June 2020 Northeast Edition by Autobody News

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Vol. 11 / Issue 3 / June 2020

A Look at the Impact of Driven Brands Purchase of Fix Auto USA & Auto Center Auto Body by Stacey Phillips

With Driven Brands’ purchase of Fix Auto USA and Auto Center Auto Body on April 21, the collision repair industry is experiencing another shift in landscape during a time of accelerating consolidations. FOCUS Advisors, Inc., a full-service mergers and acquisitions (M&A) firm specializing in the automotive aftermarket, announced the completion of the transaction for both parties in a press release to the industry. Autobody News had the opportunity to talk to David Roberts, man-

aging director of FOCUS Advisors, Inc., about the transaction and its impact in the industry.

tion?

Can you share some of the background of this transac-

Erick Bickett and I have been friends and professional colleagues for nearly 27 years. He and Shelly Bickett have had a huge impact on this industry for a long time and are some of the most sophisticated operators in the country. See Purchase of Fix Auto USA, Page 10

NY Regions Can Start to Reopen May 15, Governor Says The state’s stay-at-home order is set to expire May 15 and, for some New York’s governor told regional areas, Gov. Andrew Cuomo suggestrepresenatives to prepare to reopen ed it is time for people to start their from May 15, but with detailed plans return to normal life. He made it clear to closely monitor any resurgence of that reopening would only affect arthe new coronavirus. eas less seriously affected by the virus, with hard-hit places like New York City continuing with the shut down. “It’s not going to happen statewide,” Cuomo said. “Rather than wait for the whole state to be ready, we will reopen on a regional basis. “If upstate has to be A graph shows the rate of hospitalizations in New York by Adam Nichols, Patch

State. Credit: Office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo

See Reopen May 15, Page 12

PERMIT #288 ANAHEIM, CA

PAID

Change Service Requested

by Ken Strong, CBT Automotive Network

With social distancing, isolation and quarantine efforts dominating news and daily life, coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the U.S. and world economies. The automotive industry has felt the impact. Manufacturers and dealers are all working on innovative ways to make it through the crisis. While sales departments are implementing digital retailing efforts, parts and service departments are also working on ways to put customers at ease and stabilize business operations.

Parts Shortages While dealerships haven’t started to notice the impact of coronavirus on parts supply, automakers are scrambling to find parts and prevent shortages in their supply chains as the spread of the coronavirus rattles markets and threatens to roil manufacturing processes globally. General Motors recently identified a potential parts shortage and airlifted supplies for its North American truck production, according to United Auto Workers officials. Fiat Chrysler has said it is seeking alternative suppliers. Others like See Parts Departments, Page 23

As we move from medical crisis to economic recovery, Autobody News chooses to focus on information detailing how the economy is recovering and how companies are managing that process. Please check Autobodynews.com for the most current information.

Two Shops in NJ Make Necessary Adjustments, Will ‘Weather the Storm’ by Victoria Antonelli

Autobody News reached out to two single-location shops in New Jersey that participated in the “Analysis of the Body Shop” survey and volunteered to elaborate further on their responses. 1. What is the name of your shop? Where are you located? How many employees do you have? What year did you open? Domenic’s Auto Body; Beverly, NJ; Seven employees; 1982 Fantastic Plastic, Inc; Clifton, NJ; Six employees; 1982 2. Has the pandemic affected your productivity? How so? Have you been able to stay open? How much more/less productive have you been since the initial quarantine orders (percentage wise)?

Nikki Donaghy, office manager at Domenic’s Auto Body: “We have downsized, but we were able to stay open. Less people on the roads equals less accidents equals less work. While business is still way

Fantastic Plastic, Inc., is located in Clifton, NJ.

down from where it was, we have seen some increased accident activity in the past week [as of May 1.] I would say about 20% to 25% more than previous weeks. I have jobs on the schedule for the first time since this whole thing started. We will See ‘Weather the Storm’, Page 24

P.O. BOX 1516, CARLSBAD, CA 92018

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE Northeast_Issue_0620.indd 1

How COVID-19 is Affecting Parts Departments

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Advertise in our Classified Section for $50 per column inch!

CONTENTS REGIONAL Women of the Year Award Nominations Sought ��6 DE State Farm Agents Unite to Donate ��16

of Pandemic as a Shop Owner ��30 Yoswick - Finding Some Hopeful Bits of

800-699-8251

of New York State Ready to Begin Reopening May 15 ��19 Governor Offers Details on Three Phases of NJ’s Reopening Plan ��16 NJ Requires Insurance Companies to Refund

10 Shops Share What They are Doing to Get Work in the Door ��26 A Look at the Impact of Driven Brands Purchase of Fix Auto USA & Auto Center Auto Body ��1 ACA Joins More Than 100 Business

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

Governor Cuomo Announces Three Regions

NATIONAL

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AUTOBODY

Good News Amid the Pandemic Fallout ��48

Gov. Murphy Signs Executive Order Extending Public Health Emergency in NJ ��20

ltedesco@autobodynews.com

Publisher & Editor: Jeremy Hayhurst General Manager: Barbara Davies Contributing Writers: John Yoswick, Janet Chaney, Toby Chess, Ed Attanasio, Chasidy Sisk, David Luehr, Stacey Phillips, Victoria Antonelli, Gary Ledoux Advertising Sales: Joe Momber, Bill Doyle, Norman Morano, Andrew Staicer (800) 699-8251 Office Manager: Louise Tedesco Digital Marketing Manager: Bryan Malinski Art Director: Rodolfo Garcia Graphic Designer: Vicki Sitarz Online and Web Content Editor: Abby Andrews Accounting Manager: Heather Priddy Editorial/Sales Assistant: Randi Scholtes Office Assistant: Dianne Pray

Serving New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Northern Virginia, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and adjacent metro areas. Autobody News is a monthly publication for the autobody industry. Permission to reproduce in any form the material published in Autobody News must be obtained in writing from the publisher. ©2020 Adamantine Media LLC. Autobody News P.O. Box 1516, Carlsbad, CA 92018 (800) 699-8251 / (760) 603-3229 Fax www.autobodynews.com editor@autobodynews.com

Accudraft Paint Booths �� 56

Long Automotive Group �� 43

Acura of Westchester �� 20

Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 52

American Icon Automotive Finishes �� 10

McGovern Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram �� 26

Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 47

Mercedes-Benz of Paramus �� 23

Bical Auto Mall �� 31

Mercedes-Benz of Wilmington �� 36

BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers ��38-39

Mercedes-Benz Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 45

Cadillac of Mahwah �� 19

MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 40

Car-Part.com �� 15

MontiPower Americas, Inc �� 9

Central Avenue Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram �� 17

MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers ��32-33

Certified Automotive Parts Association �� 6

New Holland Ford �� 42

Sold to Driven Brands ��54

Cherry Hill Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram �� 14

New Holland Toyota �� 16

Ford, 3M Shipping Air-Purifying Respirators ��23

Cherry HIll Nissan �� 16

Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 50

Ford’s Potentially Devastating F-150

Classifieds �� 54

Northstar Kia �� 24

Colonial Automotive Group �� 21

Nucar �� 25

Courtesy Mitsubishi �� 12

Porsche Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 53

Criswell Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram �� 8

SATA Dan-Am Company �� 2

Empire Auto Parts �� 10

Schultz Ford �� 18

Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 49

Security Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram �� 22

Good Sam Insurance Agency Underwriter

GM Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 35

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes ��4-5

COLUMNISTS

to Give Refund and $3M Donation to

Haldon Company �� 11

Southern Polyurethanes, Inc �� 7

Anderson - Not Busy? If You’re Leading

COVID Relief Efforts ��43

Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers ��28-29

Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 48

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 46

Symach �� 12

for Dynaflo to Help COVID-19 Patients ��50

Infiniti of Norwood �� 30

Toyota Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 52

Insurance for Disinfectants, Finds Silver

How COVID-19 is Affecting Parts Departments ��1

Innovative Tools & Technologies, Inc �� 13

Tsunami Compressed Air Solutions �� 20

Lining in Uncertain Times ��42

New Auto Insurance Limits May Be Costly

Jaguar Land Rover Cherry Hill �� 27

VIP Honda �� 37

for AZ Drivers ��19

Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 41

Volkswagen of Newtown Square �� 6

Advertising Budget During Pandemic ��46

OE Certifications Update 2020—Part 2 of 2 ��44

Kia of Attleboro �� 12

Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 51

Chess - Kool Tools from SEMA 2019 ��34

Scholarship Recipients Announced by WIN ��26

Kundert Volvo �� 34

White Plains Volkswagen �� 16

Sisk - Riding the Emotional Roller Coaster

Tractable Donates to CIF COVID-19 Fund ��52

LKQ Corporation �� 55

Yonkers Kia �� 44

Premiums in Wake of Coronavirus ��18 NY Gov. Cuomo Outlines Additional Guidelines for Phased Plan to Re-open State ��6 NY Regions Can Start to Reopen May 15, Governor Says ��1 NY-Based Industry Pioneer Dies at Age 95 ��14 Official: Man’s Body Found in CT Auto Shop After Fire ��8 P.O.R. Products Making Hand Sanitizer, Donating to Local First Responders ��15 PA Bill Would Define COVID-19 as Property Damage ��20 PA Pandemic Lockdown Lifting in More Counties as Protesters Gather at Capitol ��9 PA State Senator: Auto Dealerships Should be Granted Business Waiver ��18 Two Shops in NJ Make Necessary Adjustments, Will ‘Weather the Storm’ ��1

the Business, You Sure Should Be ��27 Antonelli - Shop in UT Discusses Billing

Attanasio - Body Shop Owner Triples

Organizations to Launch America’s Recovery Fund Coalition ��52 AutoNation, American Cancer Society Raise Funds ��54 Axalta Supports CA COVID-19 Response ��52 Carmakers Gear Up to Restart Production: Can They Bounce Back? ��22 Enterprise Implements Complete Clean Pledge ��24 Fix Auto USA and Auto Center Auto Body

Problem Has Been Solved ��50 Garmat Develops Walk-Up Testing Booth for Virus Control and Containment ��53 Glass Company Shifts Gears to Make ‘Sneeze Guards’ for Vehicles ��40

Honda Begins Making Vital Ventilator Parts

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NY Gov. Cuomo Outlines Additional Guidelines for Phased Plan to Re-open State Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on April 28 outlined additional guidelines for the phased plan to reopen the state on a regional basis. Each region of the state―Capital Region, Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mid-Hudson Valley, Mohawk Valley, New York City, North Country, Long Island, Southern Tier and Western New York―must follow these guidelines as part of the re-opening plan. CDC Guidelines: Based on CDC recommendations, once a region experiences a 14-day decline in the hospitalization rate they may begin a phased re-opening. Industries: Businesses in each region will re-open in phases. Phase one will include opening construction and manufacturing functions with low risk. Phase two will open certain industries based on priority and risk level. Businesses considered “more essential” with inherent low risks of infection in the workplace and to customers will be prioritized, followed by other businesses considered “less essential” or those that present a higher risk of infection spread. Regions

Auto Dealers Donate Masks to NY Borough On April 30, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will receive a donation of 50,000 face masks provided by franchise new car dealers in The Bronx, working in partnership with the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (GNYADA). Diaz’s office will help distribute the three-ply paper masks to individuals who need them, including seniors, essential workers and other vulnerable populations. The masks will be delivered at the Bronx Borough Hall Garage Walton Avenue between 161st and 158th streets. Diaz and GNYADA President Mark Schienberg will be present. The delivery is part of a donation of half a million masks GNYADA is making to the 12 downstate counties, including New York City. We thank Black Star Network for reprint permission.

must not open attractions or businesses that would draw a large number of visitors from outside the local area. Business Precautions: Each business and industry must have a plan to protect employees and consumers, make the physical work space safer and implement processes that lower risk of infection in the business. Building Health Care Capacity: To maintain the phased re-opening plan, each region must have at least 30% of hospital beds and ICU beds available after elective surgeries resume. Testing Regimen: Regions must implement a testing regimen that prioritizes symptomatic persons and individuals who came into contact with a known COVID-positive person, and conducts frequent tests of frontline and essential workers. Regions must maintain an appropriate number of testing sites to accommodate its population and must fully advertise where and how people can get tested. The region must also use the collected data to track and trace the spread of the virus. Tracing System: There must be at least 30 contact tracers for every

100,000 people. The region must also monitor the regional infection rate throughout the re-opening plan. Isolation Facilities: Regions must present plans to have rooms available for people who test positive for COVID-19 and who cannot self-isolate. Regional Coordination: Regions must coordinate the re-opening of schools, transportation systems, testing and tracing with other surrounding regions. Re-imagining Tele-Medicine Re-imagining Tele-Education Regional Control Rooms: Each region must appoint an oversight institution as its control room to monitor regional indicators during the phased re-opening, including hospital capacity, rate of infection, PPE burn rate and businesses. Protect and Respect Essential Workers: Regions must continue to ensure protections are in place for essential workers. Cuomo also announced the creation of the New York Forward Re-Opening Advisory Board to help guide the state’s re-opening strategy. The advisory board will be chaired

by former secretaries to the governor Steve Cohen and Bill Mulrow and includes more than 100 business, community and civic leaders from industries across the state. A list of the members of the advisory board is available here. “We’ve come up with a phased plan to re-open New York so every region in the state has the same opening template as we begin this process,” Cuomo said. “We have to be smart about this―emotions can’t drive our re-opening process― and we’ve come up with factual data points that each region must monitor as they begin to re-open. We’ve also created a New York Forward Re-Opening Advisory Board made up of business, academic, community and civic leaders from across the state to help guide this process and ensure businesses are following the necessary guidelines to preserve public health as we work towards a new normal.” Finally, the governor confirmed 3,110 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 295,106 confirmed cases in New York State. We thank the Governor’s Press Office for reprint permission.

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Official: Man’s Body Found in CT Auto Shop After Fire by Cassandra Day, Hearst Connecticut Media

State and local authorities are investigating the discovery of a man’s body found under “mysterious circumstances” following an early April fire that destroyed a former auto parts store in the south area of Middletown, CT. Firefighters were called to the fast-moving, two-alarm blaze at 3:30 a.m. April 5 at the onetime Car Quest Auto Parts store at 311 Main St. Extension, according to South Fire District Chief Michael Howley. “State police, police and the fire marshal are putting their heads together to solve the mystery,” he said. The unidentified individual who perished in the fire was found inside the structure. Investigators determined the front door was smashed in, he added. No other details were available. An excavator was used to assist in the removal of heavy rubble, and, as layers of debris were removed, a body was located, Middletown Police Lt. Heather Des-

mond said in a press release May 11. At one point, the intensity of the blaze caused firefighters to pull back from the building, according to the South Fire District Firefighters IAFF Local 3918 Facebook page. Because of the age and construction of the facility―the wood frame and balloon construction― the structure was consumed by rapidly moving flames, the chief added. “It was just an old timber building.” What remains is a partially-standing building surrounded by a pile of metal, brick and concrete. Portions of the brick facade remain, but the wooden frame of the 3,552-square foot facility built in 1936 has been reduced to a charred rubble. When the two large metal-frame billboards on the property went up in flames, crews were concerned about which direction they would fall, as well as the safety of fire personnel and apparatus operators. “The signs were a staple there

for 50, 60 years. They were big and heavy and a hazard for us. It was just a matter of time,” before they toppled, the chief said.

State and local authorities are still investigating the discovery of a man’s body found following an early April fire that destroyed a former auto parts store. Credit: Cassandra Day, Hearst Connecticut Media

Middletown property records show the property is owned by John C. Seagrave. Seagrave didn’t return a request for comment by press time. Two days prior to the fire, the

owner found the window of the front door broken, Desmond said. He searched the building and did not find anything suspicious. The day before the fire, the owner reported the damage to the police and provided pictures of the damage. The incident was documented, she added. The body has been identified and next of kin has been notified. Once the investigation is complete, city police expect to release more information. The historic building once housed a machine shop in the back. “People would send their wheel drums there to be replaced,” the chief said. There were many flammable materials inside the building, such as paint supplies and machine shop materials. The cause and the origin will be determined after reports expected to be filed by the state’s fire marshal office are concluded, Howley said. We thank the Middletown Press for reprint permission.

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PA Pandemic Lockdown Lifting in More Counties as Protesters Gather at Capitol by Christen Smith, The Center Square

Pennsylvania will lift some pandemic restrictions in a dozen more counties next week as demonstrators gathered on the Capitol steps May 15 to protest the ongoing lockdown. “Through our social distancing efforts, we have not only reversed a trajectory of exponential new case growth—we have cut it in half,” Gov. Tom Wolf said. “And some of the counties that will be shifting into the yellow phase next week eliminated concerns that we had just two weeks ago.” Adams, Beaver, Carbon, Columbia, Cumberland, Juniata, Mifflin, Perry, Susquehanna, Wyoming, Wayne and York counties will move from the most restrictive red phase of the governor’s reopening plan to the more cautionary yellow stage. In the yellow phase, many businesses can reopen with social distancing in place, including daycares, but public schools, entertainment venues, gyms, movie theaters, salons and spas will stay closed. Dauphin County, where the state capitol building is located in Harrisburg, remains in red as cases

of COVID-19 continue rising, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said May 15. More than 60,000 cases of the virus have been confirmed across the state since March 6 and more than 4,300 have died, so far. Despite the climbing numbers, Wolf and Levine said counties in yellow―33 as of May 15―have succeeded, so far, in efforts to test and contact trace new cases, keeping any potential outbreaks at bay. He said frustrated local officials and those protesting against the restrictions at the Capitol have a right to their anger, though he believes it’s misdirected. “It’s a realistic and reasonable expression of frustration. Our problem is that the frustration has to be subjected toward the virus,” he said. “We’re just trying to keep people safe.” “Had we allowed what happened in Italy to happen here, that would have been worse for the economy,” he added. “More people sick and more people dead. The way we did it here I think was less bad than it could have been.” Wolf maintains his aggressive mitigation strategy helped flatten Pennsylvania’s curve as infections in

surrounding states raged. Still, Republicans at the state, federal and executive level accused the governor of going “too slowly” on reopening, unnecessarily plunging nearly 1.8 million residents into unemployment.

Protesters demonstrate during a rally against Pennsylvania’s coronavirus stay-at-home order May 15 at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, PA. Credit: Matt Rourke, AP Photo

“We’ve got to get your governor in Pennsylvania to start to open up here,” President Donald Trump said during a visit to a medical supply distribution facility in Allentown on May 14. “You have areas in Pennsylvania that are barely affected and they want to keep them closed. You can’t do that.” The president’s frustration echoes that of Republicans in the state Legislature, including Butler County Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, who said May

15 he will introduce an impeachment resolution for the governor over his handling of the COVID-19 crisis. “His focus on restraining business is particularly disturbing, as the majority of deaths due to the pandemic have been residents of long-term care facilities,” he said. “The governor should have focused his attention there, but he has entirely failed to implement a comprehensive state plan to protect our most vulnerable citizens who reside in nursing homes, which have had inadequate supplies of personal protective equipment and testing kits throughout the outbreak.” Others have been less critical, though still “disappointed” by Wolf’s unwillingness to sign bills that would put tens of thousands of workers― from real estate agents to animal groomers to hair stylists—back on the job, ahead of his phased schedule. Wolf, for his part, seems unfazed by the impeachment calls. “I’m not a lawyer, but I can’t wait to see the legal arguments that might be put forward in that case,” he said. We thank The Center Square for reprint permission.

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Continued from Cover

Purchase of Fix Auto USA

number of potential investors, Roark [Capital] and Driven Brands showed the most interest and eventually decided they wanted to own the entire firm. But no transaction is ever done until the day it closes, and in this case, the day it closed was April 21, 2020.

Some time ago, Erick, Paul and I started talking about their investment in Fix Auto USA and the way in which Fix USA was gaining momentum. While Fix USA was delivering great value to its franchisees, Please tell us about FOCUS many of them were looking for adAdvisors and your involveditional capital or ultimately an exit ment in the transaction. strategy. Erick and Paul saw an opportunity to provide financing soluFOCUS Advisors serves autions to those franchisees through tomotive aftermarket owners external capital sources. who are looking for advice and rep During this time, Fix resentation about their fuUSA continued to be reture possibilities. We advise garded as a real class act in our clients about growth and the industry. Since its incepsale options and then repretion, they invested in excelsent them in mergers and aclent systems, leadership and quisitions or capital formation helping shops upgrade their transactions. Over the last operations. Insurance comDavid Roberts, five years, as managing dimanaging director of rector of FOCUS and a prior panies really trusted them. When Paul, Erick and FOCUS Advisors, Inc. firm, we’ve completed more Shelly began to evaluate outthan 22 collision and paint distribuside capital options, they engaged us tion transactions. to represent them. We wrote a busi- What we do is help our clients ness plan and identified possible figure out what they really want and capital sources. After approaching a work with them to achieve that goal

in a really organized and well-documented, well-articulated fashion. In this case, having known Erick and Shelly and Paul for years and helping them strategize and put together their package, they were able to go to market with a coherent approach to potential buyers. I believe that’s one of the reasons they got the deal done, even though we went from being in the best collision repair environment to maybe one of the worst. It’s something we feel very proud of, but also at the end of the day, we are helping people who have invested a lifetime of effort building a wonderful business and now they get to realize some of their rewards.

With so much uncertainty going on in the world and the collision repair industry due to the pandemic, how does a deal of this magnitude get accomplished?

We are all in the midst of this completely unforeseen, unprecedented time. However, we have demonstrated that a good transaction can actually get done. In fact, our belief is that things aren’t totally

collapsing at least for a big segment of the economy and certainly for our industry. We are very pleased to have a successful transaction for our client.

Q: A:

What will the future hold for an independent shop owner?

Currently, there are thousands of single shops and small MSOs across the country. They operate in different communities in unique situations, and have built prominent businesses in their respective areas. Many of these business owners want to continue operating because they are very successful and love what they do. At the same time, everybody recognizes the need to be better at what they do and one of the ways to do this is getting together with other successful business owners. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to sell out. You can be part of a group and still stay independent. For example, franchise systems enable independent operators the opportunity to participate in an organization larger than themselves,

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while still maintaining their independent ownership.

In a changing landscape, how can independent shop owner compete?

I have tremendous admiration for the people in this industry. They are some of the smartest, most creative and successful entrepreneurs that I know. But the landscape is constantly changing and getting tougher and tougher for small independents. The reality is that a two-shop operator who is competing against Caliber Collision, Gerber and Service King is going to have a tougher time unless they get more specialized, or closer to insurers, dealers or focus on particular brands. The alternative is to join other folks and get bigger yourself. We have clients around the country who have literally gone from a two-shop $10 million operation to an eight-shop $40 million operation in the last four or five years. They are figuring out how to do it on their own through retained earnings, paint rebates and some borrowing. As a result, they are getting

bigger and more sophisticated and are delivering better service. They are not the only ones finding unique ways to grow and stay relevant.

Q: A:

Do you have any concluding thoughts?

As an industry, we will recover. But it will change how we do business in ways we cannot now foresee. So stay safe, keep your family safe, conserve cash, take care of your customers, your referral sources and your staff. This is a condensed version of the full article, which can be found online at www.autobodynews.com. For more information about FOCUS Advisors, visit https://focus advisors.com/ or email David Roberts at david.roberts@focusadvisors. com. For more information about Driven Brands, visit https://www.driven brands.com/.

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Continued from Cover

Reopen May 15 waiting for downstate to be ready, it’ll be waiting a long time.” There have now been nearly 320,000 positives cases of the coronavirus in New York State, but the case count is much lighter in some counties than others. Some have tens of thousands of cases, while others upstate have recorded only a handful. Cuomo said any region that plans to start to reopen May 15 needs to come to him with a detailed plan that includes how rates of infection will be monitored, if health care capacity is enough to deal with any infection increase, and if infrastructure is in place to do testing and tracing.

Regions also need to have a plan in place for how people will return to work, including what measures businesses will have to ensure social distancing and mask wearing. When plans are approved, businesses will go back in four phases, with construction and manufacturing first, followed by professional services, retail and restail estate, then restaurants, food services and accommodation. The last phase would involve the arts, entertainment and recreation businesses. He said if any spike in infection rates is seen by the region, a hard stop would be put in place again. New York State has been under a stay-at-home order since March 22. We thank Patch for reprint permission.

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NY-Based Industry Pioneer Dies at Age 95 Al Porcelli, a collision repair industry leader and educator and the founder and longest-serving official of the Auto Body Craftsmen’s Guild, died April 7 from conditions associated with a long life. He was 95. Porcelli was the son of Italian immigrants who came to America in the early 1900s. He was born in 1924 in Brooklyn, NY, and grew up during the Great Depression. and died April 7, 2020 from conditions associated with a long-life. Porcelli began working at age 10 as an apprentice, sweeping floors in the auto-electric shop next to the home where he was born in Brooklyn. By the time he graduated high school, Porcelli had mastered servicing automotive electrical, as well as all other systems. Although he wanted to enlist in the military when Pearl Harbor was attacked, he finished school first. He joined the U.S. Navy within months, and soon became a top fighter aircraft mechanic at Pearl Harbor. His automotive experience gained him

quick promotions, and by age 20 he was training other mechanics in aircraft electronics. After four years of honorable military service, Porcelli returned home to Brooklyn and began working at a collision shop in Queens. In 1947 he married his neighbor and childhood sweetheart, Orrie, with whom he had three sons, Michael, Dennis and Anthony. In 1949, with co-worker and fellow veteran Henry Keller, Porcelli opened Central Avenue Collision Works, in a two-car garage in Glendale, Queens. Through their hard work, the business grew rapidly, and within five years it moved to a much larger, fully-equipped facility, across the street from their humble beginning. They were viewed by their peers as the best partners in the business, who produced the highest quality work, for more than 25 years until Keller’s retirement. Three years later, Porcelli’ss oldest son, Mike, who worked in the shop learning the trade from age

5, became his dad’s new partner. Together they continued their tradition of quality work and consumer advocacy, expanding the business until the elder Porcelli’s retirement in 1990. Today, the family tradition continues, under the third generation of Porcelli ownership. After just a few years in business, Porcelli realized the collision industry suffered from many abuses and deficiencies, and did not really operate in a free enterprise environment. To address this problem, Porcelli and 11 other local shop owners, known as the “dirty dozen” because they did the hard work, formed one of the earliest collision trade associations, the Auto Body Craftsmen’s Guild of New York City, to promote the interests of shop owners, workers and consumers alike. Since its inception, Porcelli held every leadership position in the organization, and was very proud of his service as a chairman of the education committee and as the longest-surviving guild founder. For more than 60 years, Porcel-

li and the guild advocated for better trade education in public school systems and within the industry. Porceli became state chairman of I-CAR for several years, held classes in his shop, lobbied tirelessly for improving education at all levels, and was an early promoter of ASE testing. In the early years, Porcelli operated an ASE testing site at the guild’s office in Glendale, and encouraged all guild members to become certified. He was also actively involved in educating government officials, at every level, on vehicle safety, trade education and consumer protection issues. For years, Porcelli served on many industry and government advisory boards, mostly at his own expense, and testified at countless hearings advising government on improving consumer protection, worker protection and trade education. As a dedicated industry advocate, Porcelli was a leading force, contributing much time and effort to many state and national collision trade associations.

14 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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His greatest regret was that he did not witness the implementation of the U.S. Department of Justice’s 1963 consent decree, prohibiting insurance company interference in the collision industry. Porcelli was instrumental in the case that produced the cecree, and worked tirelessly, often alone, to get the department to enforce it. He died hoping it will be enforced. Since his retirement, until the end of last year, Porcelli was actively working as editor of the guild’s magazine, The Bulletin, for which he wrote hundreds of articles on vehicle safety, repair procedures, consumer protection, business practices and trade education. He was a selftaught researcher and author, whose presentations were on par with any professor’s. In the 95 years he was with us, Porcelli held many titles: working mechanic, lifelong learner, proud World War II veteran, master craftsman, independent repair shop owner, collision industry leader and educator, founder and longest-serving official of the Auto Body Craftsmen’s Guild, fierce consumer ad-

vocate, trade associations member, dedicated family man, Kiwanian, great son, brother, brother-in-law, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, citizen and neighbor, and above all, a most honorable man, who was a friend to everyone he knew, and always did all he could for his friends―and then some. Porcelli’s life was filled with service to his country, family, friends, employees, co-workers, trainees, colleagues, consumers, students and, most particularly, the motoring public. He will be missed by all those above, but his work lives on. Note: Porcelli’s son, Mike Porcelli, is looking for stories about his father’s efforts to promote education over his many years in the industry association. He can be reached at the same phone number his father started the business at 71 years ago, 718-821-7868, or he can be emailed at mjpmjp@gmail.com. www.autobodynews.com

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P.O.R. Products Making Hand Sanitizer, Donating to Local First Responders P.O.R. Products, which typically manufactures its POR-15 automotive restoration products, recently switched to producing hand sanitizer.

The move allowed the New Rochelle, NY-based company to keep its employees working, and to donate hand sanitizer to local first responders fighting the spread of COVID-19. Jason Anagnostis, president and chief technical officer of

P.O.R. Products, said the company was allowed to continue to operate, as a chemical manufacturer, when a statewide stay-at-home order was issued in March. He said the company decided to make hand sanitizer. After quickly developing a formula, it recently produced its first batch, part of which will be donated. “Every batch that we make, we are going to donate two or more pallets of product to our local first responders,” Anagnostis said. “That’s our goal to give back, give back to the community, give back to our employees and most of all give back to our end users as much as we possibly can. “Stay safe and hope to see you soon,” he said. Source: P.O.R. Products.

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Governor Offers Details on Three Phases of NJ’s Reopening Plan by Kim Jarrett, The Center Square

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on May 18 outlined his three-phase plan for reopening the state. The state is already in the first phase, with the start of curbside nonessential retail and the reopening of parks and beaches, Murphy said. The second phase includes a “broader restart” and includes expanded retail, outdoor dining, limited personal care, museums and libraries. The third phase allows most activities with safety measures before the state enters what the governor calls the “new normal.” All of the phases require social distancing and encourage mask wearing and proper hygiene. Murphy did not give a timeline, but said “this is not a life sentence.” “I’m confident that we will be able to pass each test and move through the subsequent stages,” Murphy said. “We are managing today and planning for tomorrow.” Meanwhile, the owners of Atilis Gym in Bellmawr opened their doors at 8 a.m. May 18 with a group of people cheering, according to

media reports. The owners said they were checking temperatures and following social distance and sanitation guidelines. The police advised the gym owners they were violating the executive order, but as of that afternoon, no arrests had been made. Murphy said things could be different tomorrow. “These aren’t just words,” Murphy said. “We’ve got to enforce this.

missioner Judith Persichilli responded to a report that COVID-19 positive patients were sent back to nursing homes. “We did advise long-term care facilities to readmit their residents if they had the appropriate PPE, the appropriate staffing and the ability to cohort, that is to separate COVID-19 patients from non-COVID-19 patients,” Persichilli said. “If the long-

“We are managing today and planning for tomorrow.” — Gov. Phil Murphy But I also don’t want to start World War III. And I’m not worried about that right now.” The number of new COVID-19 cases continues to trend downward, a hopeful sign that the state could reopen soon, according to the governor. Since the outbreak began, 148,039 positive cases have been reported and 10,435 people have died. More than half of those were in the state’s long-term care facilities, prompting an investigation by the state attorney general. Health Com-

term care facility was not able to do that, they should not have readmitted.” The state received 563 cases of remdesivir, an antiviral drug that is said to alleviate COVID-19 symptoms. Health officials have distributed 254 of the cases, which contains 40 doses each, and will distribute more May 19, said Dr. Eddy Bresnitz of the Health Department. We thank The Center Square for reprint permission.

NEW HOLLAND TOYOTA

DE State Farm Agents Unite to Donate State Farm agents in Delaware are finding ways to help their neighbors. Last week, nine State Farm agents and sales executive Kelly Brion teamed up to donate $4,750 to the Food Bank of Delaware. Through the State Farm Matching Gift Program, they will be sending another $4,750, for a total of $9,500. The team who donated included Katie Bennett of Camden; Kathy West, Tom Deladvitch, Billy Reese, Matt Basile, John Borden, Phil Hill and Bob Simmons, all of Dover; Eric James of Delmar; and Brion. Bennett said the team jumped at the opportunity when they heard the Food Bank needed support. She said this was especially important as they thought about kids who are not in school and parents or caregivers who may not be working. “We have a strong bond and thought it would be great to band together and help to impact our state where we live and work,” she said. We thank Sussex Living for reprint permission.

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NJ Requires Insurance Companies to Refund Premiums in Wake of Coronavirus The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) on May 12 issued a bulletin requiring certain insurance carriers to assess whether the statewide lockdown due to coronavirus warrants reduced premiums and refunds for policyholders. DOBI’s commissioner noted the governor’s executive orders compelling many to remain at home has curtailed automobile travel and economic activity which, in turn, has reduced loss risks for many insurance companies. Accordingly, DOBI is requiring insurance companies to recalculate rates and issue refunds, credits, dividends or other appropriate relief. The bulletin provides alternative methods for conducting those calculations and specifies that it applies to the following lines of insurance:

• Commercial automobile insurance • Workers’ compensation insurance • Commercial multiple-peril insurance • Medical malpractice insurance • Any other line of coverage where the measures of risk have become substantially overstated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic Insurers have until June 1 to submit proof their current rates are not excessive, inadequate or discriminatory. Assuming they are unable to do so, DOBI is requiring all insurers to notify policyholders by June 15 of the amount and basis for calculating the refund or adjustment and related information. A copy of the bulletin is available and additional information can be found on the DOBI’s website. https://www.state.nj.us/dobi/ index.html

• Private passenger automobile insurance

We thank JD Supra for reprint permission. rmission.

by Cole Schotz, JD Supra

PA State Senator: Auto Dealerships Should be Granted Business Waiver Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano, R-33, announced this week he is introducing legislation that would reopen Pennsylvania automobile dealerships, as part of COVID-19 mitigation efforts. The measure would require the secretary of the Dept. of Community & Economic Development to issue a business waiver to the Governor’s Business Closure Order for all vehicle dealerships. As part of the waiver process, the businesses must adhere to social distancing practices and other mitigation protocol defined by the Centers for Disease Control. State Senator Pat Stefano, R-32, is partnering with Mastriano in introducing the legislation. “The governor’s initial decision to grant waivers to some businesses, and then decide to revoke these same waivers later, exemplifies the fact that this entire waiver process is flawed, with no

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transparency or accountability,” said Mastriano. “Inconsistency has reigned. “Automotive dealerships provide an essential, live-sustaining service for statewide residents,” said Mastriano. Pennsylvania’s medical workers, first responders and other essential personnel must have access to a functioning vehicle during the pandemic, added Mastriano. Other states have successfully implemented safety restrictions that limited the spread of the coronavirus, while simultaneously allowing auto dealerships to continue operations. Safety precautions in the legislation include requiring essential employees to wear protective clothing and equipment during their shifts. Masks and gloves would be necessary. Source: Office of Sen. Mastriano.

UPDATED DAILY

18 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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New Auto Insurance Limits May Be Costly for AZ Drivers

Governor Cuomo Announces Three Regions of New York State Ready to Begin Reopening May 15

New Arizona requirements for auto insurance coverage take effect July 1, as a result of Arizona Senate Bill 1087. This legislation increases the required auto insurance coverage limits to $25,000/$50,000/$15,000. Arizona limits are presently set at $15,000/$30,000/$10,000. A coverage increase was needed to help ensure that Arizona drivers have adequate protection, particularly considering the rising costs of medical care, automotive repairs and litigation. However, this increased protection comes at a price, and may result in sticker shock when policies come up for renewal. With those projections in mind, drivers who pay $100 per month now could pay $140 per month when their policies renew after July 1. This change applies to all insurance companies that sell insurance in Arizona. Auto insurance rates vary by carrier and state, so shopping with multiple insurers is key to saving money. Source: RightSure Insurance Group

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on May 11 announced the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions have met all seven metrics required to begin phase one of the state’s regional phased reopening plan when NYS on PAUSE orders expire on May 15. If the trend continues, starting on May 15, these three regions can begin opening businesses for phase one, which includes construction; manufacturing and wholesale supply chain; retail for curbside pickup and drop-off or in-store pickup; and agriculture, forestry and fishing. The North Country and Central NY regions have met six of the seven metrics and could be ready at the end of the week. A guide to the state’s “NY Forward Reopening” Plan is available here. https://www.governor. ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/ atoms/files/NYForwardReopeningGuide.pdf The governor also launched

the state’s regional monitoring dashboard, available here. https:// forward.ny.gov/regional-monitoring-dashboard The governor also announced certain low-risk business and recreational activities will be ready to reopen statewide May 15, including landscaping and gardening; outdoor, low-risk recreational activities such as tennis; and drive-in movie theaters. “We are starting a new chapter in the fight against this virus― we’ve worked together as a state to flatten the curve and the decline has finally reached a point where it is just about where we started this journey, so now we can turn to reopening,” Cuomo said. “As we approach May 15, we have put regional control rooms in place, which are made up of the top government officials and academic and health care professionals in that region, to watch the situation in each region develop and increase or decrease the activity and speed of reopening based on the metrics and guidelines. These

control rooms are critical because we just made it over the mountain and nobody wants to go back to the other side now.” Cuomo also announced the members of the regional control rooms that will monitor regional metrics during the reopening process. These regional control rooms will monitor the hospitalization rate, death rate, number of new hospitalizations, hospital bed capacity, ICU bed capacity, testing and contact tracing within its region during reopening and alert the state if the region’s metrics no longer meet the reopening guidelines, and adjust the reopening plan for that region accordingly. Finally, the governor confirmed 1,660 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 337,055 confirmed cases in New York State. We thank governor.ny.gov for reprint permission.

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PA Bill Would Define COVID-19 as Property Damage by Hannah Smith, PropertyCasualty360

The Pennsylvania Senate is weighing a bill that would include losses spurred by the COVID-19 global pandemic under property and business interruption insurance coverage. Although SB. 1127, which was introduced on April 30, does not explicitly state that insurers must cover COVID-19 business interruption claims, it would require insurers to pay claims that standard property policies do not typically cover. Specifically, the bill states that if a covered property is located within a municipality where “the presence of the COVID-19 coronavirus has otherwise been detected,” that property is “deemed to have experienced property damage.” Coronavirus is deemed to be “detected” when at least one or more persons present in that municipality has been positively identified as having been infected by COVID-19. The bill also states that Gov. Tom Wolf’s March 19 emergency order to close businesses is to be considered an order of civil authority under a first-party insur-

ance policy which limits, prohibits or restricts access to non-life-sustaining business locations “as a di-

The Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia sits empty during business closures Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Credit: Hannah Yoon/Bloomberg

rect result of physical damage at or in the immediate vicinity of those locations.” The bill would apply to all insurance policies that were active as of March 6, and would potentially constitute an interpretation of several key policy terms including “direct physical loss, damage or injury to tangible property,” a term that has been the core of the majority of COVID-19 insurance complaints that have been filed thus far. We thank PropertyCasualty360 for reprint permission.

Gov. Murphy Signs Executive Order Extending Public Health Emergency in NJ Governor Phil Murphy on May 6 signed Executive Order No. 138, extending the Public Health Emergency declared on March 9 through Executive Order No. 103 and extended on April 7 through Executive Order No. 119. Under the Emergency Health Powers Act, a declared public health emergency expires after 30 days unless renewed. “Extending this declaration ensures that we can continue using every resource at our disposal to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” said Murphy. “But I want to ensure that this extension is not interpreted to mean that we are reconsidering our

path forward or changing course on the principles I laid out last week in the Road Back plan. We will continue to stand by these principles and protect public health as we responsibly take steps to get the economy moving again.” Executive Order No. 138 extends all executive orders issued under the governor’s authority under the Emergency Health Powers Act. It also extends all actions taken by any executive branch departments and agencies in response to the public health emergency presented by the COVID-19 outbreak. Source: State of New Jersey

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Carmakers Gear Up to Restart Production: Can They Bounce Back? by Ritujay Ghosh, Zacks

U.S. automakers started returning to assembly lines on May 11, finally ending two months of plant closures that brought vehicle production to a standstill. Some auto suppliers in Michigan, which have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout, finally reopened plants ahead of resumption of vehicle production next week. Both domestic and foreign carmakers that have been suffering due to plants closures, will finally start reopening their production lines as states start easing restrictions in a bid to restart the economy. Vehicle sales in the U.S. plummeted in April, hitting a three-decade low. However, with plants set to reopen, carmakers may finally heave a sigh of relief. Auto suppliers in Michigan started returning to work, a week ahead of all major carmakers who plan to resume production at their U.S. facilities. Also, skilled-trade workers and salaried employees have started returning to assembly plants to prepare for a wider restart. However, all factory workers will be

issued face masks, checked for fever and required to submit health-screening questionnaires.

Credit: Bigstock

All three big carmakers—Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.―last week said that they plan to resume production at their North American plants from May 18. The target date was set after approval from United Auto Workers union, which had initially said that a May restart could be too risky. Also, foreign carmakers Toyota Motor Corporation and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. restarted production at some of their U.S. plants on May 11 and plan to open more next week onward. The auto sector accounts for 6% of U.S. economic output and employs more than 835,000 Americans.

However, the global car industry has been witnessing a slump for the past few quarters, which was worsened due to the coronavirus outbreak. With factories closed for more than two months, carmakers have been desperately trying to get back to production. So much so that on May 11, Elon Musk, CEO of electric carmaker Tesla Inc., defied local health officials and restarted his factory outside San Francisco. Most major carmakers reported a sales decline in April due to the pandemic. Toyota and Honda led the declines with sales plummeting about 54% each. Also, Hyundai said that its April sales declined 39%. General Motors’ U.S. sales fell 7% in the first quarter from a year ago. Fiat too reported a 10% decline in sales in the first quarter. That said, things might finally start changing with the restart of the plants. Earlier, J.D. Power said for the week ending April 19, retail sales were down 48% from the pre-virus forecast, marking an improvement of 3 percentage points from the week ending April 12. Around 300,000 new vehicles were sold in the first 19 days of April.

Although sales were down 53.9% in April, Toyota said its dealers’ sales of 84,696 vehicles surpassed its forecast of about 50,000 for the month. One major reason behind this is that many carmakers, including Ford General Motors and Fiat, are offering 0% financing rates and deferring payment options for new car purchases, which is aiding this rebound in sales. Moreover, the China car market, where U.S. automakers have a major presence, too has started rebounding following the COVID-19 outbreak. General Motors reported its sales in China jumped over 13% in April, compared to the prior year. Although Ford has a smaller presence in China compared to its rival General Motors, it sold more than 40,000 vehicles in China during March, which jumped to about 75% of sales during the prior year. With almost 99% of car dealerships reopening in China and U.S. factories gearing up to restart production, carmakers may finally start bouncing back. We thank Zacks for reprint permission.

22 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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Parts Departments

tomotive plants in Hubei remained closed until March 11 and have now slowly started reopening.

Toyota Motor and auto suppliers Dana and Aptiv have established teams, task forces and war rooms to closely monitor the COVID-19 epidemic. Some auto manufacturers are also committing to temporarily divert resources to help produce essential health items like masks and respirators. All of these conditions will likely result in a shortage of parts on dealer shelves at some point through this crisis. The good news is China is already getting back to work after being on lockdown for two months. With 80% of the world’s auto supply chain connected to China, production shortfalls resulting from supply chain disruptions there will impact global automakers. Hubei―in the Wuhan region where the virus started―is one of the four major automobile production bases in China, and has more than 100 automotive suppliers. Au-

Illness and Potential for Shutdown When dealing with the current crisis, dealerships must not only navigate the impact of a widescale economic shutdown, but many will have to face the reality of the virus itself. As the virus spreads around the nation, some employees will fall sick, and those dealerships may be forced (or choose) to close in response. Two dealerships in California have already closed their doors voluntarily for two weeks out of precaution amid the spread of the virus, and stores in other states may be forced to follow suit as municipalities and governors across the U.S. take broader action. Capistrano Toyota, in San Juan Capistrano, says on its website and in a recorded phone message it has closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Claremont Toyota also has the same message on its website. “We care about the health and

Continued from Cover

safety of our employees and customers!” the dealerships say on their websites. “Due to the COVID-19 virus, Claremont Toyota will be closed for two weeks for the safety and protection for all. God bless and stay safe.” Even with social distancing measures, it is likely more dealerships will be forced to close for a short period during this crisis. Transition to Online As the fear of human contact surrounding the virus spreads, e-commerce giants like Amazon, Walmart and eBay are seeing an unprecedented increases in sales. Consumer facing auto parts stores are already offering substantial incentives to buy online, along with curbside service for online orders that request in-store pickup. Dealerships that have not already looked at e-commerce as a viable part of their business will want to take a closer look now, as these trends are likely to continue, even after the virus is controlled. We thank CBT Automotive Network for reprint permission.

Ford, 3M Shipping Air-Purifying Respirators The first Ford-built powered air-purifying respirators, developed in close collaboration with 3M, are on their way to help protect health care workers fighting COVID-19. Since late March, Ford has been working with 3M to create urgently needed PAPRs, using design guidance from 3M and off-the-shelf parts, like vehicle ventilator fans and power tool batteries. In a separate effort, 500,000 reusable medical gowns distributed by Ford will soon be on their way to the state of New Jersey. 3M is a leading provider of personal protective equipment, including powered air-purifying respirators. Demand for 3M PAPRs is exceeding supply due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through partnerships with companies like Ford and others, 3M plans to increase capacity of its own PAPRs by ten-fold within the next several months. Source: Ford

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Continued from Cover

‘Weather the Storm’ weather the storm; unfortunately some shops will not.” Mike MacMullen, owner of Fantastic Plastic, Inc.: “The effects of the pandemic have cut my car count by 75%. We used to repair 12 to 15 cars per week; we are down to three to five.”

Fantastic Plastic owner Mike MacMullen said the slower months have given them the opportunity to replace the shop floor and do a deep cleaning.

3. Have you had to layoff/furlough any employees? If so, what percentage? Donaghy: “We did furlough about 70% of our employees, but I am happy to say everyone will be back this upcoming week [as of May 1.]” MacMullen: “All but one of my employees have been with me for more than 15 years and the office manager has been here for 30 years. Early on when this thing looked like it would hit us hard, I held a meeting and told my employees that I would not lay off anyone, even if it meant I would have to go into my savings to pay them. These people are family to me.” 4. Have you implemented any changes at your shop, as far as cleanliness

or other safety measures in light of the pandemic?

existing customers, I realized collision repair was a better fit for us.”

Donaghy: “For the safety of our employees and customers, we disinfect the vehicles prior to being brought in the shop, and as always, we clean the vehicle before it’s delivered. Another change we made is conducting all business outside. We don’t allow anyone into our main office. We do have a small office with a bell, so we can still receive deliveries.” MacMullen: “We decided to take this time to make our shop a better place to work. We started with having a contractor break up and replace our shop floor. After that we cleaned all of our equipment, power washed the interior and are now in the process of painting the walls.”

Domenic’s Auto Body is located in Beverly, NJ. Nikki Donaghy, office manager, said business has been picking up the past week and furloughed technicians are returning to work.

5. Have you taken on any other type of work, such as restoration or custom work? Donaghy: “We have taken rust repairs and full paint jobs, which is something we don’t usually do, unless we are slow. We will likely continue to follow that model going forward, as these types of jobs equal more labor and slower turnaround times.” MacMullen: “We are resisting taking on any full paint work and project cars. This type of work isn’t profitable for a small collision shop. I know this because that was what we did for the first five years we were in business. We were a Corvette restoration and customization shop, which is where the name “Fantastic Plastic” comes from. After doing a few collision jobs for my

6. Have you applied for assistance under the CARES Act just passed by Congress? If so, what has the response been or lack thereof? Donaghy: “We did apply for assistance under the PPP/CARES Act and found out this week [May 1] we have been approved. Prior to that, there was zero communication from our bank on the status of our application. We submitted ours as soon as our bank started accepting applications. The money ran out quickly, and we had no idea where we were in the queue. Once the second round of funding was approved, we didn’t hear a word until the loan

documents showed up in my email this week.” MacMullen: “We have applied and been approved for the PPL [Payroll Protection Loan] but haven’t received the funds yet. I have received the EIDL [Economic Injury Disaster Loan] money, which came out to $1,000 per employee. I believe the key to getting these loans was to apply early and have a bank willing to aggressively pursue the SBA [Small Business Administration] to secure the funds.” To learn more about how other shops across the country are faring, or find more information on the survey, check out the following articles: “Most Shops Weathering the Storm―So Far” https://www.autobodynews.com/index.php/industry-news/item/19788-most-shopsweathering-the-storm-so-far.html “Shop in UT Discusses Billing Insurance for Disinfectants, Finds Silver Lining in Uncertain Times” https://www.autobodynews. com/index.php/victoria-antonelli/ item/19975-shop-in-ut-discussesbilling-insurance-for-disinfectantsfinds-silver-lining-in-uncertaintimes.html

d T S the roa R A P n I N E back o U G E N t them

e a i og t t i f K d

lity Qua

Enterprise Implements Complete Clean Pledge Enterprise Holdings is reinforcing its commitment to maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness in the car rental industry. The company announced the implementation of its Complete Clean Pledge program across the Enterprise Rent-ACar, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands, as well as its comprehensive portfolio of transportation services. The pledge includes the company’s car rental operations, as well as its truck rental, vanpooling, corporate fleet management, retail car sales, carsharing

and vehicle-subscription services. It’s one step in enhancements the company is implementing across the organization to ensure its customers feel safe and confident as they move forward and look to travel again. “Employee and customer safety are our top priority,” said Chrissy Taylor, Enterprise Holdings president and CEO. “Today and every day, we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness in the industry.” Source: Enterprise Holdings

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10 Shops Share What They are Doing to Get Work in the Door by John Yoswick

What steps are shops around the country taking to get work in the door? Here is a quick run-down of 10 ideas from 10 shops. 1. William’s Collision in Eloise, FL, has picked up some revenue by adding spray-in truck bedliners to its list of offerings. 2. “We are offering free pick-up and delivery, mobile estimates, photo estimates through Podium, and utilizing CCC Engage for free,” said Zach DeGroot of Riverbend Body Shop in Grand Rapids, MI. (CCC Information Services is making its CCC Engage photo estimating and CCC Mobile available to its customers at no cost through July.) “We’re also advertising special promotions for first responders and front line workers, like free car washes, vehicle disinfecting services and discounts on deductibles.” 3. A 30-second ad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EenStgoq_YY) posted by Arrowhead Autobody in

Duluth, MN, points to the mobile estimating and pick-up and delivery services the shop is offering customers, along with the added precautions it is taking to sanitize its office, loaner cars and customer vehicles. 4. “We are reaching out to all insurance companies to let them know we are open, and calling friends who are in car clubs to see if they need any clean-up work on collector cars,” said Joe Krebs of K&H Automotive Collision Center in Hamilton, NJ. 5. “We have upgraded our website and we are on Facebook every day,” said Sherry Card, owner of Collision Connection at Brookside in Tulsa, OK. 6. Randy Stabler of Pride Auto Body in Van Nuys, CA, said his company is contacting all past customers to offer discounted pricing on repair of minor damage. 7. Christy Jones of R Jones Collision 1 in Des Moines, IA, said promoting detailing services “has worked to fill in some gaps in our

production.” 8. Sherry Martin, office manager at Pro Collision Center in Orange, VA, said the shop has brought in some complete paint jobs that it normally wouldn’t do. 9. Rosann Kramer of Runway Auto in South Burlington, VT, said she is starting a quarterly email campaign and a YouTube channel for short videos “so people can see who we are as a business.” “We donate a vehicle every year through ‘Recycled Rides,’ and we haven’t used those donations in our marketing in the past, but this year I will be promoting our charitable endeavors,” Kramer said. 10. Many are finding ways to support other businesses in their community, like a “pay-it-forward” campaign started by Ernie’s Auto Body in Hayward, WI. “With any collision repair over $1,000, the customer gets to choose a $30 gift certificate from several local restaurants doing take-out,” shop owner John Magowan said.

Scholarship Recipients Announced by WIN There are 11 new recipients of the 2020 Women’s Industry Network (WIN) College Student Tuition and Conference Scholarship Award. The scholarhips are presented annually to deserving students enrolled in a post-secondary collision repair technology programs. Each recipient receives a $1,000 scholarship to continue their post-secondary education in collision repair and complimentary registration to attend the 2021 WIN Educational Conference. This year’s winners are Melissa Acosta, Tampa, FL; Taylor Berglund, Beaverton, OR; Jamie Frey, Windsor, CO; Errin Gill, Mount Dora, FL; Katheryn Hasty, Topeka, KS; Brooke Kline, Winona, MN; Breanna Ramirez, Katy, TX; Lilian Reed, Kimberly, ID; Kristina Tedesco, Ridgebury, PA; Nichole Turner, Grand Island, FL; and Elyssa Wilson, Liscomb, NS, Canada. Source: WIN

26 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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with Stacey Phillips

From the Desk of Mike Anderson with Mike Anderson

Mike Anderson is the president and owner of Collision Advice, a consulting company for the auto body/collision repair industry. For nearly 25 years, he was the owner of Wagonwork Collision Center, an OEM-certified, full-service auto body repair facility in Alexandria, VA.

Not Busy? If You’re Leading the Business, You Sure Should Be When work slows down, shop owners need to get busy. Now isn’t the time to think there’s nothing you can do to respond to the current situation. Here are some positive steps you should consider taking. Close out those repair orders (ROs.) I’ve been preaching for years that ROs should be ready to close the day the car leaves, but I know that often doesn’t happen. Now is the time, however, to get any outstanding ROs closed and billed, and then recommit yourself to not getting behind on supplements and paperwork. Don’t put off knowing your options. Now may be a good time to get your bank or landlord on the phone and find out what your options are if you’re struggling to make a full payment. They might be willing to let you skip some or all of a month or two and tack that money on later, over time. Have those conversations before you

really need them, so you’re prepared. Manage your credit. Hopefully you have a good credit line established before now with a bank that’s a good partner for your business. But if not, start those conversations. Follow up. I mentioned this in a previous column about improving your “capture rate.” When a DRP assignment comes in, start contacting that potential customer immediately through multiple means. Go back through estimates you’ve written in the past six months to follow up with customers who didn’t schedule in the work. These are things that are easy to let slide a little when you’re busy, but now is a time to make them a priority. Get them committed. Consider asking a customer scheduling a repair for a small deposit to help ensure they don’t back out. Tell them parts can sometimes be a little harder to come by quickly, but for, say, a 10%

deposit, you can start the parts order immediately to help ensure they are there when the car arrives. Chase your money. If you have parts to return, that’s like money gathering dust on your shelves. And get after your receivables; that’s actual money of yours sitting out there. Look at your expenses line-byline. There are “must-have” expenses and there are “nice-to-have” expenses. Your estimating software subscription and business insurance are “musthaves.” But office cleaning services or landscaping services may be “nice-tohaves” but things you could be doing in-house. Don’t stop marketing. One expense I would not cut out is marketing. Now more than ever, your name has to be out there, top of people’s minds when they need you. Reduce staff only as a last resort. I’m not a fan of furloughing

or laying off staff unless you have little choice. There are some shops that may have gotten “a little fat” before this in terms of office stuff. But in any case, if you have to do it, make your choice judiciously. Consider who are the people you could always count on to be willing to stay late or come in during a weekend to help a customer or get a car out. Hang on to the people who are really going to help you and your business. If you must cut hours, do it fairly. If you’re trying to reduce the economic hit by spreading a reduction in work time for all of your hourly employees, try to find ways to do it equitably. I had one shop tell me they needed to temporarily have each of the company’s five office staff take one day off a week. Each week, they drew names out of a hat to determine, for the next week, who was staying at See Not Busy?, Page 50

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HONDA CONNECTICUT

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Lia Honda of Enfield Enfield

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Please contact these dealers for your Honda or Acura Genuine parts needs. NEW JERSEY

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autobodynews.com / JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS 29

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with Chasidy Rae Sisk

National News with Chasidy Rae Sisk

Chasidy Rae Sisk is a freelance technical writer from Wilmington, Delaware, who writes on a variety of fields and subjects, and grew up in a family of NASCAR fans. She can be contacted at crsisk@gmail.com.

Riding the Emotional Roller Coaster of COVID-19 as a Shop Owner Business ownership always has its shot off the chart, and my 10-year- on to your passion. We’re going to ups and downs, but the current eco- old hands dented the handlebars be- get back to all the things we enjoy; nomic climate has added loops and fore I finally relaxed towards the end we just have to be patient.” twists leaving many folks feeling of the ride. Taylor identified human behavwith Victoria Antonelli nauseated. ior as one thing that always “It was quite the journey, Dan Taylor, of Transformers In- and this situation has been remains the same. He disstitute, addressed “Riding the Emo- very similar to that.” cussed passive social herd tional Roller Coaster as an Owner,” “Society has been dramentality, meaning people tend to move in a herd, even during a recent installment of a col- matically impacted, but we when they do not necessarlaborative series of technical and are going to come out of ily endorse the behavior or management classes focused on nec- this,” he continued. “How Dan Taylor of believe it’s the right direcessary topics for navigating business can you ride this roller coastwith Gary Ledoux operations during the COVID-19 er both rationally and emo- Transformers Institute tion. Behavior is emotionaladdressed “Riding pandemic. tionally? Our brains work the Emotional Roller ly driven, Taylor explained. “Humans do things over The series is hosted by the Car- emotionally and rationally at Coaster as an Owner” and over again because we’re quest Technical Institute and World- the same time, and it doesn’t during a recent behoove us to stay in one area webinar, sponsored wired a certain way.” pac Training Institute (CTI+WTI.) Maslow’s Hierarchy is a “It has been an unbelievable six and not work with them both by CTI+WTI. Credit: All captured via psychological theory, in pyrweeks—we’ve never seen anything interlocked, because that’s screenshot amid form, identifying the like this,” Taylorwith began,Gary recalling his where we find the most harLedoux five basic needs of humans, which first roller coaster ride when he was mony and peace. “Remember that all roller coast- build upon the previous need. 10 years old. “As we started the as- cent, I was pretty relaxed, but as we er rides end, allowing you to return After physiological and safeproceeded down, my anxiety level home again. In the meantime, hang ty needs are met, the middle of the

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pyramid indicates the psychological need for belonging and love. “As shop owners, we have a huge impact on employees in all three bottom categories. People need people,” Taylor stressed. “We are social and need to be connected with each other. We don’t like change, we like things to stay normal, and we want to remain in our comfort zones. We can’t operate effectively over long periods of time in fear because the fatigue factor will force change.” During the Great Recession, Taylor said, employers with five or fewer employees experienced a 30% failure rate, while companies with 10 or fewer employees had a 20% failure rate; for organizations that were less than five years old, that rate doubled. America is heading into a recession now, due to COVID-19’s impact on the economy, and noting 54% of small businesses have either

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closed or will close within the next two weeks, Taylor predicted 24% of small businesses will close permanently if there are no changes in the next seven weeks. “We learn things when we look in the rearview mirror,” Taylor said. “Every recession or depression is followed by an economic improvement. After each macroeconomic trough, there will be a peak—it will rise again. This is a normal, anticipated cycle. We all have to exhale at some point.” There have been 22 million new unemployment claims since this crisis began, Taylor said. “The labor pool change will be advantageous to employers,” he said. “We’ve been experiencing a tech shortage so many shops hire who is available, but with more candidates available, attitudes will improve and shops will be able to be more selective about who is the right fit for their business.” Macroeconomics is concerned with large scale factors, while microeconomics focuses on the impact of individual decisions and factors. Macroeconomic impacts will be

seen in a decrease of new car sales, since consumer confidence will be shaken, Taylor said. “Dealers will employ creative tactics to survive, including aggressive service offers,” he said. “There will be work force reductions and both temporary and permanent closures. There will be failures in the marketplace; some of our peers and competitors will fail in the next weeks and months, unfortunately.” On the microeconomic scale, according to a recent survey by the Washington Examiner, 49% of employees live paycheck to paycheck, and 31% of Americans missed their April rent payment. The survey indicated it will take this segment of the economy considerably longer to recover, compared to other segments. Throughout all these catastrophic changes, it’s important to search for the positive. “There will be a void in the market for our services. Car sales, public transportation and Uber are all on the decline, which means the use of personal vehicles will rise, and that’s where we shine,” Taylor noted. “There are great opportuni-

ties for you to pick up clientele and expand your business. Failures will allow us to adjust labor rates, compensation levels, margin expectations and profit levels. You deserve to make healthy returns on your investment; I want you to make money.” Taylor emphasized the importance of being proactive and focusing on things that can be controlled. “Pour energy and focus into the future. Determine what steps you can take now to position yourself for future success,” he said. “Self-talk is the bulk of conversations you have, and you need to be positive. Spend time with positive people, and limit your exposure to the news. “Find something to look forward to—pick a date for when you plan to move forward, knowing that it will need to be flexible based on what happens with this pandemic, and focus on what you can do now to get ready for when the economy starts to reopen.” Taylor discussed the importance of emotional intelligence (EQ), which has been identified as the single factor distinguishing star performers in every field. He examined the various

soft skills that fall in this category, and explained how the five core emotions (happy, sad, angry, afraid, guilty) impact people on a regular basis, but particularly in the current environment. Taylor shared 11 tips for managing anxiety: create/maintain a schedule, limit time-consuming media and choose what media is consumed. “It’s important to get different perspectives so you obtain as much information as possible and keep emotions in check. There’s a lot of false information out there, so look for the truth,” he pointed out. Exercise and labeling emotions can also help people manage anxiety. Balance emotions with logic, maintain social support and focus on the things that can be controlled. Externalize anxiety, and schedule time to worry so it’s not overly consuming. If a thought becomes overwhelming, Taylor recommended trying to “argue the opposite. Ask yourself questions to try to rearrange your thoughts when you’re hyper-focused on something that’s enhancing your fears and anxiety.” See Emotional Roller Coaster, Page 49

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32 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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Hey Toby! with Toby Chess

Toby Chess is an I-CAR program instructor, Training specialist, and former salvage yard operator. Toby is universally known in the collision industry for his work with first responders and advocacy for body shops and consumers. He can be reached at tcspeedster@gmail.com

Kool Tools from SEMA 2019 your compressed shop air into an endless supply of both regulated & high pressure nitrogen. PLUS you can also fill your customer’s tires with beneficial nitrogen and/or safeguard the internals of your pneumatic tools by powering them with nitrogen from the EZ Nitro Generator! The next item we found was stand-alone measuring system, from Accuvison 3D.

It is that time of the year again for was from Reliable Automotive EquipKool Tools of SEMA (6th edition). ment. Kye Yeung, Amber Alley and I walked the floor of SEMA (2019) to find more Kool Tools. As in the past, we found some interesting and unique tools that can save your and your shop with time and money. The David first itemMcClune we found was from Time Shaver.

California Autobody Association Fig. 3 - www.raeservice.com

The MEC600 pneumatic milling cutter tool has been designed to open welding seams for easy removal of the outer panels. The adjustable guide of the cutter allows the MEC600 to be easily adjusted to different anguFig. 1 - www.TimeShaverTools.com with John Yoswick lar positions of the metal sheets and They have a fantastic set of sand- no damages by preventing the cutter ing blocks. You cut up 4 sheets of from slipping off the edge. You can sand paper from 9”x 11” and attach all vary the depth of cut so that it does 4 sheets. As the top sheet becomes not damage parts under the part that worn, all you have to do is tear it is being cut. There are no spark and off and a fresh sheet is available. can move around tight spaces such as All metal parts are constructed from the tail lamp pocket. I would highly stainless steel, which will not rust. recommend that you go the RAE web They are contoured to fit your hand site and watch the demo. The forth and they come in 4 colors to fit dif- item we found (Kye purchased this Steffen ferent grit sandwith paper.Richard Finally, the tool) was from Glasbot Quarter Masspring locking device cuts end waste ter. by nearly 40%. The next product is from Evercoat.

Year in Quotes

Fig. 5 - www.dentfix.com

gen plastic welders sit a corner collecting dust. One of the biggest reasons is that there is no Nitrogen gas available. Well, the problem of getting a full tank of gas has been solved by Dentfix. Upgrade most brands of Plastic Welder with the DF-EZG1 EZ Nitro Generator and “Ditch the Bottle”, Never Run out of Nitrogen AGAIN! Dent Fix’s revolutionary Dual Chamber Separating System transforms

Fig. 6 - www.accuvision-3d.com

The system easily measures upper and lower body as well as openings

inventory of high quality OEM Collision Repair Association of Comprehensive CA.

Transition Planning with John Yoswick Fig. 2 - www.evercoat.com

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Optex Super Build 4:1 Primer Glassbot® QuarterMaster Anchor highlights dents, low spots, scratches, one end of cutting element to body of and other surface imperfections while QuarterMaster, insert the other end of at the same time eliminating the need the cutting element into the throughfor messy carbon black powdered bore in shaft. Attach Tip Extension to guide coats. This 4:1 primer sprays shaft and rotate the shaft to remove the on pink and turnswith gray asKaryn it is sanded, window. You can even save the plastic Hendricks revealing high spots while low spots locating pins that always break when and scratches remain pink. It does take using other removal tools. Next up is a a little longer to dry than conventional Nitrogen generator from Dent Fix. primer (It was tested by Kye’s per- As I go into a number of shops on sonnel). The next product we found a daily basis, I notice that their Nitro-

Shop Showcase

34 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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INSIST ON GM GENUINE PARTS ONLY ORIGINAL PARTS PROTECT THE VEHICLE’S VALUE. Call Callll Any Ca Any ny of of These Thes Thes Th esse e Wholesale Wh W hol oles esal ale Parts Pa P arrtts Dealers De D ea alle errs Below Belo Be Belo low Maryland

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Criswell Chevrolet

Mastria Buick Cadillac GMC

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888-572-1045

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Ourisman Chevrolet of Rockville ROCKVILLE

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Barlow Chevrolet DELRAN

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M-F 7 - 6; Sat 8 - 4 pseay@barlowautogroup.com

FLORHAM PARK

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Open Road Chevrolet

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UNION

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M-F 8 - 5; Sat 8 - 4 david.connell@openroad.com

Ott Miller Chevrolet

201-579-6506 Fax

New York

Boch Chevrolet

Flemington Buick GMC Cadillac

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877- 657-2787

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781-762-9210 800-991-1009 Fax

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Long Cadillac SOUTHBOROUGH

508-820-9322 800-982-2258 508-879-1212 Fax

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FLEMINGTON

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Malouf Buick GMC NORTH BRUNSWICK

800-669-6256 732-821-5410 732-821-7549 Fax

M-F 8 - 4:30; Sat 8 - 1 aaiello@malouf.com

Marty’s Buick GMC

Malouf Chevrolet Cadillac

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M-F 7:30 - 5:30; Sat 8 - 4 brucem@martysbuickgmc.com

NORTH BRUNSWICK

732-821-1517 Fax

M-F 7:30 - 5 kdiperi@malouf.com

West Herr Chevrolet ORCHARD PARK

M-F 7:30 - 5; Sat 8 - 4 sgraham@westherr.com

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Bay Ridge Chevrolet

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718-232-4488

717-597-2131

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347-218-9771

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717-597-6932 Fax

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such as door, window, trunk, etc. No additional accessories or adaptors are required to assemble for Upper-body measurements. Simply point and measure with the hand held pointer in 3D. No inconvenient rulers/gauges or tape measures. The system consists of only 2 units: Pointer and Measuring beam (stereo camera). There are no complicated mechanical assemblies, no gauges, no adaptors, no sensors, no magnets etc. You don’t need to spend precious time for installation and calibration of the system. Cameras track the position of the pointer and immediately indicate exact coordinates of the measured point and its deviation from the database. Camera and stand can be moved easily as needed to measure for an estimate or repair. Just tilt on its back wheels and move the system to where you need it. The database includes schematic and pictorial information about control points for upper and lower body of any vehicle found in the Mitchell database. Once you measure, results can be displayed in red (out of spec) or green (within spec) points with direction and magnitude of pull for correction. A table of XYZ axis on the

side of screen shows the variances in mm against the database. The results can be saved in PDF format, emailed or printed. Moving on, the next item was an adjustable wrench from Irega.

Fig. 7 - www.angloamericantools.com

This wrench is made in Europe and works like no American made adjustable wrench. A Reversible Jaw with Xtra Capacity allows working with bigger diameter nuts and pipes with the same adjustable wrench.

Remove the adjustable arm and reverse it and now you have a pipe wrench. I tried it on a 1 inch pipe first tightening the fitting with two pipe wrenches and loosening the fitting with one pipe wrench and this tool. The wrench has two scales— metric on one side and inches on the other and there is no “slop” with this tool when compared the rest of the adjustable wrenches on the market. I have been using the wrench as a go to tool first in my home shop. Next up, a one product cutting and polishing product from CSI Ceram-X.

beaten track at SEMA. I watched the demo and it was interesting, but I had reservations about it. First, you only need on product for cutting and polishing (Traditional method, 3 products, 3000 grit sand paper and three pads). Right!!! The owner sanded a black hood with 600 grit sand paper (owner recommends 1500 grit paper) and was able to remove the sand scratches with the wool pad. He followed up with the same product and a foam pad. When it was done, I was amazed that there were no swirl marks and the shine was

Fig. 9 - www.csishine.com

Fig. 8

Kye turned me on to this product while we were walking the show. The company had a booth way off the

Fig. 10 - www.beteginnovation.com

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fanta shop mys end time our an al repa teria repa usin adva very pans and pairs tool of th teria own adju and tion To g men ing c SEM putty cond

fantastic. I followed up with him at a shop in Southern California and tried it myself and it works as advertised. The end result is 40 percent reduction in time and materials. Going forward on our quest for new products, we found an aluminum hot box from Beteg. It has always been a challenge to repair aluminum panels due to its material characteristics using any type of repair method. The Alu T-Hotbox is using the material characteristics to its advantage and makes the reparability very simple. The extreme thermal expansion characteristics of the material and activating it locally makes the repairs fast and easy. In the first stage the tool measures the resonance frequency of the tool in resonance with the material. Every aluminum panel has its own and different frequency. Than it adjusts itself to the optimal frequency and activates the material. This activation allows the material to realign itself. To get the most out this piece of equipment, I highly recommend their training course. My next product found at SEMA is Hot Box from Solderweld. As a non-toxic, heat absorbing putty, Hot Block will block direct and conductive heat transfers of all types

of surfaces and metals. Stops all transfer of heat down from 3000 degrees and one half inch from heat source. It

is perfect for stopping warping when welding on flat panels and body work. Best of all, it is 100 percent reusable. I used this on a sail section of a quarter panel and there was not warpage when I was finished welding. Moving on to the next Kool Tools was from Vampire Tool Company.

all have. What do you do? Vampire tool has the answer. There first tool is a Philips screw extractor kit. The number one bit will extract most damaged screws, but if it does not work, then the number two bit will most likely work.

Fig. 13

Fig. 12 - www.vampiretools.com

Fig. 11 - www.Solderweld.us

Have you ever had a Philips screw strip out when trying to remove it? We

The extraction/linemen’s pliers have a unique set of grooves on the jaws that allow you to grab virtually any type of screw head (won’t work on counter sunk screws) for easy removal. I bought of them and they really work. Going forward, Kye found an add on to the DJS Fabrication’s car dolly. DJS Fabrication added a “link adapter” to car dolly system. The link adapter adds stability to their system, which in turn allows for easier movement of the disabled vehicle. The next two items were found by Amber.

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YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANCE AT THE FIRST REPAIR.

Orig

Connecticut

New

BMW of Watertown

Watertown 844-895-6839 860-274-5471 860-274-0617 Fax M-F 7:30am-5:30pm Sat 7:30am-4pm John.musco@hoffmanauto.com

BMW of Darien

Darien 203-328-1325 203-978-0043 Fax M-F 8am-5pm wholesale@bmwdarien.com

Maryland

BMW of Catonsville

Catonsville 855-996-2906 410-818-2600 Fax M-F 8am-5pm www.bmwofcatonsville.com

BMW of Silver Spring Silver Spring

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Massachusetts BMW of Sudbury Sudbury 800-338-3198 508-881-7578 Fax M-F 7am-5pm

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BMW of Flemington Flemington (877) 657-2787 (908) 782-1795 Fax M-F 7:30am to 6pm Sat 8am to 2pm www.njparts.com

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Northeast_Issue_0620.indd 38

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Kee

Lath 877 518 518 M-F Sat bmw www

ive.com

Original BMW Parts & Accessories. New York

BMW of Bayside

Bayside 516-304-3733 516-570-4268 Fax M-Sat 8am-5pm bmwparts@bmwbayside.com www.bmwbayside.com

BMW of South Albany Glenmont 518-465-1724 518-463-2422 Fax M-Th 7:30am-5:30pm Fri 7:30am-5pm Sat 8am-4pm

bmwparts@bmwofsouthalbany.com

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Pennsylvania Apple BMW

York 717-849-6597 717-843-2948 Fax M-F 7am-5pm Sat 8am-4pm applebmwparts@appleauto1.com www.applebmwofyork.com

Rhode Island

BMW of Newport

Middletown 401-847-9600 401-841-0680 Fax M-F 7:30am-5:30pm gromani@metromotorgroup.com wwwbmwofnewport.com

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Keeler BMW

Latham 877-553-3909 518-785-4197 518-785-4710 Fax M-F 7:30am-6pm Sat 8am-4pm bmwparts@keeler.com www.keelerbmw.com

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access to the far corners of your windshield or back window. Amber’s second pick was from SATA.

Fig. 14 - www.djsfabrication.com

The Stoner Invisible Glass Reach & Clean Tool makes it faster and easier to clean any glass surface. Imagine having an extra 14 inches of reach – that’s exactly what the Reach & Clean Tool gives you! The long handle and pivoting cleaning head gives you easy

Fig. 15 - www.amazon.com

Fig. 16 - www.sata.com

SATA has introduced the Ladies Pro-Series Women’s paint suit, the first paint suit tailor-made for women in the paint industry. This new paint suit was first showcased in the SATA booth at the 2019 SEMA Show. Next on my list is the crease killer from Keco Tabs. We featured the Keco Tab hot glue dent pulling system in Kool Tools of SEMA-2018 and they added a new

pulling device for creases. Wide PassThrough Adapters - create twice the

Schulenburg (SCRS Board member and Executive Director respectfully) added more items and placed the 1000 item list on the SCRS web site and it

Fig. 17 - www.kecotabs.com

Fig. 18 - www.SCRS.com

lifting power spread evenly across tabs. Adjustable Precision Crease Pull Plates - hold metal down while focusing lifting and reducing time spent on corrective blending and knockdown sessions. Dead Center 7mm Centipede Crease Tabs - targets smaller creases without sticking and over pulling the crown. I actually used this on an aluminum hood and repaired the crease with very little effort. Great add on tool from Keco. My last Kool Tools of SEMA 2019 is from the Society of Collision Repair Specialist (SCRS). Twenty years ago my friend, the late March Taylor, and I put together a 600 item list of non-included operations for the collision repair process. We shared with our friends and two gentlemen, Barry Dorn and Aaron

was free for anyone in the collision industry. SCRS and NuGen It collaborated last year to take the non-included list and have it open up on an estimate to show all these items on a pop up. It has the ability to be added to the estimate as separate line items. The program immediately identifies overlooked repair operations and dollar amounts. Finally, the tool received the SEMA New Product Award and 2020 SEMA Global Media Award. Pretty KOOL! Well that’s it for the Kool Tools SEMA 2019. Visit these companies’ web sites for videos on their products. You will find them informative and a better understanding how they work. The three of us are looking forward to walking the SEMA floor for more Kool Tools in 2020.

Glass Company Shifts Gears to Make ‘Sneeze Guards’ for Vehicles by Nathan Taylor, OrrilliaMatters.com

An Orillia, Ontario, Canada, company is doing its part to ensure the safety of those who are still on the road during the COVID-19 pandemic. Speedy Glass Orillia has been creating and installing partitions, or “sneeze guards,” for various vehicles. It started a couple of weeks ago, when nearby municipalities contacted the business to see if it would create the partitions for use in some passenger transportation vehicles. Then, word got out to security and waste collection companies as well as local auto dealerships, some of which have purchased the partitions for their shuttle vehicles. “People are staying home and we’re a little bit quieter than normal. We realized this was something we could do to keep us busy,” said Scott Stevens, owner/operator of Speedy Glass Orillia. “It’s good to help the community a little bit.” Those who are interested in purchasing the partitions or learning more about them can call

Speedy Glass Orillia at 705-3253500. The partitions come at a cost, but the company has agreed to donate $20 for each one installed to local food banks and shelters.

Choose Original MINI Parts. Speedy Glass Orillia has been creating and installing these partitions, or sneeze guards, to keep drivers and passengers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Supplied photo

“We know the food banks and shelters are having a hard time right now with more people out of work than usual. We hope this can help out a little bit,” Stevens said. “We’re just trying to keep ourselves busy and benefit organizations and individuals in this unprecedented time we’re in.” We thank OrrilliaMatters.com for reprint permission.

New York

Maryland

Keeler MINI

MINI of Montgomery County

Latham 877-553-3909 518-785-4197 Parts (518) 785-4710 Fax M-F 7:30-6; Sat 8-4 miniparts@keeler.com keelerMINI.com

Gaithersburg 240-238-1204 Parts (240) 238-1493 Fax M-F 7:30-6:30; Sat 8-5 minipartsmd@ miniofmontgomerycounty.com

40 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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Kia.com

Precise fit and finish, easy installation and a limited warranty direct from Kiaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; all genuine advantages of Genuine Kia Parts. Your local Kia retailer has all the parts you need.

Northstar Kia

Long Island City (718) 683-5300 (718) 489-9889 Fax M-F 7:30am-5pm; Sat 8am-2pm www.northstarkiany.com

Yonkers Kia

Yonkers 914-268-0279 (914) 652-7665 Fax 7:30am-8pm Mon-Thu 7:30am-7pm Fri; 8am-5pm Sat

From headlights to tail lights, bumpers to fenders and hoods, there is no substitute for genuine. The only way to assure that you are getting Genuine Kia parts, backed by the Kia Warranty, is to order them from your local Authorized Kia Dealer. Contact your local Kia dealer for assistance and delivery of the parts you need.

PENNSYLVANIA Brown Daub Kia

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MASSACHUSETTS

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South Attleboro 508-761-9300 (508) 761-0768 Fax 8am-8pm Mon, Wed; 8am-5pm Tue, Thu, Fri 8am-4pm Sat frank@courtesyma.com www.courtesyma.com

Ramsey 201-818-8995 (201) 783-8848 Fax 8am-5pm Mon-Sat parts@libertyhyundai.com

Kia of Attleboro

MARYLAND Bob Bell Kia

Baltimore 800-638-4967 (410) 285-1376 Fax 7am-7pm Mon-Fri 7am-5pm Sat smelson@bobbell.com

Liberty Kia

NEW YORK

Kia of Middletown

New Hampton 888-374-6575 (845) 374-4718 Fax 8am-5pm Mon-Fri 8am-3pm Sat

Easton 610-829-3020 (484) 546-0292 Fax

Kia of Coatesville

Coatesville 610-384-7700 (610) 384-2171 Fax 8am-5pm Mon-Fri 8am-12pm Sat Alan@kiaofcoatesville.com www.kiaofcoatesville.com

Outten Kia

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autobodynews.com / JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS 41

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with Stacey Phillips

Shop Strategies

Victoria Antonelli is a freelance writer and model, based in Los Angeles. She has been writing for the collision industry since 2013. She can be reached at vantonelli.autobodynews@gmail.com.

with Victoria Antonelli

Shop in UT Discusses Billing Insurance for Disinfectants, Finds Silver Lining in Uncertain Times Has the pandemic affected your Autobody News followed up with Sam Plumb, vice president of Alpi- productivity? How so? Have you been ne Auto Renovation, a single-loca- able to stay open? tion shop in Utah. Plumb with Edresponded Attanasio “We had four to five weeks of on the shop›s behalf to our survey, backlog when the quarantine started, «Analysis of the Body Shop,» and so we’re still working on scheduled volunteered to elaborate further on vehicles. Next week [as of May 5th] we’re fully booked—after that, we’re his responses. How would you describe your not sure what will happen as far as additional work and customer scheshop? Renovation has duling. Tow-ins have dropped off al “Alpine Auto with Gary Ledoux 13 employees and is located in Salt most completely. We’ve had three in Lake City, UT. We have one repair the last six weeks and normally it’s facility, and then a secondary facili- not uncommon to get four or five toty with overflow space—no repairs, wed in each week.” Have you had to layoff/furlough just additional indoor car storage. When we opened in 1977, we per- any employees? formed both restoration and collisi- with Stacey Phillips “Due to the backlog, and our loon repair work, specializing in Euro- yal customer base, we haven’t had to pean vehicles. Our focus has shifted furlough any employees and we’re more to collision repair, specifically not planning to.” BMW and Porsche makes and mo- Have you implemented any dels, as we are a certified for those changes at your shop, as far as cleanliness or other safety measures in two manufacturers.”

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light of the pandemic? “Our employees wear gloves and masks when in close proximity, and we disinfect the front office every time

OE Shop Certification

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Alpine Auto Renovation predominately repairs BMW and Porsche makes and models, as it is certified by those two manufacturers

someone arrives and leaves. When vehicles come in, we take a fresh rag with rubbing alcohol and go over the

From the Desk of Mike Anderson

seats, center console, steering wheel, gear shifter, trim panels, handles and any other flat surfaces—and we also apply protective covers to the interior of the cars. These covers are then removed, and the vehicle is disinfected again prior to delivery. «We document and bill insurance companies for disinfectant supplies used during repairs at intake and delivery. However, we would still take these precautions even if the insurance companies didn’t pay for it, because it’s in line with the CDC and state COVID-19 protocols. We explain to insurance companies that as an essential business, this protocol ensures the safety of our employees and customers. We cannot be expected to continue to repair cars without taking the necessary precautions, and insurance carriers should cover these charges. Many of our customers are older than 60 years of age, so

with Mike Anderson

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42 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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heel, and also erior n rected

nsutant ntaould f the for CDC We that ocol yees pechout and themers , so

it’s important to be safe, rather than sorry.” Have you taken on any other type of work such as restoration or custom work? “We have been more inclined to take on restoration projects, which we normally have a tough time scheduling in when our workload is consistently high. Some of the high-dollar collector vehicles can take months to fully restore, depending on the scope of the project. We have also taken on a few cars from a local race team to keep our guys busy. Now is a good time for shops to be networking and reaching out to dealers in their area to let them know they’re still working and would be happy to get their customers taken care of!» Have you applied for assistance under the CARES Act just passed by Congress? If so, what has the response been or lack thereof? “We were very proactive in pursuing the PPP [Payroll Protection Program]. The moment we heard about the PPP, we gathered all of the necessary info and filled out the application. We were able to get appro-

val within two weeks of submitting the completed application. «When and if repair work drops off, we’ll still have plenty of work to do and supplements to catch up on in the front office. We can›t just create work when so many fewer cars are being driven, but the financial wellbeing of our employees will not be affected. «This is a good time for shops to take a look at internal practices and operations, reevaluate them and go back to the drawing board. We don’t often have a lot of time to really look at what changes could be made and what could be added or subtracted. No matter how scary this is, we have to look for the silver lining. I hope most places are taking time to see what they can do to make their business better.” To learn more about how other shops across the country are faring, or find more information on the survey, check out «Most Shops Weathering the Storm—So Far.» https:// www.autobodynews.com/index. php/industry-news/item/19788most-shops-weathering-the-stormso-far.html

Good Sam Insurance Agency Underwriter to Give Refund and $3M Donation to COVID Relief Efforts Good Sam Insurance Agency underwriter National General Insurance announced a 15% credit on all applicable April premiums for auto, RV and motorcycle insurance policyholders, as well as a commitment from National General to donate $3M toward COVID-19 relief efforts. The credit will automatically apply to auto, RV and motorcycle insurance customers with an active policy through April 30, subject to state regulatory approvals. This credit is in addition to other substantial billing relief efforts currently in place in response to COVID-related hardships and may vary in different states. “We’re in this together, which is why we want to help our customers as much as possible and ease some of the financial hardship they

may be experiencing,” said Ben Harrison, vice president of business development for National General Insurance. “Through our relationship with The Good Sam Insurance Agency, helping our customers get outside has always been at the core of our business. “In times like these, it’s difficult to not be able to experience the outdoors fully, but as soon as it’s safe to explore again, National General and Good Sam Insurance will be here.” National General has also committed $3M toward various COVID-19 relief efforts. These efforts include, but are not limited to, donations to select charitable organizations that support communities in which our employees and policyholders live and work. Source: Good Sam Insurance Agency

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OE Certifications Update 2020—Part 2 of 2 by Gary Ledoux

In last month’s edition of Autobody News, we began looking at OE shop certification programs, with three shops participating in several different programs for some time, and two consultants involved with many certified shops, fully familiar with the concept and with a broad view of the industry. We continue that conversation here. Do you think the OEMs need to do a better job helping certified shops promote themselves as such, and drive more customers of that brand to the certified shops? Chad Eldridge of Majestic Auto Body in Idaho said the OEs should do a better job of promoting their certified shops, especially when the shop first becomes certified, to help get them started. Terry Mostul of Artistic Auto Body in Oregon noted, “All the programs have a shop locator, which is fine—but there’s more that they could do.” “There are two things OEs should do,” said Mark Olson of Vehicle Collision Experts. “The first is receiving the first notice of loss. This way, they could give the customer a choice of OE certified shops, so the job gets done right and the brand is protected. “The second thing is to restrict certain repair parts to only certified shops. This will add validity to those shops and again, ensure a proper repair.” “From a shop’s perspective, especially in a DRP world, they pay to be on a certification program, or invest and qualify, the expectation is to get work driven to the shop’s door,” said Ron Kuehn of Collision Business Solutions. “I truly believe the OEs will eventually be able to help get the vehicles to the network. “However, the network needs to be properly trained, equipped, and have a culture to actually repair vehicles to the required OE standards. The OEs have to be able to monitor the network to make sure that the certified shops are actually doing what they’ve been entrusted to do,” Kuehn continued. “In my opinion, promoting the OE certified network will happen. The primary focus for both

the OEs and the shops [should be] to get the vehicles repaired safely and properly for the vehicle owners and their families.” If you could get all the OE certification program managers in a room at the same time, what would you tell them, or what would you ask for? Eldridge favors online training for body shop technicians. “In-person training is fine for managers or shop owners,” he said. “But to send a tech to school is very expensive when you figure not only travel cost but productivity loss. Online training is the way to go for techs.” “We need better communication between the shops and the OE,” Mostul said. “Honda does a good job with this because they have their own field people.” “I would ask where will they go next?” said Josh Fuller of Fuller Auto Body in Massachusetts. “How can we focus our efforts?” Both Olson and Kuehn agreed OE dealers need to be better informed on the technology of ADAS systems, and the concept and focus of OE certification programs and how they affect the OE brand. “I would ask them to educate their dealers, including service managers and technicians, on ADAS repair and what it takes to do it right,” Olson said. “We constantly hear of body shops subletting ADAS work to a dealership who either has no idea what they are talking about, or tells the body shop the recalibration procedures, or other post-repair safety procedures are not necessary.” “If I could tell them one thing, it would be to aggregate their information, including OE site usage, scanning info, parts usage, training participation, etc.,” Kuehn said. “I would ask for an expanded and stronger communication to the industry in regard to a focus on safe and proper repairs. The industry culture today recognizes the importance of structural repairs. It has been developed over decades. Today, electronics on vehicles is the ’structural’ of the future.” What do you think is the future of OE certification programs? “The programs will continue to evolve,” Mostul said. “Advancing technology will dictate that shops

work on a limited number of vehicle makes.” “OE certification is going to grow, and specialization of certain makes will become necessary,” Kuehn agreed. “The days of a shop capably repairing all makes and models are over.” “In the future, the OE will control the market, but shops will choose between being either an OE certified shop or a DRP shop,” Eldridge said. Fuller felt OE programs will continue to evolve, but there will continue to be a place for both DRP and OE certified shops. “Both OE certification programs and DRP programs will still be around, but the shrewd shops will choose them strategically,” Olson said. “The smart choice would be a mix of DRP arrangements and OE certifications.” “There is no doubt that OE certifications are necessary,” Kuehn said. “The connected vehicles of today and in the future have capabilities of first notice of loss/damage, which will help the vehicles end up in capable hands [OE certified shops] for repairs.” Ron Kuehn summed things up.

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“A percentage of shops go above and beyond to learn the technology of their vehicles and become the best independent representative of their brand,” Kuehn said. “As for the others, I believe most shops are not intentionally repairing vehicles improperly. However, many do not know what they don’t know and improper repairs still result.” While OE certifications have come a long way, it will take just as much if not more political and cultural effort on the part of the OEs to bring certifications to the next level. Likewise, shops will need to adopt a culture of proper repair and aggressive promotion to get to their next level. As technology advances, so too must the OEs and shops.

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44 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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autobodynews.com / JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS 45

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SEMA Show Goes On with Ed Attanasio

Media and Publicity for Shops

Ed Attanasio is an automotive journalist based in San Francisco, California. He can be reached at era39@aol.com.

with Ed Attanasio

Body Shop Owner Triples Advertising Budget During Pandemic Bob Juniper, owner of Three-C Body DRPs, Juniper focuses on consumer Shop, Inc. in Columbus, OH, has al- advertising, primarily via radio ads and ways been a strong believer in marke- billboards. with Stacey Phillips In a crowded market with one ting and advertising. While many shops all over the body shop per every 7,000 peopcountry are abandoning much of its le, Juniper takes the high road and marketing during these uncertain won’t ever take the easy way to protimes, Juniper is tripling his bud- fit, he said. “There are some shops get from 5% to a full 15%. Stacey Phillips here who advertise the fact That’s right—hewith is spending that they will pay people›s an unprecedented amount of deductibles, which is bad for money on advertising even all of us. Every dollar we put with an uncertain immediate into our marketing adds vafuture for his shop and his lue to our business at least crew. equal to that, so it’s one of History often repeats itwith StaceyBob Phillips Juniper, the self and Juniper knows this owner of Three-C the smart investments we can all too well. In 2008 when Body Shop, Inc. in take.” Columbus, OH, is Juniper has captured more the economy imploded, most tripling his advertisshops scaled down marketing ing and marketing than 70% of the market when and advertising, but not Juni- during the pandemic it came to outdoor advertising in Columbus. per. He saw the opportunity and seized it, andwith when Stacey everythingPhillips re- “I own 95 billboard locations turned back to normal approximately here in town, so if you drive more 18 months later, he had captured more than five minutes in every direction, you will see us,” he said. “They aren’t of the market in Columbus. When the pandemic hit in March, all in ideal locations, but by buying in Juniper called his advertising vendors volume, the average price is low. We and told them it was go-time. The rotate 10 different themes and focus on educational topics like antiprices were rightwith and the market was Victoria Antonelli steering, safety, anti-texting and we also promote our community efforts, our car certifications and our app. “We have used literally a hundred different meswith Ed Attanasio sages over the years and In addition to an aggressive radio ad campaign, Juniper we’ve become well-known owns the lion’s share of every billboard location available from our billboards. People in town come up to me all the time wide open, so Juniper starting nego- and mention our most recent billtiating a series of unprecedented long- board.” In addition to being a master marterm deals. with Gary Ledoux “No one else is advertising, espe- keteer, Juniper is also an inventor. In cially body shops,” he said. “It feels 2012, he created the Pink Button aclike I’m stealing, because they are cident-help app with Leo Daugherty discounting everything. When all of III, the owner of Rampart Hosting, this is over, I will still have these ama- Inc. Currently, he has 1,500 people zing rates. I am saving an enormous using it and it brings him four to five cars every week. amount of money.” witharea—home Stacey Phillips The formula Juniper uses to de The Columbus of The Ohio State University—is highly termine how much money he should competitive, with more than 130 body spend on marketing and advertising shops all vying for the top spot. Since during non-pandemic times is fairly he has chosen not to work with any simple, he said.

Shop Strategies

“I have figured out over the years how much I save by not giving the insurance companies discounts through DRPs, and I use those funds on marketing. In addition, I retain full

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Some of Juniper’s billboard messages include anti-steering like the one here

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dy three-week backlog all the time, so who needs DRPs?” Radio advertising has also been extremely effective for Juniper and Three-C Body Shop, he said. “Thirty years ago, we did our first radio campaign and since then, we’ve produced more than 400 radio spots. We realized that television ad-

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vertising doesn’t work well anymore for us because people now tape their shows and skip the commercials.” Juniper isn’t afraid to use his image in many of his billboard ads, and he also does all the voiceovers for his radio spots. They also have a catchy jingle that is well-known, he said. “In fact, customers sing it to me all the time.” Back when she was 8 years old, Juniper’s daughter, Jade, got her 15 minutes of fame as a local radio spokesperson. “We put her on the air and she was fantastic,” he said. “Listeners like the fact that we are a family business and these commercials reinforce it. Jade picked up all of the lingo quickly and now she is 19 and she still does an ad for us whenever she can. She is now in her third year of college and looking at a major in business.”

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46 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

with Mike Anderson Northeast_Issue_0620.indd 46

5/19/2020 8:18:32 PM

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autobodynews.com / JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS 47

Northeast_Issue_0620.indd 47

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with Erica Schroeder

Industry Insight with John Yoswick

—John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon who has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com). Contact him by email at jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.

Finding Some Hopeful Bits of Good News Amid the Pandemic Fallout

Shop Showcase

It was a bleak spring for many shops, improvement from a month earlier, but there have been some glimmers when it bottomed out at just 53% of of hope for a better ahead. “normal,” according to the traffic anawithsummer Ed Attanasio Here are some potential bits of good lyst firm INRIX. Traffic was up in all 50 states; news for collision repairers. States are opening back up. Rhode Island saw the smallest inEighteen states began reopening their crease (less than 1%), but seven states economies and public life in early (Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, May, and about another half dozen do- Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Coling so in mid-May leaves than orado) all saw week-over-week inwith Edfewer Attanasio half of states still shut down or severe- creases of 10% or more April 18-24. Personal vehicle traffic also was ly restricted. Life and business won’t completely be returning to “normal” up that week in all 98 of the metroanywhere for a bit, but with business- politan areas INRIX is tracking. The es reopening and more people getting metro areas with the largest weekout and about, the need for collision over-week improvements April 1824 were Omaha, NE (up 12%), Denrepair work should beginEd to Attanasio rebound. with Traffic levels are growing since ver, CO, and Des Moines, IA (each bottoming out in early April. Passen- up 11%), Colorado Springs, CO (up ger vehicle traffic nationwide ticked 10%), and Minneapolis, MN (up 9%.) Many insurers are paying for up slightly April 18-24, the third week-over-week rise in a row. Though COVID-19 cleaning. Added efforts it remained just 59% of Ed whatAttanasio it was in to clean vehicles as they come in for with February, it was more than an 11% repairs, and before they are returned

Social Media for Shops

SEMA Show Goes On

to customers, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission has become a routine “repair operation” for most shops, and it’s a procedure more and more shops are now successfully billing for as a line item. A survey of more than 650 shops found almost 3 out of 4 (73%) shops are performing and charging for the added vehicle cleaning process. “Most insurance companies have sent out a very nice ‘stay healthy’ bulletin authorizing a charge for disinfecting customers’ vehicles on arrival and before return to the customer,” a shop manager in an Idaho suburb said. Nationwide Insurance sent a memo to its direct repair shops at the end of March, saying it would pay for one labor hour and $25 in materials for “sanitizing the vehicle when it arrives and prior to delivery to the customer.” No additional documentation would be necessary unless charges

Media and Publicity for Shops

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exceed this amount, Nationwide told its direct repair shops. CARSTAR’s corporate staff told its franchise shops in mid-April that State Farm had agreed to pay its direct repair shops a similar amount for added vehicle cleaning. USAA on April 10 also said it would pay a “sanitize vehicle” estimate line item, but the amount it said it would pay—one-half of a labor hour and $15 in materials—was about half of what State Farm and Nationwide had agreed to pay shops. Shops’ fears about business survival seem to be easing. One industry survey in early April found that almost 1 in 4 (23%) said they were very (or extremely) concerned about still being in business even just 30 days in the future, but by the second half of April that level of concern was expressed by just 14% of shops. The percentage of shops that were

Belknap Subaru Tilton (800) 358-4029 (603) 729-1300 (603) 729-1301 Fax

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with Victoria Antonelli

48 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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not very (or not at all) concerned about their businesses surviving the next 30 days increased from 52% in early April to 63% by the end of the month. “We are strong financially due to 20 years of conservative practices and paying off debt,” the owner of a shop in Lubbock, TX, said, for example. Government financial assistance may well have played a role in easing some shops’ short-term concerns. Surveys indicate about 70% of shops that said they had applied for the Small Business Administration’s pandemic assistance have already received the funds. “The Paycheck Protection Program loan will make it possible to survive,” the office manager of a shop in Tulsa, OK, said. Many shops still voice concerns about their ability to stay in business when asked about longer time frames. But a majority in late April said they had little or no concern about being in business in 90 days or even over the next 12 months. The growth in the number of ADAS-equipped vehicles has slowed. The pandemic’s expected effect on sales of new vehicles could have one minor silver lining for collision repair-

ers: a slow-down in the growth within the vehicle population of vehicles with crash-reducing advanced driver assistance systems. At the start of the year, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) was projecting about 16.8 million new vehicles would be sold this year, down somewhat from 17.1 million last year, the fifth year in a row when sales topped 17 million. NADA this spring slashed its projection for how many vehicles dealers will move this year, to between 13 million and 13.5 million. That would make it the slowest year for new car sales since 2011. New vehicle sales benefit collision repairers in that newer cars are generally insured and repaired after accidents, and are less likely to be total losses. On the other hand, robust new car sales also accelerate the percentage of ADAS-equipped vehicles in the U.S. fleet, something that appears to be slowly eroding accident frequency. The Independent Statistical Ser vice (ISS) shows collision claim frequency was down 1.5% in 2018 and then down another 1.8% last year. CCC Information Services points to

the growth of ADAS-equipped vehicles as a likely cause of the decline. Earlier this year, CCC stepped up its forecast for the rate of decline in accidents likely attributable to ADAS. CCC said that change was in part because of automakers’ ramped-up adoption of ADAS. Twenty major automakers, for example, had committed in 2016 to equip all new vehicles with frontal crash warning and automatic emergency braking by 2022, but many have done so well ahead of that deadline. “As a result, our projection this year shows a slightly faster increase in the reduction of vehicles in accidents annually,” a CCC report from earlier this year states. Whereas CCC had previously projected about a 5% drop in accidents by 2022, its subsequent forecast was for a decline more than 10%. The 10% decline CCC had projected for 2024 was upped to 15%. But now that decline in claims could become less steep if the significant drop in new car sales during the expected recession ahead slows the pace of ADAS growth in the U.S. vehicle population.

Continued from Page 31

Emotional Roller Coaster Attendees were encouraged to be who they are. “Don’t be somebody that you aren’t. You can’t fake your way through leading your team during this crisis,” Taylor insisted. “We’re in a battle right now, but you have to stay true to yourself.” Taylor ended his presentation by encouraging folks to set new habits, improve their mindset, practice gratitude and find joy in ordinary life. “Be in the moment—your five senses, foods, Mother Nature, a warm bed—these things are awesome, and it can help to remember that you have plenty of things to be thankful for, no matter how hard things may seem.” A complete webinar schedule for this series is available here http:// worldpac.com/training/classes/online/ or here. https://ctionline.com/

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Honda Begins Making Vital Ventilator Parts for Dynaflo to Help COVID-19 Patients Honda has begun producing and delivering critical components for the production of much-needed ventilators to Dynaflo Inc. of Reading, PA. Honda teamed up with Dynaflo to increase Dynaflo’s production of diaphragm compressors, a key component of portable ventilators used in hospitals and by first responders throughout the country to help those stricken with the COVID-19 virus. The companies are aiming to produce 10,000 compressors per month once production reaches capacity. Honda and Dynaflo expect to maintain production of compressors through the end of August. “Honda associates have successfully transformed a portion of our technical training center into an assembly line that will help support the urgent need to produce ventilator components,” said Rick Schostek, executive vice president, Honda North America, Inc. “With our supply of these key components to Dynaflo, we hope to help address one of the most pressing needs within the COVID-19 crisis.” Honda has transformed a 6,000-square foot area of its Techni-

cal Development Center in Marysville, OH, into a space for associates to assemble the compressors.

A Honda associate carefully reviews his work assembling a Dynaflo compressor at the Technical Development Center in Marysville, OH.

The process was developed using production know-how from Honda’s experienced manufacturing associates, including parts tracking, build timing, quality checks and lot control. These practices were essential in enabling Honda associates to quickly ramp up production over the first weeks of the project while maintaining social distancing protocols. Dynaflo had been making these state-of-the-art compressors at the rate of about 75 per week prior to the COVID-19 crisis. In order to

increase its production capacity in response to the pandemic, Dynaflo required substantial help. To this end, Dynaflo and Honda partnered with Stop the Spread, a coalition of more than 1500 volunteer CEOs working in Washington, D.C., and around the U.S. to catalyze actions and support the government in response to COVID-19. Stop the Spread connected Dynaflo to Honda and the two companies teamed up to meet this critical need for more portable ventilators. “Being connected to Honda of America has been a godsend,” said William Fleming, president of Dynaflo. “Combining our diaphragm compressor technology with Honda’s expertise in mass production is a perfect combination to help meet the needs of this crisis.” To ensure consistency and quality, Honda associates have worked closely with Dynaflo personnel to learn best practices in compressor assembly. The training has provided Honda associates the ability to build and quality test the devices prior to shipping. Source: Honda

Not Busy? home each day, so everyone took the same cut, and the choice was random and fair. Keep them busy. The last thing you want is people standing around with nothing to do but get negative or scared. If there’s no work, have employees take online training, or do maintenance and repair of equipment and the facility. Or offer them free use of the shop, by letting them bring in family members’ vehicles to change the oil or brakes. Keep them busy. This is no time for those leading a business to sit idle and just wait for things to change.

Your leading source for NORTHEASTERN Collision Repair News! northeastern.autobodynews.com

Ford’s Potentially Devastating F-150 Problem Has Been Solved by Jay Traugott, CarBuzz

The Ford F-150 is critical for the automaker. For years, it has been the best-selling vehicle for the Blue Oval, as well as in America. Without this full-size truck, Ford would be a very different automaker. Last month, a tornado struck the BorgWarner factory in Seneca, SC, severely damaging the facility that produces transfer cases for the F-150 as well as the Ford Explorer and Expedition, and Lincoln Aviator and Navigator. The plant’s roof was ripped off and part of the building itself collapsed. Without this critical transmission component, Ford would have a serious problem―as if the coronavirus pandemic isn’t already enough of a problem. Fortunately, it seems Ford has dodged a bullet on this one. Automotive News reports Ford and plant officials moved fast with a damage assessment and numerous various other efforts and have managed to find a way to get the plant up and running. Within only 12 hours of the

tornado strike, repair teams were on the scene and quickly got to work. The plant’s roof has been temporarily repaired as well as the necessary computer rooms that manage the production line. As a result, Ford reports there will be no production disruption. “I’m extremely confident that when we start up our systems in the U.S. and North America, BorgWarner will support them. The risk is dropping every day,” said Gary Johnson, Ford’s chief manufacturing and labor affairs officer. “The decision was made to help retrofit the plant to make it viable to come back.” BorgWarner added it plans to resume production at the end of the month. And speaking of production, Ford said late last week it intends to restart production at its North American plants the moment the government gives approval. No specific restart dates have been set as of this writing. Meanwhile, Ford’s European plants are scheduled to reopen May 4. We thank CarBuzz for reprint permission.

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50 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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ACA Joins More Than 100 Business Organizations to Launch America’s Recovery Fund Coalition The Auto Care Association (ACA) announced it has joined America’s Recovery Fund Coalition, an alliance of more than 100 trade associations and business organizations advocating for a grant-based federal assistance program to power the resilience of American enterprise. Together, the coalition’s members span 30 business sectors and employ 45% of the nation’s workforce— more than 58 million workers. “The Auto Care Association is leaving no stone unturned in its continued effort to identify opportunities to help our members, American businesses and American workers to get back on their feet and get back to work,” said Bill Hanvey, president and CEO, ACA. “Joining the coalition is another important step we have taken in order to secure more funding and resources that will be vital to keeping businesses within the auto care industry afloat during this unprecedented crisis.” In a letter sent to President Donald Trump, congressional leaders and the Secretary of the Treasury, the coalition noted:

“Today we are announcing the creation of America’s Recovery Fund Coalition, a group of over 100 organizations advocating for a grant-based federal assistance program to power the resilience of American enterprise. America’s Recovery Fund Coalition includes members representing more than 30 business sectors that together employ 58 million Americans and comprising more than 45% of the private workforce.” The coalition went on: “Existing programs like the Paycheck Protection Program were a well-intentioned effort to help defray the impact of the COVID-19 economic crisis, but we must build upon the current options and address the overwhelming need for additional capital support to businesses. A broad-based, efficient recovery fund that does not pick winners and losers is the best path forward. Without such a fund, our retailers, theatres, restaurants and many other industries will be decimated―and our communities will be poorer both economi-

cally and culturally as a result. “America’s Recovery Fund Coalition believes Congress must urgently create a federal direct assistance fund to provide rapid liquidity to businesses impaired by the COVID-19 national emergency. We believe the fund should be designed to help businesses maintain ongoing capital obligations during the prolonged crisis and the next months of economic healing, enabling employees to continue receiving pay, maintain benefits and helping employers rehire former employees while workplaces get back on their feet and safely reopen to the public.” To see the full list of America’s Recovery Fund Coalition members, click here. https://americasrecoveryfund.org/about-us/ To learn more about America’s Recovery Fund Coalition visit www. AmericasRecoveryFund.org. For more COVID-19 information and resources, visit autocare. org/coronavirus.

Tractable answered the Collision Industry Foundation’s call for help for its COVID-19 relief fund in a very big way―by donating $25,000. Over the past month, more than 500 requests have been submitted by collision repair professionals asking CIF for financial assistance, through the CIF COVID-19 fund established in late March. The initial fund, including early contributions by half a dozen generous donors, had been nearly expired in mid-April, when CIF sent out a request for additional support from the industry. As funds became exhausted, CIF had to close its website to new applications. CIF was able to immediately re-open the website to accept new assistance requests, using Tractable’s donation to continue to provide assistance for new submissions.

Source: ACA

Source: CIF

Axalta Supports CA COVID-19 Response Axalta, a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, is partnering with Marathon Industries to coat truck bodies for the State of California’s COVID-19 response team using its Tufcote™ industrial products. Truck bodies are highly valuable in times of crisis due to their versatility and ability to haul both large and small amounts of critical supplies, as well as load from either side. Marathon Industries’ Reno, NV, facility and Axalta worked together to select Tufcote Low-VOC Primer and High Solids Black and White Topcoats for this job. Axalta Tufcote liquid coatings are designed for maximum performance, corrosion protection, gloss and color retention. They deliver consistent, high-quality results with a durable finish.

Tractable Donates to CIF COVID-19 Fund

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Source: Axalta 52 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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S t.

Garmat Develops Walk-Up Testing 10 Shops BoothShare for Virus WhatControl They are andDoing Containment to Get Work in the Door Garmat USA, a leading U.S.-based manufacturer of paint booths and refinish equipment, has joined the fight to help stop the COVID-19 epidemic, with a new idea that protects the medical provider while saving personal protective equipment (PPE.) The company’s COVID-19 Walk-Up Testing Booth was developed in less than six days by Garmat entrepreneur Johan Huwaert, using expertise in airflow and differential pressure. The core of Garmat’s business is providing a clean environment through containment. The availability of safe and rapid testing is one of the most critical tools in the fight against COVID-19. In the weeks and months ahead, both the number of tests and availability of testing sites will need to grow exponentially. Garmat’s innovative COVID-19 Walk-Up Testing Booth enables a rapid and effective rollout of testing sites. This solution saves PPE and protects the provider, while providing a more efficient way to test masses of individuals.

Current testing methods are ﬂawed when it comes to testing the masses of individuals in the months ahead. For example, in the medical oﬃce, when a patient is suspected of having the virus that causes COVID-19, the medical provider must don PPE. Most of these cases come back negative, so the PPE is wasted.

Testing stations in Colorado provide drive-through operations, which are unsafe, time-consuming and not viable for those without access to transportation. South Korea has been very

proactive in testing its citizens for COVID-19, which has led to a lower number of cases and deaths. One hospital in Seoul has set up four walk-up booths outside the hospital for patients to enter for testing. Before the development of these booths, patients were treated in large negative pressure rooms that took a long time to disinfect. The innovation to “individual patient” walk-up phone booth testing made processing 10 times faster, allowing for more patient testing each day. It also reduced the amount of PPE required by health care workers to perform the tests. The patient-centered booth in South Korea has one major drawback―it still requires a fulsome disinfection process after each patient. Brigham & Women’s hospital in Boston designed a three-sided plexiglass version, an improvement over

the South Korea booth, as it placed the health care provider inside, minimizing the surface area and time required for disinfection. Garmat’s latest innovation advances Brigham’s version, to provide additional protection for health care workers by fully enclosing the booth and applying positive airﬂow pressure, forcing contaminants from the interior of the booth. The size and convenience of these walk-up testing booths would allow for testing outside hospitals, urgent care centers, pharmacies, airports, universities and major sporting venues. Garmat has ample production capacity in its Colorado manufacturing facility. Units can be shipped fully assembled on a standard pallet, and install is as simple as placing the unit and plugging into a power source. Garmat USA is America’s leading manufacturer of paint booths serving auto collision repair and industrial reﬁnishing customers. Read more at the Garmat USA website. Source: Garmat

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AutoNation, American Cancer Society Raise Funds

Fix Auto USA and Auto Center Auto Body Sold to Driven Brands FOCUS Advisors announced the sale of the franchisor 79411, Inc. dba Fix Auto USA and its largest MSO franchisee, Auto Center Auto Body, Inc., to Driven Brands, a portfolio company of Roark Capital. See cover story this issue. With 152 current locations, rapidly growing Fix Auto USA, the U.S. licensee of the Fix Auto brand, is the franchise of choice for premier collision repair operators in the U.S. Auto Center Auto Body, a nine-location MSO in Southern California owned by Erick and Shelly Bickett, is also one of Fix USA’s top performing operations. Driven Brands operates more than 3,100 auto aftermarket locations in seven separate firms, including collision repair franchisors CARSTAR, ABRA and MAACO. David Roberts, managing director of FOCUS, who led the transaction, commented on the impact of this industry realignment and what it foretells. “Together with CARSTAR and their recent ABRA franchise

acquisition, Driven Brands is now positioned as the primary home for operators that want to remain independent in a time of accelerating consolidation,” Roberts said. “Additionally, the acquisition of ACAB positions Driven to begin building its own consolidation platform.” “As a competitor to Driven Brands’ CARSTAR franchise, we’ve been impressed with their increasing professionalism and marketing impact,” said Fix Auto USA CEO Paul Gange. “As an independent brand under the Driven umbrella, we expect to gain access to industry-leading franchise expertise, synergies and capital to accelerate and successfully manage the next phase of Fix USA’s growth.” Erick and Shelly Bickett, co-founders of Fix Auto USA, have been collision industry pioneers since they opened their first Auto Center Auto Body shop in 1984. They also co-founded CEICA in 1995, Cyncast in 2000 and CCI training institute in 2015. Shelly

and Erick Bickett will both continue to advise Driven Brands. “For years, we’ve contemplated how independent operators could continue to do what they do best and still have the opportunity to access capital and exit their businesses when they were ready,” said Erick Bickett. “We have worked with Dave Roberts over many years to help craft our strategy and ultimately represent us in our own exit event. The current climate made the combination more challenging but we are pleased to cement this vital partnership with Driven.” “Erick and I created Fix Auto USA to provide the kind of scale and professional support for smaller MSOs and individual shops that allowed them to effectively compete against the consolidators,” said Shelly Bickett. “With new capital and an expanded team, we expect to continue and expand our competitive position in the California market.”

AutoNation, Inc., America’s largest and most recognized automotive retailer, on May 5 announced it will partner with the American Cancer Society to help raise funds and awareness for its COVID-19 Response Fund. Beginning May 5, AutoNation offered its customers the opportunity to donate to the American Cancer Society via the credit card terminals in all 325 AutoNation locations from coast to coast, with 100% of all donations going directly to the fund. Under the best of circumstances, a cancer diagnosis can be frightening and devastating. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the American Cancer Society, with the help of partners like AutoNation, is committed to ensuring critically important programs that support cancer patients will continue through the pandemic and beyond.

Source: FOCUS Advisors

Source: AutoNation

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