June 2020 West Edition by Autobody News

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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

Auto Repair in the Time of COVID-19 by Barry Lank, The Eastsider

At JT Mechanic & Body Shop in Lincoln Heights, an L.A. neighborhood, customers need to wear masks when dropping off their car.

Credit: Courtesy Luis Lopez Automotive

In Atwater Village, customers at Luis Lopez Automotive park their car, roll down the window and leave the keys inside before a mechanic takes a look. And that’s just for an oil change. “I’ll be frank with you,” said owner Luis Lopez. “It’s pretty tedious.” Though still open as an essential business, auto repair shops are facing the same tough times as other businesses—though with factors unique to service stations, such as the business cycle and See Time of COVID-19, Page 18

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AUTOBODYNEWS.COM Vol. 38 / Issue 6 / June 2020

Car Rental Industry Braced for Impact from Coronavirus, Financing Concerns by Mark Zinn, News-Press NOW

With a recently estimated reduction of more than 90% of non-essential travel, car rental companies are feeling the ripple effect caused by the coronavirus outbreak. While most local car rental branches remain open, the excess amount of cars on their lots can only mean business is dwindling during a time the car-sharing industry has been hit hard by much less demand. “Like others across the travel industry—and countless other companies large and small—we have wit-

Car rentals are down amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Credit: Mark Zinn, News-Press NOW

nessed an impact to our business,” said Lisa Martini, a spokesperson for Missouri-based Enterprise HoldSee Industry Braces for Impact, Page 14

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.

How COVID-19 is Affecting Parts Departments 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 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 alSee Parts Departments, Page 12

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CONTENTS

Enterprise Implements Complete Clean Pledge

REGIONAL

NATIONAL

Alameda County: Tesla Can Officially Reopen

10 Shops Share What They are Doing

Auto Repair in the Time of COVID-19 ��1 CA Businesses Shift Operations to Help Combat COVID-19 ��12 CA Gov.: School Year May Start in July as Lower-Risk Businesses ‘Gradually’ Reopen ��6 CA Reopening: Gov. Outlines Stage 2 For Retail, Restaurants, More ��22 CA to Ease Restrictions This Week, Move to ‘Stage 2’ ��20 City of Angels Welcomes CARSTAR First Choice Auto Body ��8 Consumer Group Accuses GEICO of

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 Organizations to Launch America’s Recovery Fund Coalition ��52

Digital-First Shift ��24 Car Rental Industry Braces for Impact from Coronavirus ��1 Certified Collision Group Remains Strong and Growing During the COVID-19 Pandemic ��43

Overcharging CA Drivers for

Dynabrade, Inc., Founder Passes ��25

Auto Insurance ��6

Enterprise Implements Complete Clean

Coronavirus: Here’s What CA Counties Have to Do Before Reopening ��25 Elon Musk Threatens to Move Tesla Away From CA Amid Ongoing Lockdown Dispute ��11 Newsom: CA Making Progress Toward Eased Restrictions ��14 OR Community College to Reconfigure Automotive Programs ��8 Tesla Fremont Factory in Focus as CA Prepares for ‘Stage 2’ COVID-19 Response ��22

Pledge ��3 Fix Auto USA and Auto Center Auto Body Sold to Driven Brands ��54 Ford CEO on Weathering Coronavirus: ‘Don’t Waste a Crisis’ ��26 Ford’s Potentially Devastating F-150 Problem Has Been Solved ��50 Garmat Develops Walk-Up Testing Booth for Virus Control and Containment ��51 Glass Company Shifts Gears to Make ‘Sneeze Guards’ for Vehicles ��51

COLUMNISTS Anderson - Not Busy? If You’re Leading the Business, You Sure Should Be ��37 Antonelli - Shop in UT Discusses Billing Insurance for Disinfectants, Finds

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

Auto Insurance Premiums’ Big

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

its Fremont Factory Under New Conditions ��19

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 RentA-Car, 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

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 Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. Autobody News is a monthly publication for the collision 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.

American Icon Automotive Finishes �� 12

Kia of Carson �� 30

Audi Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 53

Kia of Irvine �� 19

AutoNation Roseville ��16-17

Larry H. Miller Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram �� 14

BMW Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 46

LKQ Corporation �� 55

Car Pros Kia �� 38

Mazda Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 50

Autobody News P.O. Box 1516 Carlsbad, CA 92018 (800) 699-8251 (760) 603-3229 Fax www.autobodynews.com editor@autobodynews.com

Car Pros Kia Renton �� 44

Mercedes-Benz Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 52

Certified Automotive Parts Association �� 6

Michael Hohl Motor Company �� 6

Classifieds �� 54

MINI Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 46

Colortone Automotive Paints �� 14

Montipower Americas, Inc �� 11

Courtesy Chevrolet San Diego �� 25

MOPAR Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 33

Cutter Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram �� 22

Moss Bros. Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge �� 27

Good Sam Insurance Agency Underwriter

DCH Auto Group Temecula �� 24

Nissan/Infiniti Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 49

to Give Refund and $3M Donation to

Enterprise Rent-A-Car �� 30

Porsche Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 47

Fairview Ford-Lincoln-Mercury �� 42

Prime Auto Center �� 34

Ford Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 45

Reno Buick-GMC �� 12

Frank Subaru �� 36

SATA Dan-Am Company �� 2

COVID Relief Efforts ��47 Guidance on Reducing COVID-19 Risks ��8 Honda Begins Making Vital Ventilator Parts

Galpin Motors �� 39

Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes ��4-5

Garden Grove Kia �� 19

Sierra Chevrolet-Honda-Subaru �� 18

How COVID-19 is Affecting Parts Departments ��1

Glenn E. Thomas Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep �� 13

Southern Polyurethanes, Inc �� 9

Advertising Budget During Pandemic ��44

OE Certifications Update 2020—Part 2 of 2 ��38

GM Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 37

Subaru Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 43

Chess - Kool Tools from SEMA 2019 ��32

Scholarship Recipients Announced by WIN ��52

Haldon Company �� 15

Symach �� 20

Sisk - Local Associations Discuss Impact of

State Auto Announces Plan to Help Customers

Honda-Acura Wholesale Parts Dealers ��28-29

Tacoma Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram �� 21

Hyundai Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 51

The Bay Area Automotive Group �� 35

Industrial Finishes and Systems �� 7, 56

Tsunami Compressed Air Solutions �� 26

Innovative Tools & Technologies, Inc �� 23

Vintage Flatz/Cumberland Products �� 10

Kearny Mesa Subaru-Hyundai �� 31

Volkswagen Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 48

Kia Downtown Los Angeles �� 32

Volvo Wholesale Parts Dealers �� 50

Silver Lining in Uncertain Times ��46 Attanasio - Body Shop Owner Triples

COVID-19 on Members and Organizations ��48 Sisk - Riding the Emotional Roller Coaster of COVID-19 as a Shop Owner ��30 Yoswick - Finding Some Hopeful Bits of Good News Amid the Pandemic Fallout ��42

for Dynaflo to Help COVID-19 Patients ��52

in Response to COVID-19 ��51 Toyota Postpones North American Operations ��52 Tractable Donates to CIF COVID-19 Fund ��6 Women of the Year Award Nominations Sought ��18

Kia Motors Wholesale Parts Dealers ��40-41 autobodynews.com / JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS 3

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Consumer Group Accuses GEICO of Overcharging CA Drivers for Auto Insurance by Lyle Adriano, Insurance Business Magazine

The Consumer Federation of California Education Foundation (CFC Foundation) is calling for GEICO to refund hundreds of millions of dollars to California auto insurance policyholders, claiming the insurer is overcharging customers who are driving less and ﬁling fewer collision claims due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The consumer group alleged in a petition that GEICO is violating a bulletin issued last month by state insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara, which mandated auto insurers should issue refunds and credits to policyholders for coverage for the months of March and April. CFC Foundation alleged that unlike other auto insurers who announced premium relief measures, GEICO is denying its 15% coronavirus “giveback credit” to current policyholders who do not renew their coverage between April 8 and Oct. 7. GEICO is instead oﬀering the credit to new customers who sign up for coverage. “GEICO is violating the Commissioner’s Bul-

Tractable Donates to CIF COVID-19 Fund 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.

letin and the industry norm of giving a break to customers who are driving less and who desperately need financial relief right now,” said CFC Foundation director Richard Holober in the petition. CFC Foundation added that GEICO has to refund at least $210 million, since the amount represents the minimum level of windfall profits the insurer is enjoying by limiting the premium credit to anyone except current customers who do not renew their policy within the specified period. In addition to violating the state insurance commissioner’s bulletin, CFC Foundation claimed GEICO is also violating regulations requiring it to file a proposed rate change with the Department of Insurance for approval before it can implement the rate adjustment. CFC Foundation alleged GEICO’s unapproved rate change is designed to force customers to renew to claim the refund owed to them, and the unapproved rate change is an anti-competitive scheme. We thank Insurance Business Magazine for reprint permission.

CA Gov.: School Year May Start in July as Lower-Risk Businesses ‘Gradually’ Reopen by Fiona Kelliher, Mercury News

The next school year may start as early as July or August to make up for learning lost this spring, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said April 28. Although no ﬁrm decisions have been made, state oﬃcials are considering an earlier start to the 2020 school year―which would come with possible physical changes to school environments or staggered attendance. “We recognize there’s been a learning loss because of this disruption,” Newsom said. “We might want to consider getting that school year moved up a little bit … That learning loss is very real.” Any changes to the school year would be part of a larger scheme to expand childcare and the gradual reopening of lower-risk businesses, Newsom said. Over the last few weeks, hospitalizations and intensive-care admissions have stabilized, said Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the state’s Department of Public Health. And while California topped 45,000 cases total this week, the pace of new infections has slowed since the state’s all-time high of new daily

cases on April 20, when it recorded 2,135 new cases. If that trend continues, Angell said, businesses like manufacturing facilities, retail businesses and some oﬃces could re-open with physical changes. She did not provide details on what exactly those protections could include beyond the use of personal protective equipment. “When the data tells us that the moment is right, those environments can start to open,” Angell said. Reopening of higher-risk businesses like barber shops and nail salons still remains months away, Newsom said, with highest-risk venues like concerts and convention centers even further down the road. And any plans to roll back the shelter-in-place order won’t interfere with local jurisdictions’ stricter regulations, Newsom said. In a joint announcement April 27, Bay Area public health departments said that they would extend the shelter-in-place through May. “I am not going to make an announcement preempting their right to be more stringent at the local level,” Newsom said of the Bay Area. We thank the Mercury News for reprint permission.

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775-884-8645 Fax M-F 7am-6pm Sat 8am-5pm  Wide Delivery Area  Competitive Pricing

Source: CIF 6 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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OR Community College to Reconfigure Automotive Programs by Sanne Godfrey, The News-Review

The board of education for Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, OR, voted to cancel its Toyota T-Ten and general automotive programs and begin work immediately toward establishing a new one-year automotive certificate program. Currently both automotive programs, which employ four faculty members, would provide students with an associate degree upon completion of the two-year program. Several community members, including automotive business owners, wrote letters to the board to convince them to keep the programs going. “A good program in place with comprehensive education and certifications is such a benefit to our industry,” wrote Mobile Tune General Manager Dave Weir. “I understand, as a business operator, that situations arise when a prudent manager must look at all goods and services in the organization to analyze their sustainability. I hope that the automotive program at UCC will be considered a necessary program to

assist both local and regional needs for an incredibly complex industry.” It is uncertain how long it will be until a one-year certificate program is developed.

Thatcher also noted that based on first-year enrollment data, and the growing automotive program at Roseburg High School, there does appear to be a need and interest for a certificate program.

“A good program in place with comprehensive education and certifications is such a benefit to our industry,” — Dave Weir “Please know first that the proposal is about more than these specific programs,” UCC President Debra Thatcher wrote in her proposal to the board. “This is about how the college strategically invests its resources to produce the greatest return. Programs that drain our resources due to low enrollment and high cost take away from more viable programs with healthy enrollments.” The programs cost $566,697 to operate last school year and are expected to cost $587,030 this school year, which equals a cost of $14,202 per student in 2018-19.

Clint Newell Fixed Operation Director Frank Mesa said over the next five years, the auto dealership would need about two to three students each year. Lithia Ford and Lithia Dodge service managers Robert Johnson and Andrew Kohlhoff also pleaded to keep the programs because of a need for qualified employees. Thatcher said based on data from the past four years, no second-year course had more than 10 students enrolled. “They’re hiring the students before completion of the program,” Thatcher said.

City of Angels Welcomes CARSTAR First Choice Auto Body CARSTAR, North America’s largest multi-store network of independently owned collision repair facilities, announced the opening of CARSTAR First Choice Auto Body, located at 4368 Fountain Ave. in Los Angeles.

This is the first CARSTAR location for owner Edwin Khoshabeh, who has been in the industry his whole life, a third-generation auto body repairer. Looking for support so he could focus more on his facility operations, Edwin decided to join CARSTAR. “My father had an auto body shop and he taught me how important it is for everyone in the facility to be multi-talented and always be learning,” said Khoshabeh. “Joining CARSTAR gives us access to the learning portal CARSTAR University, connects us with great in-

dustry relationships and just the resources so we can continue to grow this business.” CARSTAR First Choice Auto Body is a 6,500-square foot facility, outfitted with equipment to provide premier collision repairs to every make and model. As an I-CAR Gold certified facility, CARSTAR First Choice Auto Body is a part of the small 20% of collision repair centers that have completed the rigorous training requirements to earn this certification. “Having our franchise family expand, with owners who value training and certification further demonstrates our commitment to develop in the right way,” said Dean Fisher, president, CARSTAR. “We are excited to continue growing our footprint in California and are excited for Los Angeles to benefit from these premier collision repair services.” The team at CARSTAR First Choice Auto Body has worked together for years, the newest employee having a tenure of five years. This close-knit group is excited to be a part of the CARSTAR team

and looks forward to support its charity of choice, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, as well as continuing to give back to Los Angeles where they can.

CARSTAR First Choice Auto Body owner Edwin Khoshabeh

Please join us in celebrating the opening of CARSTAR First Choice Auto Body! CARSTAR First Choice Auto Body 4368 Fountain Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90029 (323) 669-0931 Monday to Friday: 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. For more information on CARSTAR visit CARSTAR.com.

Students currently enrolled in the program will be able to complete their studies. Equipment used for the Toyota T-Ten program, including the vehicles, would go back to Toyota. Automotive instructor Kevin Mathweg has been working with local dealerships to provide vehicles. A new program would need to be developed and approved by the Higher Education Coordinating Commission before students could enroll. Board chair Steve Loosley called it “an awful decision” that needed to be made and offered to help find jobs for faculty members impacted by the elimination of the current programs. Thatcher reiterated during the meeting that the automotive program is not the only program being reevaluated due to high operating costs and declining enrollment, and that making adjustments to programs is in the best interest of the college. We thank The News-Review for reprint permission.

Guidance on Reducing COVID-19 Risks The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) have published comprehensive guidance to ensure cleanliness and safety as Americans reopen businesses, schools, homes and public spaces. The guidance walks through how companies should develop, implement and maintain a plan for cleaning and disinfecting workplaces. It includes an EPA list of disinfectant products that can be used against COVID-19, and alternatives if approved disinfectants are unavailable. The guidance reviews social distancing practices and ways to reduce the potential for exposure and includes links to many other related resources. Visit epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-04/documents/316485-c_reopeningamerica_guidance_4.19_6pm. pdf Source: SEMA

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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/.

www.autobodynews.com

Elon Musk Threatens to Move Tesla Away From CA Amid Ongoing Lockdown Dispute by Gene, Teslarati

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter on May 9 to announce the company will be moving its California-based headquarters to Texas or Nevada, and file a lawsuit against Alameda County. The revelation comes on the heels of new guidance from California Gov. Gavin Newsom to reopen lower risk businesses, including those in manufacturing, with limited operations as early as May 8. Tesla’s Fremont factory in Alameda County was expected to be part of the reopening; however, county Health Officer Dr. Erica Pan later clarified the electric carmaker was not “given the green light” to reopen. As tensions mount between the California-based automaker and local county officials who have ordered Tesla’s factory to remain shut down, in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19, Musk said his company is preparing to sue the county and move its core presence outside of the state. “Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/

Nevada immediately,” said Musk on May 9, adding, “Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately. The unelected & ignorant ‘Interim Health Officer’ of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!” Tesla has previously announced it was looking at Texas as the home for its next “Cybertruck Gigafactory.” The company also has a strong presence in Nevada, with its first Gigafactory and the company’s main battery facility residing just outside of Reno. As the company comes off of record-setting quarters, spearheaded by the success of its new Model Y crossover, investors will be looking at the presumed impact from the continued and mandated shutdown of its factory in Fremont, CA. Tesla has maintained its position of having the capacity to deliver more than 500,000 vehicles this year, comprised heavily of Model 3 and Model Y. We thank Teslarati for reprint permission.

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CA Businesses Shift Operations to Help Combat COVID-19 by Sonia Waraich, Times-Standard

Right before the statewide shelter-inplace went into effect on a Friday in mid-March, John Nicolini was wondering what he could do as an entrepreneur to help the community deal with the coronavirus rapidly spreading across the globe. He said the idea of shifting some of his business operations came to him when he heard about Safeways around the country installing sneeze guards at their checkstands. “We do plastic fabrication,” said Nicolini, president of CPR Aquatic Inc., in Samoa, CA, which usually manufactures aquariums. “I thought that’s right up our alley.” Since then, CPR Aquatic has designed and installed plastic barriers for essential businesses like Wildberries Market and Redwood Capital Bank and businesses that are trying to reopen, such as retailer Belle Starr. “The floodgates opened and we’re just outfitting it seems like everyone in Humboldt County,” Nicolini said. “And now we’re getting calls nationwide.” As the coronavirus has spread

across the world, new demand has burgeoned for products that were once unnecessary for living daily life but have since become essential, and local businesses have shifted operations to meet that demand. “I’m just really proud of all the other local companies that shifted gears and started helping out with pandemic scare,” Nicolini said. Alchemy Construction has also been helping businesses install plastic barriers. Distilleries like Alchemy Distillery and Humboldt Distillery have diverted some of the alcohol for their spirits to go toward making hand sanitizer. Auto body shop Quality Body Works and jewelry maker Holly Yashi have shifted their operations to make face shields for the local community. Several of the businesses said they’re prioritizing ﬁrst responders and the hospitals. In addition to making sneeze guards, for instance, CPR Aquatic also made intubation boxes for St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka and Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna, Nicolini said. Those boxes protect healthcare workers while they are in-

tubating a patient, who might let out virus-laden aerosol in the process, he said. Nicolini said he’s not taking advantage of the situation by price gouging because that would hurt local business, but producing the protective barriers has helped him rehire two employees since the shutdown began. Others like Quality Body Works received Paycheck Protection Program funds to help keep staﬀ employed as the autobody shop deals with a decrease in customer volumes, said Ross Creech, the shop’s general manager. After receiving calls for spare N95 masks, of which the shop only had two remaining, Creech said he got the idea for making face shields from another shop owner in Oregon. Since then the shop has donated 30 to the Cal-Ore Life Flight ambulance service, a couple to homelessness advocate Betty Chinn, 100 to Mad River Community Hospital and 30 to Alder Bay Assisted Living Facility. Businesses that are reopening, as well as individual essential workers, have been coming to the shop for the face shields, of which Creech said he has 140 on hand with supply to make 200 to 300 more.

“We’re producing them as quick as we can,” he said. Abe Stevens, founder of Humboldt Distillery in Fortuna, said he’s received some inquiries from businesses that are reopening about buying hand sanitizer, which the distillery began producing in large quantities and donating to ﬁrst responders.“With our most recent batch, we have set a bit of sanitizer aside to sell to businesses in need,” Stevens said. “So far that has been a minor part of our sanitizer production.” There were some regulations in place preventing distilleries and a handful of other types of manufacturers from being able to produce hand sanitizer, but once the agencies regulating these establishments loosened the rules, Stevens said a lot of distilleries began shifting some production to making sanitizer. But that may change soon. “More recently, we have seen what hopefully seems to be a little more supply out there,” Stevens said. “That might mean soon we won’t need to keep making it.” We thank the Times-Standard for reprint permission.

Continued from Cover

Parts Departments ready 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. Automotive plants in Hubei remained closed until March 11 and have now slowly started reopening. 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

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Industry Braces for Impact ings. “This includes a decrease in reservations as travel has come to a standstill.” That standstill in reservations is highest at rental locations based at airports, said an industry expert. “Our business is down somewhere between 50% and 75% on average at the airport locations,” said Greg Scott, with the American Car Rental Association. Scott said neighborhood branch locations are seeing a decline in customers, but not at a rate as high as what the industry is seeing at airport branches. “There are people who are in accidents and need an insurance replacement vehicle,” he said. “And there are always people who don’t have a car and need one.” Scott estimated that a typical day for a branch would be having roughly 70% of available cars out for rent. “If 90% of them or 80% of them are are not out on rental, all of a sudden you’ve got a huge parking problem,” Scott said in an interview with News-Press NOW. “That’s been reported by a variety of media sources.” With an excess supply and a decrease in demand, car rental giants have announced massive layoffs and furloughs. Late last month, Hertz said it plans to lay off some 10,000 employees in North America. Meanwhile, the world’s largest fleet of rental vehicles, Enterprise Holdings, also announced a series of furloughs and layoffs. Enterprise Holdings is a privately held company that owns the rental brands Enterprise, Alamo and National Car Rental. Enterprise realized the layoffs were necessary because of the extension of some local shutdowns and recent extension of federal guidelines on social distancing, the company said. Some layoffs began March 23 while others began last week. The layoffs will affect Missouri employees in several jobs and locations, including at company headquarters in Clayton, MO. It wasn’t clear if either Enterprise, Hertz or Avis-Budget was laying off any St. Joseph employees. Regardless of the uncertainty

the car rental market faces, the industry has been deemed as essential by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and remains open for business. “We remain open and are committed to helping serve these critical transportation infrastructure needs during this challenging time,” Martini said in a statement to News-Press NOW. “While we remain open for business, we have modified our offerings at some locations for the benefit and well-being of both employees and customers. Part of these temporary operational changes, include curbside rental transactions at our open branch locations, as well as delivery, to promote social distancing.” There are an estimated 1.3 million rental cars currently in circulation in the U.S., according to Scott. The Associated Press contributed to this report. We thank News-Press NOW for reprint permission.

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Newsom: CA Making Progress Toward Eased Restrictions by Dan McCaleb, The Center Square

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said May 18 the state has made significant progress in recent weeks in increasing COVID-19 testing and reducing the number of individuals hospitalized for the respiratory disease. Over the past 14 days, the state has seen a 7.5% decline in hospitalizations and an 8.7% decline in the number of ICU patients. “We are seeing a significant, steady rate of decline over a long period of time in the number of people hospitalized or in our ICUs,” Newsom said. At the same time, the state has distributed tens of millions of masks and other personal protective equipment and increased testing capacity to the point where 57,000 were conducted in the past 24 hours. As a result of these successes, 53 of the state’s 58 counties would be eligible to move into stage 2 of the governor’s reopening plan; 24 counties had already qualified. When asked which five counties would not qualify, Newsom said he’d provide that information later. Under stage 2, retail business-

es are able to gradually reopen with curbside sales only, and child care, manufacturing and logistics businesses also are able to reopen. Later in phase 2, retail restrictions will be relaxed, schools will be adapted and able to reopen, as well as offices and limited hospitality and personal services. But stage 2 currently does not allow churches to reopen to in-person service. Many business leaders and church groups have been critical of Newsom’s stay-at-home restrictions. Newsom said the state was a few weeks away from reopening churches. Newsom noted that not all counties that are eligible to move to stage 2 will do so right away. That will be up to local officials themselves, he said. “They can go at their own pace,” he said. Since Newsom instituted stayat-home restrictions across the state in March, effectively closing businesses he deemed non-essential, about 4.5 million California workers have filed for unemployment benefits. We thank The Center Square for reprint permission.

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Continued from Cover

Women of the Year Award Nominations Sought

Time of COVID-19

Women in Auto Care, a community of the Auto Care Association, announced it is accepting nominations for the 2020 Women of the Year Awards. The Women of the Year Awards include “Auto Care Woman of the Year”, “Female Shop Owner of the Year” and “Auto Care Woman of Excellence,” and highlight women who have made a significant impact in the auto care industry. Award recipients will be honored at the Women in Auto Care press conference and reception during the 2020 Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX), taking place Nov. 3-5 in Las Vegas, NV. The deadline to submit nominations is June 26. For more information, including full entry requirements, visit autocare.org/women-in-autocare and click on the “Awards” tab. Source: ACA

the personal nature of cars. Lily Tang, manager at JT Mechanic, said her business is now down to about 15% of normal, and the shop has been gradually cutting

months for filming the Netflix series “Hollywood.” “The first week we were back, it was wonderful,” Lopez said. “Business was hopping.” Then, suddenly, it wasn’t. Lopez said he is applying for a Payroll Protection Program loan. Beyond that, all he and the oth-

“When people can leave the house, I expect they’ll want to drive instead of taking buses,” — Luis Lopez down on its hours. Parts suppliers are also reducing hours, according to Lopez. As for money, April is usually a good month for the car repair business, according to Yoel Iribe, manager at Highland Auto Repair in Highland Park. “We were expecting to be booming around tax time,” Iribe said. “People have a little more money to spend on their cars.” In fact, things were looking great for Lopez as recently as February, when his garage returned to use after being rented for five or six

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er businesses can do it try to survive through the end of the quarantine. “When people can leave the house, I expect they’ll want to drive instead of taking buses,” Lopez said, adding, “if they still have a job.” Another issue is the handling of cars themselves—these small quarters in which we breathe and sneeze and cough and eat our snacks and toss our clothes and our trash and sit with the windows rolled up, sometimes for hours. We smell like our cars, and our cars smell like us. So everything has to be wiped down at the shop, Tang said: the ig-

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nition, the door handles, the steering wheel. The keys also have to be wiped before being given back to the customer. Plus, the customers have to wear masks when coming in. “Otherwise we’re not servicing the cars,” Tang said. At Luis Lopez Automotive, the contact-less customer interactions finds mechanics wearing masks even during test drives. So, in the midst of a pandemic, what are vehicle owners having fixed? Lopez is seeing customers wait until their vehicle is not driveable, or it’s making a noise it shouldn’t be making. It’s “something that actually broke, that forced the hand of the consumer,” Lopez said. Those are the kind of repairs that make sense to Tang, which is why it surprises her that her shop is still getting non-critical jobs, such as oil changes. “We don’t understand why,” Tang said. “They can’t go anywhere anyway.” We thank The Eastsider for reprint permission.

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Alameda County: Tesla Can Officially Reopen its Fremont Factory Under New Conditions by Gene, Teslarati

It appears Tesla’s struggles and the resulting drama surrounding its Fremont, CA, factory’s reopening are coming to an end. In an emergency press release the evening of May 12, Alameda County said it had reviewed Tesla’s safety plan for its employees, and the company will likely be allowed to continue its normal operations next week. “We received Tesla’s site-speciﬁc Fremont COVID-19 Prevention and Control Plan yesterday as anticipated. A site-speciﬁc plan is a part of the Governor’s guidance for reopening manufacturing,” noted the Alameda County Public Health Department over Twitter.

In the May 12 emergency press release, Alameda County takes note of the safety plans needed at Tesla’s

factory before the company can resume full production. “We reviewed the plan and held productive discussions today with Tesla’s repre-

Credit: Tesla.com

sentatives about their safety and prevention plans, including some additional safety recommendations. If Tesla’s Prevention and Control Plan includes these updates, and the public health indicators remain stable or improve, we have agreed that Tesla can begin to augment their Minimum Business Operations this week in preparation for possible reopening as soon as next week,” reads the press release. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressed his support for the electric car maker’s intentions

to return to work. President Donald Trump tweeted his support for the Fremont plant’s reopening. Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has reportedly taken a positive stance on Tesla and Elon Musk’s decision to push for a return to normal operations. The coming Monday, May 18, will mark two weeks since lockdown restrictions were loosened May 4. Tesla is one of many businesses that will be considered for reopening, provided the data show progress with COVID-19 indicators by the Alameda County Public Health Department. “During this two-week period, we would allow additional approved activities for local businesses, including Tesla, as previously planned,” reads the press release. We thank Teslarati for reprint permission.

Parts Departments (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 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. See Parts Departments, Page 26

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CA to Ease Restrictions This Week, Move to ‘Stage 2’ reopening plan, Dr. Sonia Angell, the state’s health officer, said at the May 4 California will move into the first news conference announcing the liftnew stage of its reopening plan at ed restrictions. “It’s really a thrill to be here at the end of this week, and some retail businesses will be allowed to open this time, talking about this positive back up for customers as early as movement forward,” Angell said. May 8—assuming they comply with Meanwhile, counties that have new health guidelines, Gov. Gavin experienced less-severe outbreaks of the COVID-19 virus can now deNewsom announced May 4. The state has made enough prog- velop their own containment plans ress in its efforts to contain, trace and in which they can move further into test for the new coronavirus to allow Stage 2, Newsom said. Those plans, retailers to reopen for curbside pickup, which could allow restaurants and Newsom said. other hospitality venues to reopen, The businesses able to reopen must be certified by the local health this week include clothing stores, officer and county supervisors, he bookstores, music and toy stores, said. sporting goods stores and florists— On the other hand, regions such as the Bay Area, which have stricter stay-home rules than the statewide order, are free to keep the stricter limits in place, Newsom said. It was not immediately clear May 4 whether those counties planned to ease restrictions to match the state order. The remaining steps in the state reopening plan include Stage 3, which would allow the reopening of People line up to enter a market May 2 in San Francisco, CA. Credit: Rich Fury/Getty Images “higher risk” workplaces that require person-to-perwhich will be able to open in time son contact. That includes personal for Mother’s Day on May 10, the care businesses such as gyms and hair salons; churches, weddings and other governor pointed out. Manufacturers and other logis- religious services; and entertainment tical companies that make up retail venues such as theaters and sports supply chains will also be able to without audiences. A fourth and final stage—in reopen, he said. On May 7, the state will an- which the state lifts its stay-home ornounce guidelines that the reopened der and allows high-risk places such businesses must follow to ensure so- as concert venues, live sports and cial distancing. In the past, Newsom convention centers to reopen—will has said those requirements may in- not come until the state has access to clude temperature checks at the door therapeutic drugs to treat COVID-19, and fewer tables inside. Angell said last week. Experts have The May 4 announcement means warned that that development may the state will enter Stage 2 of its grad- take months or longer. ual, four-part reopening plan, which The lifted restrictions come as Newsom laid out last week. The time- California has managed to ramp up line for moving into each stage would its testing for the coronavirus, with depend on the state’s ability to ramp the state now testing 30,000 people up testing, begin widespread contact each day for the disease—exceeding tracing and protect vulnerable resi- its goal of 25,000 by the end of April, dents, Newsom said. Newsom said. The state will also open Offices, shopping malls and dine- 86 new testing sites, according to Anin restaurants will not be permitted gell. to open this week, even though they “Testing has really taken off,” were included in Stage 2 of the initial Newsom said May 4. by Nick Garber, Patch

As for contact tracing—a crucial way to follow the spread of the disease—Newsom announced a new program he said will train 3,000 tracers per week, supplementing an existing workforce of more than 2,800 tracers who work in 22 counties across the state. The “academy,” developed in partnership with UC San Francisco and UCLA, will open May 6 and aims to eventually train at least 20,000 contact tracers. They will undergo a 12-hour online course followed by an eight-hour in-person course before being deployed, Newsom said. As the state considers when to further lift restrictions, officials will keep an eye on a number of metrics, including the rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the availability of personal protective equipment for health workers, the health care system’s ability to handle a surge in patients and the ability to continue testing and tracing for the virus. All of those metrics are currently on schedule, according to the state’s timeline, Angell said.

Newsom took time May 4 to scold some businesses across the state that reopened in recent days in violation of the stay-home order, saying he was prepared to punish the owners if necessary. The state’s department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has investigated 81 of those businesses, of which 80 closed back down after the agency threatened to revoke their liquor licenses, Newsom said. The governor also sounded a note of caution, saying as he has before that residents should prepare for the possibility that orders could be reimposed if virus cases spike again. “I am not naïve,” he said. “If conditions radically change … we will have to appropriately ratchet up our stay-at-home orders.” “Let’s hope we don’t have to do that,” he said. We thank Patch for reprint permission.

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CA Reopening: Gov. Outlines Stage 2 For Retail, Restaurants, More by Renee Schiavone, Patch

May 8 saw a major shift for some businesses in the state, while others hopeful of reopening continue to face uncertainty as to whether and when they’ll be able to open their doors to the public again. “We’re moving forward,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said during his May 7 news conference, but added that the state is doing so with an eye on the science, data and public health. After several days of anticipation, Golden State residents got a few answers as to how the rollout of Stage 2 in the governor’s 4-stage reopening plan will look. Starting May 8, certain retailers, manufacturers and warehouses that were shuttered can reopen with modifications like hands-free devices, outdoor break areas and increased sanitation materials. That is, unless local counties have stricter orders of their own in place. The modification of the stay-athome order affects some “low risk” businesses such as clothing stores, florists, bookstores and sporting good stores―along with the manu-

facturing and warehouses that support those industries. All of these must use curbside pickup for the time being. Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, noted California is now in a “zone of stability” when it comes to coronavirus cases, so he feels confident modifying the order. “It does not mean a return to normal,” Ghaly said. “The virus is still alive in California.” Places that remain closed are offices, shopping malls and outdoor museums, but the governor noted that those will be allowed to open later in Stage 2. As for in-restaurant dining, that will also be allowed in Stage 2, but will likely happen at different times in different communities across the state. The “gradual move” will be decided at the county level, by local health officials who must ensure that certain milestones are achieved before moving forward. Ghaly and Newsom outlined the regional variance criteria for counties to move deeper into Stage 2. In order for a particular county

to open more businesses in Stage 2, they need to have: No more than one COVID-19 case per 10,000 people in the last 14 days. No COVID-19 deaths in the past 14 days. Minimum daily testing capacity of 1.5 per 1,000 residents. Ability to support employees when they are sick or exposed. Availability of disinfectant supplies and protective gear. At least 15 contact tracers per 100,000 residents. Ability to temporarily house at least 15% of county residents experiencing homelessness. What’s more, counties also must be able to accommodate a minimum surge of 35% in their hospital systems and have a “robust plan” for protecting the hospital workforce,

Ghaly said. Nursing homes must have two weeks’ worth of personal protective equipment, or PPE. Still, Newsom said we could see some dine-in restaurants opening “in the next week or so” after full guidelines are released May 12, if counties work “quickly and collaboratively” with businesses and the state. Higher-risk venues such as gyms, hair salons and churches, which include more person-to-person contact, won’t reopen until the state enters Stage 3 of its plan. And mass-gathering places such as concert venues and sports stadiums will stay closed until the state has access to drugs that treat COVID-19—a development that may take months or longer, experts have said. As places start to reopen, Newsom cautioned that the state can expect to see more cases of the coronavirus pop up. “This, by no stretch of the imagination, is over,” Newsom said. “We’re not out of the woods.” We thank Patch for reprint permission.

Tesla Fremont Factory in Focus as CA Prepares for ‘Stage 2’ COVID-19 Response by Simon Alvarez, Teslarati

Tesla’s Fremont factory, which is responsible for the manufacturing of the Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Model Y, may be able to resume some of its operations earlier than expected. This comes amidst the California government’s initiative to move to a “Stage 2” COVID-19 response, which includes the gradual opening of some lower-risk workplaces. California’s upcoming shift to its Stage 2 COVID-19 response was announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom in a post on Twitter. According to the official, some sectors whose operations provide a lower risk of coronavirus transmission will be able to reopen May 8. These include businesses focused on retail, manufacturing and logistics. Tesla’s second quarter results are primarily tied to the Fremont factory and its capability to resume its operations. While Gigafactory Shanghai is in a full ramp of the Model 3, most of the company’s

vehicle production still happens in the California plant. Thus, the longer California prevents Tesla from reopening the Fremont factory, the more challenging it will be for the electric car maker. This is especially true considering other automakers such as General Motors and Ford are expecting to resume their vehicle production activities in the weeks to come. Alameda County’s shutdown orders for the Fremont factory came at an unfortunate time for Tesla. Just before the shutdown, Tesla started customer deliveries of the Model Y, a crossover that has the potential to outsell the Model S, Model 3 and Model X combined. If Tesla can resume production and deliveries of the Model Y on May 8, then the company may very well have a fighting chance this second quarter. We thank Teslarati for reprint permission.

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Auto Insurance Premiums’ Big Digital-First Shift The coronavirus has forced a reckoning with daily financial life, with belt-tightening and budgeting. And as tens of millions of Americans stay at home, work from home, shop from home (and have things delivered) and learn at home, cars and vans and trucks sit idle in driveways and on side streets. It stands to reason the risk of accidents declines when the vehicles, and the drivers piloting them, are off the roads. To that end, the stage may be set for a data-driven model for vehicle insurance, where premiums are tied to usage, which reflects actual real-time and real-world risk. In an interview with PYMNTS, Metromile CEO Dan Preston noted any number of industries, including insurance, are moving toward a digital-first mindset. First and foremost, though, individuals and families are examining whether their insurance policies might be in need of adjustments. “I think the biggest impact everyone’s aware of is that miles driven are down by about 60%,” Preston said of the pandemic. “People are reassessing their options as they find that they’re obviously not using the insurance they bought.”

Against that backdrop, carriers such as Allstate, Liberty Mutual and GEICO have been giving billions of dollars back to policyholders. GEICO, for example, has been offering its holders a 15% credit. Liberty Mutual has said its own customers will get 15% refunds for two months of their premiums. Preston noted demand for “per-mile” insurance has gone up, where previously they might have waited for their traditional insurers to investigate risk and return back with supposedly accurate premiums. As the traditional carriers offer payment relief, he said, in March, Metromile gave back 30% of premiums to customers across the eight states in which it operates without having to offer refunds or do anything differently. As Preston told PYMNTS, the math is fairly simple: “People just drove less, so they ended up saving.” The shift toward working from home may become fairly entrenched, said Preston, which in turn will cut down on commuting time and shift the risk lower, which should be reflected in auto insurance premiums. That shift will most certainly last at least until there is a vaccine avail-

able to combat the coronavirus. “I do expect there’s going to be a lot of companies shifting toward a more longterm remote culture,” he said. Even shopping may change a bit, where people stay a bit closer to home or drive less frequently, opting to consolidate their trips. The current recessionary environment, said Preston, may give rise to new and flexible financial products and services, mirroring the tech innovation that marked the decade since the last Great Recession struck 12 years ago.The opportunity exists to leverage technology to address drivers’ insurance needs on a per-customer basis, as firms like Metromile factor a number of variables into premiums constructed on top of a base rate meant to cover collision. Those variables―tied to the safety of the road being driven, traffic patterns and individual driving behavior―are gleaned from sensors in the car. Preston noted the company’s app, and the data collected by the firm, can represent a starting point for “building a better claims experience.” He pointed to AVA, Metromile’s claims assistant underpinned by artificial intelligence (AI), which can col-

lect details to help automate claims filings, file damage photos and use sensor data to “reconstruct” the accident scene. That contrasts sharply from the traditional claims process, which can involve several calls to an insurance company―“oftentimes they’ll ask you the same question twice to make sure that you’re telling the truth,” said Preston, adding the whole process “creates an adversarial relationship with the customer.” “The obvious approach is to start with user behavior to give a better [insurance] price, but data can be used in a deeper, more holistic way, for the end-to-end customer experience,” he told PYMNTS. Preston noted features included in the app can alert users to impending street-sweeping activity, enabling them to avoid tickets, and even help with budgeting trips. It might be hard to envision what life looks like on the other side of the pandemic, but as Preston told PYMNTS, a digital-first shift, data-driven by the mile, “may certainly be what insurance looks like for the long term.” We thank PYMNTS for reprint permission.

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24 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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Dynabrade, Inc., Founder Passes

Coronavirus: Here’s What CA Counties Have to Do Before Reopening by Fiona Kelliher, The Mercury News

Walter N. Welsch, founder of Clarence, NY-based power tool manufacturer Dynabrade, Inc., died May 16. He was 96. In 1951, he joined 3M as a sales representative based in Tonawanda, NY. While calling on jukebox manufacturer Wurlitzer, he developed an idea for replacing tedious hand filing with a power-actuated abrasive belt filing machine, the now infamous Dynafile, an industry leading material removal tool. He founded Dynabrade in 1969, and led the company from its North Tonawanda, NY, location on Payne Ave. to its current 150,000-square foot global headquarters in Clarence. In addition to its headquarters, Dynabrade has sales and warehousing facilities in Europe and India. Dynabrade employs nearly 300 people worldwide and recently celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019. Last year, the company’s management dedicated its training center in honor of Welsch. Source: Dynabrade

Counties across California will have the option to ease stay-at-home orders starting next week—but only if they meet a laundry list of requirements surrounding coronavirus case counts, testing and hospital capacity, state officials said May 7. As California begins to move into the second phase of reopening the economy—starting with curbside pickups at retailers beginning May 8—some jurisdictions may be authorized to move ahead faster so long as they hit the benchmarks, Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “It’s a health-first frame. If they can’t meet it … then we’re not able to accommodate that, and we’ll be compelled to enforce it in a thoughtful and judicious way,” the governor said. To move at a quicker clip, counties must attest to the state that they’ve had no more than one case per 10,000 people in the last 14 days and no COVID-19 related deaths during the same period, explained Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of California Health and Human Services.

Counties must also test at a minimum daily rate of 1.5 tests per 1,000 residents and have at least 15 contact tracers per 100,000 residents, Ghaly said. Other guidelines include having a “robust plan” for personal protective equipment supplies across the hospital workforce, supporting homeless residents with housing, and the ability to handle future surges in COVID-19 cases. Skilled nursing facilities—which have been rocked by a concentration of cases and deaths in the Bay Area and beyond—must have a more than 14-day supply of PPE, plus the means to order additional PPE from suppliers when running low. In the Bay Area, the stay-at-home order has been extended through May 31 with an easing of limited outdoor activities, but the seven jurisdictions will not follow Newsom’s lead to open up more businesses. “The Bay Area orders do not currently permit curbside pickup from non-essential, non-outdoor businesses, and that is not allowed to begin on Friday, May 8,” the Bay Area’s health officers said in a joint statement after

Newsom’s address, adding they will study his guidance “carefully.” Businesses that plan to begin reopening in the next phase, meanwhile, must also follow detailed guidelines now available on the state’s website. Across all sectors, employers must perform a risk assessment for their site, train employees on the spread of COVID-19 and screen employees for symptoms. Each industry—including retailers, manufacturers and logistics— must also follow specific criteria tailored to them. Manufacturing break rooms, for instance, may be closed down in favor of open-air rooms, Ghaly said. The state has also provided non-mandatory checklists as businesses begin to implement new protocols. “This is not etched in stone— we want to continue to work with people across sectors and address not just intended but unintended consequences,” Newsom said. We thank The Mercury News for reprint permission.

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Continued from Page 19

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.

Parts Departments 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 instore 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.

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Ford CEO on Weathering Coronavirus: ‘Don’t Waste a Crisis’ by Joann Muller, Axios

The coronavirus pandemic couldn’t have hit Ford at a worse time― midway through a restructuring effort, with several critical vehicle debuts just around the corner. With its factories closed and car demand sharply lower, it’s more important than ever for Ford to get the company back on track quickly so it can weather the storm. But some analysts are worried about what they see as a lack of urgency after Ford posted a $2 billion Q1 loss and predicted it would lose another $5 billion or more this quarter. Pressed during an earnings call about whether Ford would accelerate its restructuring actions in light of the pandemic, CEO James Hackett acknowledged “one truth, right? Don’t waste a crisis.” But he offered no new plans. “While the cash burn dynamics were in-line with what we had modeled, Ford did not appear to have a firm grasp on how it might accelerate restructuring

actions to offset what could be a lower sales environment even post-lockdowns,” Barclays analyst Brian Johnson wrote in a note to clients. Ford has $35 billion in cash after recent borrowings, enough to last through the year if there’s a prolonged crisis, CFO Tim Stone said. So far, none of the Detroit automakers appears to be in need of a bailout. Ford still owes the federal government $1.5 billion for government loans it received during the last crisis in 2009. It’s not clear when Ford will reopen its U.S. manufacturing plants but every day that it’s not producing cars means more red ink. Ford’s European factories are scheduled to gradually resume production starting Monday. We thank Axios for reprint permission.

AUTOBODY

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Please contact these dealers for your Honda or Acura Genuine parts needs. HONDA CALIFORNIA

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Dept. Hours: M-F 7-6; Sat 8-5 NEVADA

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ACURA CALIFORNIA

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Dept. Hours: M-F 8-6; Sat 8-5 mike.ohare@acuraoffremont.com

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Marin Acura Corte Madera

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Dept. Hours: M-F 7:30-5:30 wholesaleparts@metrohonda.com 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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30 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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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-

KEARNY MESA

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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 46

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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.

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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.

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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-

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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

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.

Fig. 9 - www.csishine.com

Kye turned me on to this product while we were walking the show. The company had a booth way off the 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 fantastic. I followed up with him at a

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.

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 trans-

fer of heat down from 3000 degrees and one half inch from heat source. It is perfect for stopping warping when

Fig. 11 - www.Solderweld.us

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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.

Fig. 14 - www.djsfabrication.com

& 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

Fig. 12 - www.vampiretools.com

Have you ever had a Philips screw strip out when trying to remove it? We 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. 15 - www.amazon.com

Tool gives you! The long handle and pivoting cleaning head gives you easy access to the far corners of your windshield or back window. Amber’s second pick was from SATA.

a new pulling device for creases. Wide Pass-Through Adapters - create twice

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

the 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.

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Fig. 13

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. The Stoner Invisible Glass Reach

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

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36 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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with Stacey Phillips

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.

From the Desk of Mike Anderson with Mike Anderson

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 54

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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.

“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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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, and charging for the added vehicle but there have been some glimmers cleaning process. of hope for a better ahead. “Most insurance companies have withsummer Ed Attanasio Here are some potential bits of good sent out a very nice ‘stay healthy’ bulnews for collision repairers. letin authorizing a charge for disin States are opening back up. fecting customers’ vehicles on arrival Eighteen states began reopening their and before return to the customer,” a economies and public life in early shop manager in an Idaho suburb said. May, and about another half dozen do- Nationwide Insurance sent a ing so in mid-May leaves than memo to its direct repair shops at the with Edfewer Attanasio half of states still shut down or severe- end of March, saying it would pay for ly restricted. Life and business won’t one labor hour and $25 in materials completely be returning to “normal” for “sanitizing the vehicle when it aranywhere for a bit, but with business- rives and prior to delivery to the cuses reopening and more people getting tomer.” No additional documentation out and about, the need for collision would be necessary unless charges repair work should beginEd to Attanasio rebound. exceed this amount, Nationwide told with Traffic levels are growing since its direct repair shops. CARSTAR’s corporate staff told bottoming out in early April. Passen- ger vehicle traffic nationwide ticked its franchise shops in mid-April that up slightly April 18-24, the third State Farm had agreed to pay its diweek-over-week rise in a row. Though rect repair shops a similar amount for it remained just 59% of Ed whatAttanasio it was in added vehicle cleaning. with February, it was more than an 11% USAA on April 10 also said it improvement from a month earlier, would pay a “sanitize vehicle” estiwhen it bottomed out at just 53% of mate line item, but the amount it said “normal,” according to the traffic ana- it would pay—one-half of a labor hour lyst firm INRIX. and $15 in materials—was about half Traffic was up in all 50 states; of what State Farm and Nationwide with Rhode Island saw theStacey smallest Phillips in- had agreed to pay shops. crease (less than 1%), but seven states Shops’ fears about business sur(Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, vival seem to be easing. One indusNebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Col- try survey in early April found that orado) all saw week-over-week in- almost 1 in 4 (23%) said they were very (or extremely) concerned about creases of 10% or more April 18-24. also was still being in business even just 30 Personal vehicle withtraffic Stacey Phillips up that week in all 98 of the metro- days in the future, but by the second politan areas INRIX is tracking. The half of April that level of concern metro areas with the largest week- was expressed by just 14% of shops. over-week improvements April 18- The percentage of shops that 24 were Omaha, NE (up 12%), Den- were not very (or not at all) concerned ver, CO, and Des Moines, IA (each about their businesses surviving the with Stacey Phillips up 11%), Colorado Springs, CO (up next 30 days increased from 52% in 10%), and Minneapolis, MN (up 9%.) early April to 63% by the end of the Many insurers are paying for month. COVID-19 cleaning. Added efforts “We are strong financially due to to clean vehicles as they come in for 20 years of conservative practices and repairs, and before they are returned paying off debt,” the owner of a shop to customers, towith reduce the riskPhillips of in Lubbock, TX, said, for example. Stacey COVID-19 transmission has become Government financial assistance a routine “repair operation” for most may well have played a role in easing shops, and it’s a procedure more and some shops’ short-term concerns. Surmore shops are now successfully bill- veys indicate about 70% of shops that ing for as a line item. A survey of said they had applied for the Small more than 650 shops found almost 3 Business Administration’s pandemic out of 4 (73%) shops are performing assistance have already received the

Social Media for Shops

SEMA Show Goes On

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 repairers: 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

Media and Publicity for Shops Shop Strategies

Body Shops Giving Back

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 Service (ISS) shows collision claim frequency was down 1.5% in 2018 and then down another 1.8% last year. CCC Information Services points to

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the g cles its f accid CCC beca adop toma ted i with mati man dead year in th dent earli proj dent was 10% 2024 coul nific the the U.S.

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.

Certified Collision Group Remains Strong and Growing During the COVID-19 Pandemic Certified Collision Group (CCG) added its 450th affiliate location earlier this month.

“We are extremely thankful for the continued support of our affiliates, strategic vendor partners and clients during these unprecedented times,” said CCG CEO Marty Evans. “And we are very proud of our industry leading affiliates and the stability of the entire group; locations are open and operational, and continue to deliver their best-inbusiness service. “Our primary focus over these last two months has been to support our affiliates as they manage through COVID-19 challenges in their towns and communities,” said Evans. “We are doing all we can to ensure our affiliates have the most up to date and accurate information needed to keep their associates and

Think Genuine Subaru Parts.

customers safe during this dangerous pandemic. “We are also proud of the many affiliates who have stepped up in their local communities and donated back to those on the frontlines battling this pandemic.” A few examples: Al Brodeur’s Auto Body in Marlborough, MA, has an ongoing weekly

“We are extremely thankful for the continued support of our affiliates, strategic vendor partners and clients during these unprecedented times,” — Marty Evans “Community Heroes” program that includes donations to nurses, teachers, first-responders, grocers, truck drivers, restaurant staff, hospitals and many more. Frank Todaro, owner of Collision Masters in Buffalo, NY, worked with another local business to help release 68,000 N95 masks that were donated to local hospitals and first-responders.

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“Our I-CAR Gold and OEM certified independent affiliates are providing both community support and great collision repair experiences,” said Chris Sestito, senior vice president of CCG’s Insurance Services Group. “We are confident that CCG and our affiliates will come out of this pandemic stronger than when we entered.” Source: CCG

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The team at 1st Certified Collision Centers in Southern California donated generously to first responders and public servants in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. McCullom Auto Body in Portland, OR, is taking a Recycled Ride postponed due to a local event cancelations and turning it into an opportunity to find a family impacted by the pandemic.

San Bernardino (909) 888-8686 (909) 571-5483 Fax Mon.-Fri. 7:30-7; Sat 7:30-5 parts@subarusb.com www.sbsubaru.com

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The following dealerships are eager to serve your needs. Call your local Subaru collision parts specialist today! autobodynews.com / JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS 43

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SEMA Show Goes On with Ed Attanasio

Media and Publicity for Shops with Ed Attanasio

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

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

Body Shops Giving Back

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

Tips for Busy Body Shops control on each repair and run a steaMy SEMA

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-

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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5/19/2020 7:33:55 PM

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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? “We had four to five weeks of tion shop in Utah. Plumb with Edresponded Attanasio 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? “Alpine Auto Renovation has duling. Tow-ins have dropped off alwith 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 collisiwith 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.” Have you implemented any BMW and Porsche makes and models, as we are a certified for those changes at your shop, as far as cleanliness or other safety measures in two manufacturers.”

Product Innovation

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 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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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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autobodynews.com / JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS 47

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Historical Snapshot with John Yoswick

Associations Assembling with Chasidy Rae Sisk

Local Associations Discuss Impact of COVID-19 on Members and Organizations

Southeast News

Collision repair industry associa- tinual basis, or possible layoffs due tions around the country may take to the reduction in business,” said different stanceswith Burl Richards, president of the Auto on various matters, Chasidy Rae Sisk but one shared commonality is the Body Association of Texas (ABAT.) intent of improving the businesses “This is a life-changing event that no one was prepared for.” of their members. The global pandemic is impacting Jeff Oldenettel, president of various communities and even individ- the Kansas Auto Body Associaual businesses in different ways. Sev- tion (KABA), pointed out shops Chasidy Rae Sisk are contending with different chaleral associationwith leaders graciously agreed to discuss some of the challenges than before. “Instead of needing techs, shops lenges they’ve seen, as well as some of the solutions they’ve presented, are worried about workload and while helping member shops navi- if they’ll lose their techs if they’re gate the current situation to the best forced to lay them off,” Oldenettel said. “That’s one of the biggest fears of their ability. with Chasidy Rae Sisk Addressing the impact that I’ve heard. It all comes down to shop COVID-19 has had on shops so far, culture. No one is truly knowledgethe consensus appears to be there is able about this situation because it’s so new. We’re all struggling through no consensus. Some shopswith are experiencing some new realities.” ChasidysigRae Sisk nificant reductions in workload, while Many shops have engaged in others have seen increases, and still new ways of communicating with others have shut their doors. customers and offering curbside op “While all shops have been im- tions to enhance customers’ comfort pacted, the severity ranges quite a bit,” level. said Amanda Henry, direc “Shops have taken extra meawithexecutive Chasidy Rae Sisk tor of AASP-PA. “Some shops have sures to offer touchless services such combated the effects of the impact as drive up estimates, drop off and of the virus by shortening their work pick up services. I have heard of shops week, changing their hours or laying arranging add-on sublet services, such off employees. All have ramped up as chip repairs and glass replacement, their marketing with offers, Chasidy some in rather so the customer doesn’t have to go to Rae Sisk creative ways, including offering to multiple places,” said Shelly Jones, run errands for their customers while president of Women in Automotive and they are servicing their vehicles.” Collision (WAC.) “The business impact on the in- The associations have also gotdustry has certainly not been insig- ten creative in response to social Chasidy Rae Sisk nificant, and it’swith created a financial distancing mandates, rescheduling strain on members,” said AASP-MN in-person events and taking advanExecutive Director Judell Ander- tage of online forums, like Zoom son. “Despite the workforce short- and Facebook Live, to provide netage, they’ve found ways to keep their working and educational opportunivalued employees on the payroll and ties to members. Most association with Chasidy Rae Sisk to provide safe, innovative service to personnel are working remotely, and the motoring public while restrictions some associations have been forced are in place. Like any other challenge, to reduce staff. those who have positioned their busi- They are all striving to answer ness strategically for the long term members’ questions and concerns and will survive, although probably with are distributing information by email a few battle scars.” with Ed Attanasio to keep members updated on the var “Everyone has had to change ious financial relief options available, some aspects of the way they do busi- and they’ve also updated their webness, whether it be meeting custom- sites to ensure the information is easiers outside, disinfecting vehicles and ly accessible. their working environment on a con- “We want to make sure they

Western Associations

Southwest Associations Southeast Associations Northeast Associations

know we’re a resource they can turn to for important information,” ASA Northwest President and Executive Director Jeff Lovell said. “There’s a lot of great free training out there right now, and we’re encouraging our members to take advantage of that as well.” “Many suppliers, trainers and other companies within the collision repair industry are offering tons of free webinars,” said James Rodis, vice chair of the Nebraska Auto Body Association (NABA.) “Collision Hub’s courses have been great, and I don’t care how smart you think you are— you can always learn something new! Take the time to clean your shops and prepare to reopen, and get all your training done now!” ARA and CAWA have provided a template letter for essential employees, and both groups have been actively advocating to ensure that the

government considers their members’ businesses to be essential. “ARA also established a COVID -19 Relief Fund, which has already raised over $60,000 to benefit ARA direct members who struggle due to the pandemic,” said Sandy Blalock, executive director of ARA. CAWA has been “encouraging members to join the YANG effort to financially support the Automotive Aftermarket Charitable Foundation that assists aftermarket associates in time of crisis and need,” President and CEO Rodney Pierini said. When asked to offer advice for struggling shops, association leaders were quick to point out the opportunities that exist within this crisis. “Hang in there; we all need you. Once the floodgates open, I’m sure we’ll all be back in full swing and celebrating,” said Cathi Webb, executive director of the Northwest Auto-

Midwest Associations

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Advertising Advantages with Ed Attanasio

48 JUNE 2020 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com

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motive Trades Association (NATA.) “Lean on vendors, industry peers and members of organizations that you belong to,” Jones encouraged. “Tap into your network and connections to find resources and brainstorm ideas.” “While none of us have ever seen anything like this before, we’ve all weathered bad storms before and together we can get through this as well,” Henry pointed out. “One thing I’ve learned working in this industry is that shop owners are a strong, creative bunch, and the relationships built through the years are what will get us all through this as well. Lean on those relationships now—reach out and help one another if you can, even if it’s just to listen and commiserate.” Oldenettel suggested this is a great time to remodel and prepare for the future. “Work on your business so you’re ready when things start to calm down—it’s not all gloom and doom. There will be an end to this. As an industry, we need to see this as an opportune time to accelerate into the rest of this year. It’s an opportunity

if you just view it that way.” “Take the time to do all the things you have been putting off for years because you never have time to do it,” said Josh Kent, executive director of the Carolinas Collision Association (CCA.) “Educate your shop during this time. This industry needs to start taking back control

“Shops have taken extra measures to offer touchless services such as drive up estimates, drop off and pick up services. I have heard of shops arranging add-on sublet services, such as chip repairs and glass replacement, so the customer doesn’t have to go to multiple places,” — Shelly Jones through education. It’s time to implement change and take that leap of faith to support state associations because we’re here to help everyone. The more change we can help create, the better it is for every shop and all of our customers.” “This is an eye opener for all of us,” said AASP/NJ President Jerry McNee. “It’s time to re-evaluate our business. Relearn your business in-

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

side and out. It’s time to plan for your future. We want to come out of this stronger, smarter, better and more educated than when we went in. “Ask yourself what you’re going to do differently. What do you need to do to survive? Your business won’t fix itself, so you need to determine the best way to run your business.”

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.

Association leaders also expressed a lot of respect for shops going out of their way to help their employees and communities during this health and economic crisis. “Shops are very grateful to be considered an essential business during this time and are doing everything they can to keep their employees and hold on until the pandemic is over,” said Ricki Garrett, executive

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director of the Mississippi Collision Repair Association (MSCRA.) “Some are also helping their communities by providing extra masks, ventilators and sanitizer to their local hospitals.” “I’m impressed with the generosity, resourcefulness, business acumen and commitment that our members have demonstrated during this crisis. It’s going to be rough for a while, and the industry will emerge changed but stronger than ever,” Anderson added. “There’s a reason that auto and collision repair were deemed ‘essential’ businesses, and that’s because they are! The fundamental need for consumers to have their vehicles maintained and repaired has not changed and will continue after this crisis has passed—perhaps at even greater levels than ever before. “This industry has always been resilient, whether adapting to changing vehicle technologies or a shifting regulatory environment. If shops stay informed, take advantage of the resources available to them and adjust accordingly, they can weather the storm and come out wiser and stronger on the other side.”

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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

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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 ad vances 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

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.

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.

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Scholarship Recipients Announced by WIN

ACA Joins More Than 100 Business Organizations to Launch America’s Recovery Fund Coalition

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.

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:

Source: WIN

“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-

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

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. Source: ACA

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Continued from Page 37

Not Busy?

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.”

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.

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