FenderBender - October 2020

FENDERBENDER.COM / OCTOBER 2020

OFFER MORE TO WEATHER ANY STORM PAGE 37

STREAMLINE YOUR REPAIR PROCESSES Strategies & Inspiration for Collision Repair Success

PAGE 38

CULTIVATE HOMEGROWN TALENT PAGE 46

FOUND EFFICIENCY Four points of focus to achieve maximum speed PAGE 28

Wireless Work Bill Condron of Florida’s Sawgrass Collision Center had his estimators ditch notepads and embrace laptops, finding greater efficiency in the process.

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october

10.20 / VOLUME 22 / NUMBER 10

Paper-pusher no more Collision repair center manager Bill Condron went all-in on laptops and was paid-out with a more efficient, higherperforming shop.

F E AT U R E

C A SE STU DY

28

42

Shop owners and managers discuss the root causes of their highly efficent shops.

Tips for gaining customer referrals from a couple who runs a rural, two-shop business.

EFFICIENT OPERATIONS

CAPPELLA PHOTOGRAPHY

BY KELLY BEATON AND MIKE MUNZENRIDER

WORD-OF-MOUTH

BY KELLY BEATON

Printed in the U.S.A. COPYRIGHT ©2020 BY 10 Missions Media LLC. All rights reserved. FenderBender (ISSN 1937-7150) is published monthly by 10 Missions Media, LLC, 571 Snelling Avenue North, St. Paul, MN 55104. FenderBender content may not be photocopied, reproduced or redistributed without the consent of the publisher. Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTERS Send address changes to: FenderBender, 571 Snelling Avenue North, St. Paul, MN 55104.

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 5

TAB LE OF CONTENTS

OCTOBER

QUICK FIX

13

21

32

A WNBA champ takes the lead

Screening phones on the shop floor, even when they’re part of the job

Prestigious Auto Body & Painting in Santa Barbara County, Calif.

27

35

Big cancellations, pandemic pains

When praise and empathy go too far

PAST THE PAGE

ANALYSIS

14

NUMBERS Breaking down tech configurations

LIGHT HITS

17

DRIVER'S SEAT

31

The upside of feedback

SNAP SHOP

THE BIG IDEA

BY KEVIN RAINS

ADAPT Wide Open Spaces The open layout at Prestigious Auto Body & Painting fosters breezy and easy communcation.

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MA X WELL TUMAN

EV rebels with a cause

S T R AT E G Y

49

56

74

How to plan for offering more at your shop

Heading off social media headaches

53

67

Don’t underestimate the value of your expenses

IDEA SHOP

FINANCE+ OPERATIONS Streamlining to get more out of your shop

PROCESS DRIVEN

OUTSIDE THE LINES

RYAN CROPPER

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LEADERSHIP Onboarding with purpose

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TAB LE OF CONTENTS

ONLINE EXTRAS

CLICK ON THE LOGO BELOW FOR PRODUCT INFORMATION

ADAPT

Bosch

Hunter Engineering

PPG

AUTEL

CAPA

Industrial Finishes

ProSpot

AutoNation

CCC Information Services

Mitsubishi

SATA/Dan-Am Company

O'Reilly Auto Parts

Spanesi Americas

Polyvance

TechForce Foundation

BASF

FenderBender Managment Conference

2020

Bolt On Technology

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Fuji Industrial Spray Equipment

EDITORIAL Bryce Evans Vice President, Content and Events Anna Zeck Editorial Director Mike Munzenrider Associate Editor Maraya King Staff Writer Miranda Jama Marketing Services Manager

COLLISION

Nora Johnson Special Projects Editor Jordan Wiklund Special Projects Editor

C A S T

Jason Boggs Contributing Writer Ryan Cropper Contributing Writer Steve Morris Contributing Writer Kevin Rains Contributing Writer Melissa Steinken Contributing Writer Kelly Beaton Contributing Writer

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Jason Boggs Boggs Auto Collision Rebuilders Ryan Hillenbrand Urb’s Garage and Collision Center

FenderBender’s

PODCAST NETWORK

Jesse Jacobson Heppner’s Auto Body Tiffany Menefee Pronto Body Shop Bob Pearson Pearson Auto Body Louie Sharp Sharp Auto Body Doug Voelzke Doug’s Custom Paint and Body

SERIES WITH NEW EPISODES EACH MONTH. Explore the industry’s biggest trends & most pressing topics.

ART AND PRODUCTION Zach Pate Art Director Mitch Bradford Graphic Designer Morgan Glisczinski Graphic Designer Fue Vang Graphic Designer Lauren Coleman Production Artist

SALES Chris Messer Vice President and Publisher 651.846.9462 / cmesser@10missions.com Andrew Johnson Associate Publisher 651.846.9459 / ajohnson@10missions.com Nathan Smock Marketing Strategist 651.846.9452 / nsmock@10missions.com Shayna Smith Customer Success Representative

ADVANCE. DISRUPT.

651.846.9460 / ssmith@10missions.com Jen George Client Service Specialist 651.846.9465 / jgeorge@10missions.com

10 MISSIONS MEDIA Jay DeWitt President Mariah Straub General Manager and Production Manager Meghann Moore Bookkeeper and Client Service Specialist Kate Fahlen Event Producer Tiffany Fowler Senior Digital Media Strategist Nina Kayfes Digital Media Assistant Kasey Lanenberg Marketing Communications Specialist Corey Steinhoff Administrative Assistant

HOW I DID IT. MSO PODCAST. VISION.

HOW TO REACH US 571 Snelling Avenue North, St. Paul, MN 55104 tel 651.224.6207 fax 651.224.6212 web 10missions.com The annual subscription rate is $72 (U.S.A. only) for companies not qualified to receive complimentary copies of FenderBender.

BACK ISSUES Past issue single copies are $8.

Go to fenderbender.com/backissues LETTERS TO THE EDITOR editor@fenderbender.com ARTICLE REPRINTS For high-quality reprints or e-prints of articles in this issue call 651.846.9488 or email reprints@fenderbender.com.

Opinions expressed in FenderBender are not necessarily those of 10 Missions Media, and 10 Missions Media does not accept responsibility for advertising content.

LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE SEARCH “COLLISIONCAST” IN APPS FOR APPLE AND ANDROID

PODCASTS

STITCHER

POCKET CASTS

AUTOMOTIVE GROUP

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 9

PAST THE PAGE DISCUSSIONS, FEEDBACK, CONTENT AND MORE FROM AROUND THE WEB

WEBINAR WEBINARS

Distance Learning Though in-person learning opportunities have largely been put on hold, FenderBender frequently puts on live webinars that go in depth on subjects important to collision repair shop operators.

Though offered live with the opportunity to interact and ask questions, the webinars, on a range of topics, are posted for viewing anytime at fenderbender.com/webinars.

COVID Continues As the pandemic continues and evolves, so does the coverage surrounding it; find news, blogs, and multimedia pieces about how it’s impacting the collision repair industry at fenderbender.com/padnemic and fenderbender.com/COVID-19.

CORRECTION

In the September issue of FenderBender, the Snap Shop article about DC Autocraft incorrectly identified its president. David Nordeen is president of DC Autocraft.

A GOLD STANDARD Shop leadership is the difference between getting the job done and getting it done well—it’s also a frequent topic in the pages of FenderBender, and on its website. Minnesota Golden Gophers women’s basketball coach Lindsay Whalen— she’s also a four-time WNBA champ and two-time Olympic gold medalist— discussed recruiting and leading young people toward success, both as part of FenderBender’s CollisionCast podcast and on the website.

In fact, leadership is always such a hot topic that there’s an entire section of the magazine’s website devoted to it; find more stories on leading, as well as what Whalen had to say, at fenderbender.com/leadership.

10 fenderbender.com | October 2020

JOIN US ONLINE fenderbender.com fenderbender.com/facebook twitter.com/fenderbendermag fenderbender.com/linkedin instagram.com/fenderbendermag

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BY THE NUMBERS THE TOPIC S, TRENDS AND METRIC S DRIVING YOUR OPER ATION

EXAMINING THE BEST TECHNICIAN SETUP Statistics from the 2020 FenderBender Industry Survey suggest that team repair work is falling out of favor at body shops. Nowadays, just 20 percent of shops use team technician setups, whereas 26 percent did two years ago.

And, when it comes to technicians, survey results indicate that team setups aren’t the most fruitful for body shops. According to FenderBender research, when shops have technicians segmented by repair department, it tends to provide those businesses with better technician efficiency and productivity.

Here’s a look at how the three most common technician setups tend to impact a few key metrics at body shops.

HOW TECHNICIANS WORK

Average tech efficiency of 140%+

Average tech productivity of 100%+

In teams

29%

43%

Segmented by repair

51%

48%

One tech per repair, start to finish

20%

32%

Speaking of teams, last year FenderBender wrote an in-depth article analyzing how a unique, team pay structure helped give one Delaware shop virtually peerless cycle times. The team setup even resulted in lower labor costs. Learn how that setup was implemented by reading the full article, at fenderbender.com/teams.

12 fenderbender.com | October 2020

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DRIVER ' S SE AT

Feedback is a Gift Hearing about shortcomings goes a long way I love our editorial advisory board. One of my favorite parts of

every month is our conference call talking about the highs and lows of the issue, industry trends, what they’d like to see in the magazine, etc. They’re our eyes and ears in the industry, the people in the trenches every day who make sure the magazine reflects what the industry wants to see. Every single one of the shop owners who have served as editorial advisory board members over the years have become trusted resources, mentors, and—dare I say it—friends.

So, I say this with the utmost love and respect: A couple months ago, they ripped us.

In the nicest way possible, of course, but in that very specific way that lets me know they didn’t love that month’s issue: “It was … good [Pause].”

Ouch.

What happened next, of course, is that everyone else chimed in: “I’m glad you said that because I was thinking the same thing!”

It was difficult sitting through that hour-long conference call and I left it licking my wounds. I’m not too proud to admit that I even felt defensive.

I had to remind myself of something I tell all of my team members: Any feedback, regardless of whether you agree or not, is a gift.

Giving feedback is difficult, which is why it often goes unsaid.

If a person is willing to take the time and offer you honest feedback, there’s clearly a level of appreciation and thoughtfulness that exists. Plus, let’s face it, even though I like to think of myself as a cool, hip leader, not everyone feels comfortable sharing their honest thoughts with me. As Warren Buffet said, “Honesty is a very expensive gift; don’t expect it from cheap people.”

It’s easy to discount that feedback can also serve as motivation. The latter is exactly what that call did for me. We happened to be knee deep in editorial planning for 2021 at the time and it motivated me to get out there and have more conversations with people in the industry to make sure that our content hit the mark.

I talked to shop owners, consultants, vendors, paint companies, association heads—the list goes on. And, at the end of those few weeks, I ended up rewriting our editorial calendar for next year because I had gained so much new insight and so many new ideas. I have to say, I haven’t felt this confident about our story lineup in a while. I finished it and thought, “This is killer.”

I have to give the board credit: I don’t think that I would’ve had all of those conversations and rewritten the content lineup if they hadn’t pushed me on that call.

One of the worst things we can do as leaders is shut down feedback so regularly that we stop getting it altogether. Surrounded by nothing but “yes” people? No, thanks. None of us are above feedback and, if we’re able to put aside our egos and allow ourselves to take in that feedback, it’s always of benefit.

Got any other feedback for me? Trust me, I can take it.

14 fenderbender.com | October 2020

ANNA ZECK EDITORIAL DIRECTOR a z e c k @10 m i s s i o n s .c o m

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QUICK FIX

ANALYSIS

TIPS FOR CONTROLLING PHONE USE ON YOUR SHOP FLOOR

Owners and managers discuss what they do—and what they don’t do—when it comes to employees’ use of cellphones during work

BY MIKE MUNZENRIDER 16 fenderbender.com | October 2020

both a distraction and a vital part of working in the collision repair shop of today.

Phone cameras make it easy to document the repair process, and there are apps that are vital to keeping a shop’s operations running smoothly. While social media use by employees on the shop floor—and off—is a discussion all its own, the simple fact that phones can stream the game and constantly receive push updates means they can take techs’ minds off the business at hand, even when it’s not the tech doing the posting.

FenderBender asked shop owners and managers about how they keep tabs

GETT Y

Cell phone use on the shop floor can be

on employees’ phone use during the day.

Few said they have written phone policies in place. Rather, they expect their techs and others to take the lead, knowing what is and isn’t appropriate phone use, only call out employees when they absolutely have to.

“You need to be about that money and fixing these cars,” says Bryan Nuhn, collision repair center manager at Loyalty Collision in Richmond, Va. He notes that techs understand that, and generally don’t waste time looking at their phones.

The owners and managers also had a handful of interesting insights to share.

Nuhn says problem phone use is more

common with younger employees, and those who are paid hourly. “Commission guys, they can be on their phone all they want,” he jokes.

Andrew Batenhorst, body shop manager at Pacific BMW in Glendale, Calif., says the shop does have a policy that bars personal phone use during business hours. He adds there are legitimate uses of cell phones on the shop floor.

“Most of my technicians use CCC ONE on their phones for reviewing parts, work orders, etc., so I can tell pretty easily when they are doing that versus watching a soccer game or browsing Instagram,” he says.

Batenhorst also noted one way his shop puts a pinch on personal phone use: “We do not give out our Wi-Fi password to employees, which is another deterrent so they have to use their own data plan on their phone.”

At Burdolski Auto Werks in Shawnee, Kan., general manager Marisa Butler says there’s a “no phones” rule for when porters are driving or operating machinery, mainly directed at the younger ones.

Otherwise, she says, phones help out on the shop floor, shooting process photos and more.

“The techs use them to look up procedures, as well as for listening to music.

They have not abused the privilege so I haven’t seen a need to go further than that,” Butler says. “We do, however, ask that they can still be able to hear instructions while wearing their headphones.”

Acknowledging how useful phones and similar technology can be to the repair process, Steve Simko, production manager at South of the Square Collision Center in Medina, Ohio, says the shop has given techs the tools they need so they aren’t using their personal devices.

“We encourage our techs to take pictures of things as they are coming apart to have a reminder of how they go back together, but we have gone digital with our work orders so each tech has a tablet at their disposal,” he says.

“They can actually read the work order and take pictures of damage, wiring, assemblies, or whatever they want, to reference all with the same device and not on their phones.”

Simko adds that while techs are given hard copies of OEM procedures, it can still be helpful to watch a video about the process, and that’s something they can do on their tablet.

For Derek Lighthall, owner of Committed Collision Auto Body in Hampton, N.H., illicit phone use—and any other number of potential employee issues—can be headed off during the hiring process.

“By hiring solid employees that respect an owner and the shop that pays them, I don’t run into issues,” he says. “If I do run into an issue, I look at it as a lack of respect and professionalism. It’s not the phone’s fault. Some techs post about work they are doing, etc. I don’t mind that as long as it’s professional.”

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 17

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News

QUICK FIX

For your daily collision repair news visit

LIGHT HITS

fenderbender.com/lighthits

SEMA AND AAPEX SHOWS CANCELLED Organizers of the SEMA and AAPEX shows announced in August that both events would be cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

Both were scheduled to be held in-person in Las Vegas the first week of November.

SEMA announced it would hold elements of its show virtually, with SEMA360 slated to be online November 2-6. The Virtual AAPEX Experience will run November. 3-5.

The 2021 SEMA Show is scheduled for November 2-5 in and around the Las Vegas Convention Center. The 2021 AAPEX Show is planned for November 2-4.

AUTONATION TO CLOSE AFTERMARKET PARTS BUSINESS AutoNation Inc., which bills itself as America’s largest and most recognized automotive retailer, announced it will close its aftermarket collision parts business by the end of the year. The division, AutoNation Collision Parts, made up less than 1 percent of parts and service gross profit for the company the first six months of the year, according to AutoNation.

AutoNation is citing the closure of ACP as an effort to reduce costs and increase efficiency across the industry. The change falls in line with AutoNation’s restructuring plan, which, per the company, has been underway for the last two years. The objective of the restructuring is to reduce costs annually and to consolidate its regional infrastructure.

GETTY

BOYD GROUP SEEING ILL EFFECTS OF PANDEMIC Canada’s Boyd Group Services Inc., owner of the Boyd and Gerber collision shop brands, announced its financial results for the three- and six-month periods that ended June 30. The results of the second quarter for 2020 were severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The decline in sales compared to the second quarter of 2019 was drastic, with April through June 2020 seeing a 25.5 percent loss, according to the company.

The same time frame saw a 33 percent decrease in same-store sales, which was due to Canada’s slower reopening following pandemic-related lockdown.

Second quarter 2020 net earnings decreased in tandem with sales, resulting in a net loss of $7.1 million, compared to $13.7 million in earnings during the second quarter of 2019.

As of the announcement in August, third quarter 2020 sales were 15 percent below those of last year.

REPAIRABILITY TECHNICAL SUPPORT PORTAL FREE THROUGH 2020 The Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair announced it will extend free access to its Repairability Technical Support Portal through the end of the year.

Scott VanHulle, manager of RTS and OEM relations at I-CAR, says, “We recognize the strong value RTS provides to the industry and have seen a large uptick in use, in particular, during April through July, aiding our decision to extend this important resource free of charge to anyone in the industry throughout the remainder of the year.”

The Repairability Technical Support Portal launched in 2014 and was designed to offer the most up-to-date collision repair technical information to all in the industry. VanHulle says anyone is welcome to submit a question and I-CAR's team will do its best to answer. I-CAR is also tracking the frequency of specific queries in order to analyze trends and offer more detailed training courses where there is a lack of information.

FORMER GOOGLE EXECUTIVE SENTENCED TO 18 MONTHS IN PRISON Anthony Levandowski, a former engineer for Google, was sentenced to 18

months in prison for trade secret theft during his employment in the selfdriving industry.

Following his time at Google, Levandowski took his experience and founded a self-driving truck company called Otto.

In 2016, Uber bought Otto, which opened Uber up to a lawsuit from Google’s selfdriving branch, Waymo. Waymo alleged that Uber conducted trade secret theft via its acquisition of Otto.

Eventually, Uber and Waymo were able to reach an agreement, according to the Verge. But Levandowski still owes nearly $1 million in restitution to Google, a $95,000 fine, and according to a separate court ruling, he has been ordered to pay Waymo $179 million for poaching its engineers.

NEW FORD CEO TAKES OVER Jim Farley took over as CEO of Ford on October 1, following the retirement of former CEO Jim Hackett.

A former COO with the automaker, Farley, 58, has been at Ford since 2007, beginning as its global head of marketing and sales. In April 2019, he was chosen to lead Ford’s New Businesses, Technology, and Strategy team.

Hackett, 65, is credited with moving Ford into a new era of smart vehicles, with the production of the Mustang Mach-E, the new F-150, and the new series of Broncos.

The two worked together over the preceding months to ensure a smooth leadership transition, and Hackett will continue as a special advisor to the carmaker through March 2021.

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 19

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THIS IS YOUR INDUSTRY’S FUTURE. STAY AHEAD OF IT. .01239

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20 fenderbender.com | October 2020

THE ADAPT: AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT IS A THREE-DAY EVENT PROVIDING SHOP OWNERS AND OPERATORS WITH A UNIQUE, UNMATCHED OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN DIRECTLY FROM INDUSTRY LEADERS ON THE MOST PROGRESSIVE AND PRESSING TECHNOLOGY TRENDS DISRUPTING THE AUTOMOTIVE AFTERMARKET

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K E Y I N S I G H TS , TR E N DS A N D S TR ATEG I E S F O R TO M O R ROW ’ S I N D U S TRY—TO DAY A D A P TA U T O M O T I V E . C O M

A D A P TA U T O M O T I V E . C O M / F A C E B O O K

T W IT TE R .CO M /A DA P T_ AUTO M OTI V E

The ADAPT Interview Check out the growing list of multimedia on the ADAPT site.

After you check out the episode with #RichRebuilds, take a listen to how ADAS is being tested in modified vehicles.

When an ADAS tech is working on a lifted truck, the calibration process for ADAS systems might become more difficult, because the same OE specs need to be met for a vehicle that has different features. adaptautomotive.com/podcasts

INSIDE THE REBELLIOUS EV SHOP Three partners knew their stuff when it came to Tesla. When it came to servicing and modifying the cars as an independent shop, they had a challenge on their hands.

Their operation, Electrified Garage, has risen to the occasion. ADAPT has the story of these three owners who have cracked into the proprietary world of Tesla.

The first of a three-part series covers Chris Salvo, a former BMW and Tesla tech who decided to strike out on his own with Electrified Garage.

Part two examines Chad Hrencecin, who also has BMW and Tesla on his resume and is the second co-owner of Electrified Garage.

Finally, check out a podcast with Rich Benoit, aka RichRebuilds, who is a selftaught tinkerer and YouTube personality. Benoit talks to ADAPT about his work, Tesla’s impact and how his independent work is getting in on the fun.

Get the series at adaptautomotive.com/electrified.

Head to the ADAPT website to sign up for the ADAPT Trend Report newsletter to have the latest news, strategies, and transportation trends sent to your inbox every week. adaptautomotive.com/newsletter

Registration and hotel accommodations are now open for The ADAPT: Automotive Technology Summit. The full two-and-a-halfday schedule is available at adaptsummit.com.

PEXELS

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ADAPT Trend Report

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 21

QUICK FIX

1

SNAP SHOP

PRESTIGIOUS AUTO BODY & PAINTING

BY KELLY BEATON PHOTOS BY MAXWELL TUMAN LOCATION:

Goletta, Calif.

OWNER:

Rene Koke SIZE:

24,000 square feet

2

STAFF:

47 (12 front office, 35 shop floor) AVERAGE MONTHLY CAR COUNT:

220

ANNUAL REVENUE:

$10 million (2 locations combined)

“BECAUSE I’M A TECH...

I PUSH THE LIMITS AND DO WHAT I LOVE.

”

22 fenderbender.com | October 2020

Submit Your Shop

Proud of your shop and want to show it off to your peers? Tell us about it at

submissions@10missions.com.

1. PRISTINE PALM TREES The vibe manager Peter Ramerso tries to present at the larger of Prestigious Auto Body & Painting’s two locations is zen-like.

That helps explain the pristine, manicured palm trees that dot the facility’s parking lot.

“You’ve got to take the status quo and flip it,” he says. “I want to be the guy selling the best steak on the block.”

3

2. PINING FOR COMFORT A rustic interior of its customer waiting area is highlighted by cedar pine accents, the smell of which greets customers.

“The whole idea here is for them to enter our facility with the impression like, ‘Wow,’ and they’re caught off guard,” Romero says.

3. EXPANSIVE OFFICE AREA

4

The shop largely utilizes an open desk area. That fosters communication among employees.

The property, which was a bus depot in the 1970s, also includes a second floor office area that has a conference room and 1,000 square feet of office space for company executives.

4. ALUMINUM READY The shop is the only aluminum-certified body shop in its county. The aluminum clean room is a 20-by-20-foot room quartered off from other bay areas.

That dedicated aluminum repair area “is basically everything that Audi, Ford, and all the manufacturers state that we need to do [for aluminum repair],” Romero says, “from an extracting machine, to the bench being isolated. Everything that we need is in there.”

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 23

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND THE FENDERBENDER MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE?

This was an amazing opportunity to meet some of the big names in the industr y and share ideas. The amount of knowledge being shared was incredible; I tried to soak in as much as I could.

The knowledge I gained from attending is priceless and I am able to implement s o m e o f t h e i d e a s I l e a r n e d r i g h t a w a y.

Thank you FenderBender for the awesome oppor tunit y to learn , grow and help my business be successful.

ALDEN MCAFEE

Assistant Manager, Berger Chevrolet Collision Center FBMC 2018 Attendee

FENDERBENDERCONFERENCE .COM

2021

SEPTEMBER 13–15, 2021

24 fenderbender.com | October 2020

COLUMNS

THE BIG IDEA KEVIN RAINS

False Positives The dark side of kindness

MICHAEL HOEWELER, GETTY

For the past several years, I’ve had

an ongoing, internal debate raging: Is it possible to be a kind and caring leader and still be effective? Several of the models of leadership I inherited from a family with generational roots in the military hold that leaders can choose to be either kind and ineffective, or demanding and effective.

I want to admit upfront that in an effort to challenge the notion that only highly demanding leaders can be effective, I often overswing. I have overcompensated with what one previous U.S. president called a “kinder, gentler” approach.

In many ways, I’ve flourished in this industry. I think I have proven to myself that different approaches to leadership can work as I’ve crafted a style of leadership that tends toward the kind and gentle.

What I have also learned more recently, though, is that any approach can be taken too far and become a weakness. There truly is a shadow side to the kinder, gentler approach, if not kept in check. I’ve also become aware that my internal “kindness vs.

demanding” debate is a false dichotomy.

It’s not an either/or—it’s a both/and. Several books in recent years like “Fierce Conversations,” “Radical Candor,” and “Crucial Conversations” discuss the creative tension of this “both/and” approach.

The authors argue that being kind and understanding while holding your team to a high standard is more effective than one or the other. Both are needed.

But can there be too much kindness, too much empathy? I am coming to learn that the answer is a clear “yes.”

Think about encouragement. We all want to encourage our teams and the individual members to perform at their highest. And we’ve seen the crazy example— and maybe even visited there ourselves!—of the yelling and screaming and carrying on manager who thinks that the louder they yell, or the meaner they are, the more people will perform. In an effort to move away from that nonsense we decide to become an encouraging presence, pointing out every possible positive that we can find,

KEVIN RAINS Kevin Rains is the owner of Rains CARSTAR Group with locations in Cincinnati, Ohio, West Chester, Ohio and Lexington, Ky. He is also an industry consultant and founder of Body Shop 2.0.

E M A I L : kev i n r a i n s @ g m a i l .c o m A R C H I V E : f e n d e r b e n d e r.c o m /r a i n s

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 25

KEVIN RAINS

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26 fenderbender.com | October 2020

all the while ignoring all the shortcomings of any given team member. We can become like the parody of a 1950s housewife whose child is a complete psychopath and wants to burn their house to the ground, and mom says things like, “Oh, he’s just being a rambunctious little boy!”

In an effort to be positive and encouraging, we can start to lose touch with the first job of any leader, defining reality.

Flattery is another part of the shadow side of encouragement. Flattery is not really about helping the other person do a great job or develop their skills. Rather, flattery is for us. It actually is a tool of manipulation. We flatter people so they will like us and do what we want them to do.

There’s an old proverb that says, “The wounds of a friend are better than the kisses of an enemy.” Flattery only gives people a false sense of accomplishment.

It doesn’t help anyone become better.

I’ve shared in recent columns that we recently hired a COO. In learning to work alongside someone with a very different, but complementary style to mine, I’ve seen how my approach has gotten in the way of his. We had recently gotten some good feedback from a customer and I wanted to share that with a team member. So I did. I praised him and thanked him somewhat publicly for a job well done. I didn’t let it slip into flattery.

It was sincere and tied to a specific example of good performance. What could be wrong with that, right?

What was wrong with it was that it wasn’t coordinated with my new copilot. He was getting ready to challenge this team member in several areas where his performance was lackluster.

Nothing huge. Just some things that needed to be shored up. But I inadvertently short-circuited that. I had accidentally set us up in roles of “good cop and bad cop,” as opposed to allowing my COO to have a single, fuller conversation that involved both encouragement and challenge.

Being too positive, too encouraging, and yes, even too kind is not good. It must be kept in check with things like holding your team accountable and having hard conversations when effort and performance lag. Calling those you lead to become great and holding them to a higher standard is actually the most caring thing you, as a leader, can do. They will become better for it.

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October 2020 | fenderbender.com 27

FE ATURE

FINDING EFFICIENCY

28 fenderbender.com | October 2020

Finding Efficiency B Y K E L LY B E AT O N A N D M I K E M U N Z E N R I D E R

It’s an endless struggle for many body shops.

How can you inspire your staff to improve its efficiency? Where can your staff eliminate time-wasting inefficiencies? In an effort to provide solutions, FenderBender surveyed shop operators all over the country, gauging their struggles.

Then, the magazine spoke to accomplished body shop leaders to glean definitive answers for achieving ultimate efficiency.

Here are their tips, which, if utilized carefully, can help shops shift into the passing lane and leave their competition behind.

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 29

FE ATURE

FINDING EFFICIENCY

Snapshot Hundreds of shop operators nationwide took FenderBender’s annual Industry Survey, and these four collision repair businesses finished among the top 10 percent.

ARRIGO COLLISION GROUP

EMERALD COAST COLLISION REPAIR INC.

TOM’S BODY & PAINT

SAWGRASS COLLISION CENTER

Tamarac, Fla.

Fort Walton, Fla.

Visalia, Calif.

Sunrise, Fla.

Tara Brock

Eric Polson

Brandon Maxwell

Bill Condron

50,000 square feet

16,000 square feet

15,000 square feet

45,000 square feet (in two total buildings)

S TA F F S I Z E :

14

21

19

45

AV E R A G E M O N T H LY C A R C O U N T:

85

140

110

300

A N N UA L R E V E N U E :

$5.5 million

$4.3 million

$3 million

$10.5 million

T E C H N I C I A N E F F I C I E N CY:

205 percent

210 percent

150 percent

211 percent

T E C H N I C I A N P R O D U C T I V I T Y:

119 percent

120 percent

120 percent

86.4 average hours per week

K E Y-T O - K E Y CYC L E T I M E :

10.7 days

12 days

10 days

7.9 days

TOUCH TIME:

5.3 hours

3.3 hours

4.7 hours (including RVs and fleet vehicles)

3.0 hours

$3,800

$3,800

$2,836

$2,400

SHOP NAME:

L O C AT I O N : O P E R AT O R : SIZE:

AV E R A G E T I C K E T:

30 fenderbender.com | October 2020

Arrigo Collision Group The mere thought of trying to call Tara Brock at her

desk makes her bosses laugh. Far more often than not, it’s a fruitless endeavor.

“I’m not at my desk; I’m out in the shop probably 80 percent of the day,” says Brock, the collision manager for the Arrigo Collision Group (ACG) in southern Florida. “You’ve got to see what’s going on, you’ve got to be there for your technicians.”

And, for Brock, that’s the easiest way to ensure that her staff works efficiently and productively. And it works, judging by the fact her shop produces stellar KPIs like a job-completion cycle time of 5.5 days. The main shop that Brock oversees in the Fort Lauderdale area claims a CSI score of 98.6 percent, and the facility produces an annual revenue of $5.5 million.

“BE OUT THERE, BE ON THE FLOOR CALLING THE SHOTS LIKE A GREAT POINT GUARD IN BASKETBALL.” TA R A B ROC K COLLISION MANAGER ARRIGO COLLISION GROUP

Over the past two years, after implementing a few process changes, Brock has especially seen cycle time improve. If there’s a single thing that Brock’s more efficient tactics boil down to, it’s solid communication throughout the repair process. Says Brock, “Be out there, be on the floor calling the shots like a great point guard in basketball.”

Get everyone on the same page.

Ask 10 techs what makes for a good teardown, and you might get just as many answers.

“What one guy thinks is a good teardown … and what I think is a good teardown is different,” says Brock, underscoring the need to communicate and unify the shop into maintaining the same SOPs, job by job.

“Just constant communication throughout the shop—having everyone on board with the process,” is crucial, she says. “Especially when you bring a new member to the team.”

Having great communication throughout the shop

floor greatly aids efficiency. And utilizing a parts runner can offer a major assist in that respect. At ACG’s 50,000-square-foot Tamarac, Fla., location, the parts runner communicates with six body technicians throughout the day, frequently delivering parts and quickly locating any that are missing.

There are fringe efficiency benefits to using the parts runner, Brock notes, “It just avoids technicians having to leave their stall.”

Embrace external communications.

COLLISION MANAGER:

Tara Brock

POINT- OF - PRIDE KPI:

Off the shop floor, Brock says it’s been helpful to embrace CCC’s text and email messaging options to better convey information to car owners.

“Customers are more open to electronic communication,” she says.

Brock also stresses the importance of staying in touch with peers—others at the shop-level in the industry—as well vendors like your paint company. When it comes to having conversations with, say, a BASF, she says, “you’re always going to learn something new.”

And, through discussing your frustrations and hangups with your jobbers and vendors, Brock says, you might just push them into action. She says in a number of instances that her techs and writers have received free training from vendors who’d heard her concerns, which went on to improve her shop’s procedures, and thus its efficiency.

Such free training opportunities, Brock says, are out there, “no matter if you’re a huge MSO or a big independent.” She says owners just have to ask.

“If you don’t, you’re just hurting yourself,” Brock says.

5.5 days jobstart-to-jobcompletion cycle time

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 31

FE ATURE

FINDING EFFICIENCY

Emerald Coast Collision Repair Inc. Sometimes the need for change builds slowly over

months and years—for Eric Polson, owner of Emerald Coast Collision Repair, it happened in a single day.

Hurricane Michael, the first Category 5 hurricane to hit the contiguous United States in more than 25 years, made landfall on the Florida Panhandle on Oct. 10, 2018. Polson’s Fort Walton shop was spared, but as he and his production manager, Nick Chauvin, tell it, every body shop in Panama City, 65 miles away, was leveled. That means Emerald Coast was inundated, not by the storm but by cars.

In the two days following the hurricane, 120 vehicles showed up at Polson’s shop and keys piled on the front counter.

“You don’t even know who owns those cars,” says Polson.

Before the storm, Chauvin says he thought Emerald Coast was a tight operation, “But the hurricane showed us we needed to be more efficient.”

“WE’RE DOING THE SAME AMOUNT OF BUSINESS AS THREE YEARS AGO BUT WE DON’T FEEL AS BUSY AS THREE YEARS AGO.” ERIC POLSON OWNER EMERALD COAST COLLISION REPAIR

The storm damaged some 70,000 cars in the area, Chauvin says, and that meant, according to Polson, that every body shop within 200 miles was busy for the next year. During that time, Emerald Coast, a DRP-reliant shop that brings in $4.3 million annually, worked to refine its processes with the goal of making them repeatable, and thus efficient. Polson says he brainstormed with his staff and found success.

“We’re doing the same amount of business as three years ago but we don’t feel as busy as three years ago,” he says.

Here’s more on how Emerald Coast Collision Repair found efficiency through process.

Starting out Strong

Chauvin pinpoints full teardowns and thorough blueprints as the beginning of a thorough process.

“If you’re not doing that you really start to see it in delays on the back end,” he says.

The message of starting out strong is stressed on a daily basis at Emerald Coast. Chauvin says strong 32 fenderbender.com | October 2020

processes only work so long as there’s buy-in and employees can see that they work. Polson says when the shop underwent its changes toward greater efficiency, there was some pushback, mostly from veteran techs who were set in their ways, though that resistance blew over once they saw that the new SOPs were working.

Another way the shop found efficiency through procedure was with the use of parts carts and totes. Parts organization is key, says Polson, noting that Emerald Coast’s parts cart system is a customized version of what Mike Anderson recommends.

Carts full of pre-ordered parts are delivered to techs as they begin their teardown, and each part is mirror-matched.

The process aims to avoid supplements. Polson says it’d be one thing if he were located in Atlanta and, in need of a KIA part, had three dealers in the area to call instead of a single dealership, a day away.

“If we are not doing our full teardowns and getting our full parts list, that’s going to create a three-day delay,” he says.

Communication as Part of the Process

Each day at Emerald Coast begins with a production meeting, Chauvin says, where the status of each car—in its own process, parts needs, payment—is discussed.

Maintaining strong communication between the shop’s 21 staff members is a means to effective processes.

“It really is a team effort and everybody’s got to be involved,” he says.

Working as a connected group leads to greater efficiency, big and small: If payment is still outstanding on a car and a detailer knows it, Chauvin says, he or she won’t have to wash it twice.

“Everybody’s got to talk,” he says.

OWNER:

Eric Polson

POINT- OF - PRIDE KPI:

4 hours per day touch time

Tom’s Body & Paint In Haylee Maxwell’s mind, the numbers rarely, if

PRODUCT ION M A N AG ER:

Haylee Maxwell

POINT- OF - PRIDE KPI:

120 percent average technician productivity

ever, lie.

Maxwell, the production manager at Tom’s Body & Paint, spends the majority of her day monitoring shop metrics. You can often find her studying CCC ONE’s production schedule function and its floorplan view.

“I just look at the numbers and look at what needs to go based on the ‘out’ date,” she explains.

“I track as much as I can and “then schedule, once I know, ‘OK, I know, [a specific employee] can hit these numbers. Scheduling, I think, really goes hand in hand with efficiency.”

In fact, Maxwell says, the efficiency gains of recent years at Tom’s Body & Paint can all be traced back to the way vehicles are planned to move through the shop.

“We went from doing 30 to 40 cars per month, to doing 90 and 120 within a couple of years,” she says.

“I would say the No. 1 thing for making us more efficient was scheduling.”

With that jump in car count, so came an increase in cash, with Tom’s Body & Paint bringing in some $3 million per year, while boasting a technician productivity of 120 percent.

“SCHEDULING IS THE PILLAR OF OTHER EFFICIENCIES IN OUR SHOP.” HAYLEE MA XELL PRODUCTION MANAGER TOM’S BODY & PAINT

Here’s more on how scheduling—by considering what goes into each job and knowing each technician’s capacity—has become a superpower at Tom’s.

Informed Planning

“Scheduling is the pillar of other efficiencies in our shop,” says Maxwell, “we base everything off scheduling.”

And the starting point for the schedule at Tom’s Body & Paint, she says, is a baseline knowledge of what’s happening with the techs--how many are available, what their work loads are, what they’re most capable of doing.

From there, Maxwell says she treats each job file as “a whole little person,” meaning each file has its own set of traits to consider. In practice, she says evaluating each file comes down to four factors:

1. Who’s paying?

2. How many body hours, how many paint hours?

3. Capacity 4. Parts availability With respect to payment, Maxwell says waiting on insurance can add days to a repair, so it’s the first thing she considers when building out her schedule: “[If I know a tech] has 10 jobs but two are waiting on insurance, he can do a little bumper job.”

Next to consider, simply enough, is the number of body hours and paint hours each job will require.

“I try not to overwhelm [painters], either,” she says.

With knowledge of the shop’s work capacity already in place (built off knowledge of what’s happening with its techs), the final factor comes down to parts availability. Located between Bakersfield and Fresno in California’s San Joaquin Valley, Tom’s Body and Paint is a little out there: “We’re kind of at the mercy of deliveries for a lot of things,” Maxwell says.

Cascading Jobs

Once those four factors are considered, she says, “I schedule it like a dentist’s or doctor’s office, based on how many hours each guy can get.” And she’s broken the Monday through Friday mindset.

“I definitely work backwards,” she says, placing smaller jobs like bumpers on Fridays and Thursdays so they can be out the door before the weekend; bigger jobs that are likely to bleed into the next week can be scheduled mid-week; while midsize jobs are scheduled for Tuesday or Monday, so they can be finished that same week.

Of course, exactly how each week’s schedule will be laid out goes back to Maxwell knowing what’s up with her techs.

“Your tech capacity and your schedule go hand in hand,” she says.

“Knowing what your techs can do dictates how you schedule out.”

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 33

FE ATURE

FINDING EFFICIENCY

Sawgrass Collision Center These days, Bill Condron proudly oversees a dealer-

ship collision repair center that churns out an average monthly car count of 300.

But things didn’t always run as smoothly at Sawgrass Collision Center. A while back, the facility, which encompasses a total of 45,000 square feet in two buildings, struggled with cycle time. While Condron credits a plan of putting in place standard operating procedures for every car that comes through the center—windshield checklists are followed and morning walk-arounds get everybody on the same page—the true solution to his efficiency woes was a simple piece of hardware.

He even says it might not sound like much of a turning point: He gave his estimators wireless laptops to use out in the shop.

“If there was one single thing that changed and turned the corner, I would say it was that,” says Condron.

Come 2020, Condron, by replacing his estimators’ notepads with computers and all that followed, had led Sawgrass to a far more efficient operation. Average keys-to-keys cycle times were down to 7.9 days and the average technician efficiency surge to 211 percent. Here’s more on the switch from paper to harddrive, and considerations to make should you go the same way.

“IF YOU DON’T START OUT WITH GOOD WI-FI, DON’T BOTHER.” BILL CONDRON COLLISION REPAIR CENTER MANAGER SAWGRASS COLLISION CENTER

Breaking Old Habits

Though Condron says his “old school” estimators were sure they could work twice as fast sticking with their notebooks, the switch to laptops, he says, made the estimation process 40 percent faster.

Going digital meant fewer trips to the car, no more forgotten details, and higher estimation accuracy because all details were going straight into the computer.

Condron’s estimators work alongside techs to blueprint cars and collaborate. Having the laptop in tow heads off confusion about gussets, brackets, and wire harnesses, he says. “You have the parts right there with your estimating package.”

Sawgrass Collision Center also makes use of mobile estimation stations—they’re basically laptops on steroids, with 24-inch screens and printers—furthering the process of getting things right the first time.

“Everybody can see everything on a big high-def screen,” Condron says.

34 fenderbender.com | October 2020

C O LLI S IO N R E PA I R CENTER MANAGER:

Bill Condron

POINT- OF - PRIDE KPI:

211 percent technician efficiency

With less confusion comes more estimation accuracy, he adds.

Whether for a bumper or a $2,500 wreck, he would say the notepad estimate averages out to about 75 percent accuracy. Nowadays, the center strives for 95 percent accurate first estimations. What if a supplement is needed?

“Whenever we do a supplement, once they put it into the computer, it goes directly from ProfitNet on the parts employees’ screen, so they’re seeing it right away and getting those parts ordered,” Condron says.

Getting it Right

Wireless Work

Bill Condron, Sawgrass Collision Center collision repair center manager, says his estimating process became 40 percent faster when his estimators traded notepads for laptops.

“It does make things much more efficient for everyone,” he says of implementing laptops, “but everybody does have to drink the Kool-Aid.” Making a lasting switch means setting yourself up to succeed, Condron says. When piloting a laptop program, it’s not necessary to give a computer to your best estimator—pick the one who’s the most tech-savvy. Nail down laptop procedures with that single individual and troubleshoot issues as they come up.

As the more efficient system comes into focus, Condron says, the other estimators will notice and it’ll be “easier to bring them along and get them involved.”

Also, make sure you have the right infrastructure in place to begin using laptops. Condron says he’s seen the frustrations that can come from a patchy Internet signal, so, “If you don’t start out with good Wi-Fi, don’t bother.” Beyond, get the hardware right the first time, too.

“Going cheap on the laptop is not the way to go,” he says, noting he uses Durabook computers that are about $2,500 each. “This is something you’re going to use 10 times per day for years.”

Though Condron says the initial investment can be daunting, he contends even a quarter gain in efficiency is well worth it.

“What’s 25 percent of your business?” he says.

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 35

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STR ATEGY

IDEA SHOP

Kick the day off on the same page.

There can be a lot going on, that’s why it’s so important to communicate. Every morning we have a production meeting with the team at 9 a.m. This kicks off the day and gets everyone rolling on the same page. I used to start the meetings but now that we added the second location in 2018, we have managers that run those meetings.

Remember to take a breather.

A Balancing Act

Tips for increasing your offerings without a hitch Joe Rizzo and his business partner, Arthur Harris, heard the rumors going around in June 2019.

They heard that a recession loomed for the U.S. economy and that, in just one year, it would be here. The recession would hit and the value of the dollar would drop.

The partners didn’t panic, however, and instead began to mobilize other business opportunities to diversify their business model at Finish Pros Collision Repair in Dallas, Ga. To do so, they focused on one question: “How do we make a business model that can survive even if no one is spending money?”

To supplement some of their collision work, the team started offering more stand-alone paint work for customers and incorporated more fleet accounts into the business. All of this is well and good, but without a solid plan in place, it can be too much to manage.

Luckily, Rizzo has tips for being able to tackle additional ventures while still maintaining control of your business.

AS TOLD TO MELISSA STEINKEN

GETTY

Find an offering that works for your shop.

We service fleet accounts. For some of these accounts, it’s taken us up to 14 years to obtain them. We wanted to be able to have work coming in if there was a time where other areas of the business were down in work. That’s helped a lot right now during the coronavirus outbreak.

We’ve seen a lot of customers coming into the shop who haven’t been driving their cars because less people are driving.

We often get customers walking in

that are pleasantly surprised we do the work we do. Some customers come in after initially using us for just paint work and then they are surprised to find we offer more services like collision repair. Or, customers are pleasantly surprised that we can simply paint their car. They’ll tell us they only see shops performing collision repair work and not offering paint work on a car or motorcycle. There is a need for more paint services in our area so we try to accommodate that as best as possible.

With extra offerings, there’s a lot of work to be done. Even if I don’t take a break to eat my lunch, I make sure my team takes a break to do so and really push for that. If the whole team is staying late during the day, sometimes Arthur will come to the body shop and make dinner for the team. He’ll take out the grill and cook burgers or hotdogs.

Spread the word.

When it comes to marketing our service, we like to get in front of the community. We like to go out to the local baseball games and sponsor teams. We’re doing it to help others but we also do use those images for our social media. This way when a customer comes to our pages, they don’t just see ads for services or cars, they see that we’re people that live in the same community.

We’re local people.

Diversify your targets as well as your offerings.

We’re trying to reach a different market than other repair shops for our marketing.

We want to reach women and teachers, and anyone in the community that might be hesitant to come into an auto body shop to get repairs done. And, in our research we’ve found that while men typically make the decisions on the automotive side of the household, women are the ones that control the majority of the household spending.

Also, 63 percent of our Facebook advertisements are viewed by women.

Our goal is to make our shop an environment that they feel welcome in. We want to educate them on the proper repair.

Every year, we budget between $25,000 and $30,000 or our marketing efforts. To determine the right amount to spend over 12 months, we first tried our hand at a six month marketing budget and increased it to a year.

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 37

STR ATEGY

FINANCE+OPERATIONS

Keys to Streamlining Repair Processes

The most important steps to creating an efficient repair process

B Y K E L LY B E AT O N

One night, nearly a decade ago, Dan

Morrow sat in his Lincoln, Neb., shop frustrated by a paint job that seemed as endless as Interstate 80.

“I was painting in the middle of the night, and I was thinking, ‘Why is this job taking so long?,’” the owner of Morrow Collision Center recalls. “So, I grabbed a sheet of masking paper, stuck it on a booth wall and grabbed a Sharpie. Then, I started writing down how many minutes that I thought were being wasted on each step” of the repair process.

Like many operators of small, independent shops, Morrow simply didn’t have the 38 fenderbender.com | October 2020

space in his shop to allow vehicles to linger through a lengthy repair process. And, with just 5,400 square feet of shop space at his disposal, the shop owner needed to move as many vehicles through his facility as possible on a consistent basis.

So, on that night, almost 10 years ago, Morrow came up with the concept for his new facility’s shop floor. The new facility, he promised, would have a shop floor configured for a supremely efficient repair process. Now he boasts a new, 26,000-square-foot facility that features streamlined repair procedures.

“As we’ve built our business and gotten

busier and busier,” Morrow notes, “we’ve always talked about what we’re going to do with the new shop someday. And we basically designed a process and designed the building around that process.”

In Morrow’s experience, there are a few keys to keep in mind when attempting to improve the efficiency of your shop’s repair processes. Those keys include the following:

Getadvicefromlong-termemployees.

Morrow’s first shop location was plenty efficient, producing $1.6 million in annual revenue despite space limitations

have an employee work late at night priming vehicles, that can also greatly aid overall repair efficiency, Morrow notes.

“If you have someone that can come in and pull all those cars out, clean the paint department, clean the paint booth, get the next car in the line, those kinds of steps are huge,” Morrow says. “If everybody’s just working 8–5, then you’re just picking up where you left off [at the start of each workday], and you’ve got to get re-organized, and you’ve got a mess to clean up.”

If possible, load level.

When Morrow added a second shop, he re-thought the types of repairs that each of his facilities should typically handle.

Now, the larger, newer facility tends to handle heavy hits. Meanwhile, the original Morrow Collision Center tends to handle smaller, quicker repair jobs.

“One of the hard parts of being a small shop owner,” Morrow notes, is that “you want to try and get as much work as possible through the shop to make as much money as possible. [But] then you run into workflow problems. You’re blessed if you can get a lot of work in the door, but then it takes away from how fast the cars can get done.”

But in the foreseeable future, he adds, “part of what’s going to help [my] old shop is just to have a little less workflow so that, when the cars come in there, they can get through faster and more comfortably.”

GETTY

Have great managers in place.

and just eight employees. But he wanted to take his business to the next level with his second shop, which opened in February 2020. As a result, he sought feedback from veteran technicians, regarding issues like how the staff could get new parts on the shop floor as quickly as possible.

“This [new] shop design is very technician- and employee-driven,” Morrow notes. “We have constant communication with our techs, so we know what’s causing them problems. And that’s the kind of input we took to this whole place.

“At the new shop we’re getting away from scheduling by bringing a car in,

disassembling, and blueprinting; technicians get very frustrated when they’re spending half their day walking around looking for parts. We’re not in the business to store parts. So now those parts come in, they go on a cart … and then they get used right away.”

Prep things in advance.

Morrow feels shop staffs can set themselves up for success by dedicating at least one employee to coming in early and checking off small items on the facility’s to-do list, such as moving vehicles into specific technician’s stalls. Or, if a shop can afford to

Morrow Collision Center wouldn’t be in the midst of its current surge if it weren’t for the fact the business’s leader has put the right administrators in place. For example, Tom Morrow (Dan’s brother), has ascended to a top managerial role and calls upon his previous experiences as an estimator and technician to help guide the Nebraska shops’ 15 combined employees.

The managerial appointments have paid off, helping Morrow work out his business’s “kinks,” judging by Morrow Collision Center’s 4.8-star average ranking on Google.

“If managers are invested and can be good teamwork motivators,” Morrow notes, “then you’re going to have employees that don’t just do their job and go home, but are there to help each other out. Then everybody works as a team, and that’s the key to a small facility.”

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 39

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COLUMNS

PROCESS DRIVEN R YA N C R O P P E R

An Effective Social Media Policy

How to establish a social media policy that employees will understand and accept These days, I often remind my kids that

FUE VANG, GETTY

what they post on social media never goes away. Somebody out there’s always watching what you post. So, you have to be very, very careful.

Personally, I’m not even on Facebook, but I certainly know how powerful social media platforms like that can be. And that’s especially true for businesses like body shops. That’s why I make sure to talk to my staff about the potential impact—both negative and positive—of social media.

After all, there are so many forms of social media in 2020, it’s important that businesses manage every form of it carefully.

For one thing, very few of us can afford to offend—and eventually lose—customers because of an insensitive social media post.

At my shops, our social media policy, in general, is fairly simple: We don’t want to post anything detrimental to the company in any way, shape, or form. So, first of all, on our company social media pages we don’t post anything political, because that tends to be quite divisive. I mean, I could post something about us wanting to help all the homeless people in my state, Alaska, and 40 percent of the population might disagree with me. So, our stance is to just stay away from that. Our company is very active with charity, but we avoid any social media posts that are socially divisive in any way.

Other key elements of our social media policy include the following: Derogatory posts about coworkers aren’t tolerated. We simply won’t tolerate employees belittling other staff members on social media. One time I actually had to let a guy go based off a social media post his girlfriend made about another team member.

She had posted a really negative comment

about a female we had at work, and we had to let him go because of it. Because, in my mind, nothing should take away from our team and what we’re striving for.

Many employees will mix personal social media posts with some posts related to work. Maybe they’ll post a picture of coworkers on their personal social media feeds and say how they love working in your body shop. Then, their next post could be something controversial. And that’s when we take a stand.

But, if an employee keeps their social media posts strictly personal and unrelated to work, then I could care less what they post about.

Posts that take away from our company are prohibited. That’s the broad stroke we use. So, that leaves our policy’s wording fairly broad, so employees understand that, whether it be swearing, or political views, if a social media post stands a chance to cause a potential customer to not get their car fixed with us, then it’s not allowed.

The good thing is, I really don’t have to police our social media policy too often, because the rest of our staff

monitors things. I mean, they all become friends on social media. So, if a post pops up that’s questionable, and other employees see it and know that it could negatively impact our organization, then it’s dealt with quickly.

It’s actually amazing how well our employees enforce our social media policies themselves, just by monitoring each other.

Because we’re clear on our policy, they selfpolice it.

The bottom line is, I have my own views, but you won’t see any social media posts made by me that might be remotely divisive. You won’t even see any mildly controversial bumper stickers or political signs on the vehicle I drive to work. Because, to me, my duty is to make sure that we have plenty of work for our staff, and plenty of vehicles to fix. And I don’t want anything to take away from that, whether it be a personal view of mine, or a personal view of my staff.

It’s been a long time since our company has had any problems with an employee making social media posts that were detrimental to our business—and our very clear staff policy has played a key role in that.

RYA N C R O P P E R is the owner of Able Body Shop, with four locations in Anchorage, Alaska, and Total Truck Accessory Center.

E M A I L : r c r o p p e r @ ab l e b o d y s h o p .c o m

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 41

STR ATEGY

CASE STUDY

42 fenderbender.com | October 2020

WORD Boost your shop’s bottom line with these costeffective methods for gaining customer referrals B Y K E L LY B E AT O N PHOTOS COURTESY AUTO BODY CONCEPTS

On the surface, the odds seem stacked against body shop owners Dan and Wendy Ott. They operate two shops in a rural area near the border of Texas and Oklahoma. The area is remote enough that most insurance companies won’t send field reps to visit the Otts’ shops. And, the couple spends very little in the way of traditional advertising.

Nevertheless, the Otts have grown their business immensely over the last decade.

“We just stuck to the game plan of taking care of customers,” explains Dan Ott, whose business was honored by Germania Insurance a while back for boasting a CSI score of nearly 99 percent.

Over the past decade, the owners of Auto Body Concepts have grown their business to two facilities bringing in a combined $6 million per year.

While spreading the word about your shop isn’t easy in a rural area, Auto Body Concepts has grown due in part to some unconventional advertising.

The Backstory

Dan Ott’s father was an accomplished body shop owner in the past, and his overarching business philosophy is still utilized at both Auto Body Concepts locations.

“My dad ran a shop in this area for 52 years,” Dan Ott explains. “And he always said, ‘As long as you take care of the customer, everything else is going to fall in place.’”

That said, sometimes shops need to put an added emphasis on asking their customers to spread the word about their service.

And Dan Ott especially hoped to accomplish that earlier this decade, in hopes of increasing his return on investment for equipment like a Car-O-Liner frame machine and a facility upgrade in Gainesville that took place roughly eight years ago.

The Problem

Auto Body Concepts’ two locations reside in Gainesville, Texas, and Ardmore, Okla.— towns with a combined population of roughly 40,000. As a result, marketing the shops via mass media wasn’t much of an option.

Even time-honored, traditional methods of advertising, like appearing in the Yellow Pages, just didn’t offer the Otts much in the way of a return on investment.

Eventually, through trial and error, the couple learned a few cost-effective methods of generating word of mouth.

The Solution

By gauging the reaction to various methods of drumming up word-of-mouth advertising, Dan and Wendy Ott discovered

DAN AND WENDY OTT BODY SHOP OWNERS AUTO BODY CONCEPTS GAINESVILLE, TEXAS, ARDMORE, OKLA.

a few valuable methods for inspiring customers to become advocates for their business. The following steps proved to be the most valuable methods of costeffective advertising.

VISIT INSUR ANCE AGENTS.

While the owners of Auto Body Concepts utilize several tactics to inspire referrals from their customers, like providing a complimentary follow-up car wash, the free polishing of headlights, and virtually ‘round-the-clock PDR service, their most impactful customer service tactics begin with forging relationships with area insurance reps.

Every two weeks, Auto Body Concepts’ leaders visit insurance agents, bringing October 2020 | fenderbender.com 43

STR ATEGY

CASE STUDY

AUTO BODY CONCEPTS OWNER:

DAN AND WENDY OTT LOCATIONS:

2 (GAINESVILLE, TEXAS, ARDMORE, OKLA.) STAFF:

39 TOTAL (13 FRONT OFFICE, 26 BACK END)

Community Trust One way Dan and Wendy Ott generate referrals for their two shops is by backing area high school events, and summer camps.

them cookies with the company’s logo on them. It’s a rather inexpensive step that Dan Ott says helps ensure that “in our community, pretty much everybody knows ABC.” And the approach appears to work, considering ABC has added multiple DRP relationships in recent years.

DONATE TO SCHOOLS.

Another element that helped the Otts grow their business (and add a second facility that opened seven years ago), was the positive buzz they so often create in their community at high school sporting events.

Namely, the couple donates bottles of water to area high schools’ concession stands.

Anytime you’re at a high school football game in their pigskin-crazed area, ABC’s branding is emblazoned on it. It makes for a goodwill gesture of which the area’s residents take note.

“It helps out, because now the concession stand’s not having to buy water, and also it’s an advertisement for us,” Dan Ott says.

UPSELL RESPECTFULLY.

The Otts are now the proud owners of a 40,000-square-foot facility in Gainesville with a state-of-the-art shop floor featuring an array of equipment like welders from Car-O-Liner. They were able to fund a 44 fenderbender.com | October 2020

AVERAGE MONTHLY CAR COUNT:

175

ANNUAL REVENUE:

$6 MILLION

shop like that due in part to a style of salesmanship that customers seem to respect.

Like any collision repair business, ABC’s 39-member staff upsells when possible. But the Otts take care to try and educate customers during that process, too. For example, Dan Ott shows customers a model hood that compares and contrasts what a repair job will look like if his shop staff fixes only dents covered by a vehicle owner’s insurance, as opposed to fixing any additional aesthetic damage, like rock chips. That method, Dan Ott says, typically helps customers understand why touch-up work might cost them a little more than they initially expected.

The Aftermath

By refining their methods of cost-effective advertising, the Otts have continued to grow their business in recent years.

They have built Auto Body Concepts up from what was once one shop producing roughly $200,000 in annual revenue to two facilities that currently bring in a combined $6 million per year.

Even the COVID-19 crisis has scarcely slowed the Otts’ business, aside from a roughly two-week downturn early in the pandemic. Unlike many shops throughout America, Auto Body Concepts didn’t

have to lay off any employees last spring or summer.

The Otts and their nearly 40 employees combine to repair approximately 175 vehicles per month, and there's ample hope for the future. And much of that is due to the word-of-mouth advertising they inspire within their area.

“If there’s summer camps, we’ll buy their T-shirts and advertise on them,” Wendy Ott notes, “and we end up seeing those T-shirts a lot over the years. If a kid wants us to advertise in their yearbook, we’ll do it. Those are creative ways we’ve come up with to advertise.”

The Takeaway

More than anything in recent years, the Otts have learned that, when it comes to marketing a shop, aggressiveness is key. Persistence typically pays off, Wendy Ott says.

Whether you’re attempting to secure new insurance partnerships or just trying to keep a customer happy, she feels it’s crucial to follow-up with them consistently, for example.

“Don’t give up and just send an email and let it lay,” Wendy Ott says. “Follow up with them. Ask them, ‘What do you need?’

One tip that I have is this: Be aggressive.”

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STR ATEGY

LEADERSHIP

How to Build Homegrown Talent The keys to adding valuable entry-level employees on your shop floor B Y K E L LY B E AT O N

ed in Eureka, Calif., had little issue getting customers to its door.

Moving customers’ vehicles through the shop quickly, however, had become a growing concern. Because the family-run facility was often booked more than a month out, customers occasionally had to be sent to competitors down the road.

Enter Ross Creech, who around that time became a third-generation shop operator, working for his father. The younger Creech came equipped with a business degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and 46 fenderbender.com | October 2020

years of experience helping lead a roughly 80-person staff for Mission Linen, an industrial laundry company.

“There was growth opportunity here, to [make] an aggressive push to get to the next level,” recalls Creech, now the shop’s general manager.

Creech decided that, while Quality Body Works already had a fairly efficient, 16-person staff, the facility needed to hire more technicians and onboard them quickly, to increase productivity. Yet, he also knew Eureka is positioned in a fairly remote part of northern California, with

the closest city of any significant size located nearly three hours away.

He eventually made nine hires that helped provide a jolt on the shop floor of the $3.8 million–per-year facility, thanks to a focus on developing talent.

Here were the key elements of his multipronged approach.

Include your current staff in hiring.

When he assumed a general manager’s role in 2017, Creech was motivated to improve a business his grandfather had started nearly four decades prior. And,

GETTY

Back in 2017, Quality Body Works, locat-

SOPs, to do thorough walk-throughs on the shop floor, and to introduce those new hires to every veteran employee (even noting details about the veteran staffers like the names of their children, and which school they attend). He lets entry-level employees know that they don’t need to understand every intricacy of working at Quality Body Works right away, but that he simply wants to show them the big picture.

“I try to make it a little less daunting when someone’s coming in, so they don’t feel like they have to hit the ground running so much,” Creech says of new hires, whom he also has job-shadow veteran employees.

Have periodic check-ins with new hires.

Throughout the first few weeks of new employees’ training, Creech holds frequent check-in meetings with them. He wants to make certain that they’re consistently arriving to work on time, willing to learn, and to do so enthusiastically.

“You’ve got to make sure you’re having those check-ins,” Creech says, “and telling them ‘Hey, I noticed you were a few minutes late coming back from lunch, but we’ve got to be here and ready to start work on time, as we talked about in the job interview—these are our expectations.’”

Utilize teaching moments.

given his hiring experience in his previous job, Creech looked to fortify the body shop’s group of technicians. In order to do that, the general manager knew he needed to get veteran employees in his corner.

“Involving [veteran employees] in the hiring process, and getting their consensus, is huge,” Creech says. “It’s important that expectations are communicated to everybody. Because then they understand why we’re doing it, and they buy in.

“I told them, ‘You realize we’re turning away work that’s going to our competition down the street?’ The answer is we need

more techs. And we can develop them, if we’re patient with them.”

Onboard in painstaking fashion.

Because Creech was drawing job applicants from a shallow pool (Eureka has a population of barely 25,000) he eventually allowed some very green new hires to dip a toe into the body shop environment. The hope was that, by initiating entry-level employees somewhat gradually, it would allow them to get comfortable quickly.

So, Creech took great care to explain

The way Creech sees it, mistakes are hardly a cardinal sin, provided that you learn from them. The only time he gets frustrated with new hires is when they have specifically been given instructions, yet neglect to follow them.

That sentiment is what he stresses to his entire staff.

Creech says he “cultivates the idea within the whole staff that, look, we don’t need to burn anybody at the cross when they make a mistake. Mistakes are going to happen; Are we learning from them?

Are we owning it when we make a mistake? Most of the time, an [entry-level employee] is doing everything they can, and they just made an honest mistake.”

These days, Creech adds, his staff cohesiveness leaves him encouraged.

“Our crew is dynamic right now,” Creech says. “We’ve got some great guys that we’ve brought on that are doing phenomenal.”

October 2020 | fenderbender.com 47

COLUMNS

OUTSIDE THE LINES JASON BOGGS

The Return Re-evaluation When checking expenses, don't forget their returns

try, you’ve probably taken a closer look at your financials this year. 2020 has certainly presented some big challenges for our industry, but it has also presented us with some great opportunities and learning experiences.

I’ve written about how important it is to review financials before so I won’t dive too deep into that here. However, it’s always worth reminding ourselves that looking at financials almost always pays dividends. Our income statements and balance sheets are our report cards.

If someone gets all As and Bs in school, but a D in math, then the teachers and parents know the child needs to put a little more concentration and effort into improving his or her math skills. It’s the same with us: Our financial statements will tell us where we are doing well and where we need some extra attention.

One thing I’ve noticed more recently, which I’m sure most of you have as well, is how much the account for software subscriptions has risen. For instance, we used to own our management system, so we only had to pay a small monthly tech support fee.

Now, we lease our management system and pay a hefty monthly fee to do so.

Seeing that software expense increase in our financials has given me time to pause and evaluate the products we are leasing. I have to say, when I started this project, I was certain I would be making cuts.

Whether it’s changing consumer habits, DRP requirements, or evolving to create contactless interactions with customers, it’s likely you’ve looked into software to connect with customers in a new way.

We use Podium here at our shop. This was the first product I thought would be on our firing line. We looked into one of their competitors, Bodyshop Booster, and compared the costs and benefits. We have used both products at different periods of our company.

48 fenderbender.com | October 2020

After I started analyzing how many customers we’ve been able to capture using these types of products, I realized it was an investment, and not an expense.

With that realization, I was happy to continue paying for the software.

The next software I reviewed was our paint calculator. I didn’t spend much time on this as it’s a shining star amongst our software products. We’ve used two of the main calculators over the past several years and they are a no-brainer. The ROI is almost immediate. If you haven’t used a paint calculator before, you are missing out. An appraiser once mentioned to us, “I don’t know why every shop isn’t using these; I never get questioned on paying for materials as long as I have an invoice to show my boss.” Bottom line, if you aren’t using a paint calculator, please get one today.

There is another product we use that I also thought might be vulnerable to being cut from our expenses. We use a product called Parrot Photo Update to manage all our pictures of the repair.

The reason I thought we might cut this product is that our management system already has a solution to manage our photos. However, the storage is extremely limited (I’m sure you can relate). Not only that, but our management system shrinks down the size of the photo taken so we lose picture quality as well. Parrot

has unlimited storage and the quality of the pictures is exceptional.

And, the best thing is we use that software on locked devices that only have access to Parrot and CCC, so the techs have one device for viewing the work order and taking pictures. A huge advantage is that devices don’t have the ability to text or use the internet. I read an article on the FenderBender website (also on page 21) about how to cut down on technicians using their phones for personal use. The Parrot devices have helped us significantly reduce the amount of time that techs spend on phones. After I evaluated how important pictures are to us getting paid, I realized Parrot has been a valuable investment for our company.

We just started using another software product, called the BillableGenie, from National AutoBody Research. While I don’t have enough data to report on it yet, the early returns have been fantastic.

After spending time reviewing our financials, I gained a better understanding of our ballooning software expenses. It was a number that jumped out to me in the beginning, but after digging deeper, it made me realize it is one of the areas we get the biggest bang for our buck. When times are tough, it’s smart to look where expenses could be cut, but without evaluating the return on those expenses, it would be easy to make the wrong cuts.

JASON BOGGS is the owner of Boggs Auto Collision Rebuilders in Woodbury, N.J. He has attended the Disney Institute and Discover Leadership, and has studied lean manufacturing processes.

E M A I L : j a s o n @b o g g s au t o .c o m A R C H I V E : f e n d e r b e n d e r.c o m / b o g g s

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

DIAGNOSTICS

6

REPAIR INFORMATION

8

ELECTRONIC PARTS PROCUREMENT

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MEASURING EQUIPMENT

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FRAME EQUIPMENT

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WELDING EQUIPMENT

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A IR FILT R AT ION & A IRL INE S

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to developing new and out of the box features such as remote tech to tech diagnosis. The aim was to venture into a space where we would be aligned with the emerging trends of car connectivity. These are the technologies of the future for the automotive repair industry,”explains Launch Tech USA product development manager, Haresh Gobin.

Remote Tech 2 Tech Diagnosis is extremely relevant in current times with the COVID pandemic. The feature allows two technicians to collaborate in real-time with their professional line Launch scan tools. The primary technician is able to give the virtual technician access in real-time to their scan tool which is connected to the vehicle’s OBD to view live DTCs, monitor engine PID data streams, and perform bidirectional scan functions. The collaboration is facilitated within the X-431 Torque application; this tool also allows for web browsing and 3rd party access via the Android 7.0 platform.

“Social distancing is the new norm in all industries. We are already seeing the patterns across various industries and sectors where firms are pivoting their operations to adhere to social distancing protocols. Many industries will be able to make these changes easier than others,” Gobin further explains.

“There is a perception that it would be difficult

to implement any element of virtual workflow in the automotive repair space. In the past, it has been impossible to have a vehicle repaired without the presence of a technician. However, the X-431 Torque’s Remote 2 Remote tech feature facilitates the consult with a peer while still being able to maintain social distancing.

Inevitably this improves production and saves time. This is definitely the wave of the future as many of the OEMs are starting to roll out connected car ecosystems infrastructures and more onboard systems are becoming embedded behind security firewalls and servers. We are taking steps into that direction with a product development philosophy that is innovative and has a creative real-world relevance to the workings of technicians rather than solely relying on following the lead of the OEM’ and their post-development support models.”

As an added benefit, until the end of 2020, Launch Tech USA is offering a total of two-years of software subscription downloads on the new X-431 Torque. All Launch professional scan tools automatically come with a one-year subscription which includes updates and added vehicle coverage.

“We acknowledge the impact [of] the pandemic has been difficult financially on automotive repair shops and their technicians. We wanted to add an additional year of free subscription updates to alleviate some of the hardships the industry might be experiencing,” explains Gobin.

Launch Tech USA provides innovative and cost-effective solutions through its product line of automotive diagnostics that allow shops to perform accurate, fast, OEM-level diagnostic solutions.

Launch Tech is strongly committed to evolving as a solutions provider in the everchanging automotive repair industry. Launch’s research and development team consists of over three hundred engineers. The core focus of the Launch R&D team is to develop new technologies and innovative product solutions that are easy-to-use and cost-efficient. The launch has a worldwide research infrastructure that supports an unwavering commitment of providing our users with the most advanced and dependable scan tool solutions.

For more information visit www.launchtechusa.com/product-page/x-431-torque.

R E P A I R I N F O R M AT I O N

LOOK DIRECTLY INTO THE SUN

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THE ULTIMATE COLLISION REPAIR LOOKUP SUN COLLISION CAN GALVANIZE YOUR SHOP’S EFFICIENCY, ROS & REVENUE Jake Laino is an estimator at Addison Auto Center near Denver, Colo., located about 85 miles east of Breckenridge, a renowned ski town. When he’s not helping clients, Laino spends his free time skiing and mountain biking around his hometown.

Out west, many mountains sport safety signs that say, “Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself” near double-black diamond hills and other ledges and snowcovered freefalls. Yikes.

Check yourself before you wreck yourself is good driving advice and even better repair advice.

“Oh yeah,” Laino says, “we’re a clientfirst shop; we try to do everything the way the factory wants it done. OEM repair sites are awful, so it’s great to have a resource that compiles all relevant data into one source.”

The resource Laino and Addison Auto Center rely upon is SUN Collision Repair Information.

Laino spends some time of his work day doing just that; the online repair resource features everything from OEM repair information and procedures to ADAS requirements.

Laino has worked in other shops and used other programs, but none come close to the simplicity and efficiency of SUN Collision.

“SUN is much easier to search and find what you’re looking for,” he says, “and it’s more user-friendly than anything else I’ve seen.” Laino says OEM repair sites are “awful” and that SUN Collision offers a comprehensive keyword search he relies on day in and day out. Laino says he can search by part number, repair procedure, part or component, and it’s all cross-referenced by the VIN. “The layout of the website is simple, welllabeled, and the pics and diagrams are all in color,” Laino says, “and they have a simple colored icon for whatever you’re looking for (repair procedures, ADAS, etc.).”

Nothing like an easy visual shorthand to speed the lookup process. What Laino enjoys the most, however, is the detailed, explicit and far-reaching search results SUN Collision yields when searching a specific part, component, or repair. “The coolest thing about it,” he says, “is say I’m looking at a quarter panel of a Jeep Grand Cherokee, for example; I can type that quarter panel into SUN Collision, and it’ll pull up the part, repair procedures, ADAS requirements and more.”

SUN Collision also offers an interactive community resource in which users can glean the knowledge and experience of mechanical technicians and service advisors who share advice and help troubleshoot tricky vehicle issues. SUN Collision also posts technical service bulletins as soon as they’re available from the manufacturers in addition to FAQs.

SHOP EFFICIENCY, UPDATED Efficiency in the shop used to be as simple as having savvy technicians, a full tool chest and a clear idea of how to repair every car that trundled into the shop.

Things have changed. Today, efficiency is often the measure of how quickly you can attain reliable repair data and communicate that to the technician in the garage working on the car. Precision matters.

“When we do anything at Addison, every welded panel gets OEM repair procedures printed,” Addison says, “and it enables us to get the supplement to the technician faster. When that happens, the tech can begin work earlier and it’s a huge asset when I write my supplements.”

“It improves our efficiency tenfold by using it.”

The other aspect of SUN Collision Laino relies upon is the ADAS Quick Reference feature to diagnose, repair, and/ or calibrate ADAS-equipped vehicles. Addison doesn’t farm out its ADAS calibrations; instead, the shop is equipped with everything needed to diagnose and repair their vehicles.

“I use it all the time,” Laino says. “The ADAS Quick Reference lookup is one of the most-used features I use every day.”

Within the lookup, Laino can plug in the VIN and the software yields “every possible part that would concern you,” and much more. Instead of just a parts list, the Quick Reference from SUN Collision also provides all the upsell opportunities a service advisor or technician could ever want.

“No matter what I need, instead of flipping through an owner’s manual, I get fluid capacity, tire capacity, tire pressure, everything—the TSBs are the first link you see on every vehicle and I use that pretty frequently. I’m not going to spend all day looking into it if it’s documented on a TSB. SUN Collision makes that information very accessible to you, whereas instead you had to call the dealership and talk to the service department,” Laino laughs, “which nobody wants to do.”

Instead, remember to check yourself before you wreck yourself. SUN Collision can help.

“Its value,” L aino closes, “cannot be overstated.”

Introducing your Complete Source

Collision Repair Information X

X

X

X

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OEM repair information Body & frame Paint & finish Materials ADAS

... and more

Comprehensive, accurate data that you can trust to help you repair vehicles, in most any condition — inside and outside — with maximum efficiency.

SUN Collision Repair Information

LEARN MORE AND GET A FREE DEMO NOW Call us: 877-840-1973 | Visit us: SUNcollision.com ©2020 Snap-on Incorporated. SUN is a trademark, registered in the United States and other countries, of Snap-on Incorporated. All rights reserved.

SIMPLIFY PARTS ORDERING FOR LESS STRESS (AND MORE PROFIT) FOR GENUINE OEM PARTS, COLLISIONLINK SHOP DELIVERS Rob Wagner Jr. goes to physical therapy

E L E C T R O N I C P A R T S P R O C U R E M E N T

about twice a week. He didn’t injure himself

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conducting DIY repairs at home—though his shop once repaired a porch glider—and he didn’t tumble off a cliff mountain biking, though the occasional bike frame isn’t outside his shop’s purview either.

“It’s simply stress,” Wagner says, “because the entire industry is built on chaos.”

After he cracked a tooth gritting his teeth, it was time to loosen up a bit and physical therapy was the answer. For the shop, however—Rob Wagner Auto Body (Pittsburgh, Penn.)—he turns to CollisionLink Shop, by OEC.

PRICE MATCH TO SELL “My office is behind the parts desk,” Wagner jokes. For a modern collision shop, the metaphor is apt. Quality parts and components remain one of the root causes of concern for drivers worried about their car repair and for the shop owners (such as Wagner) responsible for them. Are the parts reliable? Do they come from the manufacturer? Will they keep me safe? And finally, is the bill commensurate with the repair, or will a telltale rattle-and-clank be heard three miles down the road?

“We’ve been using CollisionLink Shop for about ten years,” Wagner says.

“I don’t remember too long a time without it and can’t imagine doing this job without this tool; it eases our responsibilities quite a bit. The price matching of parts has been a huge help for us over the years. We haven’t installed an aftermarket bumper, fender or hood in six or seven years.”

Wagner says that the price matching service CollisionLink Shop offers is the

single best benefit. Even when he can’t match something 100 percent, he can call the customer and walk through an explanation of their options, helping to explain the difference between an aftermarket component and one straight from the manufacturer. The ability to fully explain why and how genuine OEM parts affect the repair eases the communication gap experienced by most shops and the non-repair world their clients inhabit.

“On safety related items, we’ll fight to the death,” Wagner says.

“We tell customers they’ll be very involved in the repair process and always know exactly what’s going on; we’ll discuss cosmetic items, and we’ll never charge something we can’t explain or document.”

That, more than anything, is the CollisionLink Shop advantage—here’s the part, here’s the best price and here’s why it’s the safest and most reliable option. It’s also usually the cheapest option when you consider the long-term risks of using an erroneous part that’s a 99 percent fit; for Wagner, a 1 percent margin of error is too much.

ACCURATE PARTS INFORMATION = SAVINGS AND INCREASED REVENUE Sarah Truman is a product director at OEC, and she knows why owners like Wagner enjoy such a symbiotic (and profitable) relationship with OEC and CollisionLink Shop.

“We really have a culture of taking the time to understand customer pain points,” she says.

“We conduct an extensive amount of market research with shops, OEMs and dealers to improve the CollisionLink Shop experience.”

She says that shops often don’t have all

the info they need to make accurate and complete parts ordering decisions which leads to submitting more supplements, processing more returns and sending more parts orders than if shops had more information earlier in the process. Not having the right parts when technicians need them slows down their efficiency and inevitably diminishes the shop’s revenue.

CollisionLink Shop features (such as VIN Details) helps improve parts order accuracy with OEM-provided information specific to a VIN. OEC is developing additional features that would provide shops the ability to identify if necessary parts are missing from their estimate and if the part numbers on their estimate would fit the vehicle based on VIN-specific parts data.

CollisionLink Shop recently launched Upfront Pricing which shows shops their dealer’s competitive pricing on non-OEM specified parts prior to submitting the order, further streamlining pricing negotiations between shops and dealers.

“CollisionLink Shop is fantastic,” Wagner says, “and we’re just trying to improve a little every day. If we do the little things right, the big picture works out. The less questions I have to ask a human, the better, and CollisionLink Shop helps me streamline parts ordering for the best customer service I can offer.”

And though the level of stress has increased this year, Wagner is in no danger of cracking another tooth.

“Anything we can do to ease the dayto-day and offer the best service is the best fit for me,” he says.

To learn more, visit CollisionLinkShop. com.

ORDERING PARTS ISN’T ALWAYS A 9-TO-5 TASK Order OEM parts on your schedule with CollisionLink® Shop from OEC®.

The efficient online ordering platform can help increase order accuracy, improve cycle times, and protect profits on parts and labor.

CollisionLink Shop makes ordering OEM parts easier with: NEW! • Upfront Pricing that allows you to view your dealer’s competitive pricing on non-OEM specified parts before you send your quote request

• A large network of dealers • Part discounts through 35 parts programs from 18 manufacturers • Integration with all major estimating systems

Learn more or sign up for FREE at

CollisionLinkShop.com/FenderBender

M E A S U R I N G E Q U I P M E N T

PROPERLY PREPARE FOR EACH JOB AVOID L ARGE REPAIR ERRORS THROUGHOUT EACH REPAIR BY UTILIZING CAR - O - LINER ® ’S POINTX ® II DIAGNOSTIC MEASURING SYSTEM There’s not much that slows down efficiency more than having to go back, and start again. And like many large-scale issues, they can stem from small-scale mistakes along the way. In order to assure missteps don’t result in bigger issues down the line, as much preparation as possible needs to be built into each repair process.

To properly prepare and complete an accurate blueprint, the right measuring tool for the repair should be selected.

One of the most popular devices used is the Car-O -Liner ® PointX® II Diagnostic Measuring System, a handheld measuring tool made out of lightweight, carbon fiber.

The PointX® II Diagnostic Measuring System has the ability to check frame measuring points, utilizing Bluetooth communication, as well as check the Car-O -Liner ® Vision2™ PointX® Software for diagnostics and blueprinting. The product is able to provide estimators and technicians with quick and accurate diagnostic measurements.

ENSURE ACCURACY As vehicle dimensions have become less forgiving, it’s more important

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than ever to validate the proper repair process and exercise precision during the repair. Accurate measuring and the abilit y to verif y is going to be a benefit in assessing and reassembling the vehicle.

By utilizing the PointX® II for premeasuring, along with the Car-O -Tronic ® Vision2™ measuring system and Bench system, your repair process can be accurate, efficient and OEM approved.

Together, the two systems provide the highest quality diagnosis of blueprinting and measuring for accurate repair, delivering the results customers expect.

PROVIDE COMFORT The product provides additional space for technicians while they work on a repair. When Car-O -Liner’s measuring system is brought into a shop, technicians will feel comfortable when using the product.

Technicians are able to stand next to the vehicle during structural repair. The vehicle can be raised up and still be accessible, offering a higher efficiency and comfort when standing.

There are additional anchoring benefits, providing the flexibility to

position the pulling tower wherever it’s needed. It also supports other products Car- O - Liner ® offers. It really changes the appearance and work flow of the shop.

ACCESS TRAINING When a shop owner invests in the PointX® product, they have the opportunity to utilize training methods that are made available by Car-O Liner ®. The first form includes the initial training, which is provided following the shop’s investment in the product.

Once technicians become familiar with the product, Car-O -Liner ® offers more advanced training.

ONGOING SUPPORT Car-O -Liner’s drive to assist owners and ensure all questions are answered does not simply end once training is over. Ongoing customer support is part of what makes the company stand out among others.

Additionally, Car-O-Liner ® has a robust system of resources. A strong network of distributors across the US and Canada who are always available along with an experienced corporate staff.

F R A M E E Q U I P M E N T

WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE THE INVESTMENT EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO EXAMINE BEFORE PURCHASING THE RIGHT FRAME EQUIPMENT FOR YOUR SHOP Collision repair shop owners make large decisions each and every day as they choose how to run their business.

Some of the bigger decisions that need to be made often result in a large investment, including the purchasing of equipment. And in every successful shop is frame equipment to match.

In order to ensure that the frame equipment is the right fit for your shop, while improving efficiency and increasing technician productivity, consider the following points.

OEM CERTIFICATIONS AND APPROVALS OEMs have different requirements for frame equipment, and before making any purchases, evaluate the OEM’s requirements to help facilitate the best decision for your shop.

• What are the OEM specifications to meet certification or approval?

• How many OEMs recognize the unit in a similar configuration?

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purchasing multiple systems.

Something else you should consider while making your decision is whether your shop needs an anchoring system for a truck, SUV or full-frame. If your shop repairs many full-frame vehicles, you will need to ensure a solid vise-like solution to perform these repairs in a safe and efficient manner.

Finally, purchasing dedicated jig fixtures may require fixture rentals. It is beneficial to investigate whether or not they are available for rental and if so, how quickly they can be provided. If the delay is too long, bottlenecks can occur.

Car-O-Liner ® offers a universal EVO™ system in three main configurations: basic, extended, and holding and fixturing.

Each configuration is approved by multiple OEMs and features a universal fit, reducing the upfront investment with maximum capabilities.

IMPORTANCE OF THE MEASURING SYSTEM

Measuring and frame equipment will often go hand in hand when it comes to OEM approval. For example, an OEM that approves Car-O-Liner ® measuring systems may also approve the frame equipment.

At Car-O-Liner ®, the measuring system combined with the frame bench and anchoring provides the total solution. The measuring system guides users through the repair process and performs automatic centering, measuring, and documentation. By offering it as part of the total solution when used with the frame bench and anchoring, the repair process will speed up and quality will increase. Because documentation and high-quality repairs are important, a total solution is ideal.

TYPE OF ANCHORING SYSTEM

MEETING YOUR SPACE REQUIREMENTS

When deciding what type of anchoring system to purchase, consideration should be given to both a universal system or dedicated jig fixtures. Dedicated jig fixtures may sound ideal, but depending on other repairs not requiring such a system, may not be as efficient as a universal fixture system for all work, and because of that, may require purchasing multiple systems. A vehicle-specific system will be approved by a particular OEM, however, OEMs have different requirements, which would also mean

When purchasing frame equipment, it is always important to keep in mind the layout of your shop. For example, CarO-Liner ® frame equipment will take up a bay, but others will take up a bay and a half. In addition, consider whether or not a bay can be dedicated to a bench or if that space is needed to serve multiple purposes. Car-O-Liner ® offers a flush mount system that allows the equipment to be lowered down into a pit. That way, the bay can be used for multiple purposes with efficient, effective use of floor space.

• Will the unit conform to multiple OEM requirements with minimal or no reconfiguration?

Coppes shares his tips for making the best decision when investing in a welder, along with questions that each shop owner should be asking before they make their purchase.

W E L D I N G E Q U I P M E N T

IS IT OEM APPROVED FOR THE TYPE OF WORK YOU ARE DOING?

THE BEST WELDER FOR YOUR SHOP THREE QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE PURCHASING YOUR NEXT WELDER “The evolution of engineering and manufacturing go hand in hand with the types of materials that will be used and the way that vehicles will be constructed in the future,” says Jeff Coppes, service and technical sup port welding systems, at Car- O - Liner.

“Shops need to ask themselves what the future will look like and how it will influence the equipment purchased to ensure the best return on investment.”

If body shop employees were asked what piece of equipment they couldn’t live without, most likely, a majority would say a welder. It’s an essential tool in any body shop, and for many, one is not enough.

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One of the most important pieces of information that a shop should gather before purchasing a welder is whether or not it’s OEM approved for the type of work they are looking to do. Shops need to look at their certifications and the type of vehicles coming in the door and can then begin narrowing down the options based on that information.

Coppes points out that OEMs vary in their requirements. Some will require a specific piece of equipment and a shop with that certification needs to purchase that exact welder, while others will have a set of criteria that the welder has to meet. For example, Honda ® sets specifications, whereas VW ® and Audi ® will state a specific manufacturer and model of the welder.

“When making the decision, I would advise a shop to make a list of their OEM certifications and then find out how many of those match up to the welder that they’re thinking about purchasing,” Coppes says.

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT OPERATING CAPACITY? Coppes says that shops should constantly ask themselves, “Do we have enough welders for the number of techs that need to use one throughout the day?

For example, if a shop has six body techs, one welder will most likely not serve the needs of all of those techs.

Shops should evaluate how many structural, panel and other types of welds their current welder is doing and how

many technicians need to use it throughout the day.

Coppes says that if you have a number of similar repairs coming into your shop and only three technicians, you may be able to get by with one welder. However, if more techs need to use that welder, it may be beneficial to invest in another.

A quick way to determine if you need a welder is to observe what’s going on in the shop. Coppes says if there’s a technician constantly waiting around for equipment, the time to invest is now. Although the initial investment may seem steep, another welder can increase shop productivity and yield a quick ROI.

HOW MUCH SUPPORT WILL BE PROVIDED? Coppes says that once you’ve looked at the need in your shop and made sure that the welder you want to purchase meets the OEM requirements that you’re looking for, it’s important to learn more about the company and find out what kind of support they provide af ter the sale.

“Is the warranty at least 24 months?

You’ll want to make sure it’s a two year or longer warranty for a welder because it lives in a harsh environment and it will be used every single day,” Coppes says.

In addition, Coppes suggests getting to know your local distributor and asking about upgrades and other questions you may have down the line.

If you are looking for your nex t weld er that has a full 24 - month warrant y and continued ser vice and support, consider the Car- O - Liner ® CTR ®7 resis tance spot welder. It provides qualit y spot welds with all new high - strength steels using cutting - edge inverter tech nology. It is light weight and adjustable for occupational safet y and overall efficiency. For more information on the CTR ®7, visit car- o - liner.com.

A I R F I LT R AT I O N & A I R L I N E S

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is a buzzword this year but one long known to paint shops everywhere. Since 1931, SATA air filtration has been protecting workers, and as the 90th anniversary approaches, never has clean air been a clearer issue.

“We’ve actually sold quite a few systems because of the virus,” he says, “and though it’s good we’re busy, it’s really good for the technicians getting it because they should have done so a long time ago.”

In automotive refinish, safety is tantamount to success. If you can’t be safe, you can’t paint confidently, and there aren’t many timid painters out there who enjoy their jobs and are rewarded for what they do. But that only begs the question: if the gear is absolutely necessary to ensure safety, shouldn’t shops be providing it for their teams?

TO BE SAFE OR NOT TO BE SAFE

OUTFIT YOURSELF OR YOUR SHOP WITH CLEAN AIR MODULAR AIR SYSTEMS FROM SATA DAN-AM. OFFER MAXIMUM COMFORT AND SAFETY “It’s funny when shops resist buying it,” says Brad Gravenhof, Sales & Technical DanAmAir Specialist at SATA, “because virus or no virus, wouldn’t you want to protect your employees?”

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That’s the only question. As an inside specialist at SATA, Gravenhof makes the point that both parties are often able to purchase quality airlines and air filtration equipment, and that who foots the bill is often dependent upon two factors: shop size and location.

“In some states, there are rules and regulations that if a technician wants it, owners have to buy it,” he says. On the other hand, many of the more successful painters—especially in the world of custom refinish—desire their own equipment so they can be as mobile as possible, enabling them to paint safely anywhere.

“The air system is quite modular, and that’s always been the beauty of it,” Gravenhof says. “Depending on the filter and the preferred setup and hood, there are multiple ways to get the job done. The two-stage filter on the shop wall and the third on your belt works, or all three on the wall and just a regulator on your belt.”

All together, painters using the DanAmAir aluminum airlines and SATA filtration systems are only limited by their imaginations for how they want to breathe clean air. Over time, Gravenhof is pleased that many painters know they not only should breathe clean air, but deserve to, not just huffing recirculated air through their helmets.

“It’s medical-grade air, scuba tank air,” he says, “and it’s NIOSH approved. And that’s not an easy thing to achieve.”

He points out that NIOSH approval is reserved for the whole system, not just some jury-rigged custom setup that features one or two parts of the whole. “It’s not as easy as hanging a filter and plugging into it,” he says, “because to be legal, you need the NIOSHapproved breathing hose, hood, and carbon monoxide monitor.”

UPGRADE YOUR SHOP, UPGRADE YOUR AIR For shops building anew, Gravenhof thrills at the idea of a sound aluminum in-wall system provided by DanAmAir. “The technology hasn’t changed too much recently in regards to infrastructure,” he says, “though there’s been some changes on individual components (such as lockable ball valves), but the system as a whole is quite functional.”

He notes that the modular options can handle two booths off one 200 series filter and four booths from one 400 series filter.

“It’s all about pushing clean air,” he says.

An initial investment can yield high ROI over time. “One filter can cover that same process, and changing the cartridge every three to six months (depending on the stage) can be a significant savings. That’s true, fresh air, not filtered cabin air. There’s a lot more that goes into the paint shop and booths than people realize.”

Looking ahead, he’s excited about what the 500 series could mean to painters and shop owners.

“Last year at the SEMA show, we introduced a prototype of the new 500-series filter. It’s still got your basic one-, two-, and three-stage filters, but the filter cartridges are configured differently. They’re easy-on, easy-off, and the cartridges are all a standard six-month replacement. It’ll run a little higher CFM yet, around 140 or so. There’s a new filter in the works, and the 500 will better serve a larger shop with multiple booths.”

To learn what DanAmAir or SATA filtration could do for you, check out danamair.com or satausa.com.

THIS IS COST EFFICIENT Installs six times faster Quick connections – no threading Transair benefits or soldering • Quick connection technology No special tooling required

DanAmAir compressed air aluminum piping system

Pipe Schedule

DanAmAir

Threaded Carbon Steel

Copper

Aluminum

Sch 40

Type L

Material Pipe

$ 2,073.75

Fittings

$ 1,207.15

Material Total

$ 3,280.90

Labor Hours Labor Cost at $65/man hour Total Cost

$ 1,935.60 $ 2,880.00 $ 113.38

$ 250.30

$ 2,048.98 $ 3,130.30

22.35

82.21

60.42

1,459.90

5,343.65

3,927.30

$ 4,740.80

$ 7,392.63 $ 7,057.60

DanAmAir Savings Man-hours Savings

73%

63%

Total Installed Cost Savings

36%

33%

MATERIAL LIST: 500 feet of pipe, 16 elbows, 7 tees, and 10 couplings (unions). Comparison is DanAmAir 40 mm versus 2" pipe. Labor rates from MCAA manual are factored by 0.70, which is typical for estimating field jobs.

• Modular and reusable • No corrosion •For Full-bore design the professional, home, agriculture • Lower installation costs

shops, or anywhere you need a clean, air supply •efficient Leak-free guarantee

•DanAmAir Immediate pressurization is a fast, flexible and easy to modify aluminum pipe system for air in any shop or garage.

•compressed Lightweight DanAmAir components are reusable and interchangeable, which enables immediate and easy layout modifications. Unlike the performance of steel or copper, which degrades Suitable fluidsover time due to corrosion, DAA provides clean air quality with optimum flow rate performance.

•DAA Compressed air also offers significant savings on installation, maintenance and operating costs when compared to traditional pipe. The quick (dry, wet, lubricated) •connections Vacuum eliminate the need to thread, solder or glue pipe.

DanAmAir’s aluminum pipe system also significantly reduces plant •energy Inertcosts gases by increasing efficiency, reducing pressure drops and eliminating leaks.

Maximum working pressure 188 PSI from -4°F to +140°F 232 PSI from -4°F to +115°F

For a FREE quote call: 800-533-8016

(*Max. working pressure for 6" is 188 PSI)

Vacuum level: 8.7 % (29.6" Hg)

• Fast-bake cycles as little as 20 minutes at reduced booth temperatures • Sharing one common hardener and a choice of four temperature-specific reducers

ADVANCED COLOR TOOLS FOR MIXING ROOM EFFICIENCY

P A I N T C O AT I N G S

THE IDEAL PAINT SYSTEM FOR HIGH PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY THE ENVIROBASE® HIGH PERFORMANCE SYSTEM DELIVERS ALL THE ESSENTIALS FOR ACHIEVING EXCEPTIONAL REFINISH PROCESS EFFICIENCY From unbeatable color matching accuracy and easy application to fast cycle time performance, the ENVIROBASE® High Performance system delivers all the essentials for achieving exceptional refinish process efficiency.

Waterborne basecoat technology was originally considered an environmental solution to meet stricter VOC regulations. But as a real testament to its high-performance capability, today there are more shops using the Envirobase High Performance system in National Rule regions than in all compliance-regulated areas within the United States and Canada combined. It’s simply a better system for your business.

SUPERIOR COLOR-MATCHING FOR SOPHISTICATED COLORS This true latex waterborne basecoat incorporates all the latest vibrant toners to match the highly chromatic, translucent colors offered on today’s vehicles. Key to its color-matching prowess is an OEM-like, spectral gray (SG) undercoat system. As in the factory process, a SG undercoat contributes to the final basecoat color. Technicians can choose from a complete range of five shades of spectral grays to match today’s emerging OEM colors.

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FAST, EASY BASECOAT APPLICATION Paint technicians find this waterborne basecoat easy to learn and apply. Color match is typically achieved in two to three coats with a final control coat applied at lower pressure to orient the metallic flakes and duplicate the crisp appearance of the original finish. To further enhance production efficiency, this waterborne basecoat features: • Superior metallic control • Minimal basecoat flash times • Easier, tighter blending • Excellent repairability • Easy denibbing

A TOTAL INTEGRATED SYSTEM The Envirobase High Performance system is engineered as a totally integrated system—with a complete set of primers and clears developed specifically to work with the waterborne basecoat.

Incorporating breakthrough, proprietary resin technology, PPG’s EN-V® line of premium clearcoats raises the industry bar for production-oriented clearcoats, offering versatile options for repair size and booth conditions: • Exceptional throughput and appearance—from spot repairs to overalls in cool, warm and hot, humid conditions

The world’s most comprehensive color database of more than 3.5 million prime and variant formulas align with an array of advanced PPG color tools to make finding the right color match fast and efficient using the Envirobase High Performance system.

PPG’s PAINTMANAGER® XI software program delivers accurate color formula retrieval and mixing while also providing managers with full operational reporting and tracking features.

A chromatically arranged color variant deck features large chips covering the entire OEM spectrum, with thousands of prime and variant colors for both domestic and import vehicles. For improved accuracy, chips are sprayed with actual Envirobase High Performance paint. An optional variant deck is also available for wheel and trim colors.

PPG’s RAPIDMATCH® XI spectrophotometer revolutionizes color matching with the ability to match difficult colors by measuring more angles than any other device in the industry. Using an advanced camera that captures 11 color angles and five texture images, this innovative device reads the actual color of a vehicle, and connects with PPG’s extensive formula database to find the most accurate color match.

PPG color support doesn’t end with these advanced tools. There are also helpful assists such as advanced color adjustment training, a tint guide poster, production color books and the online COLORMOBILE® application, giving technicians the ability to access color information anywhere they have access to the internet.

Given all these features for color matching excellence and process efficiency, it’s no wonder PPG’s Envirobase High Performance system has become North America’s best-selling waterborne basecoat. Visit envirobase.com to learn more and find a distributor near you.

ppgrefinish.com

P A I N T C U P S

MIXING, PAINTING AND STORAGE— ALL IN ONE SATA’S RPS CUPS IMPROVE COLOR MATCHING AND BOOST PRODUCTIVITY SATA has always set the standard in refinish for long-term quality. But it doesn’t always start with the paint gun.

The gun is just the delivery device, and an unloaded paint gun isn’t going to paint much of anything. That’s why SATA developed the Rapid Preparation System—RPS multipurpose cups.

SATA RPS cups can help elevate your paint shop to the next level by updating the paint delivery technology. Refined,

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retooled, and revitalized, SATA RPS cups have a unique venting system that plays into the efficiency of the overall SATA system. The vents allow for an even, consistent flow rate through the cup, regardless of whether the cup is full, half full, or just has a few more ounces remaining.

Constant flow equals a steadier hand and a higher quality paint job, reducing the chance for costly comebacks.

“It guarantees an even color match and film build throughout the paint job,” says SATA Dan-Am Co. Director of Sales and Marketing Tony Larimer. “What that means for a shop is that, if a painter is mixing material, he might only need two ounces. He can mix just what he needs, get the same results and you don’t have the extra material that will go to waste.”

The cups can be used for mixing, spraying and, when the job is complete, storage, and each case of SATA RPS includes the cups, strainers of your choice and lids.

SATA RPS cups can completely transform not only the way you think about paint and refinish, but the profitability of the shop itself.

“We mix on the scale and I really like the ease of storage and ease of use,” says Vinny Cozadd, head painter at Eveland Brothers Shop (Kansas, Miss.).

“I really like that the fluid flows clear to the last drop. Believe it or not, I get a lot cleaner jobs with the SATA cups. I like the idea of a complete new cup each time I use it to help keep jobs clean.”

RPS CUP BENEFITS Bendable, clean, safe and refillable, the multipurpose cups have revolutionized efficiency in the paint shop by eliminating redundancies such as spills, poor mixing, and one-time use utilizations: • Bendable: The RPS cups (only excluding the 0.3 L minijet version) have the built-in flexibility of the cup lid “neck” which allows painters to tilt the

cups forward or side to side to spray at many different angles. This flexibility assists in making the RPS a great solution for more difficult paint jobs.

• Clean: When the paint job is finished, the painter squeezes the RPS cup and closes the vent cap to create an innercup vacuum. By then turning the spray gun upside down and pulling the trigger to empty the material passage, the user is ensured a simple gun cleaning process and a tidy workplace.

• Safe: Due to the robust threaded connection between the cup and the lid, there’s no chance of the cup detaching and zero chance to spill paint.

• Refillable: The cups can easily be refilled. The paint strainer can be exchanged with a spare strainer any time.

SATA also has a version of the SATA RPS cups for UV coatings. The cup, lid and vent caps are completely black, prohibiting light from causing the product to react in the cup.

Another great benefit to using SATA RPS multipurpose cups is the opportunity to participate in the SATA Loyalty Program. SATA rewards loyal customers of certain premium products (currently all RPS cup systems) with loyalty coins, which can then be converted into attractive rewards.

Buyers of premium products or employees of buying companies who have received permission from his/her employer are allowed to participate in the loyalty rewards program in accordance with the conditions of participation.

To begin earning rewards, download the SATA Loyalty Program app and fill out the user information. On the outside of each RPS carton there is a booklet in which the coin value can be scanned from the QR code. Points are collected by scanning the QR code applied to certain eligible products. Collect the coins and save up for the reward you desire.

SATAÂŽLoyalty Program coins & more

SATA Loyalty Program ÂŽ

coins & more

1.

Download App & register

The App is available in the App Store

2.

Scan QR Code & collect coins

3.

Convert into rewards

or Google Play Store

www.sata.com/us/loyalty-ios

www.sata.com/us/loyalty-android

A booklet is sealed to the outside of every RPS box. Open this to reveal the QR code. Now scan the QR code using the SATA Loyalty App, collect coins and convert them into attractive rewards for your body shop. Each RPS cup corresponds to one coin!

Further information: www.sata.com/en/loyalty The exclusive independent distributor of SATA products in the US and Puerto Rico

Phone: 800-533-8016 www.satausa.com E-mail: satajet@satausa.com

SATA, SATAjet and/or other SATA products referenced herein are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SATA GmbH & Co. KG in the U.S. and/or other countries.

FOCUS ON VERSATILITY WITH THE SATAMINIJET 4400 B S P R AY G U N

THIS MINI GUN FROM SATA IS PERFECT FOR PRIMER (AND MUCH MORE) Like many painters, Eric Schaffer is most comfortable in the booth, spray gun in hand, laying down a fine topcoat on a good project. No distractions—no complications.

“Once I’m in the booth, it’s my comfort zone,” he says, “and everything else goes away. You can have your music or podcast on,”—he jumps from reggae to rap to classical—“and your passion for the job comes out. It puts you in the right mindset.”

Unlike most painters, however, Schaffer also owns his shop. After beginning his career at Browns Auto Body Werks (Mechanicsburg, Penn.), Schaffer left the shop for a position at BASF selling paint and learning the manufacturing/sales side of the industry. But three years ago, he purchased the shop that gave him his start in paint, and where he still practices his craft—as much as ownership allows—today. At roughly $3 million revenue per year, he keeps his team busy, in the booth and out.

He learned to paint with SATA guns and hasn’t looked back.

INTRODUCING THE SATAMINIJET 4400 B “I’ve used SATA since I began to learn to paint,” Schaffer says.

“For a brief time, I tried other products, but I’ve always fallen back to SATA because any gun will spray correctly at any time; it won’t change my finish or my color.

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It will work every time you go and grab it.”

Now Schaffer has his hands on the 4400 B and it’s completely changed the dynamic of the shop. “It’s versatile,” he says, “that’s the word I keep coming back to. I can use the 4400 with a certain tip for primer; for a 12x12 area, it’s perfect.”

Because painters aren’t often priming more than that in collision, the 4400 B fills a niche Schaffer didn’t realize he needed.

He uses it often for primer, UV primer, sealer and paint clear; “The beauty of that gun is you can use it in every area of your shop,” he says.

SATA has also accessorized the mini the same way it has the 5500 and other gun options. The popular RPS cups lock atop the 4400, allowing minimal paint waste and maximum efficiency in sprayout.

“The comfort of it is great, and the other awesome part is that if you’re using it in the booth, you can put a full .9 cup on it. If you want to do a larger job like a bumper, you can with that gun—it’s not necessarily faster, but you can put the full size cup on that gun and it’s still stable in your hand.”

The time savings is significant. Schaffer says he’s able to do a smaller spot repair in a more efficient manner than with any other mini he’s ever used.

One other thing Schaffer notes about the 4400 is less material consumption

than a standard 1.8 primer gun; “the transfer rate is higher,” he says, “and you’re getting more material on the panel instead of overspraying everywhere else as with a standard HVLP or RP gun.”

The SATAminijet 4400 B is designed to ensure perfect finishes in many applications. It’s the ideal compact spray gun for superb finishes on hard-to-reach areas and the special SR nozzles are perfectly suited for spot repairs on vehicles. The spray gun works with all contemporary paint systems, including waterborne paints. The 4400 B: • Is perfect for small surfaces and areas of difficult access Superior metallic control • Features special SR nozzle sets for the smallest spot repair • Is easy to clean and maintain • Has a large cup connection for all RPS cup sizes • Is highly flexible in terms of atomization pressure and spray distance With the time savings offered by the SATAminijet 4400 B, Schaffer can focus on what he loves most—spending time with his family and building cars. Learn how the 4400 B can help you save on paint material, increase paint shop efficiency (and maybe build your dream car)—for more information, check out product video at youtube.com/watch?v=ZkGT5RVMsjM.

SATAminijet®4400 B Brilliance in miniature

The SATAminijet 4400 B is designed to ensure perfect finishes in various fields of application.

The perfect compact spray gun if you are looking for superb finishes on areas of difficult access. The special SR nozzles are perfectly suitable for spot repairs on vehicles. It goes without saying that this spray gun allows the application of all modern paint systems – including waterborne paints.

For

small surfaces and areas of difficult access

Special

SR nozzle sets for the smallest spot repairs (Spot repair)

Easy

cleaning and maintenance

Large

cup connection QCC for all RPS cup sizes

Highly

flexible in terms of atomization pressure and spray distance SR nozzle sets

Nozzle size HVLP/HVLP SR Nozzle size RP/RP SR

Spray gun with 0.3 l RPS muti-purpose cup Standard (2x, 0.3 l cup) Nozzle set

0.8 SR

1.0 SR

1.2 SR

-

1.4 SR

0.8 SR

1.0 SR

1.2 SR

1.3 SR

-

198168

198176

198184

-

198192

202390

198358

198366

1065136

-

201244

201251

201269

-

201277

201285

201293

201301

1065037

-

Save paint material and increase speed of repair process with the SATAminijet 4400 B

For more info, please watch product video at www.sata.com/rps

The exclusive independent distributor of SATA products in the US and Puerto Rico

Phone: 800-533-8016 www.satausa.com E-mail: satajet@satausa.com

SATA, SATAjet and/or other SATA products referenced herein are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SATA GmbH & Co. KG in the U.S. and/or other countries.

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