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California to Resume will need to answer ‘Yes’ next month to maintain eligibility,” EDD said. The change is likely welcomed news to employers who have seen historic numbers of job openings not being filled. EDD announced June 18 the state’s unemployment rate fell to 7.9% in May as the state’s employers gained 104,500 non-farm payroll jobs. While the falling unemployment numbers signify a return to the workforce, California’s labor force grew by only 12,400 workers last month, meaning thousands of workers are still sitting on the sidelines.
Your leading source for WESTERN Collision Repair News! western.autobodynews.com
Focus Advisors Represents Able Body Shop in its Sale to Classic Collision FOCUS Advisors is proud to announce the sale of its client, Able Body Shop, to Classic Collision of Atlanta, GA. Able operates three large, well-equipped shops in and around Anchorage, AK. All locations will operate under the Classic Collision brand. This acquisition marks Classic Collision’s first acquisition into the Northwest market. Classic now operates 74 shops in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, California and now Alaska. “Able Auto Body and Ryan Cropper are great additions to the Classic Collision family,” said CEO Toan Nguyen. “Adding shops and management talent of this quality continue to accelerate our growth and broaden our geographic reach.” David Roberts, managing director of Focus Advisors, who led the transaction, observed the Able acquisition by Classic represents its first expansion beyond the lower 48 states. “This acquisition shows how large organizations gain confi-
dence in growing over geographically larger distances,” Roberts said. “The demonstrated quality of Able’s operations and management in its market reduced the risks to Classic.”
“Adding shops and management talent of this quality continue to accelerate our growth and broaden our geographic reach.” — Toan Nguyen Able Body Shop was started in 2002 by Cropper with the purchase of a shop in downtown Anchorage. Expansion followed with subsequent openings of two much larger shops over the next 18 years, as Anchorage and Able continued to grow. Recognized in the industry as a superior operator with an effective flat management culture, Cropper will continue operate and expand operations as Classic as it builds out the Alaska market. “The growth and development of my shops was an incredibly rewarding experience,” Cropper said. “Deciding to sell wasn’t
GM Supports California Emissions Reductions, But Wants Flexibility by Steven Loveday, Inside EVs
According to a new report by Automotive News, General Motors is now officially supporting the emissions requirements outlined by California in 2019. However, the automaker reached out to the Biden Administration requesting greater flexibility as it aims to comply with the rules beginning now through 2026. The information reportedly came from a letter written by GM CEO Mary Barra, delivered to EPA Chief Michael Regan. Prior to November, GM was still publicly supporting the Trump Administration’s loosening of emissions targets. However, more recently, the company made it public it would join hands with other automakers in support of California’s much stricter rules. It’s important to note, back when GM was pushing back against California’s policies, Ford, Honda and Volkswagen banded together to publicly support the emissions reduction strategy. The article notes GM and other automakers will be “out of compli-
ance for the current 2021 model year and 2022,” based on California’s standards. GM’s plan is to work toward compliance by 2023, and then ramp up more aggressively from 2024 to 2026. Barra notes automakers should be able to work toward the more stringent rules at a later date, likely since they already made earlier plans to follow Trump’s guidelines in the near term. She also points to the years 2027 to 2035 as a time when a focus on battery-electric vehicles will be paramount. Automotive News shared part of Barra’s email stating companies could “comply with higher-level performance standards in the later part of the program through increased sales of pure EV vehicles.” Despite GM’s continued announcements about an onslaught of EVs coming to market, it hasn’t really made much progress since it launched the Chevrolet Bolt EV years ago. A redesigned Bolt---as well as a Bolt EUV crossover—is in the mix for the 2022 model year, but all other projects seem to be further off.
26 JULY 2021 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com
easy but I could see the direction the industry was moving and knew more capital, more scale and being part of a larger organization was the future. And Classic is a great fit for the team at Able and
for myself. “I consider myself a pro in collision repair,” Cropper said. “I had been approached many times over the years about selling but I knew I wasn’t an M&A professional. Having seen the success of Focus in representing some of my industry friends, I reached out to Dave Roberts and Chris Lane at Focus. They did a great job, working for nearly six months to set us up for a successful sale. We had multiple parties interested and I’m sure we chose the right partner to continue our growth.” Source: Focus Advisors
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