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VOL. 3 ISSUE 8 MAY 2014
Missouri Shop Owner and Consultant Favors Common-Sense Solutions for Common Problems
One-day ‘Future is Now’ Midwest Auto Body Trade Show Gets 400 Attendees, 65 Exhibitors
Dave Tritz is the well–known owner of Don’s Auto Body in St. Charles, MO and a former president of Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Missouri (AASP–MO) from 2006–2008. A second–generation body shop owner and with his son Adam now working in the shop, Tritz has a 40–year perspective on the collision industry and approaches the business with a common sense approach. His consulting business, Business Forward, helps
The the Iowa Collision Repair Association (ICRA) held the 2014 Midwest Auto Body Trade Show on March 20, 2014, at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, IA. Over 400 collision professionals attended the one-day event, which consisted of training sessions, informational panel discussions, an I-CAR class on new car technology, and 65 exhibitors, including some of the country’s top vendors and organizations in the field of collision repair. “The Future Is Now” was the theme of the 2014 show, and it surely lived up to its name, according to Janet Chaney, ICRA executive director. “The day was jammed-packed, starting with the I-CAR New Tech-
by Ed Attanasio
See Dave Tritz, Page 12
Dave Tritz (right) was honored as the AASP– MO’s 2010 Outstanding Member of the Year for his service to the organization and dedication to the collision industry in Missouri. Presenting Tritz with the award is former AASP–MO President Greg Bartnett
New States and Readers Added to this Midwest Edition
Autobody News welcomes new readers to our newly expanded Midwest Edition. Autobody News is now distributed to body shop professionals in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and Kentucky. We also email our newsletter twice a month. For details see p. 3.
At CIC, Ford Outlines its Strategy to Help Repairers Prepare for the New F-150
See Ford’s Plan, Page 22
P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018
Ford Motor Company representatives at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) held in Portland, Ore., in April provided more information not only about the automaker’s 2015 F-150 pick-up, but also about the “Ford National Body Shop Network,” through which Ford hopes to promote both dealership and independent shops to owners of Ford vehicles needing colli-
sion repair. Paul Massie, collision product marketing manager for Ford, acknowledged that his company may have fallen behind Paul Massie other automakers in developing a certification or recognition program for independent shops.
Change Service Requested
by John Yoswick
by Ed Attanasio
nology 2014 Class taught by I-CAR regional manager Ed Mayer, I-CAR senior director of segment development, and I-CAR instructors Bill Stage and Scott Schuerman, who were on-hand to present the class and network with attendees throughout the day.” Mayer was Janet Chaney happy to be involved in such a well-attended show. “Janet Chaney extended an invitation to us, and we were happy to attend,” Mayer said. “We conducted a 2014 Technology Class, and it was standing room only. Body shop owners and See Midwest Trade Show, Page 9
Indiana Autobody Association and Indiana Shop Owners File Suit to Block Tortious Interference The Indiana Autobody Association (IABA) along with fourteen Indiana Collision Repair Shops filed legal action against twelve Property and Casualty Insurance Companies and their subsidiaries on April 2, 2014. The suit seeks unspecified financial damages and names 27 insurers including Illinois-based State Farm, which has the largest market share in the state at about 25 percent. Others with large market share include Ohiobased Progressive Insurance and locally based Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. The suit accuses the insurers of “engaging in an ongoing, concerted and intentional course of action and conTony Passwater duct with State Farm acting as the spearhead to improperly and illegally control and depress the automobile damage repair costs.”
In addition, “The insurance companies (“Insurers”) are improperly intruding upon the relationship between the Shops and consumers, and placing the driving public at harm by their practices.” As it pertains to DRP shops, the suit also accuses the insurers of “engaging in an ongoing pattern and practice of coercion and implied threats to the pecuniary health of the individual plaintiff businesses in order to force compliance with unreasonable and onerous concessions.” Tony Passwater, IABA Executive Director, states, “There’s going to be a battle. For decades the insurers have interfered with the collision repair professional’s obligation to restore the vehicle back to pre-accident condition as humanly possible. It has been well documented with the 1963 Consent Decree. Since then, over the last two decades, the pressure to compromise the repair quality and safety See Tortious Interference?, Page 14
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