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VOL. 3 ISSUE 9 DECEMBER 2013
Collision Repair Classes, Meetings and Exhibitors Attract Shops to Largest SEMA Ever by John Yoswick
The 2013 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show attracted more than 126,000 people—attendees and exhibitor representatives—to Las Vegas in November, filling the massive Las Vegas Convention Center and surrounding spaces with all things automotive. Show organizers say that count was up 7 percent over the previous year and was the highest ever. The collision repair and refinish section of the show boasted just over 200 exhibitors, a small but rapidly growing percentage of the more than 2,300 companies and organizations exhibiting at SEMA this year.
Although attendees could easily spend several days on the show floor
pecial SSEMA
Coverage coverage Pages: 1, 10, 14, 18, 20, 28, 40, 46, 49, and 54
(L-R) Barbara Davies, GM at Autobody News, Kenny Youngblood, Fine Art Automotive & Race Car Portrait Artist, Paul Stoll, PPG Technical Sales Instruction Supervisor, and Cristina Fronzaglia, PPG Communications Manager
Right to Repair Bill Passes NJ Consumer Affairs Committee in State Assembly
“This bill frees up car owners to choose between their auto dealer and independent service shops to repair their vehicles,” said Gusciora (D-Mercer/Hunterdon). “Not only does it foster competitive car repair pricing, but it gives consumers the choice where they will bring their cars for servicing. It’s a win-win for car owners and mom-and-pop service stations who want to stay in business.” “As cars have become more technologically advanced, manufacturers have gained an unfair advantage by forcing owners to rely on dealerships for even the most routine mainteSee Right to Repair in NJ, Page 22
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The Consumer Affairs Committee of the New Jersey State Legislature approved Assembly Bill 352, the Motor Vehicle Owners Right to Repair Act. The bill requires manufacturers to provide access to any information necessary to “diagnose, service, activate, certify or install” any motor vehicle equipment. Legislation Assembly Democrats Reed Gusciora and Paul Moriarty sponsored the bill to protect consumers by requiring vehicle manufacturers to provide owners and independent repair shops with access to the repair information and tools given to automotive dealers.
to see it all, there were a number of meetings, events and classes specific
See Biggest SEMA Ever, Page 4
PartsTrader, Insurer Mandates Draw Industry Ire at Collision Industry Conference at SEMA by John Yoswick
Following a panel discussion on parts procurement at the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in Las Vegas in early November, attendees spent nearly an hour voicing criticism of mandated use of any particular system. Tom McGarry of Axalta Coatings ProfitNet Management System noted that unlike several other systems, PartsTrader interfaces with estimating systems but not management systems. He also said a shop ordering parts might need to use one Tom McGarry electronic system in order to receive an automaker rebate, but the shop’s preferred vendor might use a different system, with State Farm requiring yet another. “It’s not a procurement decision anymore; it’s a marketing decision,” McGarry said. “How do you handle that?” Nebraska shop owner Andy Dingman, who participated on the
CIC panel, agreed that shops could be faced with using multiple systems. “And that’s going to be very efficient,” he added, sarcastically. California shop owner Randy Stabler, also on the panel, agreed. “The challenge here is the insurance community doesn’t understand by and large that when they increase the body shop’s costs, they have to pay for it somewhere,” Stabler said. “Lowering the payout isn’t increasing efficiency. If the insurers could take that Randy Stabler back to their corporations and figure out ways to reduce the body shop’s operating costs, then they can share in it, but reducing the payout doesn’t increase efficiency.” Stabler also said, however, that he’s “kind of perplexed” why the PartsTrader mandate has become “such a lightning rod” for an industry that has been accepting insurer mandates since the early days of computerized estimating. See Industry Ire, Page 6
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