by offering mobile estimating. Instead of a customer going to the trouble of getting an estimate, why not go to them? The old “Free Estimate” banner should now say, “Free Mobile Estimates.” People want convenience, and it doesn’t get any better than offering mobile estimates. Again, get creative and think of new services that your shop can offer that actually serve the customer.
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BUSINESS » Refresh Your Marketing Word-of-Mouth » Almost everybody in our industry states that word-ofmouth is the best marketing tool. I don’t disagree, but how do you ensure person-to-person referrals? No. 1 is quality work. If you perform first-class work, it speaks for itself. No matter how good your work might be, though, you’re still going to have blunders. We all dread a corrective repair, but the key is how you handle the situation. There’s a fine line between a satisfied and unsatisfied customer. The first words out of our mouth should always be, “I’m sorry.” Obviously, you want to rectify any issue they have, but you also need to go that extra mile. A follow-up phone call afterward is always a great place to begin. Follow that up with an apology letter that includes a gift card to a local restaurant. In the end, you’ll have gained a customer for life. They immediately have
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peace of mind that any dilemma is going to be handled appropriately. We need to let our customers know we appreciate them. Thank-you letters are a great place to start. Take this opportunity to remind them of your lifetime warranty. People will only endorse you if they had a good experience. It’s our job to ensure that they’re satisfied and their encounter was pleasant. Another way to create a word-ofmouth referral is by being active in your community. Get involved and attend networking events. The more people you build relationships with, the better chance you have of getting word-of-mouth to work for you.
A New Day » The old-school ways of marketing are over; it’s a new day. Pay attention to other industries’ marketing strategies. Most small- to medium-sized collision repair facilities are using outdated marketing tactics.
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The suggestions in this article are not meant to be a comprehensive marketing plan, but as a place to start. Good luck! BSB Cam Mashburn is a second-generation collision repair professional who operates Mashburn’s Collision Center in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., which has grown 71 percent in total sales since he began. He attributes most of his business and marketing knowledge to his wife, who’s a nationally recognized, award-winning marketing professional. He has spearheaded several initiatives in his time at the helm of Mashburn’s, focusing on a strong online presence, creating mobile estimates, converting the shop to waterborne paint, installing real-time repair updates for every customer via Carwise and focusing on shop processes in order to increase efficiency. He has also served as vice chairman of A Kids Place Child Advocacy Center since 2009, which helps abused children.
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TECHNICAL
Subaru’s Eyesight is just one of several collision avoidance systems that are making windshield replacement much more complex than it used to be. (Photo courtesy of Subaru of America)
Part 1 of a three-part series. The next two installments will cover the vehicles this new technology addresses, and scan tools. By Mitch Becker ou have a customer’s car in your shop and you’re finishing up the repairs on the body. The paint looks good, the body looks good, so now let’s replace or install the windshield. You have the glass company come out, or maybe your shop is doing your own glass – either way, you have an issue. The vehicle is equipped with lane lock/lane change or other driver assist electronics that require a scan tool to complete the job. Are you seeing this?
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There is no such thing as a simple repair anymore, and windshield replacement is no exception.
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Scan Tools » The need for scan tools to complete repairs in the collision industry is expanding. Scan tools have long been used to diagnose repair and reprogram computers in safety systems and electronics in drivetrains for years. We’re now seeing an increase in the use of scan tools to recalibrate sensors for the recent additions to the electronics packages in newer cars; for example, re-initializing programs after part replacement or sensor removal for repairs. The recalibrating of cameras after windshield replacements is just one of several procedures needed to be done before returning a vehicle back to service. As electronics and the use of specialized sensors become evermore present, so does the need to know how to repair and complete the job.
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TECHNICAL » Looking Clearly Through the Glass Glass Side » Like the auto body industry, change is happening to the auto glass side of the repair industry, too. The requirement to use scan tools to complete repairs is in all facets of the repair industry. We’ve all heard the grumble and groan of change in the industry, but the one thing we can be assured of is change in the auto-
motive industry. And it’s never going to stop. The questions you need to ask of your shop and yourself is: 1. Are you ready for change? 2. Do your people know how these systems work? 3. Do you have the equipment you need?
4. Are your people looking to see what needs to be done to complete repairs?
Ready for Change? » New electronics being added to vehicles challenge repair companies to keep up or plan ahead. In the effort to make vehicles safer, car manufacturers are using new computers and sensors to aid in driving. Thus, the demand for information on how to repair these systems and to make sure they’re functional has increased. Recalibration is a term we’ll hear much about in the industry. With the introduction of airbags, we learned that electronically, things were going to change. When occupant classification systems were added and improved, we knew we were in for more change. Using scan tools became a necessity, not a rarity, to repair the vehicle. The trend seems to be pushing for the same requirements and applies to other systems in vehicles as well.
How They Work » Autonomous driving systems seem to be all over the news. The thought of vehicles driving themselves amazes most people. Although it may be some time before the general consumer can use this technology, it’s being used in bits and pieces today. Between Volvo’s City Stop or Subaru’s Eyesight, we’re seeing a shift of electronics aiding drivers or taking control of vehicles. Electronics in vehicles are becoming a complex combination of sensors, cameras and computers working together. The job of these computers and sensors is to assist drivers in their journey. Driver assist electronics either warn the driver of hazards or literally take control to complete or correct the situation. This assist is designed to do anything from reduce the effort needed to complete the task (in parking assist electronics) to reduce severity in crashes to save lives and cost. Although the value of these electronics and their reliability is up for debate, the fact is they’re here and we need to understand how they work. Circle 52 for Reader Service
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TECHNICAL » Looking Clearly Through the Glass The computer is not new to anyone, and the care and expertise to replace and repair a computer is a known factor. It works on a system of input and output. If A happens, then the computer module will respond with C. If A and B happen, then the module will respond with C and D. This is a simple explanation of a
complicated procedure. The module can only respond correctly if the sensors giving inputs are correct. If the input is wrong, then the output will be, too. All the sensors give a complex input to the computer, and the computer must know speed, angle and steering wheel position, among many other inputs. There can literally be hundreds
of inputs from different systems working together. One failed or incorrect sensor can disable or cause the system to respond incorrectly. Complex systems such as Volvo’s City Stop are designed to stop the vehicle if the driver is unaware of hazards in the roadway or does not respond to warnings being given by the vehicle. This system is basically designed to warn the driver, then actually take control and stop the vehicle with no input from the driver. The input comes from the driving systems, radar and lasers along with cameras to give the vehicle almost a self-awareness of its surroundings. Adaptive cruise control is also available in many vehicle electronic packages. A radar and/or laser system will detect the vehicle in front of the vehicle it’s installed in. The system may lock on and literally pace the vehicle in front, maintaining a safe distance and matching variations in speed. Lane lock and lane change systems do as they say. If a vehicle is leaving its lane and no turn signal has been activated, the vehicle will give the driver a warning. In some packages, the vehicle may actually apply pressure to the steering wheel or apply the brakes to gently center the car back into the lane. I could fill this entire magazine with the differences and capabilities of the systems being offered by vehicle manufacturers. The point is, do you know how they work? Do you know what’s needed to repair if damaged or removed to access other damaged areas? What needs to be done to activate or recalibrate the system? In many of the systems above and more to come, a scan tool may be needed to finish the repair. And there will not be a light on the dash to tell you; instead, it will be in the instructions for repair. Also be aware that not all vehicle manufacturers require a scan tool to complete repairs; some are self diagnostic.
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TECHNICAL » Looking Clearly Through the Glass a windshield is becoming specialized. Identifying the needs to complete the job is the first step to the procedure. When a vehicle is set up to be repaired for body work or a windshield replacement, look into the options available. If the repairs require the removal or replacement of items that contain or are used in conjunction with any sensors, you will have to look up the procedures required to repair these components. An example would be the mirror removal on a door equipped with a blind spot monitoring system. The procedure may call for a recalibration to be sure all sensors are functional. Looking into the P-pages, OE information providers or vehicle manufacturer websites becomes a requirement, not an option. How can a repair be completed correctly if you don’t access the instructions?
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LaneWatch from Honda. (Photo courtesy of American Honda Motor Company)
Drivers Assist » The basis of this article comes from a simple procedure of replacing a windshield in vehicles equipped with driver assist systems such as lane lock/lane change from Honda and Subaru’s Eyesight that use cameras or lasers focusing through the windshields. In these replacements, we’re finding that a scan tool is required by some vehicle manufacturers to re-
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calibrate cameras and/or other optical devices. Honda, Subaru and Volvo are just a few on a growing list that require scan tool procedures if the vehicle is so equipped. This creates a dilemma for the auto glass industry, as these technicians do not have and/or haven’t used scan tools before. Each vehicle manufacturer has a different requirement for scan tools, and there is no single tool out there that does it all. This refuels the debate on which scan tools a shop should buy. Is the one you’re looking at capable of these advanced functions? Do you buy a tool for Ford and one for GM? Do you need another one for Honda, then another for Toyota? This list goes on and gets expensive. Sending a car to the dealer also creates problems due to cycle time being affected. I hate to say this, but it also begs the question: Is the dealer trained or prepared for this? Does the technician
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TECHNICAL » Looking Clearly Through the Glass have the training or ability to use the tool correctly? Can I use aftermarket glass, or does it have to be dealer glass? Does the dealer know how to calibrate the system to use aftermarket glass? These problems are already causing huge headaches in the auto glass industry. The fact is that there is no one tool currently that does it all in the scan tool world. In almost all these systems, the driver can override or shut off the feature. This has fueled a debate as to whether these systems are required to be functional before returning the vehicle back to service. The systems themselves have limitations as to the environments they work in. For example, you’ve just replaced a windshield in a new Honda, and you need to recalibrate the camera for the new windshield. You do not have a scan tool capable of doing this, and the dealer is either 100 miles away or
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is not able to do this procedure for you for three days. What do you do? Do you shut off the system until the repair can be completed and prevent the owner from using the system they paid for? Do you hold the vehicle until the repairs can be completed and reduce your liability? Remember, this sensor is connected to other required safety systems. Now, a safety device has been rendered inoperative by not completing repairs you were assigned to do or were hired to complete. Where does this place your liability? Either way, the customer is not happy. These features are not required safety features yet, but they are safety features.
Planning » I wish I had a miracle an-
are mandatory – scan tool companies are stepping up to do multiple lines. I’m looking into these now and will write an article on what I find soon. I currently believe that planning ahead is a start. Look up options in vehicles, and look up the instructions to repair. If a scan tool is needed to complete the repair, explain this to the customer up front. Let them know what needs to be done, and that extra time may be needed. Schedule repairs and coordinate with whomever has the scan tool. Remember that it isn’t just the dealers that have these scan tools. Coordinate your time wisely. I personally feel that delivering a vehicle with incomplete repairs back to the consumer is not an option. BSB
swer to the dilemma as I myself struggle to find answers for my shop. I’ve found that the research is so new, there isn’t much to use as a reference. In Europe – where these driver assist systems
Mitch Becker is a technical instructor for ABRA Auto Body & Glass. Contact him at (763) 585-6411 or mbecker@ abraauto. com.
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»| Industry Update |« Capitol continued from pg. 12 Association, said that a big misconception he had about lawmakers was cleared up. “I had always thought that you were a little peon going to D.C. compared to everybody else there and that they were always higher
up on the pedestal and they really didn’t want to listen to what you had to say. And I was 100 percent wrong,” said Passwater. “I was amazed at the reception we received and the friendliness and look of concern and interest in what we were saying.” Passwater related that when he
Matt Parker (left) and Speaker of the House John Boehner.
or the other repairers arrived for a meeting, they were greeted by name and asked if they wanted a bottle of water. Then, the aides took vigorous notes and asked many questions. According to Passwater, meetings like these typically last 15 minutes, but every one of his group’s meetings lasted much longer than that, some even an hour. Parker discovered that overall, the people he met with had “no clue” what the Consent Decree was, but once they read it, they wanted to know why it wasn’t being enforced. “The whole problem with this is that we already have laws; they just need to enforce them,” Parker said. “And nobody except our attorney general here in Louisiana, Buddy Caldwell, has had enough guts to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to enforce this.’” The group’s next step is to go back to the Capitol in November after the election to follow up with those they met to make sure things are getting done. “The goal will be to see what they have done and make them be accountable for what we’ve already started,” said Parker. “They said they were going to do something, so we’re going to want to see what they’ve done. I think we’re going to continue to [visit the Capitol] until something happens.” Circle 60 for Reader Service
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»| Industry Update |« ‘ArtRod’ continued from pg. 13 Vaughan combined traditional brushwork with some airbrushing and other techniques familiar to automotive painters to achieve the effect he wanted. “I didn’t worry about how thick I got things because I figured at the
end, I would smooth it out with clear. I also mixed metallics with opaques, which gave me some pretty wild effects. On both sides of the car, there are figures of girls flying – one side has a superhero and one has an angel – and for them to pop forward and look like they were further away from the
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rest of the paint, I used opaques over the metallics. We also used a pretty hard grade of clearcoat and it looks wet, which is awesome because I really wanted that wet look. It’s beyond high gloss.” This was the first car Vaughan ever worked on, but to him, it wasn’t too much of a stretch given that he had done paintings previously on aluminum panels. “The only difference was that it became a three-dimensional object, and the images had to work with the shapes,” he says. The car took 13 months to finish, and all the work was performed at Vaughan’s New York studio, which just so happens to be an old 5,000square-foot body shop complete with a spraybooth. Several friends helped him with the bodywork and prepping. The car has been appraised at $1.2 million, and Vaughan has trademarked the term “ArtRod.” He unveiled it for the first time on Aug. 12 in Los Angeles with George Barris, the creator of some of the most famous Hollywood cars ever including the Batmobile, Green Hornet and the Munsters car. “He looked at the paint and the first thing he said was, ‘You know, they don’t paint cars like that anymore, if they ever did. There is a depth to it you just don’t see,’” Vaughan says. “Since he was a hero of mine as a kid, that comment meant more to me than anything anybody else said.” The car was also invited to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance last August. Vaughan says that everyone in the car business who has seen the vehicle and the intricate paint job has been “blown away.” “People are mystified how I got the look I got and how beautiful it is. Many people think I used the kind of paint that changes as you walk around the car, but no, it was just straight-up paint used in a creative way.”
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»| Industry Update |« Survey continued from pg. 13 training, investment in equipment and technology, certifications and cost of doing business. Accordingly, there should be differences in rates that reflect the different quality among shops and their individual cost of doing business.” NABR’s new real-time labor rate survey takes all of these important elements into account. It provides not only a range of competitive prices within one market, but also the true, realtime market rate today, not the rate from years past. The VRS survey technology also calculates different market rates for different shops that are more highly trained, have more certifications, and have invested in equipment and technology. “The VRS system is a real game changer for our industry,” says Ray Gunder, owner of Gunder’s Auto Center in Lakeland, Fla. “For years, the industry has experienced stagnant and depressed labor rates. With the VRS, the industry finally has a way to determine the right labor rates to charge to earn a fair and reasonable profit. I chose to partner with NABR because of what they bring to the industry.” Following Florida and Georgia, NABR will continue its surveys nationwide to add labor rate data from additional states into its VRS system, creating the industry’s first and only third-party, independent and objective source of national labor rates.
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»| Industry Update |«
National WIN Announces Location for 2015 Educational Conference he Women’s Industry Network (WIN) announced that its 2015 Educational Conference will take place in Baltimore, Md., May 4-6. “After heading west for the 2013 and 2014 conferences, our members had expressed the desire to visit the Eastern U.S. for 2015,” said Akzo-Nobel’s Jessica Rob, co-chair of the Conference Planning Committee. Overlooking Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott has been selected as the location of this year’s event. “The hotel’s state-of-the-art conference facilities will provide the perfect home for WIN,” said Yolanda Sandor of BASF, who serves as co-chair alongside Rob. In addition to the professional development programming, the Educational Conference will once again feature the Most Influential Women awards as part of the celebratory gala dinner, as well as the Annual Scholarship Walk fundraiser. Program specifics will be published as they become available. “The 2015 WIN Educational Conference marks the 10th year of successful collaborations among WIN volunteers, members and sponsors,” said Denise Caspersen of National Autobody Parts Warehouse Inc., WIN chair. “Our goal is always to provide the WIN membership and the collision industry a highly professional educational experience centered on professional networking, advancing business acumen and growing collision connections. It’s exciting to see the plans underway by WIN member volunteers to deliver quality conference content, honor the Most Influential Women in the industry and connect WIN members.”
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»| Industry Update |«
Consolidation Berkshire Hathaway to Acquire Van Tuyl Group erkshire Hathaway Inc. and Van Tuyl Group announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Berkshire Hathaway to acquire the Van Tuyl Group, the nation’s largest privatelyowned auto dealership group and fifth-ranking U.S. auto dealership group overall.
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After becoming a part of the Berkshire Hathaway family of businesses, the company will be known as Berkshire Hathaway Automotive. Berkshire Hathaway Automotive will continue to be led by Larry Van Tuyl, who will become chairman, and Jeff Rachor, who will assume the role of CEO, as well as its experienced sen-
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ior management team. Berkshire Hathaway Automotive will be headquartered in Dallas, Texas. ”The Van Tuyl Group fits perfectly into Berkshire Hathaway from both a financial and cultural viewpoint,” said Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman and CEO. “Larry Van Tuyl, along with his father, Cecil, spent decades building outstanding dealerships operated by local partners. In recent years, he has shared management with Jeff Rachor, a seasoned auto retailer who will retain a financial interest in all dealerships. The Van Tuyl Group enjoys excellent relations with the major auto manufacturers and delivers unusually high volumes at its 78 locations. This is just the beginning for Berkshire Hathaway Automotive.” Added Larry Van Tuyl, current CEO of the Van Tuyl Group, “We are proud of all that has been accomplished with the support of our dealer partners, our employees and the manufacturers that we represent. We are very pleased to have one of the world’s most respected companies, Berkshire Hathaway, assume ownership of our company with the commitment to preserving our unique culture, business model and philosophy.”
Product
Spotlight IP Process™ Products: Improving Cycle Time and Increasing Energy Savings he Martin Senour IP Process™ with Air-Bake™ Technology is a speed application process that utilizes specialized products to achieve industry leading cycle times while also minimizing fossil fuel requirements. All IP Process products have the ability to quickly cure within 15-20 minutes at ambient (70-75°F) room temperatures without the need for any additional specialized equipment, effectively eliminating the need for a bake cycle. Simply stated, this technology allows your shop to be more productive by moving vehicles through the repair process quicker. The complete IP Process product offering includes a national rule clearcoat, a 2.1 VOC clearcoat, a 2.8 VOC single stage topcoat, as well as multiple undercoat options.
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IP Process features and benefits:
䡲 Wet-On-Wet application 䡲 Dust Free in 5 – 7 minutes 䡲 Sand and Buff in 15 minutes at 75°F 䡲 No bake cycle required 䡲 Pre-Flex Technology (no additional flex additive needed)
Martin Senour Automotive Finishes provides products for various automotive, fleet and manufacturing refinishing segments. Martin Senour is the exclusive supplier of automotive refinish products to NAPA. Together, they provide the single source for all your automotive and refinish needs. For more information specific to Martin Senour® paint products, visit:
www.martinsenour-autopaint.com or call 1-800-526-6704.
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»| Industry Update |« ABRA Auto Body & Glass Announces New Franchise and Acquisition ABRA Auto Body & Glass has announced the opening of its newest franchise in Fort Madison, Iowa, along with the acquisition of Corpo Collision Center in Schaumburg, Ill. This is ABRA’s 50th franchise and the company’s second acquisition in Illinois in 14 days. The additional openings in both states increases ABRA’s total repair center portfolio to 247 in 19 states. The accelerated and continued growth is part of the company’s aggressive strategy to dramatically increase its national footprint.
Duane Rouse, ABRA’s president and CEO, says the company’s successful expansion is a reflection
vehicle owners and insurance partners continue to grow,” he said. “The Continued on pg. 72
Gerber Collision & Glass Adds Location in Michigan The Boyd Group Inc. has announced the opening of a Gerber Collision & Glass location in Commerce Township, Mich., bringing the total number of locations in the state to 39. The location is approximately 13,000 square feet and shares a building with a car dealership. “We are pleased with the addition of the Commerce Township location as we continue to expand our presence in the metro Detroit market and enhance our leading market position in Michigan,” said Tim O’Day, president and COO of the Boyd Group’s U.S. operations. “Additionally, this repair center being co-located with a car dealership gives us a prime opportunity to introduce dealership customers to our high level of quality and service. The achievement of adding another location is a testament to the hard work and determination of our team to maintain a high level of quality work and service for our customers while growing our footprint to reach new markets. We are excited to invest in the community of Commerce Township and look forward to a successful future there.”
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of consumer demands and changes in the collision repair industry. “The expectations of
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»| Industry Update |« ABRA continued from pg. 70 favorable outcomes we’ve achieved in Illinois and around the Midwest are a direct result of industry experience, superior
processes and our commitment to quality. We’re a trusted name in these communities.” ABRA states that it uses an “operational excellence philosophy that significantly improves its op-
erating metrics, distinguishing it from competitors and making it a preferred option for insurance carriers and vehicle owners.” “It’s about meeting the demand of our customers and insurance partners in the community,” said Mark Wahlin, ABRA’s vice president of franchise development/relations. “Expanding operations in Iowa makes sense. Offering topquality collision repair and glass service across the country is what ABRA is all about.”
CARSTAR Adds Location in Louisville, Ky.
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CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts has announced that CARSTAR Hall’s Collision Center has joined North America’s largest collision repair MSO network, expanding its presence in Kentucky. CARSTAR Hall’s Collision Center is located at 3947 Bardstown Road in Louisville and is owned by Harold Hall. Hall, who has been in business since 1967 and at his current location since 1970, joined CARSTAR for the knowledge, training and expertise the company can offer a shop wanting to grow. The shop is a family affair, with Hall’s son, David, managing the operation. “My father met another CARSTAR owner who seemed happy with his business,” said David Hall. “At that point, we made contact with CARSTAR and went from there. We needed knowledge, and didn’t want to move forward alone.” The 35,000-square-foot building is fully equipped with three downdraft paint booths and five frame racks, along with an in-house towing service. The shop is also up todate with photographic and imaging software and computer estimating software. All of their technicians are either I-CAR trained, or in the process of completing their training.
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»| Industry Update |«
Corporate PPG Reaches New Milestone in Converting Shops to Waterborne PG has now converted more than 10,000 collision centers in the U.S. and Canada to its waterborne systems, with the majority of these conversions taking place in National Rule areas rather than in low-VOC compliant regions. The announcement was made by PPG waterborne segment manager Tim Jones. According to Jones, more than 10,000 collision
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centers in North America are now using PPG waterborne products, with more than 50 percent of these shops in National Rule markets. This means most PPG customers choose to use waterborne products and systems even though they are not required to do so to meet low-VOC regulations. “Waterborne is not just a compliance solution anymore,” said Jones. “More
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than 10,000 PPG customers in the U.S. and Canada see the value in superior color matching, excellent throughput and performance, consistent color mixes and other key qualities that our waterborne products provide. PPG has a longstanding commitment to the collision repair industry to deliver highquality and time-saving products. Envirobase High Performance and Aquabase Plus products are easier to blend and apply. Our customers appreciate this and see a real difference in their shops’ productivity. “Collision centers are converting to PPG’s waterborne with great results. Shops are finding the actu-
al conversion to waterborne is simple. They’re also finding that we support them and view their productivity as a measure of our mutual success.” Envirobase High Performance and Aquabase Plus products are now in their third generation. PPG introduced its waterborne technology to the international OEM market in 1986 and brought the world’s first commercialized refinish waterborne basecoat to market in 1992. Since then, PPG has added new primers and clearcoats to the two brands and will, according to Jones, continue to expand the product lines’ offerings.
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»| Industry Update |« The Alliance Joins CCC TRUE Parts Network CCC Information Services Inc. has announced the addition of the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance (Alliance) as a supplier to the CCC TRUE Parts Network, an electronic automotive parts quoting and eProcurement network that connects auto parts suppliers with CCC’s customers. The Alliance goes to market under a variety of store brands, including Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper. “Providing our customers with access to the Alliance’s extensive offering of repair parts and related supplies via their robust MyPlaceForParts network extends our footprint and provides our repair and insurance customers with even greater choice and flexibility in their parts options,” said David Boden, vice president of CCC’s Parts Services Group. “We look forward to working with the Alliance and integrating its parts inventory with CCC TRUE Parts Network.”
Christopher Toomey Named Senior VP of BASF North American Coatings BASF has announced that Christopher Toomey, senior vice president of regional procurement for BASF in North America, will assume responsibility for the BASF Coatings business in North America, effective Nov. 1. He succeeds Juan Carlos Ordoñez, senior vice president, who will move to lead the BASF Performance Materials division in Wyandotte, Mich. Before joining BASF in 2011, Toomey worked for Cognis, where he was vice president and general manager of functional products and vice president of human resources and communications.
Added Jon Owens, vice president of sales and market development for the Alliance, “Collision repair shops have a tremendous need for easy access to mechanical repair parts and supplies. Streamlining that access was the purpose of our participating in the CCC TRUE Parts Network, and we could not be more delighted with the opportunity to bring our extensive inventory to CCC’s customers.” CCC ONE Workflow users will now have access to the Alliance’s network of more than 2,200 loca-
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tions that stock nearly two million repair parts and supplies for both import and domestic vehicles.
First U.S. Car-O-Liner Distributor Relocates in NJ Car-O-Liner has announced that Metropolitan Car-O-Liner, the first-ever U.S. distributor of Car-OLiner products, has relocated and expanded its facility in New Jersey. The new location includes office and warehouse space, as well as an expanded training center in Mahwah, located 30 miles north of New York City. “The new Class A location allows us to nearly double our space to 9,200 square feet, including an updated classroom and hands-on training lab for our popular collision repair classes,” said Dave Demarest Jr., vice president of Metropolitan Car-O-Liner. Added Doug Bortz, national sales manager of Car-O-Liner, “Metropolitan Car-O-Liner is one of the highest volume distributors in North America, and this expansion to a new facility proves the commitment to worldclass service and training Dave and his team offer to our industry. We are proud of their accomplishments and dedication as we look forward to our continued partnership.”
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»| Industry Update |« SCRS Welcomes Valspar Automotive as Corporate Member The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has welcomed Valspar Automotive as its newest corporate member. Valspar Automotive is a leading global manufacturer of automotive paints and refinish products, and has placed great emphasis on finding ways to provide support initiatives and training to produce better market conditions for its customers. In addition to providing the latest in refinishing technology to its users, Valspar Automotive makes available instructional videos and user documentation to
complement the ongoing training classes it holds on every facet of finish applications in its five state-of-the-art training centers worldwide. SCRS says Valspar Automotive’s focus on training and informing the industry aligns squarely with its own values and the work SCRS undertakes to ensure the professional well-being of the collision repair industry remains healthy and successful. “We want to support the industry that supports us, and we find a lot of value in engaging with an organization like
SCRS who represents the leading businesses in the industry,” said Valspar North American Automotive Marketing Manager Gina Mahan. “SCRS is a proven and effective voice for body shops, and an advocate that helps strengthen
the industry as a whole. A healthy, successful collision repair industry is best for everyone, and SCRS makes a significant and noticeable contribution to ensure this is the case. We want to be aligned with organizations like that.”
AkzoNobel Launches New Mobile Sites for Sikkens and Lesonal Brands AkzoNobel Vehicle Refinishes North America has announced the launch of the new mobile sites for its Sikkens and Lesonal brands. Each site delivers easy ways to stay updated on products, color tools and services. The sites are now live at www. sikkensnamobile.com and www.lesonalnamobile.com. “The new mobile sites provide the same high-quality information found on the desktop and brings it to the user’s fingertips, freshly formatted and optimized for mobile Web,” said Andy Hysi, e-Business manager for AkzoNobel Vehicle Refinishes North America. “The sites can be easily navigated by any mobile device and provide for a truly beneficial experience. For easy access, simply bookmark the link on your smartphone or tablet.” Visitors of the sites can access the following features: 䡲 Product application details, related technical data sheets and images. 䡲 Clean, clear navigation to readily locate specific product information. 䡲 With a quick click, all product MSDS and technical data sheets can be downloaded as PDFs right to the device’s home screen. 䡲 Alerts when new and specific content is published to stay on top of new product releases. 䡲 Robust color tools section, including the convenient iMatch Color Retrieval tool and frequently used forms, color documentation and more. 䡲 Health, Safety and Environment section, featuring VOC charts for download.
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»| Industry Update |« Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Donates $170,000 in Products to Collision Students Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes has donated $170,000 in products to high school and postsecondary collision school programs through the Collision Repair Education Foundation. Instructors around the greater Chicago area were invited to visit the Sherwin-Williams training facility in Burr Ridge, Ill., and select from 16 pallets of products, which will assist with teaching. Products included mixing guns, orbital sanders, polishing pads and conditioning brushes. “Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes is proud to be working with the Collision Repair Education Foundation to make a difference in our industry by supporting secondary and post-secondary schools whose students are currently looking to enter into the collision industry and make it their career,” said Rod Habel, director of training operations for SherwinWilliams Automotive Finishes. Added Kenny McMillian, collision instructor at Kennedy King College in Chicago, “Thank you to SherwinWilliams for allowing our school to receive so much of their paint supplies. I know that running a collision program can be a demanding job
with all of the budget restrictions and red tape, just to get a few items at our school, but I must say Sherwin-Williams has come through for us. We had a paint class that had started and, for some strange reason, the paint supplies that we needed to teach the class never got ordered. I started panicking and didn’t know how I was going to teach the class, which was maxed out in the enrollment. with no supplies. SherwinWilliams stepped up to the plate and donated the supplies we needed to teach the class. I am so grateful to the Collision Repair Education Foundation and Sherwin-Williams for helping to support the collision technical schools.”
Nagy’s Collision Specialists Hires Human Resources Manager Nagy’s Collision Specialists, a Northern Ohio-based MSO, has announced the addition of Sue Ritzman to its management team. As human resources manager, she will be responsible for overseeing training and education as well as all employee relationships. She comes to Nagy’s with more than 20 years of experience in business as a facilities coordinator and workplace manager. She holds a bachelor of science from The Ohio State University and a master of arts from Michigan State University. Sue grew up in Norton, Ohio, and now lives in Doylestown.
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Fox Valley Technical College Collision Repair and Refinishing Instructor Jerome Goodson noted, “I can’t say enough about the generosity of Sherwin-Williams and the huge amount of donated products that they have provided for the Collision Repair and Refinishing program at Fox Valley Technical College. In times when our ability to purchase the products, supplies and equipment are stretched to the limit, their generosity helps ensure that our students are learning by using the most up-to-date supplies that they will be seeing as they start their careers. Again, Sherwin-Williams’ generosity is extremely appreciated.”
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»| Industry Update |«
AudaExplore Unveils New Total Loss Platform at Annual Event AudaExplore recently hosted insurance executives to discuss rapidly developing technology at its annual Total Loss Summit on Sept. 24, 2014, in Boston. The event was presented by AudaExplore’s parent company Solera Holdings Inc., a leading data-driven solution provider for insurance carriers, repairers, dealerships, fleet owners and suppliers. During the event, AudaExplore unveiled its Driver Experience Platform solution focused on changing the way consumers are digitally empowered throughout the total loss process. The new total loss offering makes it easier for insurance carriers to share critical claim updates and details on vehicle inspections and market valuations, according to the company. “Technology is bringing tremendous change to the total loss space,” said Tanya Elkins, vice president of valuation and identification solutions at AudaExplore. “Trends like big data, connected cars and digitally-empowered consumers represent both a threat and an opportunity for insurers. Attendees agreed that data and technology tools are key to driving loyalty by providing transparent, actionable and timely communications. With more than 25 percent of total loss claims ending in the loss of the customer to another carrier, these differentiators ultimately earn the customer’s business in real time.” Other topics discussed included salvage trends, new valuation and identification solutions, proposed regulations, data and analytics, and how together they are all impacting the customer experience. From there, attendees discussed how insurance companies can maintain customer loyalty in this new environment. Sessions « Circle 123 for Reader Service
included Salvage Trends, Technology and Economics, Ways to Disrupt with Customer Experience and Current State of Total Loss. AudaExplore also unveiled “The State of the Total Loss Customer Experience” study, which found that customers are searching for simple and convenient ways to understand and manage the total loss claims process. Demonstrating the importance of communication and transparency, the survey reported that two elements of the insurance claims process that consumers were not satisfied with include processes taking too long and decisions that were not properly explained. In fact, there was a strong correlation between the satisfaction with the explanation of the valuation and claims process and overall satisfaction and the frequency of switching carriers. Forty-one percent of the people who switched carriers after reporting a bad total loss experience said they were not given an explanation of how the number was calculated. “While technology may change, one thing remains the same: the importance of the customer experience,” said Adam Vasquez, senior vice president of marketing for AudaExplore. “Customers who had access to open communication and a transparent valuation system reported being more satisfied throughout the total loss process. In order to thrive in this changing landscape, carriers must continually improve their processes by investing in new technologies that leverage mobile and big data to meet the evolving needs of their customers.”
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 9/19/14. 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 managing 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 2014.) Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months A. Total No. Copies (net press run) 48,215 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) 45,292 C. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation 45,292 D. Nonrequested Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail) 300 E. Total Nonrequested Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2) and (3) 2,573 F. Total Distribution (sum of 15c and e) 47,865 G. Copies not Distributed 350 H. Total (Sum of 15f and g) 48,215 I. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation 94.6
Actual no. copies of single issue nearest to filing date
48,121
44,847 44,847
125 2,929 47,776 345 48,121 93.9
I certify that all above statements made by me are correct and complete. Pat Robinson, Director of Circulation
www.bodyshopbusiness.com 81
»| Industry Update |« Axalta Coating Systems Attends
Veteran Employment Event
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Axalta Coating Systems’ Mount Clemens, Mich., manufacturing plant recently participated in the Macomb/St. Clair Michigan Works Employability Boot Camp for Veterans. The purpose of the week-long event was to assist veterans with resume writing, interview preparation and networking. “Axalta supports efforts to help veterans transition to the workforce,” said Virginia Gronley, Axalta’s learning and development adviser who was invited to speak at the event. “This is one of the reasons that we are more than happy to share tips and suggestions from an employer’s point of view that may help veterans land interviews and, optimally, get jobs.”
Added veteran Ross Palombit from Sterling Heights, “It’s nice to hear from a company on what we, as veterans, can do better to become prepared for employment. It was beneficial to bring in Axalta’s perspective for veteran job seekers like myself. It’s nice to know that Axalta has made a pledge to help reduce veteran unemployment.”
BendPak Begins Construction on New Facility BendPak Inc. has announced the groundbreaking of a 67,000-square-foot multipurpose warehouse and shipping center located on 3.7 acres of land in Santa Paula, Calif. The new facility will further expand BendPak’s current shipping and logistics operation, allowing the business to meet growing customer needs. “We are excited about this further expansion as it will provide more warehouse and shipping space and add additional logistic and order processing facilities, not to mention additional parking,” said Javier Arias, vice president of operations. “The fact that the property sits right next to our existing location and became available for purchase presented a great solution.” The new property and expansion, located adjacent to BendPak's current Dove Court location, is expected to be completed by spring 2015. Through the new shipping and logistics center, BendPak is promising even faster delivery of products to its growing BendPak and Ranger brands consumer base. “This new expansion demonstrates to our customers that BendPak continues looking for ways to improve our level of service,” said Donald Henthorn, BendPak president and owner. “We remain focused on growing and will continue to increase the size of our facilities to accommodate it. This new building expands our operations without having to move and disrupt our day-to-day operations.” Circle 101 for Reader Service
It was another great year for Valspar Automotive at SEMA 2014. With two booths, the excitement was
u o t Y A t a d h e W iss M
widespread throughout the SEMA Show floor. The Valspar Automotive booth in the North Hall showcased custom-painted motorcycle helmets finished with DeBeer Air Dry Clear Coat. These motorcycle helmets were auctioned off with proceeds going directly to the Gas Monkey Foundation. Valspar Automotive with House of Kolor in Hot Rod Alley, featuring live air brush demonstrations, visits from the team at Gas Monkey Garage and House of Kolor Shimrin 2 demonstrations. This booth also highlighted the famous House of Kolor Wall, where customers experienced up close Kustom Kolors, Kandy’s and effects.
Bodyshopbusiness.com/sema-show-videos
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Here’s what you missed at the Total Automotive Booth at the 2014 SEMA Show! Door Hinge Repair Kits from the 60’s to present for GM, Ford, Mopar, AMC, Imports, and more! Plus over 150,000 parts like keys, remotes, hubs, clips, fasteners, bulbs and more!
Total Automotive now has New Door Hinge Repair Kits for the GM Cargo Vans. The GMHK40 Series offers a repair kit for the Broken Side Cargo Door Hinge. It comes with everything you will need to fix the broken door side hinge (Bolt on Door Side Hinge, Greaseable Door Pin, Bushings, Grease Zerk & Mounting Hardware). Plus, we now offer a repair kit for the Rear Cargo Doors on the GM Cargo Vans (GMHK36). No longer do you have to buy the whole hinge from the dealer, just a repair kit with Pins & Bushings.
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GFS Infrared Accelerated Drying Systems Developed to meet the demand for faster repairs, GFS REVO Infrared (IR) Systems allow you to dry any kind of paint or material in minutes! By speeding up drying times, GFS REVO IR Systems dramatically decrease the overall repair cycle time so you can get more repairs through your shop in less time. GFS REVO IR Systems also provide significant energy savings, compared to conventional paint booth heating. The key to the GFS REVO IR Systems is short-wave electric infrared technology. As opposed to IR technology of the past (which was primarily medium and long-wave infrared), short-wave infrared technology dries the material from the inside out. This ensures complete evaporation of the volatile compounds for sturdier, longer-lasting repairs. GFS REVO IR Systems are available in several models, including the semi-automatic Speed system, compact rail or cart-mounted systems, and mobile and hand-held models for spot repairs.
Bodyshopbusiness.com/sema-show-videos
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BASF Automotive Refinish @ 2014 SEMA Show
Great restyled cars, auto industry celebrities and the latest in vehicle technology all highlighted BASF Automotive Refinish’s appearance at the 2014 SEMA Show. A variety of restyled cars were on hand at the BASF booth, including the 2014 Ridler Award winning Buick Riveria, Rivsion, which sported BASF R-M® Onyx HD Riverian Sunset Pearl paint. Showing off custom paint from BASF’s Glasurit 90-Line was the 1935 Chevy Phaeton, which was voted America’s Most Beautiful Roadster this year. Industry celebrities Chip Foose and Ryan Friedlinghaus had their restyled 1960 Ford Starliner and 2015 Toyota Sienna (respectively) on display. Both also appeared at the booth to sign autographs for visitors. BASF Automotive Refinish is a leader in the collision repair and commercial and specialty vehicle coatings market. In addition to industry-leading paints, BASF demonstrated color matching tools, business improvement programs and the new SmartCOLOR® online tool. www.basfrefinish.com
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At SEMA 2014, SATA introduced their latest technological breakthrough, the SATAjet 5000 B. This new gun has a stunning new coating, named SATA pearlchrome TM. Easy to clean and very durable, the gun is as versatile as you are. Wider range of gun distances, from 4 to 8 ½ inches, and air pressures from 7 to 29 psi make this gun very flexible for your climate and spraying style. Fast wetting speed and even higher transfer efficiency make this gun necessary for all painters. SATA also introduced the new SATA filter timers. These are conveniently self adhered to the filter canister in your shop. The timers have a replaceable scale on them that starts with a click of a button. They count down to replacement with 6- or 3-month graphs, and a bright red line that lets you know that it is time to replace. Never have dirty air in your shop again, use the SATA filters and the handy new timers.
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The Ultimate In European Waterborne Refinishing
An Iron Grip!
Pro-Spray’s H2O Waterborne Basecoat is a premium European waterborne basecoat system that fuses the art of color with the power of water to provide ease of use, amazing color match, high opacity, perfect blends and a beautiful finish. Pro-Spray’s H2O is a fully compliant, stand-alone, compact system that delivers solid, metallic, pearl and xirallic colors, making your paint repair simple and seamless. ● Precise color and easy blending ● High opacity colors ● Simple shake and pour mixing
U.S. Chemical & Plastics AG-47™ Lightweight GRIP Filler sticks like nobody’s business. Its super strong gripping power is a result of our patented Z-TEK™ Adhesion Booster. Z-TEK™ ensures a strong hold and high performance. AG-47™ is lightning fast, which ensures that everything you do is quicker, with a smooth pinhole-free finish. ● Maximizes bonds to bare steel, galvanized metals and aluminum ● Provides a smooth, pinhole-free finish Bodyshopbusiness.com/sema-show-videos
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Air so fresh, it feels like you’re working outside Leader in Autobody Shop Air Filtration Duster Downdraft — The mobile prep station designed and engineered to effectively & economically capture Dust, Paint Overspray, Fumes and Odors. Ideal for SMART repairs www.islandcleanair.com 1-800-661-8211
Compliance Without Complication! Matrix System was the first paint manufacturer to create a “true” Premium Low VOC Solvent Basecoat (MPB-LV). MPB-LV is the only system designed as an alternative to waterborne with all toners and components being 100% compliant! This high performance basecoat system offers exceptional color match, faster coverage and superior quality. Compliance without complication is why painters are choosing to use MPB-LV over the competition. ● Exceptional color match ● Fast application and flash times ● No new equipment or techniques are needed
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Profitable Small Jobs Don’t Say It, Spray It! Improving your bottom line isn’t just a lot of talk. It’s SprayMax. SprayMax is the simple, profitable way to tackle those small damage repair jobs. Try it and you’ll be surprised, because SprayMax delivers OEM-quality finishes without the hassle, waste and expense of conventional spraying. SprayMax is available in a complete system of 1K and 2K products. So if you want professional spray gun results, just say the word – SprayMax. usa.spraymax.com 800-321-0672
Bodyshopbusiness.com/sema-show-videos
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u 4? o Y 1 d 0 i D A2 t a EM h W tS A s s i M As always, DV Systems’ experience at SEMA was engaging and exciting. What did you miss? Apart from the presence of Garth Greenough (Vice President) and Bogdan Markiel (CEO), and our experienced sales managers Biren Bhalla and Ken House assisting everyone in their inquiries, the DV booth featured the revolutionary Huron B10 AirSystem plugged in and running in full operation. The unit was so quiet that you could barely tell it was on.
What makes it so revolutionary? It’s 10 horsepower, variable speed, direct drive and available in single-phase with an extremely low maximum 55 amp draw, making it ideal for installations in locations previously uneconomical or impossible. And did we already say it’s extremely quiet!
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Product
Showcase Clean and Dry Heated Atomizing Air for Compressors When placed near the point of use, The Solution will work with the existing compressed source. The four-stage filtration is outfitted with an automatic moisture discharger, then the clean air is further filtered to remove moisture content for super dry air. A controller with digital outputs allows users to set the temperature of the atomizing up to 165 degrees F. It ships with a 3/8-inch ID x 35-foot spray air hose. Martech Services Company www.breathingsystems.com Circle 150 for Reader Service
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November 2014 | BodyShop Business
Remove Vapors and Contaminants The .01 Micron SuperStar Filter is designed to provide clean, dry compressed air resulting in the removal of any vapors and contaminants down to .01 micron. This four-stage filtration system has flow ranges of 50, 75 and 100 SCFM and can handle pressure ratings of up to 250 PSI. Walmec North America www.walmecna.com Circle 151 for Reader Service
»| Product Showcase |« High-Performance Spray Gun Produce Accurate and Clean Edges The S186-E Shape Beveler uses long-lasting carbide inserts in a milling style cutter to produce accurate, clean, burrfree edges on shaped parts, slots or holes on materials as thin as 3/16.”
The SATAjet 5000 B allows the painter to flexibly set the inlet pressure in a range between 7 and 32 PSI with a gun distance between 4 to 8.5 inches, depending on material, ambient conditions and personal preferences in order to achieve optimum finishes. The gun is finished with a satin-gloss pearlchrome surface, which is corrosion-resistant and easy to clean. Dan-Am Company www.satausa.com Cricle 154 for Reader Service
Heck Industries www.heckind.net Circle 152 for Reader Service
Glossy Clearcoat for Large Repairs PPG Automotive Refinish’s ShopLine JC7100 European Multi-Panel Clearcoat is a 2.1 VOC clearcoat designed for large repairs to deliver an impressive gloss finish. It features a 2-to-1 mix ratio and is
Send Estimates Without a Contract Crash-writeR’s collision estimating software can send estimates virtually anywhere without a contract. Besides having some of the best P-page logic in the industry, the software will have three updates per month throughout 2015, delivering the latest in OEM pricing. Visit www.crash-writer.com or call (800) 298-2378 today for a $33/month introductory offer. Crash-writeR www.crash-writer.com Circle 155 for Reader Service
Portable Welder compatible with two Shop-Line hardeners to make it easily adjustable to working conditions and job size. Furthermore, its 2.1 VOC addresses the requirements of regulated U.S. regions as well as Canada. PPG Automotive Refinish www.ppgrefinish.com Circle 153 for Reader Service
Weighing in at just 40 pounds, the portable Power MIG 210 MP is a multi-process welder with dual-input voltage options (120 and 230 volts), enabling the user to plug it in practically anywhere. The welder produces 20-140 amps DC on 120-volt input and 20-220 amps on 230volt input. That’s enough welding output for 3/8-inch-thick steel and stainless materials or 3/16-inch-thick aluminum. The integrated wire feeder handles 4and 8-inch spools and can feed 50500 inches per minute. Lincoln Electric www.lincolnelectric.com Circle 156 for Reader Service
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Morgan Cars Use Wood Frames And Handcrafted Bodies
T
oday’s automotive market is
uniform grain, which makes it easy to sculpt
which makes the cars “uniquely Morgan.”
marked by mass production and
and form. Its texture also allows for ideal
Apparently, environmental concerns play
growing uniformity. In fact, many
shock absorption, in contrast to other woods
a factor as well; according to Morgan
or components.
representatives, using wood encourages
today even view the car as becoming somewhat of a commodity. However, Morgan Motors is a manufacturer that still
Curved pieces of the wood frame are bent
people to plant forests.
into shape and multiple layers of ash are
Body panels and bonnets are made of
molded together by a series of jigs and
aluminum and are treated with a similar
clamps. Presses, including traditional
degree of craftsmanship. As one of the
wood presses and vacuum presses, also
pioneers of aluminum technology, Morgan
help form the wood into shape, while glue
makes nearly the entire remainder of the
is heat cured. The final wood frame used
car – with the exclusion of the wood
consists of a bonded laminate material
frames – out of the lightweight metal. The
that is durable yet absorbent. When
only exception to this is the galvanized
asked about their unconventional decision
steel chassis, steel firewall and steel inner
to use wood, Morgan representatives
wings. The rest of the body is aluminum,
The manufacture of Morgan cars still takes
remarked that the wood components in
much of which is pressed and formed by
place in the same area it did a century ago.
their cars last forever. The strength and
hand at the Morgan factory. The
For those of you familiar with the historic
durability of Morgan’s wood frames have
combination of the lightweight aluminum
Morgan brand, you may already know that
led to the saying, “A Morgan never dies.”
frame body and wood frame makes the
they manufacture the frames out of an
In fact, Morgan cars dating back to the
cars exceptionally light – another
increasingly uncommon material for today’s
1950s and older have been disassembled
advantage of using wood.
cars – wood. All Morgan cars are
to show their wood frames still perfectly
constructed with an ash wood frame. This
intact and structurally sound. Morgan also
process begins in the wood shop, where
views the wood components, which
English ash is shaped and formed into the
hearken back to the earliest Morgans
proper shape and dip-treated for rot. Ash is
built, as being integral and indispensable
the wood of choice due its straightness and
parts of the brand’s history – something
views building cars as an art form. Quietly operating in England for the last 104 years, the low-volume manufacturer’s cars are as unique as they are artistic. Known for their three-wheelers and sporty, vintage-looking roadsters, this company sets itself apart through its manufacturing process, as well as some of the unique components it uses.
Morgan cars are full of heritage and personality. Despite their somewhat aged and classic feel, the cars haven’t dipped in popularity over the years. In fact, their numbers are growing steadily. With more than 40,000 Morgans on the road today, the company has ramped up production to around 700 units per year, and the waiting list is over six months. If you get lucky, you may even see one at a local auto show or car club. For more information about the Morgan manufacturing process or about the models offered under the Morgan nameplate, visit www.morgan-motor.co.uk.
To read and view more great content, visit www.speedville.com
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ADVERTISER INDEX COMPANY NAME
AFC Air Filtration Co. Aflac Aframe Spray Booths Airomax/U.S.Body Products AirVANTAGE Amerex Corp. Automotive Mgmt Institute AVI Axalta Coating Systems BASF Corp. BendPak Blair Brewer Automotive Equipment Campbell Hausfeld Carstar Franchise Systems CCC Cebotech Inc. Certified Auto Parts Association Chief Automotive Crash-writeR Dent Fix Equipment Dominion Sure Seal DV Systems Eagle Abrasives Elektron Inc.
PG #
60 15 36 42 32 76 70 47 5 9, 84 82, Insert 66 62 58 38 39 74 7 18 70, 80 19 52 49, 86 79 54
COMPANY NAME
PG #
Eurovac 68 Evercoat 3, 37 Ford Parts 45 Garmat or Mobile Spray Technology 72 Garmat USA 11 Global Finishing Solutions 35, 83 Goffs Curtain Walls 56 Herkules Equipment Corp. 34 Homak Manufacturing Company Inc. 51 Induction Innovations 48 Innovative Tools & Technologies, Inc. 17 International Epoxies & Sealers 46 Intuit 23 Island Clean Air 40, 85 Kaeser Compressors 21 Malco Products 74 Martech Services Co. 64 Martin Tool & Forge/ Martin Sprocket & Gear, Inc. 72 Matrix System Automotive Finishes LLC 29, 85 Maxzone Auto Parts Corp. 53 Mirka Abrasives 28 Motor Guard Corp. 68 NAPA 69 O’Reilly Auto Parts 74 PPG Industries Cover 2-1
COMPANY NAME
Pro Spot International Pro-Spray Finishes RBL Products Reflex Truck Liners Rotunda Ford Motor Co. Rubber-Seal Products S.A.I.M.A. Of N. America Safecars Sata Spray Equipment Scorpion Truck Bed Linings Sherwin-Williams Co. Shop-Pro Equipment Southern Polyurethanes Spanesi Spraymax Steck Mfg Co. Total Automotive Tsunami Compressed Air Solutions TYC/Genera Corp. Urethane Supply Co. U.S. Chemical & Plastics Valspar/Debeer Zendex Tool Corporation
PG #
71, Cover 3 41, 84 4, 43 66 73 16 Cover 4 77 57, 84 64 61 25 63 24 67, 85 20 83 78 33, 65 27 59, 84 55, 83 82
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Call Jennifer Hazen today at
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Become part of the BodyShop Business Readers group and participate in lively conversations with industry professionals on hot topics in the collision repair industry! Visit: http://linkd.in/18aL71K
By the
Numbers Vital collision industry stats
What Do You Spend Each Month On The Following Items? Paint
$3,000
Primers
$350
Surface Prep Material
$250
Masking Product
$250
Abrasives
$175
Cleaning Chemicals
$165
Fillers
$100
Buffing Products
$100
Detail Cloths
$50
Waxes
$40 Source: 2013 BodyShop Business Industry Profile
2013
2012
How Do Your Labor Dollars Per Repair Order Break Down? Frame Repair Labor
Mechanical Repair Labor
7%
9%
Refinish Labor
32% Parts Repair
23% Parts Replacement
29%
Source: 2013 BodyShop Business Industry Profile
$31.4B
$30.7B
Source: The Romans Group
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