AkzoNobel and Collision Education Foundation Create First Sustainability Challenge Grant
AkzoNobel Automotive & Aerospace Coatings (A&AC) and the Collision Repair Education Foundation have announced the availability of new educational resources to support the collision repair industry’s first Sustainability Challenge Grant. The grant, introduced for the 2013–2014 school year, aims to encourage awareness and thinking about sustainability among students at secondary and post-secondary schools who are preparing for a career in the collision repair industry. Applications will be accepted through Dec. 18, 2013. The educational resources include a video series that presents principles of sustainability in an engaging, informative format, as well as guidelines for instructors, a printable poster and an easy-to-complete, downloadable entry form. All materials are available on the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s website. The four-part video series, developed by Mike Shesterkin of What's Next LLC and produced by M-1 Studios, addresses the following topics: ● The Mega Trends. Teams learn about the sustainability imperative, framed by the four megatrends of population growth, demand for affluence, scarcity of resources and global
climate change. ● Concept and Leaders presents fundamental concepts in the sustainable business movement, as well as practical examples of the ways sustainable principles have been applied to collision repair facilities. ● Systems Thinking and Continuous Improvement Tools provides a definition of systems thinking and how continuous improvement tools can be used to identify a collision repair facility’s environmental and social aspects, and how they impact their surroundings. ● Leadership and Teamwork. Teams learn about leadership and the importance of making a commitment to the success of a team, as well as Dr. W. Edward Deming’s Plan, Do, Check, Act model and system of knowledge. Collision repair instructors and their students are encouraged to view and discuss each of the four 10minute segments to learn about sustainability, principles of continuous improvement and working as teams before developing a grant proposal to improve processes in their schools’ body shops and how they interact with local communities. “The future of our industry depends on a well-trained, qualified
Mackin’s Auto Body is 2013 IMPACT I-CAR Elite Member of the Year, Award Given at CIC Meeting in Las Vegas
Mackin’s Auto Body in Vancouver, WA, was chosen as the 2013 IMPACT I-CAR Elite Member of the year, exemplifying excellence in the collision industry. IMPACT is the marketing arm of RDA. IMPACT provides programs to keep the collision shops competitive and I-CAR provides the education to repair the vehicles properly. Mackin’s Auto Body is third generation family owned and operated business. Makin’s has been in business for 86 years with 8 locations in Oregon and Washington. They employ 100 people. Owners Suzanne and Larry Mackin know how to give their customers professional and reliable auto body service. They joined as an IMPACT Elite member because they see value in the many benefits the program offers. Makin’s “Does it right” every time and we are proud to call them the 2013 IMPACT I-CAR member of the year. RDA/IMPACT is the largest national group of refinish jobbers
dedicated to providing quality services and products to their collision shops. RDA has 19 members, representing 185 locations. Members
service over 3,600 collision centers throughout the US and do over $400 million in sales as a group, comprising around 15% of the refinish business nationwide. Those interested in RDA/IMPACT should contact Robert McKenzie, Jr. directly at 731-217-9081 or via email at robertemckenzie@me.com. Visit their web site at www.impactcollisionsolutions.com or contact Melisa Jolls at 908-251-5713.
14 DECEMBER 2013 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com
workforce and the development of sustainable business practices,” said Clark Plucinski, executive director of the Collision Repair Education Foundation. “We are encouraged by the interest and enthusiasm shown by students in generating positive ideas to improve processes in their schools’ collision repair shops and its impact on the environment.” The Sustainability Education Challenge Grant was established by AkzoNobel with $50,000 of funding and will be administered in collaboration with the Collision Repair Education Foundation. Schools and students seeking an individual award of up to $10,000 will be asked to submit their formal recommendations for programs or activities promoting sustainability in the collision repair industry to the Collision Repair Education Foundation by Dec. 18, 2013. The grants will be awarded in January 2014.
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CARSTAR Makes Top 200 on Franchise Ranking List
For the seventh year in a row, CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts has made the list of the Top 200 Franchise Networks by Franchise Times Magazine. Ranked at 117, CARSTAR is the highest ranking collision repair company. Franchise Times magazine specifically targets franchisors and franchisees with more than 400,000 units worldwide. Franchise Times researches companies’ annual reports and publicly available data on the nation’s 200 largest franchise systems and ranks them based on last year’s global system wide sales. Eligibility to be included in this ranking requires a company to be a legal U.S franchise, where franchisees must own at least 15 percent of the company’s total units. “We are honored to be ranked among the top 200 franchises and lead the automotive and collision repair industry in the ranking,” said David Byers, CEO of CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts. “We are proud of our store owners and the work of our more than 430 locations across North America in contributing to this honor.” For a complete list of the Top 200 visit, www.franchisetimes.com/pdf/Top-200-2013.pdf.