Automotive Refinisher May - June 2016

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T H E V O I C E O F T H E I N D U S T R Y May - June 2016

Edition 185

2016

SIMOLA HILL

TO

INFINITY

LCLIMB

&BEYOND

VERMONT TRADE DAY

HB BODY GREECE

FIX-AUTO FRANCHISE

PLUS Orbis conference

REPAIR SOLUTIONS N-D 2015 3_Layout 1 2016/01/29 8:45 AM Page 1

TAkinG The FRiCTion ouT oF CoLLiSion RePAiR

CALL 0861 268 885

CONTENTS M - J 2016_Layout 1 2016/05/18 10:54 AM Page 1

Contents May - June

2016

6 CHANGING THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS 8 TO INFINITY AND BEYOND 18 TRAINING THE DEAF 24 HB BODY 34 SATA RPS 42 RSB 50 VERMONT SALES 56 10 COMRADES MARATHONS 63 PPG TRAINING CENTRE 68 SIMOLA HILLCLIMB 76 FIX AUTO

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New Franchise in South Africa

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Orbis Worldwide Andrew Marsh

Dr Frik Update

Available in South Africa

The Cup System for Professionals Partners for Efficiency

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Open Day in Johannesburg In 10 Days Now Open

Records fall

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Cover: Mazda RX-Vision concept Contents: Simola Hillclimb 3

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PUBlISHER’S FRONT LINE

by Ian Groat

EDITORIAl

MODELS THAT DON’T WORK

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n a sea of insurance body shop initiatives you could be forgiven if in your collision repair bank balance there has really been little or no advancement for the last decade. The wind on your chest to develop meaningful profits has turned into a gale force wind, so quite what the future holds for independent body shops remains like the curates egg: only good in some parts.

We have in recent times been talking to body shops in some rural areas who are still being awarded miserable labour charge out rates of just over R160 or less per hour. If you factor in our rampant inflation of close to 15% in real terms annually, which is also artificially manipulated by one and all with creative South African accountancy, any fool can work out that in a world of just too many collision repair centres we are bound to travel on a road to nowhere if it continues.

Many insurers are narrow minded in their approach to labour rates and labour rates may often be seen as the only differentiator between repairers. Unfortunately repairers are guilty of being short sighted and approach insurers with ridiculously low labour rate offers in hope to procure more work. However, the work volume seldom materialises and it spoilts it for everyone else in the process. There are also those insurance houses that play repairers off of each other in the hopes of discounting the labour rate even further on certain job. Many still guess labour times instead of having scientific systems.

Sometimes you see that an increase in labour rates decreases a shop’s time to get the job done, so no one is better off at the end of the day.

So it is no wonder the audits have proven the certain repairers cannot sustain their unrealistic offers through ethical business and the audits have regrettably become the only measure to protect the ethical repairers against the greed and immorality of others.

There has been made mention of 5% profit for the insurers and this is realistic if things are going well for both parties. However we are not comparing apples with apples as the profit is generated with totally different input costs and is based on different turnovers. If you are a repairer with 50 employees and you do R3,5 million turnover a month, then the 5% profit before tax would be R175 000 - R3 500 per employee.

At the same time an insurance company would in comparative terms have a premium income of say R20 million per every 50 employees - the 5% profit would then amount to R1 million for the 50 workers per month - R20 000 per employees. So motor body repairers have to work six times harder for their money. Insurers

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Te l ep h one : + 27 (0 )1 1 9 49 40 91

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don’t have to invest in expensive equipment to get the job done either so their return on investment is exceptionally good. You need only see the biggest and best building going up all over the place to begin to wonder if they are overplaying their suffering.

In recent times there have been many body shops that have closed their doors - quite a contrast in the collision repair environment.

Insurers are not even thinking about the avalanche of technology that’s already here and will soon have a major impact on effective repair. With predicted weight coming to account in tomorrow’s electric car of 86%, these cell phone driven technological units are going to be stillborn in the world of repair with our inability to keep pace with it all.

The time has surely come to up labour rates by an absolute minimum of approximately 28% to keep pace with everyday inflation.

If we continue in this direction all the new vehicles will surely end up in the insurance houses laps and then their quoted profits will be forced to develop the same levels of current repair by going south at a rapid rate. When that day dawns on these manipulative individuals, you will hear the current trade say, it could not happen to nicer people.

On a final note with this rant, I would like the insurance houses to remove theft, hi-jacking and fraud from their motor book costs and expose their true profit levels on collision repair. Right now they can always take a good look at the body shops’ underwear on repair costs but by contrast we are never allowed to see their real returns.

It was the richest man on the planet, one Warren Buffet, who said on the secret of his success, which I quote, “All you have to do is open an insurance company and manage it well and you can’t go wrong.”

Putting the customer first continues, in my opinion, to be an obscure reality. Even with all the talk of serious engagement and a desire to smooth out friction costs in repair. The model we’re pursuing of doing things more wrong instead of more correct continues by and large to hold sway right now.

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IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

Fa c sim il e: +2 7 ( 0) 1 1 25 2 6 84 4 Ema i l: a uto re f@ ia fr ic a . com We b sit e : w ww. a utor e f. c o. z a

UNITED KINGDOM

P ubl ish e r : Ia n Gr oa t Ed it or : C l a ire M a cfie Ac c ount s: Va l Gr oa t De si g n: J ay G roa t As sis ta nt : Na ta s ch ja F e r r e ir a C T C or r e sp ond e nt : D ave Fa ll Te c hni ca l Ed i tor : A nd r e w M a r sh 4

A U S T R A L I A MEDIA PARTNER

The views expressed in ar ticles in Automotive Refinisher are those of the authors and shall not be construed to represent those of the Editor or the Publisher.

Accordingly, Automotive Refinisher accepts no responsibility for claims and statements made by advertisers and independent columnists. Further, the appearance of advertisements herein does not necessarily indicate the approval by Automotive Refinisher for the product and/or service advertised. Material may not be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the Publisher. Automotive Refinisher is dedicated to servicing the business interests of the collision repair industry.

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LUXOR AD M-J 2016 A4_Layout 1 2016/05/17 10:18 AM Page 1

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BUSINESS UPDATE

T he future of Fix Auto in So uth Afr ica is set to ro cket says the co mp any dir ector s.

Body shop per so nnel came to see and hear all about the glo bal Fix Auto fr anchise.

FRANCHISE

FIX AUTO WORLD FRANCHISE IS NOW IN SOUTH AFRICA

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iding on a successful year across the world the Fix Auto World franchise recently held a national road show tour to bring to South African body shops the first ever real franchise deal.

Founded back in 1992 the franchise operation encompasses over 400 shops in locations operating in Canada, US, France, UK, Turkey, Australia and now soon to open for business in South Africa.

Steve Leal, president and CEO of Fix Auto World said they showed solid growth and built a reputation for excellence in body shops by delivering and maintaining constantly high standards. It was achieved by creating a profitable value for all stake holders and also by working with insurers to simplify the settlement process, said Leal.

It was most important to promote transparency for the consumer.

The franchise pride themselves on being on the cutting edge of ongoing car repair innovation and their high standards are delivered at each and every location. That is why they are transforming the global collision repair market. “It’s because we concentrate on aligning our global operating franchises around a leanness and more customer driven process among lease and rental clients, dealership networks and manufacturers. Fix Auto World are also ramping up markets such as South Africa, Australia and Turkey by building up successful and value driven partnerships.

Fix Auto World have already successfully repaired 2.5 million cars and produced approximately close to four billion dollars in revenue.

The company also use best practice repair models and continue to develop global partnerships and supply chains that create increased profitability for the entire network. Fix Auto World enjoy their largest

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franchise operation in terms of numbers in their home based market of Canada where 223 locations are up and running. That’s where it all started 23 years ago.

David Lingham has played a major role in recent times with the ongoing development of the Australian and South African markets as a brand ambassador. Lingham started exploratory work for the Fix Auto World franchise by doing a feasibility study in September last year and despite a seemingly mismatch of labour and business laws the company progressed with their local plans going forward.

Lingham has been to South Africa on a number of occasions for the local IBIS conferences organised by Automotive Refinisher and sees many common themes across the world markets at play in the body shop repair business. There is a trend in the world towards consolidation within the market. The predicted trend in the US and Canada and some 50% of motor claims going through just three or four major body shop repair chains which is hard to see happening in the short term, but as insurers like Imperial Insurance in Canada have found out, it’s been a valuable partnership in terms of claims cost containment and customer satisfaction in the Canadian market for damaged cars. Fix Auto World will also embark on a special advertising and marketing schedule after June with their announcement of their local national South African franchise availability.

The Fix Auto World trade nights were held in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape town and saw a number of high profile repair concerns send delegates to see the overall franchise offer that will come to South Africa soon.

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Steve Leal CEO of fr anchises’ succes s well. He is p ro ud of own collis ion r epair

Fix A uto Wor ld says the secr et of this is that the fr anchis e deal r eally wo r k s o ut star ting out his r epair car eer by owning his centre.

David Ling ham o f Fix Auto Wor ld detailed a solid gr owth fo r the glo bal fr anchise in wo r ld mar kets.

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ORBIS WORLDWIDE CROSS InDUSTRY COnFEREnCE

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CHANGING THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS

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rbis Worldwide presented an industry first, a cross industry conference in South Africa. The theme covered vehicles, OEMs, claims, insurance and collision repair. “It was a first for South Africa, and we had a packed programme of expert speakers,” said David Lingham, director of Orbis Worldwide. Lingham has a long track record as a conference moderator. His expertise extends to clients that span the USA, Europe and Australia as a conference facilitator.

The focus was on key areas of change that are happening internationally and that definitely affect the local business operational landscape. The integrated input from car makers, insurers and collision repairers formed a vital part of the conference which also made for a good and even grasp on where the trade is heading.

The portfolio of technical developments was handled by Automotive Refinisher’s technical guru, Andrew Marsh who arrived fresh from the Geneva Motorshow. His company EasiMethods are regarded as an industry leader in establishing methods of new model car repairs. Andrew also has extensive OEM industry working

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knowledge and has also worked very closely with insurers for many years. His topic was “To infiity and beyond”, and it took a look at where the car will be in repair in the near future.

Driaan du Toit from Audatex delivered a speech on Generation Y and the changing customers needs as well as how to market to the next generation of clientelle. A complete rethink needs to be had in business and social media should be your next best friend. Vivenne Pearson was on hand from SAIA to put an insurance slant into the line-up and she highlighted the challenges that face short term insurance. She said that a collaborative approach between the insurance industry and the collision repairers was definitely the way forward, although slow going.

Peter Todd from Repair Solutions spoke on the sum of the parts, a presentation that showed the pressure that’s being put on the part profit margin. In an environment of a falling Rand, and low labour rates there is an incentive from insurers to use alternate parts. But this business plan is not sustainable and better solutions need to be found by existing players, with compulsory insurance to help in the long run. Aleeshen Kisten from Repair Solutions gave some feedback on where the collision repair industry stands at present with our shops some of the best in the world. The way forward needs to be trust, collaboration and communication between the OEMs, the insurance and collision repair industry to make any descent in-roads for the body shop industry in the long run. The Orbis Conference was backed by a number of high profile sponsors which included Audatex, Mutual & Federal, Repair Solutions, Automotive Refinisher Magazine, Insurance Institute of South Africa and Orbis/Ibis.

“There was a good buy-in from the local trade organisations from the majority of the formalised motor body repairers,” said Lingham.

For this first of a kind of conference it offered suppliers and major stakeholders an opportunity to partner and participate in this event with the insurance, automotive and paint collision repair equipment sector.

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Orbis CEO David Lingham moderated the day’s event.

Technical guru, Andrew Marsh delivered a spell binding glimpse of the body repair market of the future.

Driaan du Toit from Audatex spoke about new market changes that Generation Y will bring.

Aleeshen Kisten spoke about the consolidation trends in South African repair.

What insurers will be looking for was ably covered by Peter Todd on the subject of claims management.

Vivienne Pearson from SAIA spoke about the poor return that insurers were racking up on motor business.

Floor questions were part of a great session throughout the day with Deon Smith giving an eloquent speech on behalf of the body repair shop owners.

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INTERVIEW CHRIS OXTON, ANEST IWATA

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hris Oxton is the new representative for Anest Iwata in Cape Town. Automotive Refinisher magazine took some time out to ask Chris a few questions about himself and how he sees his role in the business.

What is your background in the after-market business?

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I’ve been in the refinish paint business since 1978. I started as an apprentice painter in the UK after being schooled in South Africa.

In the early 80’s I returned to South Africa and after a short stint in a body shop, I became a technician for one of the large refinish paint companies. From there I moved over to the commercial side of the business in the mid 90’s.

How did you come to be the Cape Town representative for Anest Iwata?

I’ve known the management at Anest Iwata and their products for some time. It was a great opportunity for me to join the team and work in the Cape province’s, both West and East. It was also great to get back to working in Sub-Sahara where I have worked with refinish paint and equipment distribution for many years.

Who are your Cape Town distributors?

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Our distributors in Cape Town are Cowley Auto paint in Montague Gardens, Atlantic Paint & Panel in Parow, Cape Paint and Panel, Marouns Group in Maitland and Air Power in Bellville.

What is your best seller in the Anest Iwata range?

Tough question. It changes all the time because of the vast product range. It would include mine and the body shop favourite, Super Nova, Pininfarina, through to General Industrial and then manual and robotic equipment that we supply to the vehicle manufacturers.

How do you see Anest Iwata helping on savings and costs overall in the body shop?

Four things immediately spring to mind. One, our superb quality and competitive pricing as we are the only coatings equipment company that supplies direct in South Africa, no middle man importers.

Two, incredible transfer efficiency and special patented split nozzle technology puts us far ahead of our competitors. Three, our highly experienced team is able to offer excellent service and technical training nationally and in Sub Sahara. Four, our dedicated and also highly experienced distribution network all contribute to cost savings overall.

Do you offer onsite training at all with Anest Iwata?

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We certainly do, this is probably the core function of our sales strategy and where we have been most successful.

What do you think of the levels of competency in the trade?

Coming from a high level technical background, I believe we have a long way to go to compare ourselves with our European

Chris Oxto n. counterparts. If we compare ourselves to the US and most countries in Sub-Sahara we’re right up there with the best.

The trick is getting school leavers to enter the trade. Most of them want to be white collar workers nowadays.

What are you most passionate about as regards the Anest Iwata brand?

Anest Iwata is a super high quality premium brand. It employs 13 000 people worldwide offering innovation and spray painting solutions for any application, from an air brush to airless pumps used on massive structures, giant cargo ships right the way through to robots painting in car factories.

With such innovation and an all inclusive quality range of products to choose from, it’s hard not to be excited.

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GOOD NEWS

SIKA SOUTH AFRICA - SOCIAL INVESTMENT 2015

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ach year Sika SA chooses to support various projects around the country that will benefit the less fortunate in our communities. In 2015 Sika donated product, time, cash, promotional items and technical devices to the value of nearly R1.1 million.

Sika’s long-standing relationship with Focus on iThemba continued in 2015 with a number of different activities. A tablet was donated to the new PreSchool as a teacher’s aide. The floors were also treated with a Sika Curehard-24, ensuring the longevity of the corridors as well as adding its benefits of non-slip and a professional-looking finish.

Sika SA is also home to a large contingent of avid sports enthusiasts, some of whom pride themselves on their paddling talents in canoeing. A big drive is the safety aspect of this sport and Sika decided to support the ‘Safety First, Safety Always and No

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Compromise’ initiative, alongside CSA (Canoe SA), by contributing towards the cost of kayaks and branded sportswear.

More recently a donation was made to assist Sergio Windvogel, a 13-year-old boy, with his school fees. The aim is to support him throughout his high school career and ensure he achieves his matric certificate. This can be made possible with Sika and the other participating companies and individuals who lend their support to such a cause.

With many other projects and initiatives that take place throughout the year, Sika will always try to help where they can, while striving to continue supporting established relationships that have been built over time.

For more information on Sika products and systems, visit www.sika.co.za

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ANEST-IWATA AD N-D 2013_Layout 1 2014/03/12 2:47 PM Page 1

Gun Design by Master Car Designer Pininfarina.

Arnest Iwata’s State-of-the-Art Supernova WS-400 Evo.

B l o ck B , G r o u n d F l o o r, St . A n d r ew s O f f i c e C o m p l ex M e a d ow b r o o k L a n e , E p s o m D ow n s Contact : +27 ( 0)11 463 2169

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lOCAl NEWS

A big cr os s section of the car r epair tr ad e OEM’s and ins urer s enjoyed a g reat night out at Empero r’s Palace.

WHAT’S HOT?

CIC CHARITY DINNER

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t can’t be all work and no play in this trade, and as such, the CIC Charity dinner saw a number of high profile guests enjoying a great night out after a hard day’s work. Sponsored by Mutual & Federal and Audatex, the industry leaders were involved in raising funds for child learnerships and reading and schooling. The auction of the evening raised a

T he Aud atex team were a high pr ofile sp onsor fo r the g ala evening event.

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considerable amount of money for the chosen charities. The attendees came from suppliers, OEM companies and motor body repairers. The evening was hosted by Repair Solutions. Ripple Reading arranged for top notch prizes that were awarded at the event. They were very satisfied with the donations to their education initiative.

L ance O’Lear y won the luck y dip pr ize fro m Rip ple Read ings Charity. They develo ped gr eat funding fr om the d inner and thanked the do nor s fo r the fund ing help.

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GENERAL A4 AD M-A 2015_Layout 1 2016/05/16 9:44 AM Page 1

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EQUIPMENT FOCUS COST SAVINGS

NITROTHERM SPRAY SYSTEM, AN ASSET TO AUTO MAGIC, BELLVILLE

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uto Magic Bellville are in their ninth year of operation. Blikkies du Plessis, owner of the Bellville franchise, says that he jumped at the opportunity to buy the franchise in the western Cape when it arose.

The majority of their work is allocated directly from their franchisor Auto Magic and the work is almost all insured clients. The shop produces on average 130 completed repairs each month and employs 24 production staff and seven administrators in various positions.

The Auto Magic system allows Du Plessis and his team to focus on what they do best and that is repairing vehicles and servicing the clients. They do not have to spend time ‘on the road’ marketing or incurring ‘other’ costs to fill their shop, as their franchisor does all of that for them.

“The work we produce is categorised as non-structural and we do a number of small ‘scratch and dent’ repairs under contract,” said Du Plessis. “Our turnaround time is required to be a maximum of five to six working days on our NSR work, so we decided to introduce the Nitrotherm Spray system to ensure quality and time savings. It has contributed very well in this regard which is critical to our Insurer partners as their hire car costs are determined by our ability to shorten the repair cycle.

“The demands from our Insured clients have increased substantially and given the fact that our Insurer partners are under severe cost pressures, matching the

Martin van der Merwe (left) and Corrie du Plessis say the Nitrotherm Spray system adds value through the quick turnaround time experienced which all adds up to greater profitability for the business. demands of the client and the Insurer partners protocol is extremely difficult.

“We are mixing approximately 20-25% less paint to do the same job we did previously, so there is a substantial material saving as well.” he said. Du Plessis feels that although the Nitrotherm Spray System was amortised quickly because of all the material and time savings.

The Nitrotherm Spray system has definitely made their spray painter at Auto Magic Bellville much happier when it comes to fast, quality finish.

Why NIitrotherm® Spray?

Because there is a minimum of 20-30% savings of coating materials as well as a significant reduction of overspray.

You will experience less maintenance of booths and booth filters as well as better production. l Increase of paint transfer efficiency l Easy “wet on wet” application

(consecutive application of two or more coats) l Application time reduction by 30-40% l Consistent performance regardless of time of day or season l Uniform thickness and gloss l Haze and streaks reduction l Improved lay down of metal colours and DOI (Distinctness of Image) l Control of sagging, orange peel and distension l Much lower atomizing and shaping pressure green technology environment and safety l Reduction of VOC l Improvement of working environment conditions.

For more information call Kanye Vimba on +27 (0)11 396 1161 or visit: www.kanyevimba.co.za. Any queries for KZN can go to Eguchi Iwao South Africa Pty Ltd, +27 (0)31 913 0600.

Dicky Juries, spray painter at Auto Magic Bellville is delighted with the paint savings he’s adding to each job.

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NITROTHERM AD J-A 2015_Layout 1 2016/01/26 9:58 AM Page 1

Fast molecules: 4 Less working pressure 4 Increased transfer efficiency 4 Better working conditions 4 Less spraybooth maintenance 4 Extends life of booth filters

Heated Nitrogen: 4 Lowers product viscosity 4 Reduces use of solvents 4Reduce VOC 4Improves application speed 4Improves coverage 4Less aggressive application

Adjustable polarity: 4 Increases adhesion to different substrates

A spray-painting revolution.

Saves costs and time.

Gives a very high quality finish.

Guarantees a consistent performance.

Creates a cleaner working environment.

Minimal installation requirements.

Rapid return on investment.

Kanye Vimba Trading tel: +27 11 396 1161 cell: +27 82 552 8126 Email: info@kanyevimba.co.za or visit our website: www kanyevimba.co.za

4 Nitrogen can be charged with positive or negative ions

4 Regulated by up to 15kv 4 Drastic reduction of impurities on the finished surface

4 Easier application to metallic substrates

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ABRASIVE NEWS

pRODUCT pROfILE

MIRKA: PROVIDING UNIQUE SOLUTIONS fOR THE AUTOMOTIVE REfINISH INDUSTRY

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he automotive refinish industry has been a key sector for MIRKA for more than two decades. MIRKA’s capacity to consistently provide cutting-edge products that meet the industry’s constant need for improvements in efficiency, productivity and a cleaner working environment has seen it become one of the world’s most trusted brands.

The MIRKA culture is to continually challenge traditional concepts and to think ‘outside the box’ to create unique solutions that give customers a clear edge. For example, MIRKA’s innovative net sanding concept is unlike any other.

The patented net abrasives contain literally thousands of tiny holes that allow dust and other particles to be efficiently vacuumed away to prevent them clogging the disc surface.

MIRKA’s Power Tool unit has also used creative thinking to develop an ever expanding range of specialised tools which are packed with clever designs and 16

attention to detail.

The MIRKA Gold products have become a classic abrasive which gives great performance within a lot of different applications. The tough latex coated paper base makes Gold a balanced flexible product with a good initial cut and good durability. The full resin bonding and the even grain coating provide a constant stock removal and an excellent surface finish.

Abralon is specifically developed for surface preparation and finishing prior to polishing. Used in this mode Abralon produces an ultra-fine, consistent surface finish that is perfect for speeding up the polishing process.

MIRKA Mirlon is a non-woven product used for contoured surface conditioning by hand, cleaning and finishing. Thanks to its special structure, Mirlon is a flexible, threedimensional fibre sanding material that's easy to use on profiled surfaces and produces an excellent finish. It's ideal for matting of surfaces and creates an excellent

base for the next lacquer layer.

The combination of MIRKA’s high performing abrasives and tools are developed to provide a correct repair process to meet the demands of todays’ automotive collision repair industry.

Environment, health and safety are taken into consideration in all aspects of the process and MIRKA always focuses on quality from start to finish, helping you to perform better.

MIRKA’s unique concept of dust-free sanding, combined with their effective surface finishing solutions, has replaced traditional sanding methods in many industries. MIRKA’s products are approved by the most important global paint dealers and are used in bodyshops all over the world!

For more information on MIRKA’s Automotive product range, contact Bulldog Abrasives sales team on +27 (0)11 786 5991 or on sales@bulldogabrasives.co.za

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MIRKA AD M-J 2016 A4_Layout 1 2016/05/12 12:27 PM Page 1

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fUTURE TECH - by Andrew Marsh

TO INfINITY AND BEYOND

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e are part of the biggest global technology and social upheaval right now, and collision repair is very much part of that change. In this article we shall take a look at an area where technology impact has changed the collision repair business for ever – body materials.

The body beautiful Once upon a time vehicle body structures were made from mild steel alloy with typical yield strengths of 180 MPa, that could be pressed via multiple stage forming into all sorts of shapes without splitting, thanks to the press tool designers. The steel gained strength thanks to mainly the form of the panel rather than any sort of work hardening – where the form could not deliver the required strength the sheet steel thickness was increased.

However, from around 1997 onwards this situation changed with the arrival of higher strength steel alloys. The first application of these ‘boutique’ steels were in B pillar reinforcements, but rapidly spread to include the A pillar as well as the sill reinforcements. Why? To increase structural performance not only for stiffness (handling, stability, and noise, vibration and harshness), but also the relatively new crash test procedures from NCAP (US) as well as Euro NCAP (erm… Europe!).

Thus greater performance could be delivered without the weight increase compared with engineering the same level of performance with mild steel alloy.

So last century Taking a snap shot of vehicle body engineering across new cars in 2000, we can see that some older models which were still in production had almost nothing but mild steel alloy, whereas the ‘cutting edge’ new model programmes had around 70% mild steel alloy.

Contrast this with 2016, where most vehicles have less than 30% mild steel alloy – a change which has spread across the entire passenger car, light commercial vehicle and bakkie sectors in less than a decade.

Why? The relative cost of the body structure as a proportion of the whole vehicle has fallen, allowing the selective use of higher strength steel alloys – and indeed non-ferrous materials – to be used to offset vehicle weight. There are some basic economics which show why steel alloy has been and will continue to play a big part in vehicle structures.

Whilst aluminium alloy is more tolerant of high proportion of recycled material than steel production, each kg of material would have to be recycled around eight times to get parity with the amount of energy used to make steel alloy the same number of times. Carbon fibre reinforced plastic for mass market applications is still in 18

Circa 2000: 70% plus mild steel.

Circa 2012: 35% mild steel.

development, and thanks to new thermo plastic resins replacing thermoset resins it can be recycled too. Magnesium alloys have very limited mass market applications (typically instrument panel cross car support members, centre console support members, hood slam panel assemblies) and this situation will remain until the raw material cost reduces significantly….

A few high end vehicles have used aluminium alloy intensive body structures but this is not due to weight saving alone – the same effect could be achieved at higher tooling cost with steel alloys, but where production volumes are modest the use of aluminium is a good compromise to achieve the desired goal. The added bonus is for the consumer who perceives aluminium alloy to be ‘high tech’, ‘rust free’ and different.

Skeletons We can see the mass market vehicle structure uses a skeletal form, in which load bearing members can be made from a variety of steel and aluminium alloys – although steel has and will continue to

dominate. This collection of panels assembled together into a series of box members provides the primary load path for the platform stability which is required not only for rise/handling but also for good noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) performance. The same members are also optimised to direct impact energy from the point of collision throughout the remaining vehicle structure.

In the case of skin panels there has and will continue to be a push towards weight saving, and this is manifest in panel thickness reduction along with substitution for aluminium alloy. In both cases there is a demand to maintain panel stiffness for NVH as well as resistance to the infamous car park denting creators.

Super materials, in aluminium and steel alloys….

In the case of aluminium alloy it is now common to find a sandwich material where the core is made from a lower strength alloy and the two skins are made from high grade aluminium alloy. The beauty is the resultant sandwich that can be pressed as

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www.autoindustryinsider.com easily as the core material, but delivers almost the same strength as the higher strength aluminium alloy.

The higher strength 6000 and 7000 series aluminium alloys are typically used for aerosapce load bearing skins, and are prone to rapid work as well as age hardening. This limits how much form can be put into the panels, making the materials nominally unsuitable for automotive applications. One should note the higher strength aluminium alloy ‘skins’ are each less than a fraction of a millimetre thick, and have a higher magnesium content than the ‘core’ alloy.

Note! When refinishing damaged panels the outer skin can be removed during the process of taking off the high spots. Due to the differing magnesium content of the aluminium alloy, this may induce paint system finish issues in later life. JLR for example, state that reforming such panels is not permitted, and the factory supplied coat should not be removed from new panels either.

For steel alloys the development of materials that could be pressed as easily as mild steel and yet deliver significantly higher strength has been the focus of companies around the world for more than two decades.

Let’s take a look at two families of steel alloy commonly used on vehicles – dual phase (DP) and press hardened steel alloys.

Dual Phase steel alloy The steel alloy family is a mass market dream in that it can be formed via single or multi stage pressing just like mild steel, with minimal work hardening. The raw material is produced by taking the rolled sheet steel alloy to orange heat so that the grain structure is in the austinitic phase, and then quenched at a specific rate to induce ferrite in the grain structure. When the desired proportion of ferrite is achieved, the steel alloy is then rapidly quenched to turn the remaining austenite to martinsite. As the sheet is then used to press parts, the softer ferrite takes the strain and induces the first level of tension – or work hardening – due to the differential grain structure. The second stage of work hardening comes during the painting process where vehicle manufacturing facilities typically use 170 degrees C for around 20 minutes to bake the finish. This adds to the first stage of work hardening by initiating rapid age hardening.

Typically dual phase steel alloys have a yield strength from 220 to 590 MPa, although even stronger versions are available. Typical applications include ultra thin skin panels (0.6 mm thick, around 220 MPa yield strength) through to structural box member panels (around 590 MPa yield strength).

Note! The Dual Phase process is not reversible in the vehicle repair environment.

Repairing such materials is possible with

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limited cold working, but use of heat will destroy the grain structure. This means it might be possible to repair a door skin, but not a structural member in this way. Major structural members should be sectioned and new parts welded in, using the guidelines from the vehicle manufacturer – the allowable heat degradation along the section joints has been engineered by the vehicle manufacturer to permit such operations.

Press hardened steel alloy The process was invented by Swedish Steel to produce immensely strong steel alloy which could be used selectively for high load paths where conventional solutions – making the panel thicker – were not possible due to weight and bulk considerations. The process uses a specifically formulated rolled sheet steel alloy which is then heated to 850 degrees C (orange heat), and then pressed inside a male/female press tool which is selectively cooled at a rate of 50 degrees C per second whilst the panel is inside it. This converts the austinite phase grin structure to mainly tough martensite grain structure.

The process typically produces formed panels in one hit, so offsetting the increased time to produce panels by eliminating the need for multiple stage pressings. In addition such panels initially had a lot of surface scale, and so would not be used for ‘A’ class exterior surfaces. However, since the process was first used commercially around 2001, it has been evolved to include tailor blanks (steel alloy for press hardening joined to another type of steel alloy before pressing) and tailor blank rolled panels (the same as tailor blank with the addition of varying the thickness of the finished panel).

Note! The press hardened steel alloy process is not reversible in the vehicle repair environment. Repairing such materials is possible with limited cold working, but use of heat will destroy the

grain structure. This means it might be possible to cold pull a sill or B pillar if the deflection is one or two millimetres, but structural members should be sectioned and new parts welded in, using the guidelines from the vehicle manufacturer – the allowable heat degradation along the section joints has been engineered by the vehicle manufacturer to permit such operations.

Lessons for all The upshot of looking into just three materials typically found on vehicles today is doing anything that ‘feels right’ or ‘looks right’ without the information from the vehicle manufacturer is problematic. Gone are the days of the beautifully tolerant material – mild steel – since the more complex multi material body structure is not only with us now, but extends across all vehicle segments. Preparation for repairs is now very important to ensure a successful outcome.

This article was based on a presentation by the author given to the Cross Industry Conference held on 22 April, 2016.

Automotive Refinisher enabled the author to present this subject in South Africa.

Next Edition - part 2: How motor insurance has developed in Europe, as a preview of what could happen in South Africa, and new developments underway in automotive manufacturing which will migrate to collision repair.

A uto Industry C onsulting is an independent provider of technical information to the global collision repair industry. Products include EziMethods, our online collision repair methods system and A uto Industry Insider, our collision repair industry technical information website. For more information please visit the websites: www.ezimethods.com and www.autoindustryinsider.com or contact ben.cardy@autoindustryconsulting.com

Dual phase steel alloy g rain str ucture features a co mb ination of so fter Ferrite and harder Martensite phase material. During the forming pro cess the d ifferential elongation ind uces wo rk hardening, and s o an increas e in streng th over and abo ve that achieved by creating the desired shape from flat sheet.

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LOCAL UPDATE TRAINING

SOLUTIONS WITH GLASURIT

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lasurit has one of the longest successful track records of supply to the SA collision repair trade.

Since the introduction of the Parrot brand in 1978, it has been at the forefront on moving the business forward.

Automotive Refinisher magazine took time out to speak to Marius Nel, technical manager Southern Africa and Paul Rathbone, advanced business solution consultant from BASF Coating Services to see what is on the horizon in terms of the changes that face local repairers in their paint shops.

BASF Coating Services has for close to a year, been pursuing a training ethic for their top customers of advanced business solutions. What is this all about?

Paul Rathbone: Through our interaction with our customers we realised that they deal with massive challenges in the industry on a day-to-day basis. Our target at BASF Coating Services is to make our customers more sustainable and successful with our approach on ABS (Advanced Business Solution). We work closely together with our top customers to assess and adjust their body shop’s workflow, design, audits and their one-on-one consultancies where needed. These improvements contribute to their body shop’s efficiency and ultimately lead to improved profit margins.

This European developed business strategy takes care of every aspect of body shop control and profitability. To date how successful has the training for shop owners and managers been?

Paul Rathbone: The training for shop owners and managers has been very successful because of our targeted approach.

Most customers embraced and implemented the new approach in their body shops with visible and sustainable results. We recently adjusted our approach slightly, because we saw that when we spend more individual time with the customer, implementation really takes off. The intended improvements are being implemented and old habits don’t return once the see the value-add of the new way of working. Customers that had great success with it is AutoBodySpecialist in Johannesburg, Denys Edwards in Port Elizabeth, Flanagan’s in Durban and Technicolor in Bloemfontein to name only a few. The customers grasped the opportunity to implement the European developed business strategy, and found it to be beneficial to their businesses.

What feedback have you had from customers who have done the course, from a practical day-to-day business implementation point of view?

Marius Nel: We need to realise and be aware that change is never easy.

Breaking out of long-term habits and procedures are even more difficult, especially if you have been in the industry for a long time.

That is why customers find the initial 20

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Paul Rathb one. implementation phase to be tough, but it is vital for their overall success and once they persevered, they start seeing visible results.

We’ve also seen the transformation of customers undergoing the programme. They became even more successful in running an efficient and sustainable business.

Perhaps one of the biggest developments at BASF Coating Services has been the introduction of workflow concepts to increase production output with vastly diminished reject levels.

Can you tell us more about this concept?

Paul Rathbone: The workflow concept includes all the processes of the entire organisation. The ultimate outcome of the workflow concept is to improve efficiency and provide a measure to manage the increase in output and decrease in reject levels. It addresses labour as a core business and speak to the mindset of repair, rather than preplace, which also aligns with the insurers’ approach.

Many shop owners are graduates from the “school of life” and have risen from a simple hands-on workshop way of thinking to now owning their own business. How do you see BASF Coating Services’ financial controls able to help such an owner?

Marius Nel: The School of life is not a bad school – it is indeed a rather good one. But financial controls for a business are critical at all times and something that needs to be taken seriously in order to succeed.

The legacy way of working “cars in cars out” prove to be one no longer viable. Managing the costs and focus on key-to-key-times is very important and stressed in our ABS approach. Businesses can no longer be focused on turnover only, it should be a tough discussion around turnover versus costs versus profit for a sustainable business.

There is a famous saying, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” BASF Coating Services has developed a very clever auditing programme to oversee increased profitability across the board on business activities. How does it work practically?

Paul Rathbone: We have two types of audits. On the one hand we have the Process Audit, or as it is referred to in the industry the body shop audit, which is a fitness assessment of all processes within the business.

This includes not only a written report, but the intensive presentation and discussion with the shops management as well. On the other hand is the business/financial assessment. This will teach and enable personnel to understand shortcomings and

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Marius Nel. areas of improvement within the workshop cycle. Between both audits we recommend a certain timeframe which is assessed case by case. However, the most important outcome is to ensure that the suggested measures are implemented in the end. We really enjoy meeting with the customers discussing changes, improvements and challenges, but what really matters is the sustainable implementation of the individual actions.

In your long technical experience Marius, where do you see the local trade on the subject of overall standards of repaired vehicles?

Marius Nel: Due to the impact and influence of the OEM’s in the local industry, the quality and standards have vastly improved, and I can proudly say that local repairs are of a world class standard. Most of all OEM requirements are met with outstanding results. The vast improvements in body shops due to BASF’s Advanced Business Solutions programme and technical training, is proving to be a major factor in the increase in quality of the final repair.

BASF Coating Services has spent a considerable amount of money on the new training facility in Midrand with all the latest in spray technology. Is this investment paying dividends on the amount of people being trained?

Marius Nel: Yes, the investment is definitely paying off. We see a big increase in the skills of technical staff, sales representatives and our customers. We offer regular customer training, OEM training and ABS Business Seminars and solutions at our facility. What is also very important for us is training of apprentices. We have agreed with the NF (Ntuthuko Foundation) apprentices programme to train their apprentices as well in the RCC (Refinish Competence Centre) to ensure that they are fit for the future demands of our industry.

Are you seeing an improved overall capability with the brand with such training?

Marius Nel: BASF’s technical abilities and skills have always been of an exceptional standard and we pride ourselves in being the expert, supporting our customers’ need in order to grow and move their business forward. So to answer your question, yes, the RCC (Refinish Competence Centre) brought a new dimension in ensuring that not only our staff, but also our customers, are exposed to a high level of expertise and training, which make them capable of delivering outstanding service to their customers.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

WHAT’S HOT?

BOLT & ENGINEERING - QUALITY TOOLS AND FASTENERS PLUS THE FRONIUS WELDING RANGE

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he Bolt & Engineering Distributors (BED) Group has been supplying industry with quality tools and fasteners since 1983. Since its humble beginnings in a small rented premises in Wadeville, Bolt & Engineering Distributors has grown into a major national distributor, operating across Gauteng, North west province, Free State, Platinum Province, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Northern and Western Cape.

Bolt & Engineering Distributors has built a reputation for prompt delivery, service reliability, competitive pricing structures and a strong commitment to the Automotive, Transportation, Agriculture, Mining, Power Generation, Structural Steel, Construction, Heavy and General Engineering Industries. Bolt & Engineering Distributors has seven divisions consisting of Fastener Division, Tool Division, Welding Division, Health & Safety Division, Lifting Division, Bearing Division and Industrial paint and Thinners.

There is at least one specialist which heads up each of the seven divisions.

BED’s Welding Division, the perfect fit for body shops Bolt & Engineering Distributors Welding Division is the exclusive Distributor in South Africa for the Fronius range of welding equipment which is manufactured in Austria. Fronius are one of the world leaders in welding technology. Quality always has a good name and the list of Fronius customers in the automotive and supplier industries reads like a verifiable ‘who’s who’; Audi, BMW, Daimler-Chrysler, GM, Honda, KTM, Mercedes-Benz, Opel, PSA, Renault, Saab, Scott, SEAT, Skoda, Tesla, Toyota Boshuko, Volvo, VW, Yamaha, Benteler, Bosal, Krupp, Metalsa and Sachs.

Fronius welding equipment offers the collision repair industry characteristic recipes for bodywork repairs. Gas-shielded brazing is the ultimate joining process used for bodywork panels. Since the introduction, it has superseded Mig/Mag welding for the most part.

This is also the only process that workshops may use so that 22

the advantages of brazed auto bodies are retained even when repairs have been made. Fronius offers you far more than an officially approved unit in the Trans Process Solution 270i C Pulse MIG brazing and MIG/MAG welding system. The “welder” can call up the correct operating points for the joint at the touch of a button.

Fully stored parameters guarantee quality and reproducibility.

The main reason for the changeover from welding to Mig (metal inert gas) brazing of galvanised sheets were related to technical matters and quality. On one hand the high welding temperatures cause vaporisation of the zinc layer and on the other they can give rise to deformations.

Brazing reduces these losses in quality. In addition to the benefit of brazing with tried and tested operating points, the welder can also set up his own. The same also applies to welding. The universal TPS 270i C Pulse is designed for joining conventional metals such as low and high-alloy steels, aluminium, magnesium and copper. As a result it is an ideal working unit for body shops.

Customers expect quality back-up and service when using a Fronius welding system and Bolt & Engineering Distributors Group has a fully equipped and approved Fronius Service and Repair centre at their Head Offices in Wadeville, Germiston.

They have two qualified Fronius technicians who were trained

by Fronius International in Austria. If a customer’s welding system should ever stop working, they can expect nothing less than fast and dedicated assistance. In such cases their Fronius experts from their service and repair centre will provide efficient support, either at the customer’s premises or at the repair centre, depending on the situation. As well as the repair and service for the welding systems in general, the company also offer specialised service for their welding torches.

You can obtain further information on the Fronius range and other related welding products by calling +27 (0)83 629 4096 or craig@bolteng.co.za

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NO LONGER FALLING ON DEAF EARS Tr aining is car ried out in a dedicated wo r ks hop.

Dr Frik Botha.

Dr Frik explains the big ask for training a deaf person is a simple one, “Who will become his sponsoring family in the new world of apprenticeship mentoring?”

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n a global scale the numbers are scary for employment for any disabled person. They stand a less than 40% chance of ever getting meaningful work in any trade. One man who has had a lifetime of crusading for SA’s hearing impaired is Dr Frik Botha. He has worked tirelessly for over three decades to give the deaf a voice in trade training. He is now working with his son, Frik junior and some key sponsors in Industry Training and Consulting (ITC). He runs a dedicated training centre for automotive training for the hearing impaired and over the years, more than 67 fully trained hearing impaired panelbeaters, spray painters and motor

vehicle assessors have qualified.

Dr Frik explains the big ask for training a deaf person is a simple one, “Who will become his sponsoring family in the new world of apprenticeship mentoring?” Over the years Frik has developed a number of these families in which skills programmes trainees can be housed to enable the deaf to help themselves. Dr Frik has a stand-out track record. By enlisting the help of Dr Raymond Patel from Merseta, Santam, and other key insurers, this now means that the deaf training is running at an all-time record high.

Visiting the centre, anyone can see close to 15 learners working on panel straightening, electric and mechanical repairs and vehicle

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I ndustr y Tr aining and Cons ulting ( ITC) ar e b as ed in Pr eto ria and Frik Botha junior manages o per atio ns o n a d aily b as is.

Cour ses are p ut to gether

by Jacquilize v an Tonder who tr acks the ad minstr ati ve staff at the centr e.

The cur r ent deaf tr aining pr o gr amme will deliver high q uality panel shop ar tisans.

Tr ainees ar e ho used in Pr eto ria with deaf awar e families to help with communication p ro blems.

T hes e appr entices ar e the luck y ones w ho get tr aining, says Dr Fr ik.

With spo nsor ship fr om Santam and o ther s, electrical fault finding is par t o f the cur riculum.

assessing. The knowledge of basics starts with a three-month intensive theory and hands-on practical across-the-board training. They are then tested for performance levels on competency skills and given an ITC competency certificate once they make the standards on the modular training programme in Phase One. Dr Frik went on to say that it is the realisation of a lifetime dream for him with the help of Merseta on board. He is still passionate about deaf learner advancement and has received a great many accolades for his unstinting desire to help and get recognition for disabled people who are also entitled to a full working career in the motor

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trade. Like any other lifetime crusade Frik’s sheer passion and dedication has been rewarded with the chance to still go to work and help every day. He simply shrugs his shoulders and smiles and says, what else would he be doing at this time of his life?

Project particulars - training the disabled A partnership was established in 2015 between ITC (training provider), National Institute for the Deaf (Worcester) as the employer (of the unemployed learners) and Merseta (as the sponsor). ITC and Merseta compiled and registered two Skills Programmes to correspond with the job

description of the General World grade two, working a body shop. The objectives of this programme were to empower the disabled (deaf) learner, to train them to be able to perform needed skills for the collision repair industry, to create employability for them and to enable them to participate in the economic activities of our country. The dream was to “To help the deaf to help themselves.”

When employed in the industry, careerdevelopment would follow as they are “exposed to the real world of work and working in the body shop, amongst the hearing people.” This model was successfully used in the past by ITC and seven deaf qualified panelbeaters entered the industry, earning money to provide for their families and contributing to the industry.

The current project with 13 hearing impaired learners kicked off on 15 February, 2016, and it consists of knowledge, experiential training and practical in the body shop.

During phase one, introducing the learner into the world of work is done in a practical way and much time is spent on ensuring occupational knowledge and understanding by the learner. The programme includes health and safety, the usage of tools and equipment, how to perform surface preparation on a panel and to repair a small dent, remove, replace and align body panels, apply sealers and cavity filler and use lifting equipment.

In the body shop during phase two the learner performs the activities of the programme and is under the supervision of a mentor. A logbook is kept by the learner, signed off by the mentor (qualified journeyman) and at the end of phase two the learners return to the training centre.

Final assessment takes place and a Merseta Statement of results is issued to each learner.

A follow up skills programme in phase three will then be undertaken with the learners to skill them further in polishing automotive panels, how to adjust headlights and performing basic welding/joining of metals. Two hearing impaired learners of Brooklyn Motorlab which have completed a four-year training programme with ITC will soon be allowed to apply for the trade test, after completing a pre-trade test evaluation.

Wayne and his staff are thanked for their passion and dedication to help the two learners. Many thanks go out to Santam who sponsored the PPE for the learners.

ITC always asks for assistance in training and Santam is always ready to assist and ready to help. A special word of thanks from the ITC to Dr Raymond Patel, Wayne Adams and Christo Basson of Merseta, these gentleman really went through deep waters to get the deaf-project going.

Dr Frik concluded, “Dr Deon de Villiers (CEO or NID) my dear friend and I had this dream for the past 16 years. At long last our kicking and screaming didn’t fall on deaf ears!

Now the challenge is to create an awareness amongst all South Africans that “deaf people strive to be better than equal.”

For more details you can call Industry Training and Consulting on +27 (0)12 379 8684 or +27 (0)12 377 2833 or email them on info@it-c.co.za

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RUPES HE-901 Dust Extraction System

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Rotary House, 31 Heidelberg Rd, Johannesburg, 2094 Phone: (011) 334 1875 Fax: (011) 334 0965 www.celette.co.za info@celette.co.za

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PRODUCT NEWS WHAT’S HOT?

DEVILBISS GTI PRO AND GTI PRO LITE

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eVilbiss has announced the introduction of the new Gti Pro and GTi Pro Lite spray gun platform for 2016. The company says it became evident from customer feedback that end users distinguish their spray guns for different applications and materials by colour. DeVilbiss therefore introduced two new colours to the GTi Pro Lite range with a vibrant blue and the ultra tough, black ‘Quick Clean’ coating. Along with the standard Pro Lite gold, the colours have been harmonised with the full size GTi Pro to create a new i-System Pro spray gun family.

The ‘Base’ and ‘Clear’ laser marking have been removed, making it simpler for the end user to allocate a spray gun to a specific application or material other than base and clear, such as direct gloss, wet on wet, etc. For example, the new black ‘Quick Clean’ anodised spray gun could be used for base coats, gold for clear and the blue for those tricky metallic silvers or wet on wet.

For more information on this range contact Tunzi Automotive on +27 (0)31 205 2246 or your nearest BASF Coatings distributor.

US NEWS

AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES TO IMPACT INSURANCE

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esearch has found that 380 million vehicles worldwide will have some form of autonomy in 14 years time, which will have an impact on the car insurance market. In the 2016 edition of the Usage-Based Insurance (UBI) study, consultancy firm PTOLEMUS made the forecast that 380 million semi, highly or fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) will be on the road by 2030.

This rise is also forecast by the report to offer some real benefits.

In the decade preceding 2030, the penetration of active safety/ADAS functions and autonomous vehicles will reduce the number of accidents by more than 30%, which will cause insurance premiums to fall by up to 40%.

A detailed, bottom-up analysis of the causes of road accidents was conducted, which also looked to establish how ADAS functions are likely to prevent them. It also evaluated the progression of active 28

safety features such as AEBS (Advanced Emergency Braking Assistance) and their impact on avoidable claims losses in each market.

The results show that where AV penetration is highest, such as Germany, the auto insurance market will decrease by 40% between 2020 and 2030.

PTOLEMUS managing director Frederic Bruneteau said: “The emergence of autonomous vehicles may appear as a remote risk today. However, this is a collision insurance companies must face and the magnitude of its impact is extremely high.”

The report’s findings on the impact of AVs on insurance are part of a wider set of trends affecting the auto insurance sector including UBI, the end of statistical models, OEM-insurance integration and smartphone insurance.

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INDUSTRY NEWS pRODUCT pROfILE

Y.E.S. MEET SPRAY BOOTH MARKET NEEDS WITH fIRAT “

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.E.S. Equipment have been marketing the imported Turkish spray booth for a number of months now and its market acceptance is gaining momentum,” says Darrel van der Koff from Y.E.S. Equipment.

“Right now the Firat FBK 7000 spray booth is proving extremely popular in the body shop collision repair trade.”

The booth has been specifically designed to optimise the colour control while spraypainting is in progress. This is achieved by the use of equal light distribution illumination systems which uses energy efficient ballasts in the lamp banks.

Included for convenience are a hanger with rails for loose parts which allows them to be spraypainted at the same time as the vehicle in repair.

High grade construction materials abound in the FBK 7000 which meets and exceeds most waterborne spraypainting demands. Ceiling insulation is robust and strong enough to be walked on during routine ceiling filter media changes. A full three-door leaf folding package makes front entry easy with a personnel entry and exit unit, which can be placed at the back, left or right of the booth – wherever it will be most useful to the client. There is also an observation window made of high grade safety glass.

When the spray booth is installed, a base unit of steel construction can be easily placed on a concrete floor in the interest of durability. The grates are

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galvanised to prevent corrosion and can carry up to 650 kg of wheel load. The design also minimises the dust aeration.

The spray booths feature fixed air speed to keep air flow at optimum levels of performance. Booth walls are fully insulated to maintain consistent heat control during the low bake cycle. Booth walls are one millimetre thick and also carry full insulation of glasswool. All the panels are fully powder-coated to eliminate the risk of any corrosion.

Energy savings with the Firat spray booth are approximately 30% better than many other competitors.

Fresh air is made available by a unit that delivers it to the bake cycle at 60°C in the booth. This is circulated by mixing up to 10% fresh air via a pneumatic damper control.

In the case of waterborne refinish up to 36 000 m3/h are delivered to the spray booth and heating up time is around 15 minutes in the bake cycle provided by a burner with 200 000 Kcal/h capacity.

These levels depend on heat up time compared to the outside ambient temperature.

If you want to use solvent based paint, you can select the mode on the digital screen to switch from one need to another.

The spray booth is also available with many design options and configurations to meet any specific needs for the automotive or industrial industries.

Firat offer a complete range from preparation booths, mixing rooms and spray booths. Give Darrell a call on on +27 (0)83 926 7101 for more enquiries.

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Preparation bay

Twin preparation bay

Mixing room

Side by side spray booths

High quality build.

Strong after-sale service.

Y.E.S are proud to be the sole importer of FIRAT spray booths and preparation bays to the South African market.

Manufactured in Turkey, FIRAT has established itself in countries such as Germany, France and now South Africa. All our booths are standard down-draft spray booths which will guarantee you energy-savings, higher productivity and enhanced performance. With FIRAT’s high quality build, and strong after-sales service networks, FIRAT will be the best choice you make for your repair shop.

Y.E.S - Your Equipment Supplier is the sole distributor of Firat equipment in sub-Saharan Africa

Y.E.S Sales Office : +27(0) 10 590 9444 Website: www.yesr sa.co.za Dar r el v an der Kolff: dar r elv@yesr sa.co.za or +27 (0) 83 926 7101 Tommy du Plessis tommyd@yesr sa.co.za or +27(0 )73 163 0882

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Contact Suleman info@automotivepaint.co.za

Tel +27 (0)31 902 7666 www.automoti vepaint.co.za

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INDUSTRY NEWS

by Roger Houghton

WHAT’S HOT?

CHANGE OF DIRECTION FOR MOTOR SHOW

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he South African Festival of Motoring, which takes place at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit between August 31 and September 4, is set to shake up the old image of a fairly static motor show with action, interaction and on-track demonstrations as well as a number of static displays of particular significance.

This new event, to be organised by SA Shows Messe Frankfurt with endorsement from a number of automotive bodies, including NAAMSA, will replace the previous Johannesburg International Motor Show.

This latter show was scheduled to be staged by NAAMSA and SA Shows Messe Frankfurt at the Johannesburg Expo Centre last year as part of a biennial cycle. However, following resistance from some of the major exhibitors who questioned the return on investment of a lengthy show which has grown increasingly more expensive over the years, the 2015 show was postponed.

The CEOs of the NAAMSA members then charged SA Shows Messe Frankfurt, as the new organisers, with reimagining the motor show for 2016 to make it more relevant to the fast-moving environment of vehicle marketing in the second decade of the 21st century. A decision was taken to relook the relevance of such an exhibition in South Africa.

“A totally new concept was developed by Messe Frankfurt, as the local show organisers, working in conjunction with NAAMSA and its members,” explained Konstantin von Vieregge, the recentlyappointed CEO of SA Shows Messe Frankfurt, the organiser of the Festival.

“We conducted many in-depth discussions with senior marketing executives of NAAMSA members to come up with a recipe that would satisfy all parties and prove a major attraction to consumers.

These frank discussions with the industry formed the foundation in developing our progressive new concept,” In addition extensive and comprehensive research was conducted

by SA Shows Messe Frankfurt to come up with a formula that would be welcomed by both exhibitors and visitors alike.

The result is the South African Festival of Motoring. The new objective will be to entertain and inform with similar emphasis on each aspect.

The launch in mid-March of the Festival, at the reborn, iconic Kyalami, was most successful and has fired up many of the doubters among the larger potential exhibitors. Hopefully many of them will now come aboard to join the current big five – Toyota, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan – to make this a truly

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representative and memorable event.

The Festival will be an interactive event with the opportunity to not only see, but also to drive a range of vehicles under controlled conditions, as well as enjoying a wide variety of entertainment for the whole family. Quality food and beverages will be among the highlights of the Festival with a variety of opportunities for VIP hosting by companies and organisations.

“We are moving from static to interactive which is a huge change,” said Von Vieregge. We have studied various interpretations around the world for moving from passive to active and have included aspects of the successful formula employed for the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK in the local recipe, while realising we need to retain a unique South African identity.

“The fact that we are using the iconic Kyalami circuit as a venue is a big step in giving the Festival a very special South African flavour.

The South African flavour will also be evident in cuisine, the fashion shows and the music as well as certain aspects of the entertainment offering.

“We know it is vital to widen the appeal of this show to make it a ‘must attend’ event on the calendar, with the main target being the general consumer with an interest in motoring. It is not a businessto-business event. Opening times will also be conducive to the lifestyle atmosphere we will create, being 11h00-21h00 from Wednesday to Friday and 09h00-21h00 on the Saturday and Sunday.

“The organisers will erect free-standing display units for exhibitors which will all be similar in design. There are limitations in terms of the space any single exhibitor may hire which is an important factor in keeping down costs and so improving the return on investment ratio.

“The Messe Frankfurt senior management team is very excited about the new automotive show concept developed in South Africa, particularly as it has substantial input from local motor industry executives who are our ultimate customers.

“Messe Frankfurt maintains ongoing communication channels with its subsidiaries and its various show stakeholders so as to be able to react quickly to market changes and to share best practices throughout its network.

The South African Festival of Motoring could well prove a benchmark and pilot event in pointing the way forward for shows of this nature. We see this progressive new concept, to be launched in South Africa, as a precursor to similar events Messe Frankfurt intends staging in other countries, probably starting in Russia and India,” concluded Von Vieregge.

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AR M-J CLAIRE 2016_NOV/DEC 2005 paganation 2016/05/18 11:55 AM Page 9

COATINGS NEWS INSIDE THE PRODUCTION HUB OF HB BODY, GREECE

The s heer d rive and p ass io n o f the HB Bod y team is what has mad e this company a fo rce to be reck oned with.

The o n-site aud ito rium can seat 150 and they have the capacity to translate in three lang uag es at the same time.

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Chryso sto mo s Mo usto s (left), area sales manager and Vasilis Vasileiad is, CEO have high hopes for the HB Bod y Br and in SA.

For mula d evelopment and timeous accurate co lour retrieval info rmation is what the R& D team strive for .

AR M-J CLAIRE 2016_NOV/DEC 2005 paganation 2016/05/18 11:55 AM Page 10

HB BODY availaBle nOw fOr retail stOres acrOss sa Story and pics by Ian Groat

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G lobal colo ur formulas are back ed -up with actual car colour s prayo uts fo r fas t accuracy.

HB Bod y’s Training Centr e is state-of-the-art.

High sp eed grinders made to ISO 9001 quality standard s in the paint pr oduction p lant.

n a landmark distribution deal HB Body, one of Europe’s top automotive paint manufacturers, has concluded a sole distribution agreement for the South African market and all neighbouring countries with local distributor Bulldog Abrasives.

“We will embark on a national roll out of the Greek company’s comprehensive product offer,” says group CEO, John Maroun. “This is a hugely exciting opportunity both for Bulldog Abrasives and retail paint suppliers who supply paint mixes over the counter.”

Bulldog has identified a large demand for a value priced full system of car refinish paint and ancillaries for HB Body who now export over 90% of their products to 75 countries across the world. They also hold a leading position in their home market of Greece.

HB Body has excellent colouristics. Their paint mixing system has over 18 000 hand sprayed colour chips that have been tried and tested and make it simple for accurate colour retrieval and formulations thereby reducing wastage and increasing output. They also use the latest spectrometer X-Rite system and software to offer any colour matcher accurate and fast colour matching every time for the best positive solution on colour.

The HB High Solid paint system offering The HB Body mixing system is based around the Autoemail 2K acrylic brand. This two component, quick drying resin based, high solid paint is formulated to deliver durable wet look finishes and comes with a full range of toners. The Colour Solutions Mix System is a one component solvent borne mixing system consisting of a high quality acrylic resin system and pigments. It comprises basic solid tints, metallic, pearls and Xirallic.

HB Body have become one of Europe’s top auto refinish companies because they produce a total system of a refinish products of the highest quality including primers, hardeners, clears, thinners, body fillers, sealants and other ancillary products.

To top this off they also offer a lifetime guarantee on their paint.

The global footprint of the HB brand system is set for further expansion not only in Southern Africa but also in Australia at this year’s Melbourne Trade Show. The UK will see a presence in Donnington and Italy’s Autopromotec in May. HB will also attend other high profile Automechanika and Sema Trade expos this year to promote their top selling auto refinish products.

HB Body company history HB Body SA was established in 1982 with the aim to produce and distribute high quality products for the automotive refinishing industry. They are based in Thessaloniki Greece, in self-owned establishments. Ninety percent of its production is exported to 75 countries across the world, whilst holding the lead position in the Greek market. HB Body SA has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Spain and marketing offices with 20 members of staff in Serbia and Russia. HB Body SA also has distribution centres in Athens.

They currently employ 250 people within Greece and 30 employees in its subsidiaries, a number which is increasing every year. Amongst these are chemists, mechanical engineers, economists and computer experts.

The company has invested more than 21 000 000 € over a three-year period (2006-2009) in new, fully automated production sights in order to achieve optimum productivity. The premises cover an area of 120 000sq m that includes the headquarters, creative design department, research and development, quality control, and the production units.

There’s also a training centre with spray booths, as well as an auditorium with a 150 seats, with the ability to translate in three languages simultaneously. This is where painters from all over the world are trained. One of the latest investments, incidetally, is the metal printing factory.

The vertical integration of the can production is now a fact. It begins with the label design of their products from the creative department, the metal printing, the actual making of the can and finally the storing of the cans in an automated robotic logistic warehouse, with a capacity of 7 000 pallets stored through a computerised system. The logistics warehouse is unique in Greece and one of the few found in Europe.

ISO 9001 In 1998 HB Body SA obtained the ISO 9001 certificate by TUV (German Association for the Certificate of Quality Systems). This is an official guarantee for quality assurance in design development, production, installation and servicing. In 2012, the company was awarded ‘True Leader’ status by the ICAP Group, a unique organisation which awards companies and groups – leaders that fulfill objective and high performance criteria, based on published results.

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AUTOREF AD J-F 2016_Layout 1 2016/05/12 12:03 PM Page 1

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www.aeu on our website toref.co .za Yes, a full 25 minutes to make a pitch for their business. Seem unlikely?

Well on average, a reader will spend 25 minutes with the Automotive Refinisher Magazine. Just as you are now.

As a result, brand loyalty increases by 32% and sales uplift by 8%.

All at a fraction of some other media costs and infinitely more effective than email sent straight to the junk folder.

In today’s climate, it’s important to hang on to customers.

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To advertise call us on +27 (0)11 949 4091 Alternatively send us an email to autoref@iafrica.com Or visit our website www.autoref.co.za

AR MAY-JUNE 2016 NAT_NOV/DEC 2005 paganation 2016/05/18 2:18 PM Page 29

DRIVEn SUZUKI 1.4 GLX ManUaL

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eing a fan of the Suzuki family we were eager to test out the new Ciaz 1.4 GLX Manual. Competing in the compact sedan segment for the first time, Suzuki’s new addition to the brand now rounds off it’s exciting range. I've always enjoyed the manufacturer’s quality build of cars as the Swift, Swift DZire - which is just a bit smaller than the Ciaz - and Jimny prove just how good they are by their presence in numbers in day to day traffic.

Having driven the Ciaz in and around town for the first few days we found the new sibling very comfortable and spacious. This sparked a willingness to take it out onto the open road and see just how it fairs as it would in-situ fully loaded like the average family getaway.

Most cars these days tick boxes as they meet your expectations from what you've seen and heard, but none quite like the Ciaz.

The difference with the Ciaz was it felt like I had always owned one from the word get go.

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The best part is how Suzuki managed to cram in the standard features with power windows, side-mirrors, remote central locking, 16inch alloy wheels, aircon, sixspeaker CD audio, Bluetooth, USB and Aux connectivity all apart of the standard package for R197 000. It is very well priced in the least considering pricing includes a threeyear/100 000 km warranty, and a threeyear/60 000 km service plan.

You soon realise it has great power when driving the five-speed manual 1.4 ltr petrol engine, and that said the consumption is good too. Claimed at 5.5km/100km I only managed to get it as low as 6.5litres for a short bit. Provided the aircon is off, the car performs relatively well with a heavy load, but when you consider the size of vehicle you are in and the engine it’s got, it’s really impressive. I learnt later that the vehicle weighs in at just 1540kg, which explains the great fuel efficiency.

From the moment you hit the cruise

by Jay Groat

control on the multi-function steering wheel, which is also standard, you really get to see just how smooth and spacious this streamlined four-door is.

Sitting inside you know your are safe with Suzuki’s standard safety protection like dual airbags, side-impact beams and anti-lock braking systems to mention just a few.

Luckily we got to take it on some of the Free State’s less kept roads where you really got the feel of just how good Ciaz's surface contact is thanks to super smooth suspension, even as we were dodging the ever present potholes.

In all honesty the amount of car you get for the price is excellent. I wouldn’t be surprised at the sales figures of the Ciaz by the end of this year, considering how crammed full of extras the car comes with as standard.

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HENKEL DPS M-J 2016_Layout 1 2016/05/12 12:08 PM Page 1

TEROSON® MS 9320TM SF Seam Sealer Rely on TEROSON seam sealant for all surfaces and materials TEROSON MS 9320TM SF is an ochre, low viscosity, sprayable seam sealant that provides excellent adhesion to a variety of metals, primers and topcoats. When dispensed with Henkel’s TEROSON handheld Dispensers and Spray Nozzles, TEROSON MS 9320TM SF can be applied in a fine or heavy non-sag patter, and provides a final appearance which rivals many robotically applied flat stream and wide stream beads.

Features & Benefits l l l l

Silane Modified Polymer base Solvent-, isocyanate-, and silicone-free Sprayable and brushable Sag-resistant

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Compatible with waterborne and solvent-based paints Fast overpaint and cure times UV- and weather-resistant Provides sound damping properties

TEROSON MS 9320TM SF is a moisture curing product and typically skins over in 10 – 20 minutes, important for Solvent paints. It can be painted over immediately when using Waterbased paints. TEROSON MS 9320TM SF is free of solvents, silicones and isocyanates, and cures to form a flexible seal with excellent UV resistance and weathering performance.

HENKEL DPS M-J 2016_Layout 1 2016/05/12 12:08 PM Page 2

Get the job done with an OEM finish! l Replicate OEM beads l Quick & easy application with unique TEROSON system l Fast cure speed

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SYSTEM INNOVATION pRODUCT pROfILE

SATA RPS THE CUP SYSTEM fOR PROfESSIONALS

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he SATA RPS (Rapid Preparation System) is the ideal cup system for shops focusing on perfect finishes and high profitability.

SATA RPS facilitates the painters’ work, significantly increases productivity and drastically reduces the use of cleaning agents and solvents.

The paint is mixed in the same cup which is later used for painting. As a result, there is no more time wasted on preparation; and additional mixing cups and sieves are no longer required. The workplace remains clean and contact with paint is reduced to a minimum.

The light weight (for example, a 0.6 litre cup with the lid only weighs 50 grams) as well as the low centre of gravity allows for safe and fatigue-free work.

Only the short paint channel of the gun requires flushing and, upon request, the SATA RPS cup can be refilled simply and in a cleanly manner. As a result, the colour changes are rapidly carried out, saving time and money.

One of the highpoints of the SATA RPS system is the sturdy cup which makes the handling of the gun effortless. The cup, along with the airtight closure, prevents the paint from being affected during storage.

It is not necessary to clean the cup system and no special disposal system is required. This reduces non-productive time, as well as cleaning agent and solvent consumption – helping save money and protect the environment.

The handling of the SATA RPS is extremely easy! The system only consists of three items, namely, the cup, lid and sieve (with a fineness of either 125 μ or 200 μ). Spare lids and sieves are available for all RPS cups.

The SATA RPS is the only cup system that fits on all modern SATA spray guns without cumbersome adapters. Adapters are available though for older SATA spray gun models and guns from other manufacturers.

There are far less crevices in the material passage which may attract paint material, possibly leading to coating flaws during subsequent paint jobs.

Continuous cup ventilation via the antidrip device ensures permanent consistent material flow. An even material application along with the highest colour match precision reduces the danger of expensive reworks.

With the SATA RPS system you 42

optimise your complete painting process without having to accept compromises with regards to the finish. As a result, you therefore work more profitably and save money.

SATA RPS advantages l Easy to use as it only has 3 parts l Fits directly onto all modern SATA spray guns, therefore no adapters are required l Perfect finish results are easily achieved with an even material flow l Cleaning becomes almost irrelevant, allowing quick colour changes l The stable cup ensures safe storage of left over material

l The pointed lid allows paint application until the cup is completely empty l Reduces cleaning effort and saves solvents l Available in 3 cup sizes: 0.3 litre, 0.6 litre and 0.9 litre Please ask your paint manufacturer for advice on selecting the correct sieve fineness.

For more information on the SATA RPS system, as well the rest of the SATA range of products, please contact Bulldog Abrasives sales team on +27 (0)11 786 5991 or sales@bulldogabrasives.co.za.

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SATA AD M-J 2016 A4_Layout 1 2016/05/12 12:32 PM Page 1

STANDOX DPS AD M-A 2016_Layout 1 2016/03/16 10:52 AM Page 1

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Tel: +27 11 834 1252 Fax: +27 11 834 1259 Email: info@kapci.co.za

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NEWS FROM THE ZOO - by Roger Houghton

RETAIL SALES TUMBLING BUT BOOM TIME FOR SA MOTOR MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

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t is strange but true that although the local vehicle market is shrinking, and the general economy is in a downturn plus the political environment is in turmoil, the vehicle manufacturing and exporting business in South Africa is booming.

Total capital expenditure by the Big 7 OEMs and their major suppliers for 2016 is projected to reach a record R7.63-billion with potential record production of 639 500 units this year with exports totalling a record 376 000 units.

The driving force behind these ventures is undoubtedly the South African government’s automotive industry incentive known as the Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP) which was instituted at the end of 2013 and has been revised recently.

Africa may not be seen as a logical global production base as the local motor manufacturers only make about 0.7% of the world’s production. However, the strategic location of the South African plants and their established supplier base together with the potential for sales growth in Africa itself – as well as the security the APDP provides for investors – makes good sense of these investments.

The most recent announcement came from Ford Southern Africa, which is investing R2.5-billion to add the production of the Everest SUV to the Ranger pick-ups already manufactured at the company’s Silverton facility. The project is expected to provide employment for an additional 1 200 people at Ford and its suppliers.

The plan is to produce 10 000 units a year for the local market as well as other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, with production starting in the third quarter of 2016. South Africa will be the fourth country producing the Everest, the others being Thailand, India and China.

Last year Ford made significant investments in its Duratorq TDCi diesel engine-manufacturing plant in Port Elizabeth with installed annual capacity increasing from 75 000 to 110 000 on engine assembly and machining capacity expanding from 208 000 to 265 000 component sets. (The component sets comprise cylinder heads, blocks and crankshafts).

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Ford’s latest announcement comes soon after the start of production of Toyota’s new Hilux and Fortuner in Durban, which are market leaders in their segments and major export models.

Toyota also manufactures the Corolla sedan and Quantum minibus for the local and export markets. Toyota’s most recent investment totals more than R5-billion.

Other large investments in vehicle manufacturing that were announced last year were made by BMW (R6-billion) and Volkswagen (R4.5-billion), while the quasi-government Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) says it has plans for a R12-billion joint venture with the Beijing Automotive International Corporation (BAIC), of China, to build a car manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of 100 000 units.

BMW intends to build the new X3 sports activity vehicle (SAV) at its 47-year-old Rosslyn plant, north of Pretoria. BMW will spend more than R3-billion on the Rosslyn factory and a further R3-billion on suppliers, start-up costs and training. This is the biggest single investment in the history of the South African motor industry.

X3 production will replace that of the 3-Series sedan which has been built in Rosslyn since 1994 and has included four series of this model, with the sixth generation in production currently.

Earlier in 2015 Volkswagen had announced that it will invest R4.5billion in South Africa between now and 2017 to increase the production capacity of its Uitenhage plant, in the Eastern Cape, by 50% to 150 000 units a year. This project involves the production of two unspecified new models and there is the possibility that a third model could also be made in South Africa.

The latest investment comes on top of the R5.9-billion invested

by Volkswagen in South Africa between 2007 and last year for plant and infrastructure for the production of the current Polo and the Polo Vivo models.

Retail sales of motor vehicles in South Africa started falling in the second half of 2015 after holding up reasonably well in the first half and the overall total for the year was 4.1% down on 2014. This year matters are worse, with total sales down almost 10% in the first quarter of 2016.

Exports are the key to the sustainability and viability of the vehicle manufacturing industry and this year the forecast is to export a record number of 376 000 built up units as well as significant quantities of a variety of automotive components. Exports in the first three months of this year are 13% down on the same period a year ago, but this is largely due to the fact that Toyota is still ramping up production of the new Hilux and Fortuner, which are major contributors to SA’s export volume.

However, this year will see the wage and employment terms negotiations between the motor industry and the relevant trade unions taking place as part of a three-yearly cycle. This period has been problematical in terms of labour strike action in the past and there are fears that this will be the case in 2016 too, particularly as NUMSA, the major trade union responsible for the motor industry now also has political ambitions.

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RSB partners for efficiency

BRAND NEW AND GROWING AND GROWING

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he standard of the auto Magic body shop franchise in and around the city of pretoria in tshwane, stands testament to the superb quality finish the network produces. automotive refinisher magazine was recently invited to visit one of their flagship shops, the new auto Magic centurion branch, which opened it’s doors for business earlier this year. on arrival at the new premises alongside the Danie Joubert (n1) highway we met shop owner raul Lima who is no newcomer to the game with over 20 years of industry experience. Lima had recently needed bigger premises as his previous auto Magic shop had out-grown itself, thanks to great service and quality finish resulting in repeat business. “the secret to our success was to ensure a pleasurable experience for the customer to ensure repeat business,” said Lima. “customer satisfaction is key, i believe. it’s so much easier to keep what you have than going out to look for new clients.” as with his previous premises it’s evident as you enter the new large scale shop that Lima has re-created the same spotless inviting atmosphere to the 2 500sq metre refinishing mecca. this is a great company ethic. r-M’s latest waterborne range adds to his cost saving on paint as

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operating efficiency is kept at its maximum with little rework involved. excellent back-up service is always there with rsB and their team. the company now claims an output of 40-45 cars per week which is still growing as the business expands. With four major approvals already and a General Motors approval pass by 95%, the team are set to produce world class quality work.

Generously adding to this streamlined efficiency in the new shop is a complete turn-key solution provided by the y.e.s. team which includes two firat spray booths separated by the colour mixing room for easy access for both spray painters, with firat preparation bays on either side of each booth. the large scale production is met with state-of-the-art chief chassis repair equipment and a new Laser Lock measuring system for those heavy duty jobs.

Lima says he has taken an easy route to repair by having the best systems and equipment in place. “i’m in no way concerned with the considerable investment we’ve made in our new premises. it’s already paying off and we look good and strong to grow even more in the future.” Lima concluded

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R-M COLOUR AD M-J 2015_NOV/DEC 2005 paganation 2016/05/12 12:31 PM Page 1

Tel: 011 872 1217

RSB AutoGroup, Joshua Doore Building, 4 Andries Street South, Wynberg, JHB

PHOENIX EXCHANGE AD M-A 2013_Invoice TOYOTA 16-8-05 2015/07/16 1:31 PM Page 1

Telephone: +27(0)79 206-7881 / Fax: +27(0)11 452-8372 Tyrone: +27(0)82 856-1200 Aki: +27(0)84 889-7014 / Email: info@phoenixchange.co.za Website: www.phoenixchange.co.za

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INDUSTRY NEWS

by Roger Houghton

whAT’S hOT?

automecHanIKa franKfut gearIng uP for anotHer BumPer sHow

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utomechanika Frankfur t, the premier event for this global brand, will take place at the Messe Frankfur t showgrounds from September 13-17 and it once again it promises to be the world’s leading showcase for the automotive aftermarket.

There will be a host of interactive events, conferences and workshops during the show besides thousands of individual exhibition stands to visit.

Among the interactive events are certified workshops for body repairs and painting. Best of all they are for FREE! The last time this biennial show was staged in Frankfurt these workshops attracted 650 delegates from 36 countries.

The theme for this year’s Automechanika is:”Get connected with the future of the automotive service industry”, which means

13.09.2016 - 17.09.2016 Frankfurt, Germany

there will be many high tech solutions to improving productivity, cost effectiveness and efficiency in the automotive service and repair workplace. Frankfurt in September will be the place to see tomorrow’s service and mobility innovations being showcased.

Most of the exhibition space is sold out already and, as usual, there will again be strong representation from global market and brand leaders.

Truck Competence is a growing sector at Automechanika trade fairs worldwide and this year there will be more than 1 000 companies and organisations exhibiting under the Truck Competence banner. These exhibitors will be highlighted in the programme and have a special brochure highlighting special events for this sector.

The previous Automechanika trade fair in Frankfurt, held in 2014, attracted more than

4 600 exhibitors from 74 countries and the show was attended by more than 139 000 visitors from 176 countries. These facts and figures underline the importance of this event for the global automotive aftermarket.

Messe Frankfurt is among the leading organisers of trade fairs and exhibitions globally and last year staged 132 events with more than half of them being staged outsider Germany. The events attracted 89 800 exhibitors and more than four million visitors.

Messe Frankfurt is continually looking at improving its offering at Automechanika trade fairs and from 2018 this biennial show in Frankfurt will be co-located with the Reifen show, which is organised by Messe Essen and has a major focus on tyres.

Visit www.automechanika.com for more information.

LOCAL INVESTMENT

new ford resource and engagement centre

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ord Motor Company Fund today announced the creation of a new job training and entrepreneurial development centre that will assist approximately 200 people a year, part of a fiveyear, $4 million investment in community building across the African continent.

The new Ford Resource and Engagement Centre, slated to open in October 2016, will be located near Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant outside of Pretoria, South Africa. It is the second resource centre of its kind created by Ford Fund, the philanthropic branch of Ford Motor Company, and is modelled after the original Ford Resource and Engagement Centre in Southwest Detroit.

The new centre marks the first international expansion of the highly successful project Ford Fund launched to bring non-profit community services together in a collaborative environment. Ford will invest more than R 2 million annually in job training there.

“Ford Fund has a proud tradition of strengthening the communities that are home to our employees, dealers, suppliers and customers,” said Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. “As our company expands throughout the African continent, we are bringing our innovative community investment programs to new regions to create a better world.”

Ford is joining with Future Families, a South Africa-based nonprofit that provides services to families and orphans affected by HIV and AIDS, in operating the new centre. The organisation will create a range of training packages designed to prepare clients for finding jobs after graduating from Ford Resource and Engagement Centre.

Courses will include career guidance and presentation skills, financial literacy, business and entrepreneurial skills, as well as training for vocational and technical jobs such as plumbing, caregiving, computer and office work.

Since opening in Detroit three years ago, the original Ford Resource and Engagement Centre has assisted more than 80,000 local residents through a range of social and cultural services, including providing 1.2 million lbs of food and helping to complete 6,100 tax returns. In total, the Detroit Resource and Engagement Centre has returned $3 in services to local community members for every $1 invested by Ford and non-profits.

Ford Fund works globally by making strategic investments focused on building communities, improving education and promoting driving safety as part of its Operation Better World initiative.

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The team at Fo rd Motor Company SA ar e excited ab out the ne w investment and futur e gr owth.

In South Africa, Ford Fund programs add to economic investments the company is making in the region. Last month, Ford announced it is investing $170 million to expand operations at Silverton Assembly Plant by adding production of the all-new Ford Everest SUV – a move that will create 1,200 new jobs.

“Our Ford Better World philosophy is more than just a series of projects – it permeates everything we do as a company,” said Jeff Nemeth, Ford president and CEO, Sub Saharan Africa region. “Social, environmental and economic sustainability are all interlinked and cannot be taken in isolation from one another. We are proud of this investment in our community and, ultimately, our people. Education plays a significant role in our lives and these projects will allow the community to benefit from our contributions to the economy.”

Ford Fund’s investment in the new centre will total more than R11 million, over five years. It is the latest development in Ford’s growing community presence across Africa as the company delivers on its broader goal of making people’s lives better. Over the next five years, Ford Fund will expand its signature education scholarships, grants and training programs across the continent, as well as bring additional Driving Skills for Life, Volunteer Corps and other community improvement projects to Africa.

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INTERNATIONAl NEWS RECAllS

FCA RECALLS 900 000 VEHICLES WORLDWIDE

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iat Chrysler Automobiles has said it will recall nearly 900 000 vehicles around the world to fix issues related to airbag deployment and anti-lock braking systems. The firm said it was recalling 284 089 model-year 2003 Jeep Liberty and 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees SUVs in the United States to replace some components linked to the deployment of airbags.

The company said it was aware of seven injuries related to the problem but no accidents.

Fiat Chrysler said the SUVs were not equipped with Takata airbags which have been at the centre of a massive recall after being linked to eight deaths and several injuries.

The car maker said it would recall about 13 411 vehicles in Canada, 6 277 in Mexico and 48 212 outside the NAFTA region to fix the same problem.

The carmaker also said it was recalling 275 614 model year 20122015 Dodge Journey cross-utility vehicles (CUVs) in the United States to replace some parts of their anti-lock brake systems (ABS).

Another 78 148 vehicles will be recalled in Canada, 36 471 in Mexico and 151 476 in non-NAFTA markets to fix ABS woes.

Waintrusion may disable the vehicles’ anti-lock braking and electronic stability control systems, the company said.

US NEWS

BMW I8 CONCEPT NOW MIRRORLESS

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n another foray towards reducing side-view mirrors with cameras, BMW presented an i8 Mirrorless concept it touts as safer and more aerodynamic for customers – a concept with the potential to affect collision repairers and aftermarket mirror manufacturers.

BMW wrote in a press kit it uses two “insignificant looking cameras, accommodated in aerodynamically optimised holders,” on the sides of the concept i8. Software merges their images with those from a camera above the rear window into a single panorama on a high-res screen where the rear view mirror would normally be. The screen itself is nearly a foot wide and nearly three inches high, which BMW describes as “rather bigger” than a typical rearview mirror but with a “more appealing look.”

“The image of the traffic behind the car covers a greater viewing angle than could be observed using the interior and exterior mirrors,” BMW reckons. “No adjustment of the cameras is necessary.

Even relatively small and very dynamic road users like motorcyclists are recorded either by the camera or directly in vision from the side window. Dangerous blind spots have been consigned to the past.”

Which sounds pretty impressive, though technically dangerous blind spots have been consigned as things of the past with sensors seen on newer vehicles today. But the concept goes beyond that, according to BMW. It would keep tabs on the camera input and alert the driver if a fast-moving car in another lane poses a threat or a cyclist nears the vehicle.The system can also swivel the camera as the driver turns a corner. Also useful, is the fact that the system can be adjusted for glare, convenient at night, and like rear view cameras in use today, lines help a driver park.

Essentially, the system sounds like a natural upgrade to the rear view cameras becoming more frequent. It would provide an i8 driver with more information and more help interpreting that information, a useful stopgap in a fleet in various stages of getting smarter.

For example, just because some cars behind you will automatically switch between high and low beams, doesn’t mean every car will, and so the glare adjustment might help. The upgraded blind-spot warning would also help until the car in the other lane or the i8 advance to the point where they prevent collisions regardless of the driver’s attention.

Finally, the improved aerodynamics hinder noise and help fuel (well, electricity) economy. In terms of resistance to the elements, the

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lens is a dirt-repellant and heatable Gorilla Glass Type 2 which BMW claims “does not require servicing so as to be able to always provide a reliably high image quality under all traffic conditions, during any weather and in all lighting conditions.”

Now this is a concept, and it’s probably not hard to get it to work in the trying conditions of a Las Vegas CES test drive. But odds are good this sort of thing will overcome regulator resistance and find a home on a real car.

The NHTSA signed an order in March 2014 mandating rear-view cameras be standard by 2018, and the Auto Alliance the same day urged them to allow cameras instead of normal side-view and rearview mirrors. “Today, the Alliance is petitioning NHTSA to allow automakers to use cameras as an option to the conventional sideview and rearview mirrors,” the Alliance said in a statement. “Today’s mirrors provide a robust and simple means to view the surrounding areas of a vehicle. Cameras will open opportunities for additional design flexibility and innovation. This idea has been in development since the 1990s, when the US Department of Energy partnered with automakers to produce an energy-efficient concept car with cameras instead of side-view mirrors.”

As a collision repairer, there are two things here that could affect your business, one for the better, one for the worse. First, the bad news: fewer crashes and sideswipes mean less work. But the good news: any replacement sideview cameras integrated into a broader system would have to be OEM unless customers, insurers and regulators are utterly out of their minds.

Mitchell industry relations vice president Greg Horn wrote that mirrors are affected in 26% of insurance claims logged by his estimating service.

However, that masks an even higher damage rate, according to Horn. Given the average deductible of $600 found by Mitchell, customers often will pay out-of-pocket instead of filing a claim if damage is limited to the mirror, he wrote. Also, recycled doors installed during a repair often include a mirror, which further “dilutes the involvement rate,” he wrote.

CCC industry analyst Susanna Gotsch wrote in an email in late September that about 575 000 mirrors looked to be replaced this year out of a total of 13 million claims, but “keep in mind that these are claims counts. I suspect that many times that mirrors are hit in parking lots that a claim is not made, rather paid out of pocket too.”

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LOCAL UPDATE

Ro land (left) and Ryan Hunt fro m Vermo nt Sales always enjo y to uching base with their cus to mers on their o pen days .

Pop rivets installed in seco nds using the new Rivet Drill.

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O le Held (left) and Martin Rosso uw were o n hand for any Festoo l enquiries.

AR M-J CLAIRE 2016_NOV/DEC 2005 paganation 2016/05/17 4:05 PM Page 6

VERMONT SALES OPEN DAY, MIDRAND As a family run business, there is always comfort and warmth when you attend the open day. This year’s event was hosted in the company’s old warehouse which added to the buzz. Vermont Sales have recently moved two doors down to a larger factory within the same business park.

V

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ermont Sales once again hosted another successful open day in Johannesburg.

The well attended two days are always jam packed with customers who love to come and see what’s new in the Vermont Sales stable and to touch base with their dynamic team that are always in full force at the event.

Festool’s Ole Held, area sales manager, was out from Germany for the show. He and Martin Rossouw, Festool’s local sales representative were hosting demonstrations and fielding questions from the various attendants who visited their stand.

Festool is renowned for their quality of product and their mobile dust extractor unit remains a brilliant addition to any body shop. It is compact in design which makes it easy to use anywhere and it also has an anti-static function preventing static build-up. This is an especially important function for the extraction of any aluminium dust particles on the floor.

A host of unique products were introduced at the open day. The Rive Drill is a new product from Rive Drill for installing pop rivets with any drill.

The drill tree is a step drill bit that is ideal for drilling holes into various metals. This particular drill tree has 5% cobalt in its make-up and has a nitrate coating. This ensures that the drill bit runs cool during the drilling process and makes it even more durable.

A host of Tork Craft products were on display including all of their rotary polisher and various polishes. The range of GAV spray guns and accessories enjoyed a lot of interest too.

Vermont Sales have a good reputation for their quality product choice, value pricing and excellent service. A winning formula in any business to grow well into the future.

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AR MAY-JUNE 2016 NAT_NOV/DEC 2005 paganation 2016/05/18 11:51 AM Page 9

DRIVEn HYUNDAI TUCSON TURBO

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very so often in the overpopulated SUV market a new vehicle comes along that makes you sit up and pay attention. Meet the manual, six-speed, executive model armed with a smooth slick short throw gear change.

The Tucson is an absolute breeze to drive for it comes in full Hyundai style with a lot of kit on board as standard. This includes a high quality hand-stitched black leather imitation trim, climate control, a high quality sound system and all the latest connectivity, electric windows and electrically adjustable drivers seat.

The winner in this model has got to be the latest Tucson 1.6 motor that delivers quite amazing capability for such a small engine size.

The unit breathes through a turbo charger and delivers a hefty 130kW of useable power with 265Nm of torque. All this amounts to no lack of power at any speed. It is also silky smooth with little or no appearance of turbo lag.

Improving the ride of the new Hyundai

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two-wheel drive sees the introduction of updated Mcpherson struts with a stabiliser bar and a delivery from the seat of your pants of good sports type handling characteristics with a set of good dampers up front, coil springs and a multi-link set up, all add up to a piece of competent packaging for the road.

With an all-new design concept the Tucson updates its desirability by a big margin if you’re into pure road style, for its smoother all purpose design was captured by Peter Schreyer to deliver a family resemblance to its bigger brother the Sante Fe. Overall the unit is a big step forwards from the older models that preceeded this turbo edition.

Getting down to the twisty bits the turbo spells out some above average feedback and excitement even with the occasional front end axle tramp delivered from some foot-flat over zealous driving. As you push on to the outer limits the 7000 rpm limits can leave you unfazed at the Tucson’s ability and the overall quality of its ride. It remains a big surprise as the overall tractability and the brilliant body

control in fast sweeping country roads for it employs a new electronically controlled differential to transfer wheel power to retain its driving composure under more extreme conditions. This all adds up to making the new Tucson lots of fun to drive. It is also equipped with a VSM stability programme which can very discretely intervene if things look like they are going pearshaped.

The above units are priced at just under R380 000 and come with a seven-year /200 000km warranty. So if you are in need of a new SUV, the smart money would be on the new Tucson Turbo, all things being considered.

Hyundai Tucson Turbo Specs Engine: four-cylinder, turbo, D-CWT 16 valve Capacity: 1 591 cc Power: 130kW @ 5500 rpm Torque: 265Nm@ 4500 rpm Gearbox: six speed manual Ground Clearance: 172mm Warranty: seven years/200 000km

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AR MAY-JUNE 2016 NAT_NOV/DEC 2005 paganation 2016/05/17 2:54 PM Page 2

DID YOU HEAR?

by Roger McCleery

Br ad Bind er, a 20-year old fr om Po tchestro om, is causing a stir r back ho me with his fantastic rid ing o n his Red Bull KTM.

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outh Africa’s Brad Binder is certainly the talk of the town after his Le Mans win. This has extended his lead in the world championship title race. The 20-year old from Potechefstroom had his debut triumph in Spain earlier this

year.

Binder’s success at Jerez de la Frontera was the first for a South African in the world championship since Jon Ekerold in 1981.

Watch this space as this lad has great talent.

The Porsche 919 Hybrid that won at Le Mans last year will be back in action in mid-June at the same venue. It is a two-litre efficient turbo-charged engine making over 500 HP. Jaguar over the last Christmas period used vehicles and helicopters placed at strategic points 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to ensure that motorists could travel with peace of mind in South Africa.The majority of requests saw response crews assisting customers with flat batteries, tyre punctures or had run out of fuel.

The Mercedes-Benz after sales passenger car team in South Africa won the Best Performing Market in 2015 in the Champions League.

General Motors employees during the drought filled 1500 onelitre and five-litre bottles and took the water to parts of the Eastern Cape which has been badly hit by the water shortage.

Sebastian Loëb has joined the Peugeot World Rally Cross Team.

A nine-times World Rally Champion, he also led the 2016 Dakar, tearing away until he had a big ‘off ’.

Twice SA Polo Cup Champion, Sheldon van der Linde, just 16 years old, is going to compete in the Audi Sport TT Cup which features 14 races in Germany, Holland and Hungary.

Mercedes-Benz has a state-of-the-art academy in the Eastern Cape with an investment of R130m. It provides a main think-tank and is the main feeder of the technical work force in the Mercedes-Benz plant in East London.

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has set a standard for hassle free 60

operation with another industry first. They have tied up with Charterway at Best Basic for a five-year 150 000km service plan.

The Hyundai iX35 has now become the Hyundai Tucson. Two options with either 1.6 turbo-diesel or a two-litre version with 196kW are available. It has massive pulling power, a host of improvements throughout the cabin. It is also one of the bestselling SUV’s in this country. Prices go from R360 000 up to R500 000 – depending on the spec.

The Volvo Car Group International trebled its profit in 2015 to R12m. A new product wave led by the XC90 has done the trick for them and they hope that with the new factory in the US they will be able to make more vehicles and achieve a sales target of 800 000 units.

Volvo had an all-time sales record of 503 127 cars in 2015, the first time it sold more than half a million cars in its 89-year history.

The complete renewal of its product range Volvo is aiming to double its sales in the medium term. The XC90 sold since launch in 2015 has surpassed any forecast for the model and have seen a third production shift introduced in Sweden.

The only seven-seater in its class of SUV, the Chev Captiva, has brought out a new package with lots of goodies. Looks, 18 inch wheels, a 123kW engine, entertainment systems both easy-to-use tumble flat rear seats, make it a great package. Prices for their 2.4 manual start at R395 000 up to a 2.2 diesel at R431 000.

Opel’s Adam S of which only 50 units are coming to this country, made a great hit when launched at the Aldo Scribante Circuit in Port Elizabeth recently. With its 110kW, 1.4 Z-Tec turbo Ecotec engine and a special chassis, steering and OPC braking system it’s the greatest fun to drive. Road-holding iS like a kart and the engine is absolutely tireless being close to the red all the time.

A rear wing is the most obvious feature as it adds a lot of rear down force at speed which tops out at 210 kmh. For 1.4 litres? A front spoiler performs a similar role to the rear wing. There are

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side skirts to keep the airflow hugging the car to the road plus 18-inch wheels with 225/35 R18 tyres.

Suzuki are doing a solid job averaging out 530 units a month from their nine-model range. Biggest sellers are the Swifts, followed – believe it or not – by the iconic Jimny and the Celeria, their sedan. Economy from the Suzuki engines is great. Let’s face it after making 50 million cars and even more motorcycles, they know how to build powerful, economical engines.

Well known off-road navigator and motorcyclist, Ralph Pitchford, who has done duty for Glyn Hall’s team and Alfie Cox over many years in the Dakar came home the winner in the Classic DJ, or Durban/Johannesburg motorcycle race for classic motorcycles built before 1936. Entries came from all over the world, including Michael Scott, who is the Durban-born International Grand-Prix scribe for Bike SA, and Derek Crutchlow, father of Grand Prix star, Cal. The route was a tough one, from Hillcrest in KZN through to the Classic Motorcycle Club grounds next to Germiston Lake. The oldest bike, a 1909 Humber, was burnt out when the fuel tap broke away from its tank and poured fuel onto the magneto.

The Honda Civic-R had its first victory this year in the 2016 World Touring Car Championship which got under way at Paul Ricardo in the South of France in the first week of April. They shared victory with a Citroën which has always been dominant in World Touring Car racing and in World Rally Championships.

As Honda say “Civic-R is a race car for the road”.

Things got under way nicely for the 2016 Toyota Gazoo Competition Team. Leeroy Poulter not only won the first rally with his navigator, Elvene Coetzee in Welkom but then went to Vryburg and with his regular cross-country navigator, Rob Howie, took the first event of the Donaldson Cross-Country Championship as well. You can’t do much better than that. The Manufacturers’ Prize also went to Toyota.

For the first time the quads and motorcycles were running in the same event as the cars. This happened 30 years ago but was stopped as they felt it was too dangerous. The good news is that they are back together.

Honda Motorcycles have just announced one of their best ever models for off-road and highway use, the 1000cc Africa Twin.The models on offer for R160 000 to R190 000. Everything they have learned over the years for on-road, off-road motorcycling is incorporated into this machine.

According to Advocate Alberts of the FF Plus Party, SANRAL has never applied to have the E-toll gantry equipment checked for accuracy as certified and required by law. SANRAL has never applied for certification.

At $40 per barrel for oil, South African motorists can expect substantial fuel price increases, says the AA. This despite that we used to pay these prices when the oil price was $115. Now the Rand has sunk to its lowest and stays down there, we just keep paying more to feed the Big Kitty. Another case of the Government making a cash cow out of motorists.

Hyundai Motorsport with a new generation i20 rally car for customers has nearly completed its testing work and they will be available soon. Hyundai are doing very well in World Rally Championships.

Andrew Kirby has been appointed as President and CEO of Toyota Motors here in South Africa as Dr Johan van Zyl has now moved to a higher position in the Toyota Group.

Fast and Furious star, Michelle Rodrigues, reached 322 kmh in a new Jag F-Type SVR. It is the fastest she has ever gone in a car, says this Hollywood actress. It was all done in the Nevada Desert.

The 300 000 landmark of Peugeot’s three-cylinder petrol engine that goes in their 208, 308, 2008 and 3008 models, plus the Citroën C3, C4 Cactus and Picasso and the DS3 and DS4 has been reached.

This engine was named the Engine of the Year in June 2015.

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The compact Korek HD floor frame features a double layer ground frame for robust performance and easy set-up. The flexible tower assemblies are highly mobile. It offers extended cab tower pulls with traction pulls of 20 tons per basic tower.

The towers are simple to fix as they operate on rollers and are fixed to the HD Korek frame by four wedges with three main stands on offer. This is coupled to 30 ton composition hydraulic sets. The options for a perfect chassis cab and frame straightening job are endless as well as painless.

As far as speed of output and profitability are concerned, the HD Korek offers major profitability at a reasonable entry level cost. It is ideal for both CV repairers and large fleet operators as an investment in Truck repair.

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INDUSTRY NEWS WHAT’S HOT?

TEN COMRADES MARATHONS IN TEN DAYS FOR CHARITY

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iminutive Hazel Möller is about to run the run of her life in a mentally and physically demanding dream of achieving a comrades marathon run for 10 consecutive days, the tenth day ending with the Comrades Marathon downhill run star ting at the City Hall in Pietermartizburg and finishing at The Sahara Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban.

It’s difficult to comprehend the muscular stress and physical fatigue involved in this demanding challenge, but Hazel, who runs purely for charity, has been helped by her desire to raise funds for PETS*, her chosen beneficiary. She is extremely passionate about making a difference.

Hazel has fortunately secured the help of Bulldog Abrasives who will contribute in a sponsorship deal with their top refinish brands which include Mirka, R-M, Presta, Carsystem, SATA, Karbosan, Garryson, HB Paints, Scangrip and Rodcraft product ranges to help Hazel in her quest. Bulldog Abrasives is hoping to raise over half a million Rand for Hazel and her charity.

Hazel’s chosen route will encompass running through Clarens, Golden Gate, Oliver’s Hoek and Bergville on the run down to Kwazulu-Natal. She will run a measured distance of 90km per day for nine consecutive days and finish on the tenth day with the Comrades Marathon. Just try and get your mind around her training regime which includes pounding out 250 km a week in recent months. That’s an awful lot of time spent running already!

The Bulldog Abrasives Management Team believe this is a great cause and will assist Hazel with her running costs and expenses as she tries to achieve this incredible dream of long distance running. Bulldog Abrasives have also set up a rewards programme to incentivise her financially as she achieves each goal. This will motivate her to achieve her goal at finishing the 10 comrades’ marathons whilst maximising the donations received for PETS. Call Hazel on 083 394 1748 to assist her with fur ther sponsorship in this multimarathon run attempt. You can also visit the website for more information: www.ten10.co.za *PETS work with the community to improve the lives of disadvantaged animals by giving them daily meals, warm shelters, regular inoculations, sterilisations and vet care in emergencies. They also re-home those that are unwanted, unloved or lost. PETS tries to instil in the communities, a responsibility and pride for their animals by not just empowering the animals, but also by educating and helping the people uplift themselves.

They believe in working hand-in-hand with the animals and people of these impoverished areas to create unity, trust and stability for all.

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Hazel Möller is about to embark on an achievable dream of running 10 x 90km’s = 900km’s for her charity.

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MAROUNS AD M-A 2016_NOV/DEC 2005 paganation 2016/03/16 11:21 AM Page 1

new rapid bolt on repair area l e-glass curtain with ttv red eye protection l self assembly with aluminium rails l free standing work area l available in two sizes

mobile vacuum work centre

Marouns Johannesburg: Marouns Midrand: Marouns Benoni: Marouns Vereeniging: Marouns Durban: w w

(011) 216 0600 (011) 312 2767 (011) 420 2700 (016) 455 4423 (031) 208 3221 w . m a r o u n s g

Marouns Bloemfontein: Cape Paint & Panel: Intercity Springs: Intercity Pretoria: r o u p . c o . z a

(051) 430 0960 (021) 510 8250 (011) 815 4433 (012) 327 6133

AR MAY-JUNE 2016 NAT_NOV/DEC 2005 paganation 2016/05/17 2:54 PM Page 7

INTERNATIONAl HIGHTLIGHTS UK NEWS

UK NAMED WORLD CAPITAL FOR WHIPLASH CLAIMS

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he UK out-paces even the US when it comes to whiplash claims, making Britain the ‘World Capital for Whiplash’.

Analysis of a private study, conducted in the United States, and compared with UK data by LV-Motor Insurance’s experts, confirm British drivers are the biggest makers of these claims. Currently, around two-thirds (65%) of injury claims in the US are estimated to be made up of whiplash – far less than the near eight in 10 level (78%) seen in the UK. Focusing on drivers who have had an accident within the last two years, LV’s investigation reveals the lengths that claims management companies (CMCs) go to in order to persuade drivers to claim. The research found that the average driver receives five calls or texts following a crash, with most told that there is ‘money waiting for them’. Many also felt pressured into progressing a claim. While one in eight (12%) were even contacted before they reported their accident to their insurer, suggesting that the trade in accident victims’ data swings into action within minutes of an incident occurring.

The Government announced in the Autumn Statement that it would crack down on minor whiplash claims – ultimately leading to reduced premiums for honest consumers. LV is now calling on Government to act both quickly and comprehensively on implementing the new recommendations of the Insurance Fraud Taskforce, which published its 14-point plan on the 18 January 2016.

Martin Milliner, GI claims director of LV insurance, said, ‘’Whiplash Capital of the World’ is an unfortunate moniker and not one we should be proud of. And it’s UK motorists who are suffering by paying some of the highest prices for insurance in Europe. For years it’s been a game of cat and mouse between the insurance industry and fraudsters – when what we need is a multi-pronged solution that will benefit the consumer once and for all.

“Government makes one change to the system and the fraudsters find a way around it – meaning further action is needed and fraud persists. Already we are noticing a rise in rehabilitation fraud, highlighting the need for swift implementation of the Autumn Statement reforms.The more time it takes to implement changes, the easier it makes it for fraudsters to find another loophole, hitting the pocket of the honest consumer.

“We would like to see a quick and comprehensive response from Government to implement all the Insurance Fraud Taskforce’s recommendations. LV has already confirmed it would pass on all savings from the Autumn Statement whiplash crackdown to consumers – we now need these further recommendations to be implemented urgently so customers can further benefit sooner rather than later.”

LV’s research found that the majority of UK drivers involved in a collision (52%) received a call or text telling them to file for compensation with nearly half (44%) contacted within 24 hours of the accident. In most cases (57%), the person receiving the call had no idea how their details had been sourced and where drivers attended A&E, two thirds (67%) were approached by someone who said they should make a compensation claim.

COMPREHENSIVE AEROSOL PAINT RANGE DESIGNED FOR YOUR REPAIR SHOP

AUTONEWS EUROPE

TAKATA SEEK BACKER

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Embattled airbag maker Takata Corp. has begun looking for a financial backer amid a global recall of its potentially lethal airbags, and plans to draw up a list of candidates by August, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

A third-party panel of financial and legal advisers formed by Takata earlier this year is approaching companies, including those in the automotive industry, seeking financial aid, the people said. It's not clear how much funding Takata is looking for, or how any aid would be structured.

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CALL HOLTS SOUTH AFRICA

+27 (0)11 613 6111

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INDUSTRY NEWS

The De Beer team have an all-new shop style based in Mo ntague G ard ens in Cape Town. Seen here are Monja, Monica, Denver, James, Petrus and Jo hnson.

WHAT’S HOT?

COWLEY PARTS EXPAND IN CAPE TOWN

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new De Beer distribution point has been opened by Cowley in Montague Gardens in Cape Town. The shop boasts larger premises for sales. Demand for the company’s De Beer brand has increased by 30% in the last year. They are now capable of keeping up with increased orders throughout the Western Cape. With a strong distribution network with De Beer Sub distribution outlets Service capabilities from as far afield as Knysna, Hermanus in the East, all the way through to Vredenburg on the West Coast.

The service is effective to adjacent towns such as Malmesbury, Worcester and Paarl, inclusive of the central Cape Town body shop business. At the Link Road premises an express colour matching facility allows for local colour mixes to be timeously provided for customers. The De Beer mixing systems are delivering winning body shop colour matching formulas that are delivering an excellent overall result for colours right off the mixing machine. With first time colour accuracy on mixes inclusive of variant colour on OEM manufacturing De Beer is invariably in the right place at the right time. This is a big plus for the De Beer brand.

The products work exceptionally well and have a high level of end user performance with factory finishes that are nearly always better than the original. The finishes that we see are achieved with an absolute minimum of product being used on each and every job completed. The new outlet has a full line-up of ancillary products such as body fillers, putties, primers and abrasive systems.

The facility also offers a spray painting service and repair centre.

This allows clients to have their spray equipment inspected for degradation. The service includes quality assessments on all entire spray equipment. Combined with first grade service and repair inclusive of quality parts replacement, it ensures the very best results.

This in respect of quality finish requirements will ensure longevity of spray equipment which is kept up to standard and guarantees more timeous delivery of jobs by the refinishing shops and spray painters.

A first time right principle.

You can now also find the Anest Iwata range of spray guns and equipment in their repertoire, making it a one-stop shop for all body shop needs. They offer express service on delivery and they are in good shape to continue to grow the business well into the future.

For more information call them on +27 (0)21 552 6018/9.

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Don says that the new locatio n makes it much easier for custo mers to g et what they need.

Expert colour matching b y fo rmula p uts the De Beer brand ahead with fast and accurate co lour retrieval s ystems .

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INDUSTRY NEWS HEAlTH & SAFETY

NOISE IN YOUR BODY SHOP

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oise-induced hearing loss in workplaces represents a serious, but avoidable health issue. Between July 2002 and June 2007 there were about 16 500 successful workers’ compensation claims for industrial deafness involving permanent impairment due to noise. Between 2007-8 it amounted to millions in compensation payments and has a huge negative impact on business.

What is noise?

Noise in an occupational setting is regarded as unwanted or damaging sound. Noise is measured in decibels. A decibel, dB is a unit of measure that indicates how loud a sound is. In refinish and smash repairs, employees may be exposed to noise whilst undertaking routine tasks such as grinding, sanding, spraying and hammering. As a general rule of thumb, if you need to raise your voice to talk with someone at arm’s length away, the noise level may be over the exposure standards.

So what do you have to do as a business owner under the current legislation?

The goal is to ensure employees are not exposed to noise above the exposure standards. If they are you need to do something about it.

The exposure standards are 85 decibels (85dB) over an eight hour shift, or a peak noise level of 140dB at any time. (See table).

You must ensure that your workers are not exposed to noise above the exposure standards. If you have employees that are required to use hearing protection, you must arrange for hearing tests, otherwise known as autometric tests. Testing must be conducted within three months of the worker commencing work and at least every two years after that.

Hearing damage and overexposure Hearing damage is painless (unless exposed to high noise levels, eg explosion) and invisible. Damage to the hearing system generally occurs over an extended period of time and affects your ability to understand conversations.

Signs you have been overexposed to harmful noise levels include developing a buzzing/ringing sound in your ears. Another sign may be if you don’t hear as well as you normally would until several hours after you have left the noise location. Additional signs are high blood pressure, laboured breathing, insomnia, altered brain chemicals, stress and permanent voice changes.

A number of common industrial chemicals, such as Toluene and Xylene found in solvents and solvent-based coatings, can also cause hearing loss themselves or intensify the effects of noise. These chemicals are referred to as ototoxic.

Tel: 011 425 4062 Franz: 082 463 6284 Email: info@specialheat.com 1 Madeley Street, Rynfield, Benoni AUTOMOTIVE R

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What can I do to minimise exposure to noise?

There are numerous ways to control the risk of noise exposure, including but not limited to: l Having your workplace assessed to identify noise levels and employee exposure, as well as ototoxic chemical exposure. l Ensuring that all employees working with ototoxic substances and in areas where harmful noise exists, understand the risks and controls. l Isolating workers from noise sources where possible. l Training your employees in the proper use, limitations and care of personal protective equipment, such as ear plugs. l Ensuring your employees’ hearing has been tested in accordance with state legislation.

Protection Hearing protectors are needed whenever a person's hearing is exposed to noise levels that exceed a certain level and time. In the workplace, scientists have set this level at 85dB for exposures longer than eight continuous hours. Hearing protectors include earmuffs and earplugs.

There are a number of free and extremely useful publications which outline how you can minimise the risk to your employees and your business. These publications are a great place to start.

Sound Level (dB) 65 80 85 90 95 100 108 105 110 115 117 120 130 140 160

Supercure Spraybooth Rail System

Equivalent Noise Sources Normal Conversation Hair Dryer Smoke Alarm/Hand Saw Lawn Mower Loud Crying/Hand Circular Saw Jackhammer at 10m Hand grinding of metal Chainsaw at 1m Siren at 10m Sandblasting/Rock Concert Car Hooter Threshold of Pain Jet Taking off at 100m Air Raid Pistol

Procure Mobile Infra-Red

Hotbox Colour Matching Dryer With Timer 67

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LOCAL SPOTLIGHT

TRAINING

PPG’S NEW TRAINING CENTRE OPENS

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PG Coatings South Africa has opened a new state-of-the-art training centre at their new premises in Longmeadow East Business Park, Edenvale. No expenses have been spared to develop the new facility which complies with the stringent European EHS rules and regulations. The training centre is well equipped, giving the customer a guarantee of quality and will allow training with the latest technologies and equipment. All the training techniques and services are built around essential body shop practices and reflect the realities of the market.

The centre features a spraybooth that meet and exceed motor manufacturers’ specifications, featuring extra lighting and has full waterborne refinish compliance. The mixing room, housing the Deltron, MaxMeyer, Envirobase HP and Selemix systems, is also a special custom build and has colour matching fluorescent sealed lamps. We spoke to Earl Hill who heads up the training centre and who also recently attended a technical and product workshop at PPG in Milan, Italy.

“As usual,” says Earl, “our system users can expect a number of new and innovative products to be introduced this year, ranging from various primers and clearcoats to tinters for exceptional colour matching. We are also able to keep up a constant cross flow on training methods on these new products”.

“PPG is a bulletproof refinish system, 68

with a full product offer, including exotic colours and a complete range of colour identification and matching tools. All of PPG’s colour IT tools, provide fast, efficient and accurate colour retrieval and mixing”.

Product training for users is an important part of any business and providing training to meet specific needs, will ensure well informed staff, delivering quality work with the result of customer satisfaction and business sustainability, profitability and growth. The courses will cover colour matching, body preparation, top coat application and other shop disciplines, with audio-visual training forming part of the theoretical sessions.

“As the business remains a sort of

moving target, so to speak, it’s PPG’s view and mission to supply ongoing product training to improve the end user knowledge on faster turnaround times, coupled to lower overall consumption costs, which is a big step in the right direction for all body shop owners. “It’s no small wonder why PPG is a leading player in the refinish industry – focused on innovation and customer satisfaction,” concluded Earl.

Earl has a great pedigree in the refinish business, starting out in 1982 in Port Elizabeth working in his father’s company.

He has worked for some of the major refinish paint companies carrying out practical and theoretical training in his career.

Custo mis ed mixing roo ms have b een installed , meeting PPG's ind ustry specifications.

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No expense has b een sp ared on PPG’s new state- of- the-art training centre.

First ever trainees – PPG staff – Robin Dedr icks (left), Schalk Ebersöhn (centre) and Earl Hill.

Inside the mixing roo m.

Eas y and accurate co lour retrieval and mixing with PPG 's IT colo ur tools .

The theo ry tr aining is carried o ut in a d ed icated classroo m at PPG’s training centre.

Ear l Hill has o ver twenty years of experience in refinish ap plication and r ecently attended a technical and p rod uct co nference in Milan.

Training is cond ucted o n all the PPG paint brands available in South Afr ica.

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INDUSTRY UPDATE NEW FACTORY

RENAULT OPENS FACTORY IN CHINA DESPITE SLOW DOWN

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enault launched its new 870 million euro ($942 million) factory saying it still sees plenty of growth in the Chinese market where new-car demand is slowing after years of double-digit growth.

The plant will start production of the Kadjar compact SUV soon, followed by a larger SUV later this year and the Fluence electric sedan in 2017.

Renault will build 150 000 units a year at the factory in central China. Capacity could eventually double or triple, Jacques Daniel, head of Renault's joint venture with local partner Dongfeng, told reporters.

Renault is playing catch-up in China after leaving the market to its alliance partner Nissan, until now.

"Are we arriving after the battle? Not at all, because this market is not going to stop," Daniel told reporters. "Entering a market of 20 million vehicles a year is no bad thing for any manufacturer."

China opportunity Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said China is a core part of Renault’s strategic plan, but added: "Renault does not depend on China, China is only an opportunity for us."

Renault sold just 23 000 vehicles in China last year. The automaker's catch-up strategy is to bet on the SUV segment, which it said accounts for one-third of the Chinese market and is still growing at a rate

approaching 50%.

Renault has been a marginal player in China without local production. The automaker has relied instead on less profitable imports such as the South Koreanbuilt Koleos SUV. The Wuhan factory will build the Koleos successor.

The company's arrival as a manufacturer coincides with a weakening of the Chinese economy and car demand. After an abrupt slowdown in mid-2015 and partial recovery later in the year, the market is likely to grow four percent to six percent in 2016, much lower than the double-digit expansions of preceding years.

The Wuhan plant will assemble only a few thousand Fluence EVs from kits supplied from Korea. While Renault has a license to produce light commercial vehicles in China, the focus currently is on SUVs, Ghosn said.

EV sales in China will remain low for higher cost cars such as the Fluence, Ghosn told reporters. Renault and Nissan are

working on a more affordable electric vehicle for the Chinese and global markets, he intimated.

Local engine Renault will start sales of the Kadjar in China next month. The company said the SUV has been fitted with some different equipment for Chinese customers compared to the Kadjar released in Europe last year, including a panoramic sunroof, fourwheel steering and an independent rear suspension for added comfort.

The Kadjar will be offered in China with a 2.0-liter gasoline engine built at the Wuhan factory. Later this year, a turbocharged 1.2liter gasoline engine imported from Europe will also be offered.

Renault's Daniel said the automaker is increasing its China sales network to 150 dealerships from 125 last year and would add more with any future plant expansions.

PPG M-J AD 2016_Layout 1 2016/05/17 10:28 AM Page 1

For more information call +27 (0)11 454 8105 or visit www.ppgrefinish.com

SIB J-F AD 2016_Layout 1 2016/01/26 11:59 AM Page 1

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Fro m left to r ight Daniel van der Zandt ( SIB Technical Sup por t), Bianca Ho llard with Kim Lid dell, Inter national Business Develop ment Manager and Donovan Howard (SIB Client Development Executive) .

WHAT’S HOT?

safomar industrial brands, beHind itW evercoat

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afomar Industrial Brands (SIB), exclusive importer and distributor of ITW Evercoat in Southern Africa, embarked on a series of technical demonstration of the supplier’s popular range of body filler technologies in body shops across Gauteng.

SIB is optimistic about the brand’s acceptance onto the market. The Evercoat range is a well trusted and popular brand in the automotive industry.

“Everywhere we go, key products like Fibertech, Easysand, Liteweight Fillers and Polyflex plus our Pinhole 440 Express system find a place in the body shops we call on” said Kim Liddell, Evercoat International business development manager.

By adding the Evercoat product range to its basket, SIB is fostering its commitment to growing, promoting and sustaining industrial development in Africa. With their large customer network in Africa, this vision of

moving people and businesses forward with their industrial products is further supported by their belief in empowering their customers to achieve more.

By going out on the road with their products, they are ensuring that on-going training, marketing support and technical assistance is always available.

For more information on the ITW Evercoat Range contact SIB on +27 (0)10 593 8920 or sales@sib.co.za

LOCAL UPDATE

eastern cape to get baic car plant

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onstruction on a new completely knocked down vehicle manufacturing plant in the Eatern Cape (EC) for the Beijing Automobile International Corporation (BAIC), China’s fifth-largest car manufacturer, is set to commence towards the end of this year or early next year.

This follows BAIC committing in December to invest R11 billion in a manufacturing plant in South Africa. The investment in the plant will be funded largely by BAIC and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). It has previously been estimated that 10 000 direct and indirect jobs will be created by the investment. Mandla Mpangase, a spokesman for the IDC, has confirmed that its representatives were recently in China to sign a joint development agreement with BAIC. However, Mpangase said the IDC had not yet decided on the precentage shareholding it would take in the project.

The IDC indicated that it will be taking between 20-35% shareholding in the venture. Mpangese said the main shareholders at this stage in the venture were the IDC and BAIC South Africa.

Mpangase said the cost to the IDC of its shareholding in the project would be determined by “the bankable feasibility study.” He then confirmed the partners were looking to commence with the construction of the plant towards the end of this year or the beginning of next year. The location of the plant has not yet been announced, but it is expected to be built in the Coega industrial development zone (IDZ) in Nelson Mandela Bay.

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The Coega IDZ is one of South Africa’s premier locations for new industrial investments and has, since its inception in 1999, enabled the creation of 96 776 direct jobs, with 33 operation and an investment portfolio valued in excess of R181bn.

Mpangase confirmed the first phase development of the plant would create a facility with a capacity to produce between 40 000 and 50 000 units a year, with the plant’s capacity doubling in the second phase. He said they were looking at a number of vehicle platforms in the plant, with the models produced earmarked for South Africa and the rest of Africa.

Mpangase added that BAIC was still planning to enter the South African market from August with completely built up imports.

“We’re looking at potentially sedans and SUV’s” he said.

Ebrahim Patel, the Minister of Economic Development, said in his budget vote speech in Parliament that if the proposed establishment of a vehicle manufacturing plant by BAIC met the feasibility study criteria, it would be the first new light passenger assembly plant to be built in the country in more than 40 years.

Patel said the joint development agreement to be signed in Beijing earmarked the Eastern Cape as the proposed location for the plant.

“The IDC and the company are optimistic and hope to finalise the feasibility studies to enable the plant to complete construction by 2018,” he concluded.

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Jaguar SIMoLA HILLCLIMb 2016

RECORDS FALL AT SIMOLA HILLCLIMB

“Team Incomplete” got some rave reviews but no silverware to bring back home.

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he award-winning Jaguar Simola Hillclimb remains South Africa’s premier motorsports event, with the 2016 edition attracting more celebrities, sports personalities, media and competitors than ever before. Recently, fans were treated to a breathtaking spectacle that will be talked about for months to come.

“Last year we said we want to come back and have the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb be bigger, better and more exciting,” said Lisa Mallett, marketing director of Jaguar Land Rover South Africa and sub-Sahara Africa. “With the thrilling racing, celebrities and jaw-dropping reveal of the All-New Jaguar F-PACE, I think we’ve achieved just

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Rob er t Volk put out a banshee wail with this quic k fo r mula Renault V6.

The Scrib ante Chevr on featur es a sp ecial V8 using twin Suzuki Hyabusa motor s.

Team b ack- up was a big p ar t of winning the event.

The lar gest ever s pectato r co unt came out to view and see some incredible hill climbing machiner y.

that: a world-class event that has become a must-attend attraction.”

The action started on 6 May, with Classic Car Friday. The country’s bravest classic car owners took their historic machines up the fast and challenging road leading to the Simola Golf and Country Estate. These cars included historic, pre-war cars from as far back as 1929, as well as sports cars from the 1960s and 70s and formula race cars from the same eras.

Driving his 1970 single-seat Chevron b19 race car, Franco Scribante took his second Classic Conqueror title, becoming the firstever two-time winner of the event. His lightweight car – perfectly suited to hill climbs – was also fast enough to set a new

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Ro ger McCleer y (left) talked for thr ee days solid with special guests like Ian Sheckter.

overall Classic Car Friday record of 41.423s.

Friday also saw the annual town parade, where the weekend’s King of the Hill competitors paraded through Knysna allowing fans to get up close to the cars and their drivers. Jaguar South Africa led the parade with the eight Jaguars it entered into the event, including two Jaguar F-TYPE R All-Wheel Drive Coupés, a 2004 Jaguar XJR race car, and five Jaguar XE R-Sport 2.0-litre petrol sedans driven by the media. on Saturday, during lunch, the All-New Jaguar F-PACE was unveiled. The crowds stopped and looked upwards as Jaguar’s firstever SUV arrived by helicopter. After being delivered to the top of the hill the aluminiumintensive F-PACE was driven down the challenging road by Jaguar ambassador and Hollywood actor Sharlto Copley on its maiden voyage.

Fans also had the opportunity to spot other celebrities and Jaguar Land Rover ambassadors, including Stormers rugby players Eben Etzebeth, Cheslin Kolbe, Schalk burger, Scarra Ntubeni, Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit. on Sunday fans were also treated to a rare sight when the limited edition Jaguar FTYPE Project 7 completed some runs up the Simola hill. only five of these highperformance, V8-powered supercars have been sold in South Africa.

The King of the Hill competition, which ran across Saturday and Sunday, saw fierce racing in all classes.

Five South African journalists participated in the Jaguar media challenge, using Jaguar XE R-Sport 2.0-litre sedans in standard road trim.

The five journalists – Andrew Leopold, Ashley oldfield, Ernest Page, Nikesh Kooverjee and Thomas Falkiner – were very competitive throughout the two-day-long event. Each driver started off cautiously, finding their limits on the rain-soaked road. but by the end of Saturday the surface had dried and competition tightened up.

At the end of Sunday it was last year’s defending champion, Ashley oldfield from Cars.co.za, who posted the fastest time. Not only did his efforts up the hill earn him the coveted AluCat cup in the Jaguar media challenge, but also a spot in the class finals.

Ashley finished third overall in the 2.0-litre turbocharged road car class, behind two highperformance entries from other competitors.

The 2004 Jaguar XJR racecar, prepared by Jaguar South Africa’s technical team, also wowed crowds throughout the weekend.

Driven by Jaguar employee Derrick Dearlove, the V8-powered car – affectionately known as “The beast – drew cheers as it roared off the start line. Derrick finished second in class, behind a highly modified race car driven by Thouca Mechanicos.

Dawie olivier, Jaguar South Africa’s national aftersales manager, also performed extremely well behind the wheel of his Jaguar F-TYPE R with All-Wheel Drive, which competed in the new Supercar Shootout competition reserved for road-going exotic cars. olivier’s showroom condition, stock-standard F-TYPE finished second in class – beaten only by a modified vehicle driven by Jaki Scheckter.

“In the wet I managed to be extremely competitive and placed first in some of the practice sessions. The Jaguar All-Wheel Drive system helped put down the power in slippery 77

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Jaguar SIMoLA HILLCLIMb 2016

conditions,” said olivier. “The car ran impeccably on the Continental road tyres, and we’re really proud that a standard car placed this highly in a class with other exotics and modified machinery.”

Sunday’s King of the Hill shootout saw tight competition among the big names, however Franco Scribante again ruled the roost – this time with his V8-powered Chevron b26 classic race car. After being rebuilt following a crash earlier in the day, Scribante trounced all comers by being the first to win a second King of the Hill title. His fastest time of 38.646 seconds is now a new overall record for the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb and it earned him the inaugural “Jody” award for setting the fastest time of the weekend. “Judging by the passionate crowds and fierce level of competition, it’s clear that this is the most exciting event in South African motorsport. It’s a perfect fit for Jaguar, because it excites the senses and thrills with performance,” said Mallett. “We’ve had incredible feedback about the quality of the event from drivers, spectators, the media and celebrities who were present. It’s clear that everybody who attends the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb goes home with racing in their blood.”

Entertaining the crowds at each day were some spectacular motorcycles from grand prix racing from the 1960’s, a forgotten era.

The huge noise they made offered a big addition to the wall of sound that the Hillclimb delivers. With former Manx grand prix winner, Jimmie Guthrie, now 78 years old, Keith Zeeman, a national road racing legend, Horace bagstrom, former motocross champion and Ian Scheckter all seen with the “Team Incomplete” race team. It added some two-wheel sparkle to a spectacular weekend of events at Simola this year.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

by Anna Zeck

US NEWS

HAIL STORMS INCREASE CLAIMS

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reating an in-house paintless dent repair depar tment can help shops easily and efficiently manage an increasing amount of hail damage work. There’s no shortage of PDR-focused companies available for outsourcing these repairs, says Cory Chapman, body shop manager of Zimbrick Body Shop in Madison, Wisconsin, but shops with on-site PDR (paintless dent repair) capabilities are able to produce that work with higher quality and efficiency – and for a better profit. “The more we can keep things in-house, the better off we are controlling our costs and our grosses,” says Chapman. “We have a better control over the vehicle than if we were to send it out to a third-party vendor or even have a thirdparty vendor come in-house.”

There are four simple steps any shop can take to create a profitable on-site PDR department.

1. Evaluate the advantages When Zimbrick started offering on-site PDR capabilities in 2006, the goal was for the PDR techs to help recondition vehicles coming in from its dealership’s used-vehicle lots. Since then, the technique has proved so successful that the shop has expanded the department to include hail damage and upsells on customer cars.'

“We, as a company, were looking at what we could do to give our customers a bigger bang for their dollar,” Chapman says. The shop had pre-existing relationships with outside PDR companies, but the time it took shuttling cars to an off-site location was inefficient and costly. “We don’t have to pay a third-party vendor to come in. We don’t need to be put on an appointment log with a third-party vendor,” he says. “A lot of times, those guys are just as busy as everybody else. We can also control it as in, ‘Is this dent PDR-able?’ If it isn’t, we can go right from PDR into the body shop. It’s more of a control factor for us.”

According to Jeff Herman, the CEO of TopTech Finder, going with an outside vendor can also produce potential quality issues.

“When a hailstorm hits, the mobile techs that chase the storms come around and knock on a shop owner’s door. The shop owner is wondering, ‘I don’t know you, you’re from out of town,’ ” Herman says. “If the work is outsourced and something gets broken, your shop manager might not become aware of that issue as quickly as they would want to, or the PDR tech might hide that it occurs. That can cause a bad

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customer service issue.”

2. Assess the right technician The biggest challenge with hiring PDR technicians is that not everyone can do it.

“All the work is done by hand and by eye,” Herman says. “It takes a lot of handeye coordination and a certain skill set for someone to be able to work the metal from behind or pull with glue pads from the front to get it just right. It’s absolutely true that, unlike a mechanical repair, which is very scientific and cut and dry, this is more of an artistic thing. There are clear ways to identify candidates for the position, whether they are a new hire or a retrained current employee. Here are some things all shops should consider.

When hiring a PDR technician, the most important step any shop owner can take is asking for letters of recommendation or references. “There are some certifications out there, but the truth is, the on-the-job performance is the best way to measure whether the tech is worthy or not,” he says.

“Hearing from previous employers about how they’ve done is critical.” Since PDR is a craft that takes time to learn, Herman also suggests looking for multiple years of experience, but notes that years of experience should not be the deciding factor.

“Sometimes you’ve got guys out there that are average PDR techs and they’ve been doing it for years,” he says. “And other times, you’ve got guys who really have the knack for it and have only been doing it for a year, but are very, very good at what they do.”

Grow Your Own PDR Tech Through Certification and Training to obtain a certain level of repair standards and quality. “The training will allow people who have the right aptitude to be good at it and then you can tell that by checking their on-the-job performance,” Herman says.

The shop also emphasises the costeffectiveness of PDR work, which is often significantly less expensive and timeconsuming than traditional collision repair.

Joe Townsend, general manager of Dunshee Body and Frame in Kalamazoo, Michigan, sent a longtime body technician who was interested in PDR work to a two-week PDR training course offered by Superior Auto Institute in California. Townsend said the class included so much hands-on training and dent work that his tech was able to start doing PDR work in the shop directly after he returned.

“He’s really good at what he does,”

Townsend says. “He had a keen eye for it from the start.”

3. Equip the techs Onsite PDR also requires specific working conditions and tools to properly do the repairs. At Zimbrick, the PDR techs work in a separate area, away from the shop floor. “We really consider it a separate part of the body shop,” Chapman says. “It’s away from the action and noise of a body shop. It’s their own area.

The lighting’s right, the tools are right.” And lighting is crucial.

“Especially for hail work, you’re looking for very small dimples in the car, so you need to have the right light panels and overhead lighting to help illuminate the dent,” he says.

Herman suggests investing in a few light panels and having the techs work inside the shop. Other tools include a range of springsteel rods. “It’s almost like a set of golf clubs,” Herman says. “They’ll have 20 different metal bars in different shapes with different hook endings.”

Herman says that experienced PDR techs will more than likely come with their own set of tools, and both Townsend and Chapman say the training programme their techs attended provided a starter kit of tools. Including tools, training and the wages paid to staff during training, Townsend estimates the initial investment at around R155 611.

4. Educate the customer Besides working on hail damage, Herman says that PDR work can also be used for customer-pay work and to help prep vehicles for traditional paintwork. Townsend says offering the service has also helped his relationships with dealerships, who often send over PDR work to his shop.

According to Chapman, the key to upselling PDR work is properly educating the customer about the technique. “We try to educate the owner,” he says. “For the most part, we do need to explain to them what it is, how it’s performed, and what the chances for success are.

“We also tell them: ‘Conventionally, this ding you want to take out – through priming, blocking and painting – could be upwards of R9336.00. Now you’re down to R1167.00 to try it.’ We try to give them as much information to make a decision, and most of our guests do make the decision to do the PDR work.”

Townsend’s PDR tech also doubles as a body tech, which means the PDR work needs to be scheduled. “We don’t just take drop-ins,” he says. “If we get hit with a hailstorm, we’ll schedule that out.”

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ABRASIVE NEWS pRODUCT pROfILE

AUTOMOTIVE PAINT CENTRE LAUNCH SMIRDEX RANGE LOCALLY

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utomotive Paint Centre opened its doors in 2006 and they are based in the hub of the Isipingo business sector south of Durban.

They have recently added Smirdex Abrasives to make them a complete onestop shop for all body shop’s needs.

“We are really happy to have such a great pedigree of abrasive in our stable on offer for our customers,” said Suleman Joosab, director of Automotive Paint Centre.

About Smirdex Smirdex is one of the leading manufacturing companies of coated abrasives in South-Eastern Europe. They are located in Northern Greece, and have been producing coated abrasives of high

quality since 1981.

The company has grown due to its continuous efforts in mainting high quality standards and investing in the business as well as their staff. Recently a second sophisticated and high-tech production line has been set up to increase the company’s capacity to 40 000sq m per shift.

Today Smirdex exports to more than 60 countries worldwide. Eighty five percent of its production is sent abroad whilst 15% is distributed in the local Greek market. They look to meet the evolving needs of modern professionals and therefore constantly invest in research and development.

Open to new and ever changing ideas the company has managed to deliver hightech products.

High standards of quality control throughout the manufacturing process are ascertained by sophisticated, on-site electronic systems whilst the continuous product evaluation ensures the highest quality according to the industry’s standards.

Give the Automotive Paint Centre team a call to find out more on +27 (0)31 902 7666 or visit their website at www.automotivepaint.co.za

COATINGS NEWS

MAZDA STARTS ROLL OUT Of AQUA-TECH PAINT SYSTEM GLOBALLY

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azda Motor Corporation has announced the introduction of its unique Aqua-tech Paint System at Changan Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd. (CMA), the company's vehicle production facility in Jiangsu, China.

The technology was first introduced at the Ujina Plant No. 1 in Japan, where installation of the system was completed in 2012.

CMA becomes the company's second plant and first overseas facility to feature the innovative low-impact paint technology.

Reducing volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions from vehicle body paint shops is a long-standing issue for the automobile industry, which has traditionally favored VOC-heavy oil-based paints and thinners. Automakers moved toward waterbased paints in an effort to reduce VOC emissions, but the energy-intensive evaporative drying process required for these paints resulted in increased CO2 emissions. Mazda's unique Aquatech Paint System overcomes this trade-off by simultaneously reducing emissions of VOC and CO2, and makes far more efficient use of energy and paint materials than traditional paint systems.

Even after completing installation of the Aqua-tech Paint System at Ujina Plant No. 1 in 2012, Mazda continued to develop the technology to enhance system performance and usability. The company is aiming to achieve high-quality and efficient vehicle manufacturing at its global production bases by developing technologies such as Aqua-tech in Japan before rolling them out at overseas facilities. Mazda worked with CMA to efficiently introduce the Aqua-tech Paint System at Japanese standards, and minimised installation work and paint development in China.

The transition was achieved quickly and without stopping the line or interrupting production of vehicles using traditional oilbased paints. The Aqua-tech Paint System at CMA is used for all body colours, and the quality of the finish is as high as that of 82

vehicles painted in Japan, even for designer colours such as Soul Red. "As an automaker, we have an obligation to not only make high-quality cars, but also reduce our impact on the environment," said Kiyotaka Shobuda, senior managing executive officer.

"Our painting technologies, which have helped KODO design gain recognition worldwide, represent Mazda's efforts to meet that obligation. Moving forward, we'll continue to develop innovative technologies at our parent factories in Japan before introducing them at the same high standards overseas. In this way, we'll provide customers around the world with high-quality cars and contribute both to preserving the environment and enriching society."

Mazda will continue its efforts to contribute to the realisation of a sustainable society through a variety of technological innovations. The company aims to enrich people's lives and become a brand that has a special bond with customers.

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SMIRDEX AD M-J 2016_Layout 1 2016/05/12 12:33 PM Page 1

Tel +27 (0)31 902 7666 www.automotivepaint.co.za Automo ti ve Paint Centr e ar e so le d istributo r s of Smir dex Abr asi ves

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LOCAL SPOTLIGHT With increas ed output and imp roved q uality, Brits Auto Bo dy are on to p with their comp leted units. Seen here are Ruan Erasmus (left) from Bulldo g Abrasives and Rui ( centre) , d irector at Brits Auto Bod y with Presta at work .

pRODUCT pROfILE

BRITS AUTO BODY BOOST OUTPUT WITH PRESTA 2-STEP fINISHING PRODUCTS

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f you talk to any bodyshop owner on the subject of current business profitability it is normally a three-day conversation.

Business partners Victor and Rui of Brits Auto Body are, however, really upbeat about the recent improvements seen in their polishing section.

“When we switched to the new Presta polish package, Ultra 2 Step, the overall production increased by approximately 10 units per month,” said Victor. “Most importantly, the Maxicut compound has the amazing ability to vastly reduce the fling of polish and extra dust residue traditionally associated with polishing of vehicles. As a result, we have vastly reduced both the clean up time in the area as well as the post-polish removal of residue on the vehicle body.

“Our bonnet areas have been greatly improved and Bulldog Abrasive’s technical sales representative, Ruan Erasmus, has helped give us a seamless final finishing area to be proud of.”

Rui and Victor say that one of the big bonus points with Presta has been the fast turnaround time on vehicles. The system is now really simple. They start off with Presta 2-Step multicut and then quickly move over to Presta 2-step finishing polish. It’s an all-in-one timesaver that removes swirl marks quickly and there is no contamination because it is a water-based formula that contains no wax or silicone or fillers.

Brits Auto Body uses the Presta Ultra Complete Glaze for a complete system approach.

Victor went on to finish by saying that they have achieved a much better working final finish with the new Presta Ultra 2-step polishing system and the good news for them is that their overall costs have been reduced which is a great achievement for the bottom line.

Brits Auto Body keep a keen eye on overall profitability. Victor’s opinion is that you have to control every single cost centre within the company as a result of being in an area where they are working on a large number of bakkie repairs which don’t always get great labour rates. In the final finish operation they say that they have got it right with Presta’s Ultra 2-step system.

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The 2 Step process has resulted in around 10 additonal cars per month exiting the polishing section.

With a drastic decrease in polish fling and powder, the section remains clean at all times.

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NEW PRODUCTS HB BODY PRO 1K FILLING PRIMER Fast drying 1K filling primer is suitable for all kinds of paints (synthetic – single coat or base coat). It must be applied in thin layers (1.3-1.8mm) over sanded areas only and can be sanded within 10-30 minutes. It must be diluted 4:1 with BODY ACRYL THINNER (REDUCER).

Bulldog Abrasives are the sole distributors of the HB Body range in Sub-Saharan Africa. For more information contact their sales team on +27 (0)11 786 5991 or on sales@bulldogabrasives.co.za

CARSYSTEM TAPE OFF TOOL & DISC High quality products are the basis of perfect results for all automotive repairs, that is why CARSYSTEM continuously offer professional body shops and paint shops a complete range of up-to-date tool technology.

A great example of this is the CARSYSTEM Tape Off Tool and Disc (each sold separately). The Tape Off Tool and Disc are used together for the fast and residue-free removal of decorative stripes, decals, stickers, etc. without spoiling the paint. The Tape Off Disc comes with a 90mm adapter to enable easy mounting to the tool.

The Tape Off Tool (also known as the Bar Sander) is a pneumatic tool specially designed for use with the CARSYSTEM Tape Off Disc. This tool has a reduced maximum speed of 4 000 rpm to avoid any damaging of paint.

For more information contact the Bulldog Abrasives sales team on +27 (0)11 786 5991 or sales@bulldogabrasives.co.za

SMIRDEX ABRASIVES AUTOMOTIVE PAINT CENTRE PowerLine 820 from Smirdex is an ideal solution to the professional demanding needs in the body shop. It has high durability making it suitable for dry sanding in the automotive refinishing industry. It is especially designed to perform on tough surfaces such as scratch-proof clear coats. The special stereate coating prevents clogging and loading.

Call Automotive Paints for more information on their complete range of Smirdex on +27 (0)31 902 7666 or visit their website: www.automotivepaint.co.za 86

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STEINEL HG 2320E ARROW TRADING The Steinel HG 2320E is an electronically controlled hot air gun that is a digital precision tool for temperature-critical materials. The 2300-W HG 2320 E hot air tool is fitted with a three-metre cable, making it perfectly equipped for jobs that demand greater freedom of movement. The ceramic heaters’ temperature can be infinitely varied over a range of 80°C650°C at the thumbwheel. Integrated thermal cut-out eliminates the risk of overheating.

Airflow can be controlled in two stages from 150-500 l/min. At just 1 030 g (without power cord), the HG 2320 E hot air tool is one of the lightweights in its performance category.

For more information on this Steinel product and more contact Arrow Trading on +27 (0)11 793 1251 or www.arrowtrading.co.za

FRONIUS TPS270i C PULSE BOLT & ENGINEERING LOCTITE® SF 7900TM CERAMIC SHIELD FOR WELDING

LOCTITE® SF 7900™ Ceramic Shield for Welding is a ceramic dry film protective coating for MIG/MAG welding processes. This product protects contact tips and welding nozzles by preventing adhesion of welding spatter. Once applied the coating dries by solvent evaporation within five to 10 seconds at room temperature. Thicker films need longer drying time. Once the welding process begins, the coating hardens on the equipment surface by the heat generated. This provides optimum spatter repellent properties, especially for these severe operating conditions. Using this product can increase your productivity by up to 7% and it reduces your running costs for consumables by up to 40%.

Call Henkel on +27 (0)11 617 2400, email: ag.marketing@henkel.com or visit their website: www.loctite.co.za for more information.

Bolt & Engineering Distributors Group are the exclusive distributors of Fronius Welding equipment in South Africa. They are very pleased to announce the introduction of the new Fronius TPS270i C Pulse welding power source.

With its Compact design and output of 270A, the TPS 270i C PULSE is the ideal solution for work in the lower range. The device is also packed with a variety of applications to make the welder’s life easier and guarantee outstanding weld properties, especially on aluminium & MIG brazing.

You can get more information on the Fronius range and other products by calling +27 (0)83 629 4096 or craig@bolteng.co.za 87

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NEW PRODUCTS FILTACAPE PAINT STOP DRY FIBREGLASS The Paint Stop Dry Fibreglass is for high course filtration and will retain paint and varnish overspray in your spray booths keeping it nice and clean for the best painting finish. It has high compression strength and is suitable for quick drying paint. This is a great value for money product.

Call Filtacape for more information on this product as well as a wide range of other filtration options on +27 (0)82 549 4017 or email filtacape@outlook.com

LOCTITE® 3090 ADHESIVE FROM HENKEL LOCTITE® 3090 is an ultra fast, gel adhesive, which can bond gaps up to 5mm in depth. This twocomponent, auto-mix technology ensures consistent, fast curing, regardless of ambient temperature and moisture conditions. LOCTITE® 3090 can be used for bonding a variety of plastics, rubber and porous materials, including wood, paper and leather.

For more information on this product you can call Henkel on +27 (0)11 617 2400, email: ag.marketing@henkel.com or visit their website: www.loctite.co.za

SPEED LIGHT WEIGHT BODY FILLER MIX AND MATCH The new lightweight body filler from Speed has a professional quality and is rich and smooth in texture. It is durable, flexible and easy to sand. It has excellent adhesion to a variety of substrates and is quick drying.

Call Mix and Match on +27 (0)31 465 4511/1078 for more on this new product in their range.

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WHAT’S HOT? JOBS, EQUIPMENT, SERVICES AND MUCH MORE

TEKNIKLOTH® A Tekniklean Product

WIPES AWAY SURFACE CONTAMINATION

DENT PRO-PORTABLE DENT PULLER

Call us on

Teknikloth®- high-tech lint free surface cleaners are an absolute must for all paint shops. They provide less wastage and linting than other systems of preparation. Suitable for use on both water based and solvent based systems.

076 142 7263 082 452 6631 www.panelprotech.co.za

Photo supplied by Primo Panel and Paint Pinetown

We are a company with expertise in Air Filtration and Dust Collector units. We offer broad and versatile products and services for the most cost effective filtation solutions you need. Let us help you obtain the best air quality in your body shop. Distributor opportunities available.

Contact Lydia on 082 549 4017 or filtacape@outlook.com

Unique properties include: n Lint Free n n No scratched or damaged paintwork n n Does not break up in any known solvent

Strong wet strength Excellent absorption

We have been supplying the industry for the past 18 years.

NEW DISTRIBUTORS WELCOME. Call 031 579 3688 for your nearest distributor.

Email: sales@tekniklean.co.za or joanne@tekniklean.co.za

DON’ T FEEL LEFT OUT? ADVERTISE ADVERTISE AND BUILD BUILD YOUR YOUR BRAND. BRAND. The voice of the collision repair industry for over 30 years

CALL US +27 (0)11 949 4091 EMAIL US autoref@iafrica.com AUTOMOTIVE R E F I N I S H E R

AUTOMOTIVE R E F I N I S H E R

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AFRICAN PANORAMA - TAKE IT HOME

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oses was a quiet and not so diligent worker down in the final clean up department of a busy Pretoria body shop. He had only been with them for a short while and had already amassed two work place hearings for being late for work. His grizzled explanations of the taxi run from Shoshanguve fell short of the truth the boss was looking for.

So Moses, who hailed from Mozambique took the option of laying low in the clean up area for a while rather than the option of becoming possibly sacked and out of work.

His life was already a potential disaster after his wife walked out after his hopeless drinking and the terrible arguments it caused – but to put that all behind him was his mission on the Friday workday.

It was the usual body shop push to get everything finished and ready for collection. The boss was rushing around paying wages and getting ready for his weekend away fishing. By lunchtime he was gone, forgetting a large packet of biltong which was to feed the team all weekend.

Tinus the spraypainter was hard at work and just finished a really good job on a repaired BMW Metallic blue 335i. After it was cooked in the oven the unit was wheeled by Moses’ team into final finish for re-assembly. As a bit of an outsider with only the ability to speak broken English, Moses worked like a trojan to meet the collection deadline while thinking deeply about things in his life that were wrong.

Anyway, on final inspection, Tinus looked over at Moses and said OK, it can now go, “you can take it home,” by which he meant it could be driven to the finished line awaiting collection. No one 90

by Ian Groat

thought anymore of that until home time when Tinus who had been deputised as the man-in-charge realised that the BMW was missing and knowing the customer had cancelled his collection broke out into a pronounced short burst of anxiety to which he was prone.

The problem got considerably worse when Boykie the workshop boss boy walked up and calmly told him that Moses had put his rucksack in the back seat and disappeared with the car.

Tinus did not know what to do. The boss was away, Moses had no contact details and the million Rand car was gone with no insurance.

Moses, meanwhile, had taken his instruction to heart and it was parked outside the local shebeen. Moses told one and all the boss said he could “take it home” while all the yelping unpredictable pour-me-a-life drinkers demanded Moses take them down the road to do donuts and smoke the tyres in burn outs.

Tinus meanwhile, in his intense vulnerability got no sleep that weekend worrying about the gleaming BMW and its stolen whereabouts.

The result of Moses’ mistaken instruction thankfully ended early on Monday morning when smiling like a lord, Moses rolled the car back into the workshop. Thankfully undamaged and in one piece. As you may have already guessed the upshot of the indiscipline and his poor explanation of taking Tinus’ instructions all too literally, saw him fired for this. This was one management skirmish the luckless Mozambique worker lost and resulted in him being cripplingly insecure once again – even though the weekend had been a brilliant one.

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Enjoy the recognition you deserve.

We thank you for providing us with the opportunity to introduce our dynamic service offerings and present to you a vision for simplicity, success and sustainability.

The CRA has evolved as an organisation with passion, understanding and the will to provide results to our esteemed members from the basis of being a voice to the auto body collision industry. We employ consultants and are associated with people suitably qualified in all aspects of collision repair and related business management skills with high integrity and willing to offer their support to ensuring the success of your facilities.

Our objectives are issues the proactive body shop owner does not really have the time to concentrate on to ensure the optimisation of their business. The constant changes in the law, support in compliance with statutory requirements, relationship mentoring with government and insurers on selection criteria with regards to financial allowances on mark-up and labour rates as well as aiding consumer choice on service expectation. Further hereto our aim is to provide technical support and training on advancements in collision repair techniques and new equipment investment advice.

To date the CRA has achieved significant change with benefits and are on the road to create market awareness which in the short term will emulate consumer appreciation not previously evident in our local market.

Our mission will ensure via procedural compliance that our forum will enforce a code of conduct that covers consumer protection, work force motivation and job security and ultimately peace of mind to business owners on secure, and beneficial return on investment. We have also concluded annual inflationary labour rate increases with a major insurer

including labour rate allowances above the rate which individual repairers would normally be able to achieve independently and thus extended as a financial benefit to approved members. This will be protracted via further meetings to almost all the other major insurers in the short term.

As with any Association annual membership fees are payable to cover administration costs and our membership is based on grading status. Further hereto our membership is extended to equipment and service related suppliers whom have a similar vision of business ethic.

These include at present paint suppliers, a BEEE accreditation agency, an authorised health and safety compliance consultant, quoting and business management software suppliers and high end workshop equipment suppliers. This will also result in better service, support and preferential rates on association.

We provide an on-line E Procure business data profile of members to support recognition for independent role players in every area of activity in the collision repair industry. The platform will provide assistance to work providers and consumers with accident damaged vehicles to make educated decisions in allowing the most professional repairer the opportunity of refurbishment within acceptable time frames and in line with warranty reinstatement protocols.

In conclusion we trust you can see the benefit of belonging to our Association and look forward to the synergy we can create by our providing valued service and more importantly ensuring your enthusiasm and input is shared with other members at organised events of our approved panel.

JOIN THE CRA AND GET THE RECOGNITION YOU DESERVE!

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Call us on 0861 726 272 or Visit www.crasa.org.za

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