FIX NETWORK CANADA IS GROWING

Evolving to meet aftermarket car care needs of today and tomorrow

FIX Network Canada is continually growing – the number of shops, our team and, of course, our expertise. With more than 500 shops in Canada dedicated to providing collision, mechanical and glass repair coast-tocoast, we are also proud of our global network expansion in Europe, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and the US markets.

Similar to many industries, 2023 is shaping up to be a year still defined by recovery as supply chain restrictions relieve themselves and other post-pandemic stabilization continues. Amidst ongoing change, FIX Network Canada’s collision aftermarket care service is well positioned to embrace the advantages of keeping pace with the changing re- quirements from our industry partners including insurance providers, OEMs, and of course, customers.

For our FIX Auto and ProColor Collision repair centres, there are two key evolving realities that intersect which we are undergoing detailed business readiness planning—electrification of the fleet and human capital requirements. The new tech requires technicians trained in the newest processes.

“We work hard to support our network (strategic partners?) partners in their day-to-day operations;’ Sylvain Seguin, president FIX Network Canada, said. “We provide a total value chain that supports our franchisees’ responsiveness to customer demands but also helps us plan a roadmap to address emerging trends that require responsive and long-term business planning.”

Powering Our Franchise Network

Human resources and changing technology were top of mind during our 2023 Evolution regional meetings held in Mt. Tremblant; Quebec City; Halifax, NS; Mississauga, ON; and Calgary, AB. Attended by nearly 450 of our franchisees, suppliers, vendors, and other strategic partners, these meetings provided business updates, networking opportunities and insights about key trends affecting our industry.

Addressing the labour crunch is not unique to our industry and is ready present. Across our business, we focus heavily on the employee experience and that is especially true at the frontline. The technicians of today will hopefully be our shop owners and FIX Network leaders of tomorrow, helping to move the business forward in meeting market trends and demands. We are focused on the total employee experience, from recruitment, training and retention.

The power of our network impacts local economic and employment opportunities. Equally is our Network’s impact on the communities where we work and live. Our strategic partners came together in a big way to support one of our national charitable partners, the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), blowing past our fundraising goal. We are proud and humbled to have raised more than $125,000 at our Evolution tour stops as well as through in-shop promotions—all to support the amazing work of RHMC which is integral to families in their greatest time of need.

“It is incredible that our Network franchisees show up in this way all year long for many different charitable organizations,” Sylvain said. “We are a global network with huge local impact and a passion for supporting our communities and neighbours.”

In the current automotive aftermarket, being part of the FIX Network is a competitive advantage. The value chain we provide includes sales, operations and marketing expertise and supports our owners so they can focus on the day-to-day shop operations and invest their time in delivering the best customer experience. Through events like annual meetings where we share insights to emerging trends affecting their business—like servicing electric vehicles, attracting and retaining top talent and building teams that support their business continuity—we strive to drive long-term value at the shop level and across our industry.

To find out more about the ways in which we support our franchise owners or for information on joining our collision care network in Canada, please visit Fixnetwork.com

See You At Sema

Registration for the 2023 SEMA Show is officially open. This year’s annual trade event and industry week will take place from October 31, 2023 through November 3, 2023 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Those interested in attending can register online at semashow.com/register.

Making Space

With all Ontarian eyes fixated on huge investments into the province’s auto sector as of late, the Ford government announced that a round of funding totalling more than $4.7 million is on the way to create the jobs to match industry growth. The announcement was made in London, Ontario, alongside representatives from the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA) and the Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA), where two large-scale training projects were outlined. The project headed up by AIA Canada aims to equip 160 individuals with the skills to transition their careers into the electric vehicle (EV) sector, in the aim of bolstering recent investments into such technologies in Ontario. The government confirmed that Conestoga College (Guelph Campus), Fanshawe College (London Campus) and St. Lawrence College (Cornwall Campus) will be partnering to offer the courses. More information can be found here.

“Getting our workers the skills they need and more people into the automotive trades is essential,” said AIA Canada president Jean-François Champagne. “Automotive tradespeople provide Ontarians with essential vehicle repair and maintenance services that keep Ontario’s more than nine million vehicles in road-safe condition. AIA Canada looks forward to continued collaboration with the Ontario government and our post-secondary partners to ensure the industry is ready to service the vehicles of both today and tomorrow.”

Painting With Patience

Enterprise’s Q1 Length of Rental report is out and comes bearing the news that the average first quarter rental length is up by three full days from last year, as parts and labour shortages persist throughout the industry. The report notes that while this spike in national average LOR from Q1 2022 to Q1 2023 is significant, it is still smaller than the 4.3-day increase experienced from Q1 to Q4 of the 2021 fiscal year. On a provincial level, Prince Edward Island recorded both the highest LOR, at 20.5 days, and the most significant change, with the province seeing an average 9.2-day increase from Q1 2022 to Q1 2023. Quebec followed PEI with the second most drastic change to LOR, experiencing an increase of four days over the past year and recording the fourth highest LOR, 18.8 days, of the seven provinces accounted for by the report. Ontario, while only seeing a comparatively small increase of 2.8 days, currently has the second-highest LOR nationally, coming in at an average of 19.7 days.

Leading The Way

Director of claims performance at Mitchell International, Ryan Mandell, shared some of his insights within the report, saying “the refinish process is increasingly lengthening in Canada with the average number of refinish hours increasing from 8.53 to 8.55, and average number of blend lines increasing from 0.57 to 0.6.” “While these numbers may seem minute at best, we can expect these numbers to continue to increase as supplements develop over the course of the next several months.”

A new bill tabled in Québec aims to amend the Consumer Protection Act to protect consumers from planned obsolescence and promote the durability, repairability and maintenance for goods in the province. If passed, Québec would be the first Canadian province—and one of few regions in North America—to protect the consumer’s right to choose where their vehicle is repaired. In response to the tabling of Bill 29, AIA Canada president J.F. Champagne said, “Québec will be a winner on all fronts: in addition to effectively fighting planned obsolescence and encouraging the repair of the automotive properly, it will ensure a plurality of services and freedom of choice for Québec consumers as well as the promotion of healthy competition and competitive prices in the auto repair market.

Smart Spot welder

Automatic setting of parameters

Water cooled for hi productivity

22 ft. long cable, No EMF emissions

Output 14,000 Amps, 450 daN or 700 daN

Input 50 Amps, 208-240V, 3 Phase

Approved by OEMs

3680 model wi-Fi, enabled for factory

Updates and diagnostics

Crossed Wires

According to Plante Moran’s OEM-Supplier Working Relations Index (WRI) Study, there is “rising tension” between OEMs and suppliers, largely due to increased risk to short-term cost recovery issues, production scheduling and supply chain disruptions as the industry transitions to electric vehicles. “These are compounded by long-term strategic issues suppliers have, related to adequate insight into automakers’ EV strategy and timing so they can effectively plan for the transition in terms of adequate capital, acquisitions and staffing investment. New market conditions, such as supply chain disruptions and new technologies that change product plans and manufacturing strategies, require short- and long-term forecasts and production schedules to be more accurate and to be communicated more timely with suppliers,” reads the survey, which polls 715 salespeople from 459 Tier 1 suppliers and tracks supplier sentiment on six of the largest OEMs in North America.

FORD’S FIGURES

Ford of Canada no longer reports sales figures by quarter, and the OEM asserts it no longer reports sales by “regional market”—yet it reported regional U.S. sales numbers for Q1 2023. The OEM made the announcement by quietly writing on its website that it will “report global results with a focus on three new business segments rather than by geographic reasons.” Regardless, Ford reported its Q1 U.S. sales numbers in early April. Some industry experts are worried other OEMs may do the same, similar to the mass switch from monthly to quarterly reports in 2019. When asked if the OEM would provide quarterly sales numbers to media, Ford said they “could ask, but we won’t provide those [figures] to any media.”

Electric Ready

Certified Collision Care has been selected by VinFast to administer and manage the Vietnamese automaker’s Certified Collision Repair Program in Canada, the OEM’s next step in establishing service infrastructure for its Canadian customers. Certified Collision Care is a division of OEConnection (OEC), Canada’s largest network of OEM Certified repair providers and administers the Canadian OEM Collision Certification programs for several international automakers. Under the partnership, Certified Collision Care will identify and certify repair centres in their network, once VinFast Certified Collision Repair Program standards have been met.

Grand Finale

The Fix Network team wrapped up its regional conference meeting series in mid-June with a grand event for its maritime partners in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Starting in May, the network hosted its regional partners for a series of cross-Canada meetings. Quebec franchisees kicked off the event series in Mont Tremblant, followed by Albertan partners in Calgary. Fix Network then held its annual charity golf tournament in partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities in June, in conjunction with its trade show and meeting for Ontario franchisees. “We concluded our Canadian regional conference tour, finishing up in beautiful Halifax to support our Atlantic region,” wrote Zakari Krieger, vice president for Prime Car Care at Fix Network, upon his departure from the Maritimes. “It’s been an incredible few months through this coast-to-coast tour, being part of our networks’ unwavering commitment to the evolution, growth and success of the automotive aftermarket.”

Pricing Paradigm

The Boyd Group reported increases in its Q1 sales, driven by “higher repair costs due to increasing vehicle complexity…increased scanning and calibration services and general market inflation,” said the company. CEO Tim O’Day told investors during the earnings call that most of the company’s scanning and calibrations are completed by third-party sublets, though Boyd Group benefits from the revenue the services bring in. “Much of the calibration work today is done via mobile, although we are equipping stores with…equipment, with targeting systems and mobile technicians can travel to our stores. We will move work around on a huband-spoke basis to provide some of that work. But I think we’re going to continue to see a growth in revenue around scanning and calibration and we’re going to internalize more of it,” O’Day told shareholders. Total sales for Q1 2023 were US$714.9 million, a 28.4 percent increase compared to US$556.8 million in Q1 2022.

Boyd Group CEO, Tim O’Day. The network also noted that adjusted EBITDA for the period was constrained by technician capacity, due to the tight labour market. “Market conditions, including wage pressure and a tight labour market, are impacting the results that can be achieved in the near-term,” it wrote.

Simply Supportive

The Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) bestowed Simplicity Car Care its Franchisees’ Choice Designation at its recent awards gala, recognizing the quality of service the collision repair banner offers to its franchisees. This achievement comes as a result of a survey that asked Simplicity franchisees to assess their company’s leadership, business planning and marketing, franchisee information and selection, and the franchisor-franchisee relationship, according to Simplicity’s press release.

Simplicity vice president Domenic Prochilo wrote that, as part of the company’s “franchisee first philosophy”, “Franchisee support continues to receive significant investment as we experiment with data-based learning models to customize development for each strategic franchise partner.”

A Proud First

Big things are happening south of Thunder Bay, as multi-generational shop owner and former Collision Repair cover star Roy Pelletier revealed that his facility will soon become the fifth Intact Rely Service Centre in Ontario—and the very first on First Nations territory. While preparations for the rebrand and eventual relaunch of his business are underway, Pelletier says that a certain amount of goodwill was formed with Intact just from a simple visit to his home. “We had the head of the Rely network and the v-p of supply chain come to visit, spend some time on the First Nation and look over our operations,” he told Collision Repair over the phone. “It was a big step for somebody from the high-level management of an insurance company to come out and visit us for the first time in the 50 years we have been here.”

Aviva On Board

Aviva Insurance has officially thrown its hat in the ring, announcing the opening of its first Aviva AutoCare Centre in North York. Aviva says that it has its preferred vendors on board to equip this new chain of repair facilities, with the aim of providing the fastest, most convenient repair solution to its customers, according to the press release. This first location in North York is just the first in what Aviva is hoping will be a nationwide network, with plans to open more Toronto-area shops, in addition to Alberta, by the end of the year. The company goes further to say that these new facilities “have been refurbished with the environment in mind, with the use of more sustainable materials including energy efficient lighting, eco-friendly window coverings and native plant gardens,” according to the press release.

“This is a huge opportunity for us—I think probably the biggest opportunity to come our way in our three generations. To partner with a company with the pedigree of Intact is certainly going to create huge opportunities for us going forward,” said Pelletier.

DEFECTS-B-GONE

A Toronto-based startup says it’s using tech innovations to detect slight changes in the automotive spraying process to avoid defects and reworks caused by changing colours or poor surface finishes. Mazlite’s cloud-based sensors measure assembly line spray patterns every few minutes to ensure thickness levels are correct. The device can also detect dirty nozzles or defects in materials, in addition to any human or robot errors. The sensors continuously monitor paint materials to avoid any defects in altered colours or poor finishes in real time. Mazlite’s website says the browser-backed interface can work on any type of computer, tablet or phone.

Aeb For All

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) put forth a proposal to its federal government that calls for automatic emergency braking and pedestrian AEB systems to be made mandatory on all passenger cars and light trucks. The administration estimates that a ruling in its favour would save at least 360 lives a year and reduce injuries by at least 24,000 annually. “We’ve seen the benefits of the AEB system in some passenger vehicles already even at lower speeds, and we want to expand the use of the technology to save even more lives,” said NHTSA chief counsel Ann Carlson. “That’s why our proposed rule would require all cars to be able to stop and avoid contact with a vehicle in front of them up to 62 miles per hour. And the proposal would require pedestrian AEB, including requiring that AEB recognize and avoid pedestrians at night. This proposed rule is a major safety advancement.” If adopted as proposed, nearly all U.S. light vehicles (gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less) will be required to have AEB technology three years after the publication of a final rule.

Built Different

Plastic Perfection

Polyvance is reminding the repairers out there that “hotter is not always better” when it comes to plastic welding, as shown in a recent demonstration video from the company. The video explains that even with the proper nitrogen welder and the right plastic weld rods, too high of a temperature could weaken the material and compromise the integrity of the entire weld. It was shown how two PVC welds, identical in every way but temperature, reacted to heat from a nitrogen welder. The PVC welded at the higher temperature ended up scorched and resulted in a weaker overall weld, while the weld done at the recommended temperature stood up well to post-weld testing.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the OEM is “working hard to get [the] Cybertruck into production,” and that the model was a “tough product” to design and build. The statement was made on Twitter, in reply to a Tesla fan’s 15-second Cybertruck walkaround. Tesla is using a pair of 9,000-ton Gigapresses to create Cybertruck body panels, as reported by Inside EV News in March. A Gigapress, presumably for the electric pickup, was also spotted in Texas in January 2023. Once production is fully operational, Musk says he expects the Cybertruck to sell between 250,000 and 500,000 units per year. “I’d say a quarter of a million is a reasonable guess, and it might be 500,000, I don’t know,” he told shareholders during an annual meeting.