Collision Repair 16#1

INSIDE VIEW: PRESIDENT OF BELRON CANADA ON THE SPEEDY ACQUISITION

Emergency Repair Inside the specialized world of fire truck and ambulance repair.

Partner

By The Numbers Readers weigh in on aluminum, certification and more!

POWER

Cars & Tech

CCIF shatters attendance record at first 2017 meeting.

Ian Ladd and Peter Chavez have built the CARSTAR LC Group with help from their partners.

Plus Two Canadians shops

approved for Lambo repair, Marvin Gillfillan of BASF on industry trends, carbon fibre repair and much, much more!

Volume 16, Number 1 l February 2017

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$7.95

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Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40841632 l 86 John Street, Thornhill, ON L3T 1Y2

collisionrepairmAg.com

CONTENTS

ON THE COVER 29 Partner Power Peter Chavez and Ian Ladd built an MSO through great partnerships.

Volume 16, Issue 1, February 2017

features 32 executive vision Marvin Gillfillan of BASF on innovation and the steps shops must take for success.

37 by the numbers Our readers speak on aluminum repair, certification, OEM procedures and more.

40 financial report The latest news and reports from the industry’s biggest companies.

44 rare approval Two shops in all of Canada are authorized to repair Lamborghinis.

60

First CCIF meeting of 2017 breaks attendance records and features multi-sector scanning panel.

47 IBIS Report Think Canada’s consolidated?

Look to France.

51 report on training I-CAR launches new courses on scanning and calibration.

NEWS 10, 68 COLLISION REPAIR 73 Towing & Recovery 77 RECYCLING news

departments

54

Inside the specialized world of emergency vehicle repair.

57

Innovations in manufacturing mean more carbon fibre is coming your way.

On the Cover: Peter Chavez and Ian Ladd of the LC Group.

Photography by nav singh

YOUR ONLINE SOURCE

Canada’s collision repair information resource.

New articles and top news stories daily.

Visit www.collisionrepairmag.com.

06 Publisher’s page by Darryl Simmons Problem solvers.

22 Who’s driving? by Jay Perry Leaders are made, not born.

25 training by Andrew Shepherd Opportunities for success.

26 Prairie view by Chelsea Stebner Pursuit of perfection.

81 Recycling by David Gold The right information.

82 Industry insight by Jeff Sanford Up, down and sideways.

HAVE YOUR SAY. We welcome your comments on anything you see in Collision Repair magazine. Send your feedback to editor@collisionrepairmag.com.

February 2017 collision Repair 5

publisher’s page

problemsolvers It’s our industry’s greatest strength

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR JAMES KERR (416) 628-8344 james@mediamatters.ca

By Darryl Simmons

A

t CCIF Vaughan, between the barrage of tweets and handshakes, I had a moment where I looked at everyone standing in the lobby, chatting excitedly, and it occurred to me that this is an industry of problem solvers.

Over seven hundred people attended the latest CCIF. Every one of them has been a part of putting back together thousands of cars, but nobody in this industry comes to a conference resting on their laurels.

They’re all perpetually thinking about new ways to solve problems. Maybe in some industries there is room for people just to

PUBLISHER DARRYL SIMMONS (647) 409-7070 publisher@collisionrepairmag.com

be like in five years. These people aren’t content to just have Golden Years. They’re thinking beyond today’s success. You may as well have called it CCIF 2025.

By all rights, thinking like this should be stressful. You never get to be satisfied with the way your business is running today. But I didn’t see any stress. Nobody frowns at CCIF. Looking out on the room, everyone was so busy improving their business they would forget to put down their coffee before waving their arms about the next big thing.

This is a room full of solution providers that look ahead for five years, for 10 years,

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR MIKE DAVEY (905) 549-0454 editor@collisionrepairmag.com CREATIVE DEPARTMENT MICHELLE MILLER (905) 370-0101 michelle@mediamatters.ca STAFF WRITERS Barett Poley barett@mediamatters.ca Jeff Sanford jeff@collisionrepairmag.com VP Industry Relations & Advertising GLORIA MANN (647) 998-5677 advertising@collisionrepairmag.com Managing Director iMM/Director Business Solutions & Marketing ellen Smith (416) 312-7446 ellen@mediamatters.ca CONTRIBUTORS David Gold, Jay Perry, Andrew Shepherd, Chelsea Stebner

These people aren’t content to just have golden years.

let things happen, but this is an industry of innovators. In collision repair there’s always that horizon of a better solution, more innovative, cheaper, cleaner and more efficient. You have to be a problem solver to keep on top of all the directions that could take and all the challenges in the way.

That’s the nature of the collision repair industry. Putting a car back on the road in is like solving a puzzle. There are a million ways to get it done, but not all of them are going to be the best way all the time. It takes a solution driven mind to find the right path to success.

Andrew King, during his Industr y Outlook talk at CCIF, said the collision repair industry is in its “Golden Years.” You wouldn’t know it looking at everyone in the lobby. They were all busy talking about tomorrow. There didn’t seem to be even one person in the crowd who wasn’t thinking ahead to what their business is going to

forever. There’s so much excitement, there’s just no room for stress.

What will the collision repair industry look like years from now? The road to the future may not be paved with gold, but with people like this working on it, our industry is sure to continue to thrive. We should all be proud of the attitude that seems to be common in our industry. There is no doubt in my mind that between all the innovators that can be put in one lobby, the collision repair industry will solve every problem for years to come, well into CCIF meetings held in 2025. Everyone there will be looking ahead, I’m sure, to CCIF 2038.

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SUBSCRIPTION One-year $39.95 / Two-year $64.99 Collision Repair™ magazine is published bi-monthly, and is dedicated to serving the business interests of the collision repair industry. It is published by Media Matters Inc. Material in Collision Repair™ magazine may not be reproduced in any form without written consent from the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to refuse any advertising and disclaims all responsibilities for claims or statements made by its advertisers or independent columnists. All facts, opinions, statements appearing in this publication are those of the writers and editors themselves, and are in no way to be construed as statements, positions or endorsements by the publisher.

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We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Collision Repair magazine is published by Media Matters Inc., publishers of:

NEWS

People on the move Boyd Group has appointed Tim O’Day to the positions of President and Chief Operating Officer. In his new role, O’Day will have operating responsibility for the entire company, including operations in both the United States Tim O’Day and Canada.

Brock Bulbuck will stay on as CEO, but relinquishes the “President” title, which he has held along with CEO since 2010.

O’Day, and the Fund’s Executive Vice President & CFO, Pat Pathipati, will continue to report to Bulbuck.

O’Day joined Gerber Collision & Glass in February 1998. He was appointed Chief Operating Officer for Boyd’s US Operations when the company acquired Gerber in 2004. In 2008, he was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer for US Operations. Prior to joining Gerber, O’Day was with Midas International as Vice President, Western Division, and responsible for a territory that encompassed 500 Midas locations.

CDS has announced the addition of Denise Caspersen and Jose Jacob to the positions of Project Manager and Sr. Recruiter respectively. CDS produces the AsTech scanning diagnostic device.

Caspersen, formerly with National Autobody Parts Warehouse and the Automotive Service Association (ASA), has extensive experience working on automotive industry collaborations relating to process improvements, efficiency, strategic growth and plan execution. Caspersen is a Master of Science graduate of Oklahoma State University and a recipient of the Most Influential Women in the Collision Industry Award (2008) and the Women’s Industry Network (WIN) Cornerstone Award (2014).

Caspersen currently participates on the WIN Board of Directors as Immediate Past Chair.

Jacob, formerly with Cox Automotive, has extensive recruiting experience working in various sectors. While at Cox Automotive, he increased the Rate to Hire by 80 percent by creating strategic recruiting plans to generate fresh, diversified candidates, which included college campus recruiting, LinkedIn Recruiting, B2B Recruiting, social media and a host of others. Jacob is a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma and will spearhead the Recruiting Department.

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David Lingham has been appointed as Head of Business for Fix Auto World. The announcement was made by Fix Auto World President and CEO Steve Leal.

Lingham has worked with Fix Auto World since David Lingham 2015 on the global strategic development side of the business. His extensive experience in management consulting and in-depth understanding of the collision repair industry are valuable assets for Fix Auto World. As Head of Business, Lingham will be responsible for directing and steering the business’ international operations.

Lingham’s transition to the role of Head of Business caps off a series of recent appointments, namely those of Nick Spiers, International Operations Manager, and Ben Pugh, International Brand Manager. Desmond Chan, Global Strategic Development, will continue to lead business development in Asia. Further appointments and changes to the Fix Auto World team will be communicated in early 2017.

Laura Pennings has been appointed to the position of Director of Sales, Ontario and Atlantic Canada for Fix Auto, effective immediately. The announcement was made by Tony DeSantis, Vice President of Sales for Fix Auto Canada.

Pennings joined Fix Auto in 2013 as Senior Business Development Manager, focusing her efforts on d e velopi ng Fix Auto’s insurance partner relations. Laura Pennings “L au r a’s e x p e r i e n c e growing insurance sales channels and relationships makes her a valuable asset to Fix Auto’s team. I am pleased to announce her appointment and I look forward to having her steer our sales initiatives in Ontario and in the Atlantic,” says DeSantis.

In this role, Pennings will oversee the Ontario and Atlantic sales team’s activities and assist them in actively managing and supporting regional sales efforts, in order to achieve and exceed company sales growth and market penetration targets.

Regional featuresNews | British Columbia

Two Fix Auto locations provide cars to families in need

By Barett Poley Not one but two Fix Auto facilities in BC recently helped families in need in their communities by providing them with a refurbished car, free of charge.

First, a single mother and her family are going to find it a little easier to get around, thanks to the donation of a newly refurbished car by Fix Auto Chilliwack.

In addition to being a single mom, Megan Voth is also the caregiver for her three younger siblings, opting to take them in rather than have them go to foster care. This year, she was selected as the recipient of the Fix Auto Chilliwack Christmas Car giveaway. She received a refurbished Toyota Corolla to help her grocery shop, go to work, and take care of the four children under her guardianship – a mammoth task for someone without reliable transportation. The Christmas Car Giveaway is a yearly tradition for Fix Auto Chilliwack.

Fix Auto and Valley Toyoto also received help from the Chilliwack Times, Simpson Auto, HUB Insurance, Big O Tires and NAPA Auto Parts Chilliwack. Everybody came together to donate funds, skills, and parts to refurbish the Toyota Corolla for Voth and her family.

“For us especially in our community it’s incredibly important to be able to give back to the customers. For them it’s a bad thing that brought them to us, usually car accidents, but if we can give back to them and make things easier during a hard time, we’ve done our jobs right,” says Mayra Barrera of Fix Auto-The Miller Group. “To be able to provide something like this is super important. We’re completely family oriented.”

As mentioned earlier, Voth is the sole caregiver of four young children. It’s a task that would be difficult for anyone, but would be especially difficult for a young woman with no stable means of transportation.

“Of all the people she’s a fantastic pick. Just to get to work some days she’d have to walk many kilometers, in any sort of weather, as her shifts would start before even the busses were running,” says Barrera. “She’s very young herself, but not only was she taking on the challenge of caring for her own daughter, she took in her three little siblings as well – and she was doing it all without a car.”

Another family in need will also have an easier time getting around, thanks to a charitable donation from Fix Auto Vernon, part of the Miller Group.

Lordco opens new location in Smithers Lordco Parts has announced the opening of its newest location.

The new store is located at 1260 – 3364 Highway 16 in Smithers, British Columbia. Smithers is about halfway between Prince George and Prince Rupert, in the Regional District of BulkleyNechako. A statement from Lordco says the company feels its presence in Smithers will satisfy the automotive needs of those in the town and surrounding areas quickly and efficiently.

“We are very excited with our new location in Smithers!

As a BC company, we look at northern BC as an area that has great potential and opportunities for our organization. Our plans are to continue expanding and adding more locations in the months ahead. These communities have great people to serve and are the backbone of our province,” said Doug Coates, Lordco’s CEO. For more information, please visit lordco.com.

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Megan Voth and her daughter have received a refurbished vehicle, thanks to the efforts of Fix Auto Chilliwack and other local businesses.

The Redlick family of Vernon has a new car, thanks to the efforts of Fix Auto Vernon and Watkins Motors.

The Redlick family graciously accepted their newly refurbished vehicle from General Manager Tim Gares, saying it couldn’t have come at a better time. Gares says the vehicle couldn’t have gone to a more deserving family.

“We’ve been doing this for nine years now. We do this every Christmas for a needy family in the community,” says Gares. “And the Redlicks are people with a charitable spirit themselves. Not only do they have their own child to take care of, but they also sponsor and take care of six other children. They really have big hearts.”

The vehicle gifted to the couple was a 2005 Dodge Magnum.

“Before this they were actually walking to all of their appointments,” says Gares. “Which can be hard for any family, let alone one with as many people in it as theirs.”

Fix Auto Vernon has been doing Christmas car giveaways for close to a decade, with the Redlicks being the ninth family helped in this manner. Another sponsor, Watkin Motors, has joined the charitable efforts in the last two years. Last year the businesses partnered to give away a refurbished Ford Minivan.

“The past two years we’ve been very fortunate to partner with Watkin Motors,” says Gares.

There are so many examples of those in the collision repair industry helping out their communities, and often they go unpraised. For Fix Auto Vernon, though, it’s not about the praise.

“We wouldn’t want to turn it into a great big circus” says Gares, “If anything, we’re just happy that we have the resources and ability to do this for a family in need.”

Alberta | Regional News

Alberta’s Bill 203 scrapped by review committee An Alberta private member’s bill that was intended to protect motorists from unexpectedly high repair bills did not proceed to second reading.

Bill 203, originally introduced by Edmonton-Meadowlark NDP MLA Jon Carson, was under review by the standing committee on families and communities, but the Alberta Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) reviewing the bill determined that it was too flawed to proceed. The decision came after hearing testimony from a number of industry groups representing automotive dealerships and repair facilities.

Collision Repair magazine first reported on Bill 203 in March 2016.

In essence, Bill 203 would have required automobile repair facilities to provide an estimate of the cost of the repair in writing before charging the owner of the vehicle, unless the customer declined the estimate or specified a maximum amount they would pay ahead of time. Additionally, under the proposed bill, repair facilities would have had to provide warrantees on all parts installed as well as the labour involved for at least 90 days or 5,000 km, whichever comes first.

However, not everyone thought the bill was necessary. There were a number of opposed MLAs including Calgary-West MLA, Mike Ellis. Ellis was a licensed mechanic before taking public office and spent over five years in the trade. Ellis argued that Bill 203 was redundant. He outlined how he believed current consumer protective legislation was not only adequate, but better protects consumers than the proposed Bill.

“The first thing that jumped out at me, if you look at the statistics and you look at the numbers provided by collision repair shops and

MLA Mike Ellis.

MLA Jon Carson

the Alberta Motor Dealers Association, we had 5,000,000 services in 2015 and we only had 45 consumer complaints. None of which ever led to any charges or fines,” said Ellis in an interview with Collision Repair magazine when Bill 203 was first proposed. At the time, Ellis also noted that, statistically speaking, there simply wasn’t much of a need for new consumer protection legislation, something he attributed to the work of the current regulatory body in the province, the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council (AMVIC).

Denis Ducharme, President of the Motor Dealers Association of Alberta, echoed Ellis’ statement during testimony to the committee.

“The truth is this bill is a harsh solution in search of a non-existent problem,” Ducharme told the committee, according to a report by the CBC. “Many of the things the bill purports to do are already done under existing legislation and regulation.”

The MLAs reviewing Bill 203 have instead recommended the government of Alberta develop a program to educate consumers on the Fair Trading Act and how it applies to automotive repairs.

february 2017 collision Repair 11

Regional News | Saskatchwan features

Saskatchewan strengthens impaired, distracted driving laws Saskatchewan has brought in new, tougher traffic laws to help curb intoxicated and distracted driving. The new regulations came into effect on January 1, 2017.

Drivers in Saskatchewan were already prohibited from using a cellphone while driving. The new law sees drivers prohibited from holding, viewing, using or manipulating a cellphone while driving.

This means any handheld mobile devices are prohibited for both new and experienced drivers. The has brought in tougher penalties for impaired driving, including three-day vehicle term “new drivers” refers to anyone in a Graduated Saskatchewan seizures for the first offence.

Driver Licensing program, regardless of age. New offence, five years for the second offence and 10 years for the third drivers aren’t permitted to use hands-free cellphones, but experienced drivers can use the devices if they are activated and subsequent offences.

New drivers and drivers 21 and under must have a BAC of zero with voice commands or one-touch, and are dashboard, visor or at all times. In these cases, the third offence would see a mandatory cradle mounted.

The province is also strengthening its laws regarding impaired ignition interlock placed on the vehicle for 365 days following a driving. The new law will see police seizing vehicles for experienced 365-day license suspension.

Given the new regulations, it’s fitting that SGI and law enforcement drivers with a .04 - .08 BAC, on the first offence. The length of time ignition interlocks will be required is also set to increase, depending across the province put a special focus on impaired driving recently, nabbing nearly 300 intoxicated drivers in the process. on the number of offences.

Police recorded a total of 279 offences related to impaired driving. A The new laws generally increase the length of time, as well as subdividing the offence into two categories. In the first category, few of these offences were for drivers having a blood alcohol content experienced drivers with a BAC of .08 to .159 will see the time (BAC) between .04-.08, but the vast majority (269) were Criminal increase to two years for the second offence and 10 years for the Code charges for impaired driving, with the drivers showing a BAC third and subsequent offences. Experienced drivers who either have over .08 or for refusing a breath test.

Police also reported at total of 284 distracted driving offences for a BAC of over .16 or refuse to provide a breath sample will have an ignition interlock placed on their car for two years for the first the same time period. Of those, 161 were for cell phone use.

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MANITOBA | Regional News

Profiles of success

MPI to expand shop estimating program

Matt Schaubroeck of MPI says the pilot program will be expanded to include more shops moving forward.

Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) launched a pilot program in January 2016 with the ultimate goal of shortening the wait time for drivers seeking repair estimates for damaged vehicles. It’s essentially the process used in most provinces: the shop does the estimate, rather than the insurer. This may be old hat to many repairers across the country, but it was something new for Manitoba.

“The project is designed to streamline the repair process and provide increased

convenience for our customers,” said Brian Smiley of MPI at the time. “Customers will continue to call our Contact Centre to file a claim.”

Under the terms of the program, drivers with non-contentious claims were given the option of participating in the pilot program and going directly to that pilot repair shop for their estimate instead of an MPI Claim Centre.

About a dozen body shops had agreed to participate in the pilot program.

Now, after about a year in operation, MPI’s Manager of External Communications Matt Schaubroeck reports that the crown corporation is preparing to expand the program to more bodyshops. “Participating shops have to have the up-to-date tooling and training that are needed to handle the rapid changes in the industry,” he says.

As the pilot project moves forward, he adds, additional body shops will be included.

“Wait times for estimates and repairs will vary from shop to shop, depending on their work volumes,” he notes.

MPI currently has 22 claims centres and two customer service centres across the province. MPI has not made any statements about whether or not these will continue to operate if the pilot project expands and becomes “business as usual.”

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Regional NEWS | Ontario

Toyota Canada holds training events in Toronto and Montreal

By Barett Poley A training event for collision repairers and appraisers was held in Toronto and Montreal by Toyota Canada, with the purpose of diagnostic and estimating training for collision repair shops. The Toronto training session was held at the Delta East Hotel. The Montreal session took place at Axalta’s training centre in Pointe-Claire, Quebec.

The event was open to both collision repairers and appraisers.

The course itself was designed for the experienced estimator or repair planner, with the goal of helping professionals improve the consistency of estimates, understand new technologies and repair procedures required by Toyota and justify repair times. This last item can be very important when it comes to effective negotiations with insurance partners. The Toronto session also included a presentation

by Mike Anderson of Collision Advice.

In an interview with Collision Repair magazine, Paul Stella, Manager of Toyota Canada’s Collision Repair & Refinish Program, said that the main focus of the event was training on “how to properly diagnose and complete a proper estimate on vehicles, according to Toyota Specifications.” This, he says, is not only for the training of the repairers themselves, but also to increase customer satisfaction and confidence in Toyota certified shops. The most important thing, from the perspective of Toyota Canada, is that the company’s vehicles are going back on the road with the same level of safety and passenger protection that they possessed when they rolled off the assembly line.

“The goal for us is to make sure that a vehicle is restored to original factory specifications,” says Stella. “It’s important to make sure that the collision repair shop is reimbursed for all those processes that they go through to fix the car properly.”

The event also covered alternative substrates and some repair considerations for each, how to document structural damage and some “not-included” items for structural components, how to document mechanical damage, how to examine vehicle systems, including SRS, steering, parking assist, and glass and last but not least, how to negotiate refinish operations, including weld burn damage, inner structure colour, second colour setup and basecoat reduction.

Paul Stella of Toyota and Mike Anderson of Collision Advice at the Toyota training event in Toronto.

Darren Roche of Axalta, Jeff Pabst of Pfaff Autoworks and Phil Heuckroth of Axalta at the Toronto event.

CIIA hosts Roadtrust accreditation meeting A recent meeting for the Roadtrust accreditation program foresees a future where customers are instantly connected to an accredited shop simply by pressing a button on their phone.

The Collision Industry Information Assistance (CIIA) industry trade association introduced the Roadtrust program to some 35 Toronto collision repair facility owners and operators at the recent dinner event.

In attendance were multiple shop owners and banner store staff, an enforcement officer from the College of Trades, and even out of town shop owners eager to learn about the Roadtrust collision repair shop accreditation program with the linked telephone app that retains existing customers and attracts new customers.

“Roadtrust is unique in that accreditation requires adherence to OEM standards and processes and using OEM repair information, and the new phone application connects those accredited shops with customer assistance within 30 seconds,” says John Norris of CIIA. According to John Norris of CIIA, the actual collision repair shop standards have not changed and the standards used by Roadtrust are 14 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

John Norris of CIIA leading the presentation on the new Roadtrust program.

Representatives of over 35 shops attended the information session.

very similar to the programs offered by ARA of British Columbia and the CCIAP program offered by AIA Canada.

For more information on the accreditation program for Roadtrust and the smart phone application that generates business into your shop, please see ciia.com/road-trust.php or roadtrust.ca.

Regional NEWS | QuEBÉC

André Chamberland joins the ranks of shop owners with Fix Auto Montmagny André Chamberland is a car enthusiast who has worked in the industry since 1988. He has recently made the transition to shop owner status. His facility is Fix Auto Montmagny, located in Montmagny, Quebec. Chamberland says his decision to join the Fix Auto network was driven in part by his prior experience with the banner.

“Throughout the years I spent in the collision repair industry, I worked as a Fix Auto shop director in the Quebec area,” says Chamberland. “I quickly became aware that Fix Auto was a wellstructured, cutting-edge banner that offers great support to its franchisees. When the time came to start my own business, the choice to go with Fix Auto was obvious.”

Chamberland says that, as a first-time entrepreneur, it was important to him to be able to deliver high quality work in the best environment.

“In order to offer an exceptional customer experience, I invested considerably in new equipment, as well as in exterior and interior renovations,” he says.

Michel Bourgeois is the General Manager of Fix Auto Québec. He notes that the network is extremely proud to see new entrepreneurs like Chamblerland choose Fix Auto as a partner for their first business.

“We are confident that André’s acquired experience in our network will allow him to make his first business a success,” says Bourgeois.

“We wish him good luck in this new adventure.”

Fix Auto Montmagny, owned by André Chamberland. Chamberland has been working in the collision repair industry since 1988.

Carrossier ProColor awards $5,000 in scholarships

Melissa Murphy of Carrossier ProColor (left) presents the Carrossier ProColor trophy to Daphné Demers and Antoine Châtelain-Laflamme, first place swimmers in the Coupe Espoir Canada circuit.

Carrossier ProColor has awarded $5,000 in scholarships to the winners of the 2nd edition of the Coupe Espoir Canada Carrossier ProColor, an open water race circuit for athletes between the ages of 14 and 21.

Last spring, Carrossier ProColor announced the renewal of its association with the managers of the Traversée du Lac St-Jean, Lac Mégantic, Lac-à-Jim, the open water provincial championships and the Quebec Swimming Federation (FNQ), as sponsor of the 2nd edition of the Coupe Espoir Canada.This circuit was introduced to offer young swimmers the opportunity to achieve longer distances with conditions similar to those of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) and encourage the emergence of a Canadian open water succession for international competitions.

Carrossier ProColor awarded $5,000 in scholarships to the swimmers with the most points accumulated during the four races of the circuit. The scholarships were $1,000 for a first position, $750 for a second position, $500 for a third position, $400 for a fourth position, $300 for a fifth position and $250 for a sixth position, for both men and women.

Melissa Murphy, Communications and Marketing Coordinator at Carrossier ProColor, attended the event to present the Carrossier ProColor trophy to Daphné Demers and Antoine ChâtelainLaflamme, the two swimmers who obtained first place in the Coupe Espoir Canada circuit.

“It is a great honour for us to be able to encourage young swimmers by giving them financial support through this scholarship program,” says Murphy. “Having practiced this discipline myself for over 10 years, I am conscious of the dedication required for swimmers to achieve their goals and the importance of family involvement in both time and money.”

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Regional NEWS | Atlantic

AutoChoice hosts open houses at four locations

By Mike Davey AutoChoice Parts & Paints recently hosted “We do full mechanical and collision open houses for the repair community sales at every location, but the renovations and key suppliers in four of its locations. at the Moncton store were done in part Over 100 repairers and other members of to reflect that. It’s the same showroom, the automotive aftermarket attended each but with two different counters, “ says event. They were treated to a chance to see Mirzaagha. the new stores, food and numerous prize Mirzaagha notes that a number of one of the AutoChoice open houses. The events were held draws, including a draw for a big screen At the company’s collision customers have to show off the new buildings and renovations at four of the TV held at each of the four locations. added mechanical bays in recent years. company’s locations.

“We are honoured to have had such “More and more of our customers are fantastic turnout and support in each of our four open houses. It starting to do that, and we want to make sure we can be a one-stopvalidates our strategy of investing in local people and resources,” shop for the entire automotive aftermarket,” he says. said Vafa Mirzaagha, Vice President of AutoChoice. “With 18 AutoChoice Parts & Paints has experienced a lot of growth in stores throughout Atlantic Canada, we are continuously renovating, recent years. The company acquired Hub City in January 2015, expanding, or moving locations. Our events served as a way to Miramichi Auto Value in December 2014 and Buzzell’s Auto Parts celebrate our success with those who make it possible.” in December 2012. Currently the company employs 155 people, and The four locations that held open house events were the stores more expansions may be in the works in the near future. in Saint John, New Brunswick; New Minas, Nova Scotia, St. John’s, “We’ve got an expansion going on at our Bathurst location and Newfoundland and Moncton, New Brunswick. The first three have we’re looking at expanding our presence in a few other markets,” recently moved to new buildings, while the store in Moncton has says Mirzaagha. undergone significant renovations.

For more information, please visit autochoice.ca.

CSN-Dana’s Collision Center earns Toyota certification

Dave Meery of CARSTAR and Robert Kember of CARSTAR Dieppe.

CARSTAR expands in New Brunswick with CARSTAR Dieppe CARSTAR Canada has announced the opening of CARSTAR Dieppe located at 1179 Champlain Street in Dieppe, New Brunswick.

CARSTAR Dieppe is owned and operated by multi-CARSTAR store owners the Kember family. This marks the fourth location for the franchise partners.

“We have experienced first-hand the growth partnering with a network such as CARSTAR has brought to our other collision repair locations and are excited to continue on this path with CARSTAR Dieppe,” says owner Robert Kember. “The benefits of partnering with a company such as CARSTAR will be passed on to our customers through the high quality of service and repair we will provide them.”

A statement from CARSTAR says CARSTAR Dieppe has “an established reputation in the community, combining superior quality of work with exceptional customer service.” The facility was recently renovated to include over 4,500 sq.ft. of space featuring advanced equipment.

“The Kembers have been an exceptional group to partner with in the Atlantic region, and we couldn’t be happier to have them add another CARSTAR location to the network,” says Dave Meery, Development Director for the Atlantic region.

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Dana Alexander, owner and General Manager of CSN-Dana’s Collision Center, is pleased to announce that the repair facility has fulfilled all of the necessary requirements and is now officially recognized as a Toyota Certified Collision Centre for Fredericton Toyota. CSN-Dana’s Collision Center in located in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Alexander would like to thank Sam Girvan and the entire team at Fredericton Toyota for recommending the CSN shop to become a Toyota Certified Collision Centre.

CSN-Dana’s Collision Center has made the commitment to continuous improvement through its ongoing participation in AkzoNobel’s Process Centred Environment (PCE) Program, I-CAR training and other industry-related training programs.

The facility has achieved I-CAR Gold Class status, while many team members have achieved I-CAR’s Platinum Individual status.

A statement from CSN-Dana’s Collision Center says the shop continues to upgrade and invest in new equipment and technology necessary to repair today’s modern vehicles. As a Certified Toyota Collision Centre, the shop has access to the latest Toyota technical and repair information. A release from the facility says CSN–Dana’s is committed to restoring customers’ vehicles to pre-accident condition with quality craftsmanship.

CSN-Dana’s Collision Center has been serving central New Brunswick for over 35 years. The shop is a past recipient of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award and the Daily Gleaner’s Reader’s Choice Award. CSN-Dana’s Collision Center is an environmentally conscious company and was the recipient of the Mayor’s first Environmental Award, and is a Silver member of the Fredericton Green Shops Program.

For more information, please visit danascollision.com.

NEWS

Inside View: Belron enters collision sector with Speedy acquisition

By Jeff Sanford A recent large deal signed by major auto glass repairer Belron Canada will see that company enter the collision repair space through the acquisition of the Speedy Collision network.

The final agreement was signed just before Christmas. The President of Belron Canada, Ralph Hosker, says the deal is a major step for the company.

“It’s early days yet. This is our first step into collision. But it’s a big deal. Twenty-five shops in three provinces,” says Hosker.

The UK-born chief exec went on to say that the deal is a good way for the company to widen its service offering as a way of dealing with shifting market conditions.

“We’ve been monitoring events in the industry. It’s changing, big time. The generational needs are different. The ‘Uberization’ of the auto industry potentially contributes to less kilometres driven.

With safety features like automated braking and semi-autonomous driving you’re going to have less accidents. And so it’s not an explosive growth scenario for glass. Generally, demand is flat or declining,” says Hosker. “[But] We have to follow our customers and our partners. This acquisition gives insurance companies and our B2B partners a single point of contact for services and expands the services available to clients.”

Speedy Collision specializes in full collision repairs. The network has collision repair centres in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario.

“Changes in technology, an increase in the complexity of vehicles and higher expectations around service ... expectations are changing.

There is a gradual year on year increase in the cost of new glass. A lot of them are carrying new technology such as cameras ... the extra tech means costs are going up. It’s a very competitive market. Speedy Glass is a strong national brand with a great regional presence,” says Hosker. “I’m excited about this. I’m gratified by the reaction of our employees and the franchisees about this development.”

Proud History For those unfamiliar with Belron, the Canadian division is part of Belron International, a global vehicle glass repair and replacement company. The global organization traces its roots to South Africa in the late 1800s. The original company began supplying glass to General Motors and Ford in the 1920s. Today, the company employs 25,600 people in more than 30 countries and across five continents. The company operates in countries from Austria to Lithuania, Indonesia, Portugal, Turkey and Ukraine. The company offers 24-hour service in many locations, through both branch and mobile operations.

According to company press materials, on average, 7,800 windscreens are repaired each day, with a job completed every three seconds.

Belron Canada operates a network of more than 350 service centres with 40 distribution and warehouse centres. There are over 1,600 employees in 10 provinces. The brand names in the network include Speedy Glass, Lebeau Vitres d’autos, DURO, Apple Auto Glass and Broco Glass.

The Right Fit Terry Allen, the Chief Executive Officer of Speedy Collision, took some time to talk to Collision Repair magazine. “From the first time we met these folks, we hit it off. A lot of this is about fit and culture.

That’s important,” says Allen. “When we met the people in the Belron organization they had the same approach to customer service, and that’s the most important thing.”

20 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

Ralph Hosker, President of Belron Canada, spoke with Collision Repair magazine recently regarding the Speedy Collision acquisition.

Allen founded Speedy Collision in January 2009 after he realized there were such long wait times to get vehicles repaired in Calgary.

That experience drove the development of the network.

“I came into the business looking at collision repair as a consumer,” says Allen. Right away he put the accent on customer service. “We have someone greet customers professionally at the door. We walk the customer through the repair process. We keep the washrooms clean. We keep in mind that the client just had a traumatic event.

And we make sure we’re following OEM repair procedures,” he says.

That culture matched the attitude at Belron. “We weren’t really going to make a move. But when it came down to looking at the culture at Belron, we saw the Canadian operation was very much a customerfocused approach. It was a real fit for us,” he says. “Everything kind of lined up and made sense all the way around. We’re aligned that way.”

Like Hosker, Allen thinks it is important to expand the range of services offered to clients today. “With the changes going on in the aftermarket world, with the way vehicles are changing, most of my competitors offer glass so I can understand why Belron wanted to expand into collision,” he says. “In the collision industry today you’re always looking for synergies. If we look at where the collision sector is going—and there are a lot of moving parts today—the more services we can offer to customers, the better,” says Allen. “It just kind of came together. It’s lots of fun. We’re excited about the opportunity and the future. The culture was a direct match and we’ll be enhanced by joining forces. It seemed the right thing to do,” he says.

Future in Canada “It’s a fantastic country,” says Hosker. When asked about the differences between European and Canadian shops he notes that the average shop size is probably smaller in Canada. “Canada is so large, so the population density is much smaller … the population in Canada is about half the UK or Italy,” he says. “The winters there are also milder winters, but there are many other variations – price of gas, speed of driving, condition of the roads, for example, but probably the biggest difference is the variations in temperature you get here.

You can have extreme minus 20 degree temperatures and then it goes to plus five and that can affect glass,” says Hosker. “A lot of this will probably apply to the collision business too,” he added.

who’s driving? features

thenatural?

Leadership skills can be learned, just like anything else

By Jay Perry

I

n my best-selling book, “Success Manifesto,” coauthored with Brian Tracy, I start by looking at what I consider a great leadership myth, the concept that there are born leaders.

I posit that there is no such thing. One of the strongest reasons that this is fact is because we learn over 75 percent of what we know through what is called “modelling”. Modelling is actually mimicry of what someone else does. We observe it then we try to duplicate it.

It is plain to those that study these kinds of things

In my last article I established that there are “uncoachable” people and advised you to take an inventory of staff to ensure you do not have any onboard. During that inventory you probably tripped over some very likely candidates that hold potential to become leaders. You can start with them. You have to take them under your wing and nurture them along the path. They probably won’t find it independently.

Another thing I advise is to use assessment tools that can screen people in both inward and outward

it makes more sense than ever to look for the diamonds in your backyard. for a living that when we see what appears to be a “natural” at anything, it is very likely that there has been an opportunity for modelling to have imprinted on the person.

That does not mean there is no room for a talent or a propensity or an aptitude toward a certain skill.

There is. Witness my golf game. It isn’t bad but I do not possess the natural, fluid movements of a Tiger, Rory or Ricky. I have, however, over time and plenty of practice (and money spent on lessons) been able to develop into a decent golfer.

I believe leadership skills are in the same category.

There are people that have a propensity to engage the right skills almost effortlessly, thus they appear to be a “natural.” That ability is a plus but the point is that those of us without it are not limited because we do not possess it. We can learn the skill set necessary to become very proficient if we apply ourselves properly.

That application of one’s self usually involves modelling, for what is mentoring if it does not involve observations of behaviours? Mentoring includes, of course, counselling and teaching as well, but modelling is extremely important.

Otherwise, it can easily slide into being a case of “do as I say, not as I do.”

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ways. What I mean is that a good assessment tool will be able to tell you who holds potential and disposition for moving up into a leadership role as well as the identification of those that should not be onboard your ship.

I use one of these assessment tools that is very sophisticated and just concluded a report for a client where the assessment was exercised on 10 of the existing staff. The results were a clarification for him, showing which of the 10 were appropriate to invest in leadership training for, and which were to be ruled out as their aptitude was less than what was needed for his organization.

In today’s business environment it makes more sense than ever to look for the diamonds in your backyard before you go looking elsewhere for the people you need to help you and your business grow. It is another of the ways that you can be the one who’s driving.

Jay Perry is co-author of the book “Success Manifesto” with Brian Tracy, and the founder of Ally Business Coaching, a process improvement and leadership development firm. He can be reached at jayperry@a-b-c-inc.com.

TRAINING features

optimisticoutlook Canada’s industry has opportunities for success

By Andrew Shepherd

T

he new year is for looking forward, and as a dyed-in-the-wool optimist I cannot help but marvel at the opportunities that still lie ahead for the Canadian collision repair industry and its stakeholders.

In 2016 I wrote extensively on the recent, and superb, track record of the Canadian collision repair industry: the Canadian Collision Industry Forum (CCIF) has reached previously unimagined attendance figures and includes participation from every major industry player.

I-CAR Canada has helped the industry deal with intense technological change and focused on the currency of welding skills and certification and AIA’s Collision Industry Yearbook has for the first time delivered a

an inevitable aspect of globalization.

How will we address these challenges? I would argue that we will do this in the same fashion we have driven success to date—through inclusiveness, consensus, fairness and innovation.

OPEN TO ALL These qualities are epitomized in CCIF. CCIF is open to all, not membership-based. It invites participation from independent repairers as well as networks. It acts based on consensus, not on voting. It builds action plans drawing on the resources of all stakeholders—and it does include repairers, insurers, OEMs, suppliers, educators and regional associations.

CCIF’s 2017 agenda includes a major focus on skills development for the collision repair industry. coherent snapshot of the Canadian collision landscape.

The launch of CCIAP, the Canadian Collision Industry Accreditation Program, has demonstrated that the Canadian industry can forge its own solutions, custombuilt for Canadian conditions.

SETTING THE STAGE These successes, although laudable, really just set the stage for us as an industry to square up to some of the more fundamental challenges yet to be addressed: • Human resources concerns—attracting talent, building skills, motivating staff, life-long learning—are quickly becoming our biggest roadblock to achieving sustainable success.

• The apprenticeship system, as our principal skills development tool, is centuries old, mired in bureaucracy, underfunded and often disconnected from industry.

• The foundations of the vehicular economy, in place since the Ford Model A, are set for a major dislocation.

Developments that were once “futuristic,” such as vehicle telemetr y, Uber and the coming introduction of autonomous vehicles, will change our industry in a radical fashion and in the short term.

• Displacement of control, such as having decisions on Canadian matters made in the US and elsewhere, seems

As a pointed example, CCIF’s 2017 agenda includes a major focus on skills development for the collision repair industry. All stakeholders will be involved in building immediate, practical solutions—and in resourcing these solutions, which might include mentorships, scholarships, institutional infrastructure support and more. As in so many cases, a win for one is a win for all.

TOMORROW’S CHALLENGES So my optimism is, I believe, well-founded. The same qualities—the same Canadian qualities—that have produced the CCIF Skills Program, I-CAR Canada, the Business Conditions Survey, the Collision Yearbook and the Canadian Collision Industry Accreditation Program—will be brought to bear on the challenges of 2017 and beyond.

The possibilities of the collective, so fruitful in the past, will drive the achievements of the future. Happy 150th Canada!

Andrew Shepherd is the Executive Director of I-CAR Canada, a non-profit organization that provides collision repair training and ongoing education. He can be reached via e-mail at andrew.shepherd@aiacanada.com

February 2017 collision Repair 25

PRAIRIE VIEW

seekperfection Be like Scuffy and do it one way: the right way

By Chelsea Stebner

A

quiet, determined, focused technician on our team, Shane, aka Scuffy, cut his teeth at a Saskatchewan shop that consisted of a few guys that loved cars. Jeff, the owner of 1st Avenue Collision in Biggar, says that Shane showed up and just didn’t leave—so he kept finding stuff for him to do. Cleaning floors and toilets, shop boy duties and detailing cars kept him busy.

Shane is a perfectionist in all he does. I asked him how and where this drive came from and he told me that when he worked at 1st Avenue, between Jeff, Chad and Dan, he was not allowed to work on vehicles until all his other duties were perfected.

Quite simply, if he couldn’t properly clean the windshield of a vehicle, there was no way he was allowed to touch a bumper of a vehicle. Straight up?

Nothing is done “half-assed.” Those are Scuffy’s words, not mine. When he came to Parr Auto Body as a young apprentice, that attitude for doing it right was already instilled. Since then, he’s taught many of our other

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teammates that there is only one way—the right way.

Shane is our technical go-to guy, for tools and equipment, for training and for all of our structural repairs. When he does the research on new tools in the industry, he first looks at how long the tool has been tested in our environment, what kind of OEM approvals it may have, who is servicing the tool with warranty claims or issues and how that supplier might take care of us.

Shane goes to SEMA every year and spends countless hours taking training, researching and checking out changes in our industry. It’s important to Shane to improve on his ability every day, a classic lean principle.

He says he now studies more than he ever did in high school!

The industry itself is not without its challenges. We all know that there are great frustrations and great opportunites. One of Shane’s worries is that owners and technicians need to get on board with the new way repairs are going. Instead of focusing on how it was

PRAIRIE VIEW features

repaired 15 years ago, we all need to realize that collision repair has done a 180-degree turn. Highstrength steel and aluminum, pre- and post-repair scanning, sensors, rivet bonding and welding have changed the repair process dramatically.

Mentored (or pushed, as we affectionately say) by Tom Bissonnette at Parr, Shane has taken the

Moving forward, repair facilities and insurance companies need to work together to ensure these are happening and also recognize that these steps are part of the repair. Should shops get paid for this time?

No longer can our industry be viewed as “just a trade.”

We require extremely smart, talented hard-working young people willing to grow with the demanding

If he couldn’t properly clean a vehicle’s windshield, there was no way he was allowed to touch a bumper. opportunity to become an I-CAR instructor. Who better to do that than a driven perfectionist with excellent training? Who better to teach others in our industry and help create collision repair professionals?

Doing some of the repairs that technicians perform now there is no way of knowing they’ve been completed back to OEM standards. Shane believes there needs to be some checks in place to confirm. When your technicians are rivet bonding and welding, are they setting up test panels before each repair? Are you documenting your test welds, taking photos throughout and ensuring that safe work practices and checks on your equipment have been completed properly?

changes in techniques. These folks have a great responsibility to deliver safety and quality in the vehicles we repair.

If you have a potential “Scuffy” at your shop, mentor and encourage him or her to grow to their fullest potential and become that repair professional.

Chelsea Stebner is a co-owner/operator of Parr Auto Body, a collision repair facility located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

She can be reached at chelsea@parrautobody.com.

February 2017 collision Repair 27

Profiles of Success

Partner

POWER

CARSTAR’s LC Group has grown by bringing managers into the owner’s circle

By Mike Davey

The LC Group owns 11 locations in southern Ontario. Managers frequently have an ownership stake in their store.

From left: Javier Torres, Peter Chavez (Director), Franc Cundari, Robin Juns, Osmar Nuñez, Allen Mattice and Ian Ladd (Director).

T

here are a number of people with varying levels of ownership in CARSTAR’s LC Group, but you can’t really talk about them without first mentioning Ian Ladd and Peter Chavez. The two first met approximately 20 years ago. At the time, Ladd was working as a Business Development Manager for Spies Hecker and Chavez was running a shop in Burlington, Ontario. Spies Hecker would later be acquired by DuPont (now Axalta Coating Systems) and Chavez and Ladd would partner to found a number of CARSTAR stores. At this point in our story, though, all of that lies in the future.

Chavez left the shop in Burlington after a few years as Manager, and Ladd offered him a job selling paint. The base pay was less than what he had made as a shop manager, but

of course there are commissions. However, it wasn’t the money that attracted Chavez to the new job.

“I thought to myself, ‘This job is going to get me inside every collision centre around,’” says Chavez. “I’ve never regretted the decision.” Getting an inside view of so many different collision facilities was an irresistible opportunity for Chavez. He and Ladd soon started selling paint together.

All the time, they were building a solid bank of knowledge on collision repair processes and best practices. They also sold a lot of paint.

“We had a premium product,” says Ladd.

“When you consider that Peter would often help them with best practices as part of the sale, it was an unbeatable combination.”

Ladd and Chavez were still on the supplier side of the aisle at this point. That was about to change.

One of their clients wanted to retire. He came to Chavez and offered to sell him the business. “He asked me if I wanted to buy his shop, but I told him I really didn’t have the money. He said, ‘we can work something out.’”

A few weeks went by. Chavez and Ladd met up at a Starbucks, as they did roughly four times a week back in those days. Ladd mentioned that the same shop owner had asked him to buy the shop as well. The next thought was obvious. Why not buy it together? It was a good idea, but Chavez and Ladd needed to crunch some numbers first.

What they found brought the idea to a halt … but not for long. february 2017 collision Repair 29

Profiles of Success PROFILES OF SUCCESS

Ian Ladd (left) and Peter Chavez founded the CARSTAR LC Group with just one store.

The company now operates eight production centres and three satellite locations.

“The facility was only bringing in about $650,000 worth of business a year,” says Ladd.

“Even with Peter working in the back and me working in the front writing estimates, we knew we’d need to get it up to at least a million in annual sales.”

That might have been a daunting objective for many people, but Ladd and Chavez were just getting started. They sketched out a 10-year plan on a Starbucks napkin. The plan largely remains in place, but the napkin itself, sadly, is lost to history.

Some of those great people aren’t just staff at the LC Group, but owners themselves.

Chavez and Ladd have made it a policy to partner with like-minded people to push the LC Group into new areas. Currently Javier Torres, Franc Cundari, Robin Juns, Osmar Nuñez and Allen Mattice all have ownership stakes in one or another of the LC Group’s facilities.

For some businesses, multiple owners can mean multiple problems. It doesn’t seem to be that way for the LC Group.

Group purchased the facility from CARSTAR in 2008.

“We definitely share values,” he says. “Our success is in our people and our ability to help grow those people. Some of them have become partners themselves. It can be a great career path.”

Franc Cundari was one of those who followed that path. The Operations Manager of CARSTAR Orangeville, Cundari started at CARSTAR Mississauga about six years ago, managing satellite locations in

That might have been a daunting objective for many people, but Ladd and Chavez were just getting started.

In short, the plan called for 10 stores doing approximately $20 million in business. Today, the LC Group is comprised of eight production centres and three satellite offices repairing between 1,200 and 1,500 cars a month.

Both Chavez and Ladd are quick to point out that they didn’t achieve this on their own.

They give a lot of credit to the hard-working staff at all locations and are always looking for ways to attract new talent and to make sure the staff they have know they’re appreciated.

“Right now we’re setting up RESPs for all of our employees,” says Ladd. “It’s not finding ‘good’ people. We’ve got great people! But we could always use more.”

“From the beginning, we were always interested in bringing on managing partners as we expanded,” says Chavez. “The key is to make sure your partners share the same values you do.”

That process of matching values has seen five people acquire an ownership stake in one or more of the LC Group’s stores. For many of them, the path to ownership started when they were employees of one or another of the LC Group’s facilities.

Robin Juns is the Operations Manager for CARSTAR Mississauga 401. He started there in 2003 when it was a corporately-owned location. He acquired an ownership stake along with Chavez and Ladd when the LC

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Georgetown and Milton. He had previously been employed in sales with a truck leasing company, an experience which helped him communicate with customers at the satellite locations.

“They were both sales oriented positions. It comes down to working with people through the process, whether that’s a truck lease or the repair process,” says Cundari. About three years after starting with the company, he acquired an ownership stake in CARSTAR Orangeville.

Allen Mattice, the LC Group’s longest-tenured managing partner, also came from outside collision repair, although his previous job put him in contact with the industry on a

Profiles of Success PROFILES OF SUCCESS

frequent basis. He was with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, managing repairs to the company’s fleet.

“I joined about 13 years ago as an estimator at CARSTAR Brantford,” says Mattice. Sales at CARSTAR Brantford doubled in about 18 months. When the opportunity came along to purchase CARSTAR Cambridge, Chavez asked Mattice if he was ready for another challenge.

“The store was underperforming. I said that when we get it turned around, then I’d like the option to become a partner there,” says Mattice. Chavez and Ladd agreed, and today Mattice has an ownership stake in CARSTAR Cambridge.

Last, but not least are Javier Torres and Osmar Nuñez. Torres and Nuñez share similar backgrounds.

Both started off as production staff, Torres as a painter and Nuñez as a technician.

Nuñez has been involved with the company since 2002, and had worked in the industry as a tech for about 10 years prior to that. His relationship with Peter Chavez stretches back much further.

“I knew Peter since we were about 18 years old,” says Nuñez. “I asked he and Ian if there was an opportunity, and it turned out there was.”

Torres has an ownership stake in the three newly acquired locations in Hamilton, as well as in CARSTAR Brantford, the same place he was once employed as a painter. Recently he was appointed as VP of Operations for the entire LC Group. His work on the floor helps to inform his understanding of operations.

“For every single position, we need to make sure we know about the responsibilities involved,” he says. “Working on the floor gave me an insight into operations.”

The CARSTAR LC Group has grown through acquisitions, like many multi-store operators, but it may be the company’s willingness to bring others into the owner’s circle that really makes them stand out. Chavez and Ladd seem justifiably proud of the team members they’ve partnered with.

“We make sure they’re dedicated to the same things we are. Above all else, that’s consistency,” says Ladd.

“Our business is built on a triangle of quality, service and value. We provide those consistently and that’s our number one priority.”

What does the future hold for the LC Group?

“We want to continue to be leaders in the collision repair industry,” says Chavez. “We’re still looking to grow and add more stores.”

Given the company’s history, more growth for the LC Group likely means more people joining the owner’s circle. While we don’t know who they are, it’s a good bet that they’ll share the same values and make consistency in quality, service and value their top priority.

“We really appreciate the support of our families, as well as CARSTAR, and our insurance, OEM dealership and vendor partners,” says Ladd.

For more information on the CARSTAR LC Group, please email Ian Ladd at iladd@lcgcarstar.com.

Sebastian Yousif works on a repair order at CARSTAR Mississauga 401.

Some of the front office staff at CARSTAR Mississauga 401: Param Sidhu, Stephanie Todd and Sarah Nikolich.

Gabriel Mohamed of CARSTAR Mississauga 401. The LC Group places a very high value on consistency, even down to the colours worn on a day-to-day basis. february 2017 collision Repair 31

EXECUTIVE VISION

Competitive Environment Marvin Gillfillan of BASF on innovation and the steps shops must take for success

E

xecutive Vision focuses on discussions with key players in the auto claims economy. In this issue, we speak with Marvin Gillfillan, Vice President, Automotive Refinish Solutions, North America for BASF on industry trends, new technologies and BASF’s broad, chemical scope.

Collision Repair magazine: Coatings are an integral part of the collision repair process. What sort of advancements has BASF made recently in this area, and what might we see in the near future?

Marvin Gillfillan: BASF is the number one chemical supplier to the automotive industry, so having this broad experience and know-how enables BASF to be a market-leading coatings supplier.

BASF provides our customers with the best-in-class refinish products and the most OEM approvals of refinish paint providers, combined with the best-in-class services and solutions to support the collision repair industry. Our programs such as Advanced Process Solutions (APS), VisionPlus, Performance Groups, SmartTrak and our full spectrum of training and I-CAR approved industry education are adding tremendous value to our shops and distribution partners.

Collision shops today are continually challenged to drive efficiencies and profits, and meet stringent OEM requirements. BASF wants to be that partner so we will continue to advance products and services that deliver increases in shop efficiency and drive growth and profitability.

The newest technologies that we recently launched are focused around reducing cycle time, including fast drying clears for Glasurit and R-M and UV primers. In 2017 we will launch new additives and primers to enhance the overall finish on lightweight substrates.

In the future, we see many of these same trends continuing, coupled with increased insurance and OEM influence on repairs and technologies, vehicle light-weighting and shop labor challenges.

Therefore, BASF is focusing on products, and business services and solutions beyond paint, to help shops meet those challenges head on.

CRM: In your view, what are the three most critical challenges for individual shops?

MG: First, there’s new vehicle anti-collision technology and vehicle lightweighting that requires specialized repair processes to bring vehicles back to the OEM standards. Second, there’s pressure from 32 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

Marvin Gillfillan, Vice President, Automotive Refinish Solutions, North America for BASF.

consolidators and insurance providers for shops to be as efficient as possible and to create market differentiation. Third is talent management and talent recruitment—finding qualified technicians, developing them and retaining them is a real industry challenge.

CRM: Which of those challenges would you say is the most pressing or important? What would you suggest to a shop owner who is trying to deal with that challenge?

MG: They are all very important and, depending on the shop, will vary in importance and magnitude. For many independents and megashops, securing talent is a key concern and managing insurance DRPs is a time-consuming key factor to ensure they get cars to their doors. For MSOs, cycle time and processing vehicles as quickly as possible is a major concern. For dealerships, business management and tracking of KPIs are key challenges.

EXECUTIVE VISION

For each of these sectors, BASF has the knowledge, resources and tools to help them succeed, including our Business Development Manager (BDM) experts who partner with our customers. Our market-leading Advanced Process Solutions lean program, our VisionPLUS Online reports and our Performance Groups support all of these challenges. BASF prides itself on being able to partner with our customers to work side-by-side with shop owners and managers to improve their business by leveraging our best-in-class tools and services.

CRM: BASF has a lot of interests outside of automotive coatings.

Does this broad scope help the automotive refinish division?

MG: Absolutely. BASF is uniquely positioned in the automotive industry as the largest chemical supplier. Our strong connectedness and partnerships with OEMs span far beyond just automotive coatings, and allows us to drive innovation with our OEM partners in an era where vehicle technology is changing rapidly.

We will continue to bring innovation to the automotive industry, including the right finishes as vehicle technology changes (e.g. new substrates and processes). Not only does BASF have the most OEM approvals in the refinish industry, but our partnership goes much further to shape the mobility of the future. In addition, we have breadth within the industry by being vertically integrated. BASF

CRM: What do you think will be an area of growth for collision repair facilities?

MG: BASF believes there are many different opportunities for shops. Because the market isn’t growing, shops need to be profitable and provide a great customer experience so they can invest in new areas of growth.

For example, the best shops could be in OEM-certified networks.

We continue to see OEMs focusing on growing their networks in the light of new vehicle technology. Those shops that invest in the products, tools, training (a major investment for shops, and a concern due to the limited number of technicians) and services, to become certified, will have an opportunity to gain business from competitors.

Collision repair shops could also use their resources to look at vehicle customization services, ride share, or used car dealerships.

The opportunities are endless.

CRM: Thinking solely of how it’s going to change the business, what’s the biggest change we can expect in the next few years? The type of change is wide open. It can be technological change, social change, etc.

MG: The collision repair industry is extremely dynamic and I am sure lots of aspects will continue to change. With all the changes in vehicle technology, it will continue to change the scope of the refinish

“In the end, longevity is guaranteed by only one thing: profitability.” – Marvin Gillfillan spends 1.9 billion Euros on R&D globally each year, over 200 million of which is spent in the automotive industry alone. This enables BASF to continue to bring market leading, innovative products and solutions to our customers.

CRM: In your view, what are the most important steps for a shop to take to secure longevity?

MG: In the competitive market environment we’re in, the shops who manage their businesses most effectively will ultimately win.

Having clear visibility of the shop’s performance and profits through KPI management and efficient processes and products, helps a shop to do just this.

Providing customers with a positive customer experience is another differentiating factor for shops. The importance of excellent customer satisfaction continues to be a major driver in our business.

BASF’s long-term partnership approach with our customers to provide best-in-class refinish products and industry-leading service offerings enables shops to maximize short-term and long-term success. In the end, longevity is guaranteed by only one thing: profitability. If a shop is able to offer high quality service and experience to secure repeat customers, proven productivity to win and maintain DRPs and dealer referrals and deliver efficiency to minimize costs and maximize revenue, the shop will be profitable. In the end, the profitable shops with great customer experiences will survive.

industry. New materials, assembly methods, electronics, sensors and infotainment systems all require knowledge, tools and specialized equipment that does not exist in many collision repair shops today.

As a result, collision shops need to recruit and develop a skilled staff today. They will need to work with many materials, electronics, software and technologies.

Although several years away, we are on the path to self-driving cars, which will, over time, reduce the number of collision repairs.

Self-driving cars will also increase the complexity, to safely repair those vehicles. Ride sharing will also change the scope. Robotics and technology that enhances shop efficiency and profitability will also come into play.

CRM: What does the future hold for BASF? Can you give us any hints about new products we might see in the near future?

MG: As a leader in innovation and automotive R&D spend, we will continue to bring new technologies, innovations and services to the industry that will help shops drive productivity and efficiencies. Our customers have had a lot of success with our wide range of business services. We are committed to continue to enhance our products and services to provide our collision repair customers with the expertise, tools and solutions to maximize their long-term success in the industry. Who knows what’s to come: a vehicle coating that will allow the owner to change the colour of the car with a setting from the driver’s seat, or a window that transitions to reduce glare; the opportunities are endless! february 2017 collision Repair 33

TECH TALK

Terms of Engagement Health Check, Initialization and Calibration shouldn’t be used interchangeably

I

n the collision repair industry, the terms Health Check, Initialization and Calibration are often incorrectly referred to as one another. Although there may be some similarities, it is critical to know the differences between these three procedures in order to properly understand and communicate your repair, according to Paul Stella, Manager Collision Repair – Toyota Canada Inc.

“There can be hidden faults within your customer’s vehicle that you could potentially miss.”

HEALTH CHECK Toyota vehicles have electrical systems that are designed to set codes, known as Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC), if a system fault is detected. However, not all DTCs illuminate a Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) on the dashboard. This means that there can be hidden faults within your customer’s vehicle that you could potentially miss. A Health Check, also known as a “Diagnostic Scan,” is a function of the Toyota - Techstream scan tool that checks the vehicle control modules for these DTCs and then reports the results back to the technician.

If you fail to uncover these hidden faults, your customer may drive home from the shop only to return for a subsequent repair due a system not operating properly or when a light on the dashboard finally illuminates. Not only is this frustrating for your customers, but it’s bad for your reputation as a collision repair professional.

Toyota’s Techstream scan tool allows you to run Health Checks on the vehicle’s control modules and check for DTCs.

ADVERTORIAL

34 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

TECH TALK

INITIALIZATION An Initialization is an operation performed by the technician which facilitates vehicle control modules to program themselves to operate as the customer expects. Some of the comfort systems in your customer’s vehicle need to be initialized after a repair, and the vehicle’s Owner’s Manual or Repair Manual, inside of Toyota’s Technical Information System (TIS), can tell you when this is necessary and to which systems it applies. For example, if you disconnect the battery on a 2009 Prius, then the one touch windows on the vehicle can lose their initialization. This means that your customer would no longer be able to open and close the windows with just one touch.

After reconnecting the battery, you would need to initialize the one touch windows in order for them to regain their full functionality. There are many other systems that require an initialization, and you should refer to the Repair Manual, or Owner’s Manual, for the vehicle you are repairing in order to be certain which systems need to be initialized before you consider a repair to be finished.

Techstream Lite is an OEM scan tool available to collision repair centres for a relatively low cost. It provides collision centres with factory service information and diagnosis for Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles.

CALIBRATION A Calibration is a vitally important operation performed by the technician where he/she provides criteria required by a control module to function as designed. For example, when calibrating the Occupant Classification System (OCS), the technician uses the Toyota Techstream scan tool and puts the passenger front seat in an unloaded position and the OCS ECU programs this as zero weight in the seat. A check procedure, using specified weight, is required immediately afterwards to confirm its accuracy. The system then uses this calibration to determine whether the front passenger seat is occupied by an adult, a child or is unoccupied, and then operates the airbag accordingly. If

the system is not calibrated correctly, then the airbag may not operate correctly either. Be sure to check the precaution section of the vehicle’s Repair Manual to be certain whether or not a calibration is necessary to ensure the safety and functionality of your customer’s vehicle.

Collision centres can purchase Techstream Lite that provides collision centres factory service information (manuals) and diagnosis (scanning) for Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles for approximately $1400 USD plus the cost of a laptop.

For details visit techinfo.toyota.com or contact your local Toyota / Lexus Dealer.

ADVERTORIAL

february 2017 collision Repair 35

BY THE NUMBERS

Looking at the Landscape

Collision Repair magazine’s readers on scanning, aluminum investments and more

By Mike Davey

C

ollision Repair magazine recently introduced weekly surveys through our website, collisionrepairmag.com. These surveys will help provide a snapshot of various aspects of the autobody business and the larger automotive claims economy. The survey results are published every Wednesday in the Collision Repair eZine. Not getting our daily eZine? Email us at editor@collisionrepairmag.com and we’ll set you up with a free subscription.

Scanning and Calibration Scanning and calibration have been the hottest topics in collision repair this past year, with industry consultants such as Mike Anderson saying the best practice is to run a full scan, both before and after the repair. But how many shops are actually doing this?

According to the results of our survey, most of the shops who participated perform these scans under at least some conditions.

As usual with our surveys, our look into scanning practices started by asking participants to define their role in the automotive claims economy. Shop owners and managers formed the bulk of the respondents with 60 percent. Estimators and other office staff took up 10 percent, as did suppliers and manufacturers. The next highest category of respondents fell under the “Other” category, netting 8 percent of responses. These are primarily representatives of OEMs or industry consultants. Insurers took the next highest spot at 6 percent, with jobbers occupying 4 percent of the total responses.

Last, but certainly not least, technicians and other production staff constituted just 2 percent of respondents to this survey.

At this point, the survey split into different directions based on responses to the first question. Repairers, including owner/managers, techs and estimators were asked about the scanning practices in place at their shops.

The answers to this question were widely varied, but the top position was “Only if the insurer has agreed to cover the costs” at 20 percent. This speaks to the need for clarity on whether or not these operations are covered by various insurance companies. The next highest category, at 12 percent, was “Yes, if we think the job may require it.” This seems like a good policy on the surface, but it does a question: how can you tell if the job will require it before running the scan? Many fault codes will not show up as indicator lights and the wealth of sensors in modern vehicles means even small things may have catastrophic consequences if the vehicle is in another accident.

This graph shows how often and under what conditions repairers are performing scans. All figures are given as percentages of respondents.

Three of the possible responses netted a full 10 percent each: “Yes, on every vehicle,” “Sometimes,” and “No. We don’t do this.” According to our survey, for every shop out there that scans ever vehicle, there is another shop that doesn’t seem to scan at all.

In the bottom in terms of responses was “Yes, if the OEM has released an official position statement saying it’s required” at 8 percent.

Our surveys allow respondents the option to leave anonymous comments. Here’s a few of the comments left for this question: • “Fast approaching need to do all.”

• “We have been scanning as needed but just purchased a new Snap On scanner and will be scanning everything pre and post.”

• “We do every vehicle that any wiring is being disconnected for the repair, if any lights on the dash and if the accident is significant enough to warrant it.”

• “We get approval regarding payment either from the insurance company or the customer. If neither one agrees to pay we have a waiver of liability signed by the customer.”

Respondents identifying themselves as insurers were given a different question: “Does your company encourage repairers to conduct pre- and post-repair scans of every vehicle?”

Our sample size of insurers is small, but the answers provided may help to illuminate where they stand on the issue. There were six possible responses for this question, but only two were used. A full two-thirds of respondents indicated that they would encourage repairers to conduct these scans “… if the repairer can say why it’s needed.” The final third of respondents indicated that the issue was “under review.”

February 2017 collision Repair 37

BY THE NUMBERS

Accreditation Programs Certification and accreditation programs have been with us for years, but typically tied to a specific OEM, such as BMW or Toyota. Recently new players have entered the game, such as Certified Collision Care and AIA Canada’s CCIAP program.

The majority of respondents to this survey indicated they were shop owners or managers, with a small number of collision repair executives and shop staff also participating.

The results indicate that these programs are of tremendous important to the industry. One of the questions the survey asked was “How important are certification and accreditation programs to you?” There were four possible answers to choose from for this question: • They are the future of the industry.

• They’re necessary to ensure safe repairs.

• It doesn’t affect me or my business.

• I don’t want my shop to be certified or accredited.

Not one survey respondent chose either of the last two answers (“It doesn’t affect me or my business” and “I don’t want my shop to be certified or accredited”). Respondents to our survey clearly believe these programs are important, with a full 75 percent of respondents choosing “They are the future of the industry” and the other 25 percent choosing “They’re necessary to ensure safe repairs.”

We also received some comments on this question. As always, we present these comments with minimal or no edits: • These programs are a great way to keep shops & techs up to date, but care should be taken to keep these programs affordable so all techs can properly trained.

• Providing the shops on the list actually know and use proper OEM procedures and that shops that are certified list own the tools and equipment required and did not get tools loaned or borrowed on certification walk through day just to pass, something heard of going on with bigger multi-stores and franchises, we all need to be in the same playing field, paying someone off in some way is not a proper OEM certification.

Next, we asked “What do you think the future of certification/ accreditation will be?” The choices were: • It’s a big deal right now, but it will pass.

• Eventually all shops will be need to certified or accredited in some way.

• It will stay pretty much the way it is now.

Literally every respondent chose “Eventually all shops will be need to certified or accredited in some way.” While it’s never possible to predict the future, this one seems like a certainty, at least to the repairers who completed our survey.

We also asked respondents to indicate if they were currently pursuing any certifications or accreditations. Please note that respondents could choose multiple responses to this question.

The majority of survey respondents (58 percent) indicated they were currently pursuing an OEM program, such as BMW, Toyota or Honda ProFirst. Half of the respondents (50 percent) indicated they were pursuing CCIAP or ARA of BC accreditation. Looking at third-party certification, again half of the respondents indicated they were pursuing this.

Staff Compensation What’s the best system for compensating technicians and other production staff? Different facilities would answer the question in different ways.

The majority of respondents to the compensation survey identified themselves as owners or managers of autobody shops.

There were some respondents who don’t fit into that category and were shown different questions. We’ll take a look at the shop owners and managers first.

First, we asked owners and managers to describe the compensation set-up at their facility. There were five answers to choose from: • Flat rate: Payment is per job.

• Hourly/Salary: Compensation is by the hour or week, regardless of tasks performed.

• Combined: Hourly rate plus incentives.

• Team pay: A team is assigned to each job, and hours are pooled and divided equally.

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• Mixed: We use different systems for different people.

• Team pay: A team is assigned to each job, and hours are pooled and divided equally.

• Mixed: We use different systems for different people.

BY THE NUMBERS

We knew going in that the “team pay” option wasn’t very common. In fact, literally no respondents to our survey use that method of compensation. More surprising were the number of shops who use an hourly/salary method for production staff.

About 38 percent of our survey respondents use this method in their facilities.

No matter what a respondent chose, they were then asked why they used that particular system. In the case of hourly/salary shops, they could choose multiple answers to explain why they preferred that system. Approximately half of respondents said they used this system because “It’s fair” with a corresponding number of respondents choosing “It’s simple.” About 25 percent of respondents indicated that “It incentivizes technicians to perform thorough repairs.” One respondent also pointed out that, in their view, the flat rate system isn’t well suited to smaller shops.

“We are a small shop who have to share roles between body/ paint/prep and detail work. It would be difficult to use a flat rate system,” they wrote.

Just 12 percent of our survey respondents are using an unmodified flat rate system. In this case, literally every respondent chose the same answer to explain why: “It incentivizes producitivity.”

Finally, the combined and mixed systems drew 25 percent each.

Regarding the shops using the combined system, every respondent chose the same reason: “It incentives both thorough repairs and high production.”

Regarding the mixed system, one comment left on the question probably sums up the reasoning best: “The different skill levels do not work for all aspects of collision repair.” In other words, this shop pays some people hourly and some on flat rate, and may combine the two for some staff, due to varying skill levels with different tasks.

The non-repairer respondents filled a number of roles in the auto claims economy, including insurance, suppliers and other partners.

These respondents were asked to tell us which compensation method was the most common in the shops they did business with.

Two-thirds of respondents in this category chose “Flat Rate,” indicating it was the most common. The remaining one-third of respondents all chose “Hourly/Salary.” While they may have been split in choosing which was the most common, they were unified in their answer to which system got the best results in their opinion, answering “Combined: Hourly rate plus incentives.”

Aluminum Repair Investment Aluminum is hardly a new material, but it jumped to the forefront of repairer consciousness with the introduction of the aluminumbodied Ford F-150 in 2015. It seemed as if almost every body shop was investing heavily in aluminum repair equipment and training.

The first question in the survey asked if repairers had invested in equipment, in training or in both. The majority of the survey respondents (59 percent) indicated that they had invested in both equipment and training on how to use it. The next largest category are shops that indicated they had neither purchased equipment nor conducted training (19 percent). It seems likely that these facilities intend to sublet any aluminum work that does come through the door.

The next most common response (12 percent) was to indicate that one or more techs had received training, but that the shop had not yet purchased the equipment. The two smallest groups were “Not yet, but we plan to” and “We have invested in equipment, but still need training” tied at 6 percent each.

Next, we asked survey respondents to give us a rough idea of how many aluminum repairs they’ve performed since the start of 2016.

Answers ranged from as few as three to over 150. Below are some of the comments left on this question. As always, these comments are provided anonymously and with minimal editing from us: • 3 jobs , none that required welding , all had spr work done with steck spr hand tool • 104 2015 F150’s, 42 2016 F150’s, 9 2016 F350’s, 1 2015 Jaguar f type: 156 total • Few. Not many. All cosmetic.

Was the investment worthwhile? Our survey says yes.

Finally, we get down to where the rubber meets the road: was the investment in aluminum repair worthwhile?

Not one repairer who filled out the survey indicated that the investment wasn’t worthwhile. A total of 40 percent of respondents indicated that it was a worthwhile investment. A further 20 percent indicated that while the investment hadn’t paid off yet, they expected it to do so in the future. Finally, 20 percent of respondents indicated that while the investment wasn’t necessarily worthwhile in terms of revenue, it was worth it to indicate to partners that the facility can handle new technology.

February 2017 collision Repair 39

FINANCIAL REPORT

Big Moves 3M outlines expectations and Sherwin-Williams may have to divest

By Jeff Sanford

G

ood decisions are made on the basis of good information. We’ve combed through the financial reports and information for many of the large companies impacting the collision repair ecosystem. Most are publicly traded corporations, but we’ve also included financial news from some of the other companies that are part of the automotive claims economy.

Axalta Coating Systems

Charles Shaver.

Corporate insiders at Axalta have been buying shares of late. It is considered a good sign of strong business when executives at a company are buying shares in their own organization.

Director Ryerkerk Lori and CEO Charles Shaver both bought shares in Axalta. Four analysts rate the stock a Strong Buy. Eight analysts rate it a Buy. A report on Market Realist notes Axalta is working to increase market share in Mexico and Central America. Axalta also plans to expand production at its facility in Landshut, Germany.

Axalta also announced it has acquired

Sherwin-Williams

John G. Morikis

Shares in paint-maker Sherwin-Williams have been trending higher of late, even as overall stock indexes have traded lower.

In March of this year Sherwin-Williams announced it is acquiring Valspar, a deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2017. The one potential stumbling block to the acquisition may come from the US government, as it’s possible that Valspar will be asked to sell off some divisions before regulatory approval is granted to the sale. Both companies released statements

3M

Inge Thulin.

3M has issued a press release that includes guidelines for its business expectations in 2017. According to the release, 3M execs expect strong earnings per share of between $8.45 and $8.80. This range, “... implies an increase of 4 percent to 8 percent on a yearover-year basis,” according to the release.

3M expects organic revenue growth to be

40 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

the paint business of Ellis Paint Company, a manufacturer of industrial and automotive refinish paint in North America. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Axalta was founded in 2013 in a spinoff to The Carlyle Group from DuPont Performance Coatings. Institutions and hedge funds are heavily invested in Axalta, with over 200 institutional investors having a stake in the company. One big owner is Warren Buffett, who paid $560 million to The Carlyle Group in 2015 for 20 million shares of Axalta. Buffett’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, now owns 9.7 percent of Axalta. indicating the tie-up between the two companies is still on track to close in the first quarter of 2017.

“We now expect a divestiture will be required to gain approval from the FTC to complete the acquisition of Valspar. We are moving forward on a divestiture that we believe will allow us to gain approval from the FTC. The expected divestiture has revenues below the $650 million threshold, and we expect to negotiate the divestiture and complete the Valspar transaction at $113 per common share within 90 days,” said John G. Morikis, CEO of Sherwin-Williams. between 1 and 3 percent and operating cash flow to be between $6.1 billion and $7.1 billion.

3M’s President and CEO, Inge Thulin, was quoted as saying that, “Over the last several years we have taken significant actions to strengthen our technology capabilities, improve our portfolio and cost structure, and make us even more relevant to our customers.”

FINANCIAL REPORT

Uni-Select

Steve Arndt, CEO of FinishMaster.

Research analysts at investment bank Gabelli released estimates for full year earnings for Uni-Select. The Gabelli analyst anticipates the firm will post earnings per share (EPS) of $1.82 for 2016. Looking ahead, the analyst expects Uni-Select to have an even better year in 2017, with Uni-Select generating earnings of $1.98 per share. The company also recently acquired the two Vancouverarea outlets of Pacific Parts.

BASF

Thomas Kloster is BASF’s new head of Automotive OEM Coatings Solutions in Europe.

BASF has completed the acquisition of the Chemetall “surface treatment business” from Albemarle. Chemetall develops and manufactures technology solutions to protect “metals from corrosion, [and] facilitate forming and machining,” according to a report. Chemetall’s sales for the full calendar year of 2015 were $845 million USD. “The acquisition of Chemetall allows us to significantly expand our market,”

Uni-Select subsidiary FinishMaster has opened its first location in Portland, Oregon.

The location is a brand new “greenfield” development. With the addition of Oregon, FinishMaster is now located in 32 US states.

President and CEO Steve Arndt of FinishMaster was quoted as saying, “It’s an exciting time to be part of FinishMaster ... Our ability to acquire select companies and open greenfield locations, as needed, positions us as a leader in service and support in our market.”

said Markus Kamieth, President of BASF’s coatings division said. “By combining the expertise and innovation power of two global market leaders, we will accelerate innovation and make our customers even more successful.” BASF will pay $3.2 billion for the unit.

BASF announced recently that Thomas Kloster is the new head of its Automotive OEM Coatings Solutions in Europe. Kloster replaces Martin Jung, who moved up to coordinate the integration of Chemetall into BASF.

february 2017 collision Repair 43

OEM CERTIFICATION

Rare Repair

Just two Canadian shops have Lamborghini Factory Authorization

By Barett Poley

T

wo Canadian collision repair shops, CSN-427 Auto Collision in Toronto, Ontario and CSN-OpenRoad Richmond Auto Body in Richmond, British Columbia, have been recognized with the very exclusive and very illustrious right to repair body damage on Lamborghini vehicles.

The timing couldn’t be better, as Lamborghini recently revealed its all-new Aventador S in Toronto for the first time in early February.

The Italian hyper-car manufacturer is implementing a factory-authorized repair program as a replacement for its famed “Flying Doctors.” The previous program saw specialized Lamborghini repairers flying all over the world to repair the intricate carbon fibre bodies and components of Lamborghini’s

most recent vehicles. This new program is advantageous to the manufacturer and collision repair businesses alike, and will also expedite the repair process for Lamborghini drivers whose vehicles are in need of repair.

The two collision repair facilities, located on opposite sides of the country, will be the exclusive factory authorized repairers of Lamborghini for all of Canada. The process of achieving that authorization can be as expensive as it is distinguished. However, it’s a process that is well worth it for the collision repair businesses involved.

Lorenzo D’Alessandro, General Manager at CSN-427 Auto Collision, and a director of CSN Collision & Glass, says it can be a difficult process just to be considered as a potential part of the program.

“You have to be endorsed by Lamborghini to even potentially qualify, so you need to be of a certain calibre right off the bat,” he says.

“You need to have that reputation for quality, so it’s sort of a small world, in that way.”

A Lamborghini Aventador S. Only two facilities in Canada have received OEM approval to repair body damage to Lamborghini’s vehicles: CSN-427 Auto Collision in Ontario and CSN-OpenRoad Richmond Auto Body in British Columbia.

44 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

The exclusivity of this certification makes sense, considering Lamborghini is one of the most well recognized and established automotive marques on the planet, selling some of the world’s most luxurious and desirable v10 and v12 equipped automobiles.

Their vehicles exude class, sophistication, and exotic delicacy with every minutia of their mid-engine super-sports. From their extremely high-output engines, to their perfectly shaped exhausts and vents, right down to the F1-car-like carbon fibre monocoque of the v12 Aventador, there isn’t a detail overlooked in design, production or implementation. Now, for Canadian aficionados of Lamborghini, there won’t be a detail overlooked in collision repair, either.

This is an extremely important consideration, especially when looking at the carbon fibre construction of these vehicles. Repairing any carbon fibre components requires very special training and equipment to repair.

Emily Lowe-Koerner is the Manager of Human Resources & OEM Certification at CSN-OpenRoad Richmond Auto Body.

OEM CERTIFICATION

Left: Emily Lowe-Koerner of CSN-OpenRoad Richmond Auto Body. Above: The facility has added the Lamborghini authorization an extensive list of OEM certifications and recognitions.

She says this is all “part and parcel” of With regards to the stresses that this can Like Lowe-Koerner, D’Alessandro of CSNgaining factory approvals from a high-tech put on technicians, however, Lowe-Koerner 427 Auto Collision fully understands the manufacturer. says that it takes a special sort of highly- costs—and benefits—of the project.

“The program has pretty extensive facility, skilled technician to be able to comfortably “The specialized equipment and tools to equipment and training requirements. Like work on such high-class and technologically complete these repairs are definitely expensive most OEM certification programs they advanced vehicles. from the start, but there are new vehicles require Lamborghinicoming out in the specific tooling and Volkswagen group that Lamborghini-specific could potentially make training,” says Loweuse of the equipment, The Italian hyper-car manufacturer is implementing a Koerner, noting that s o t h i s i s a g r e at the investment is worth investment for us,” says factory-authorized repair program as a replacement for t h e r e s u l t s . “O E M D’Alessandro. “Why certification programs do we do it? Because its famed ‘Flying Doctors.’ are an expensive upwe want to stay on the front investment leading edge, bottom regardless of the brand. line. We are very proud We are currently Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche, “Lamborghini uses carbon fibre quite to be representing Lamborghini.”

BMW, Mini, Lexus, LFA, Toyota, Honda and extensively, which does complicate the This is a pride expressed by Lowe-Koerner Acura NSX Certified. OEM certification is repair process. Carbon fibre can be difficult as well. a huge priority for us as a company. The to work with as it’s very unforgiving and “We take pride in aligning ourselves with investments in equipment and in training it must be worked with very carefully to brands, so when we had the opportunity to our technicians are very intensive, but we see ensure further damage isn’t done. I will say become Lamborghini certified, we knew it these programs as the future of the industry that for a technician to be Lamborghini was a good choice for us,” she says. so it’s a worthwhile investment for us. Vehicle certified he or she has to be extremely For more on CSN-427 Auto Collision, technologies have evolved so much over the skilled. It’s not something every technician ple as e visit 427auto col lision.com. past few years and will just continue to do will be able to do,” she says, highlighting More information on CSN-OpenRoad so. As a result repairs have become more the importance of the equipment and Richmond Auto Body can be found at complicated as well.” training required. openroadautobody.com.

Right: Lorenzo D’Alessandro of CSN-427 Auto Collision in Toronto, Ontario. Above: The facility is one of two shops authorized by Lamborghini to perform body repairs to its vehicles in Canada. february 2017 collision Repair 45

GLOBAL VIEW GLOBAL VIEW

No True

Independents France’s industry is even more consolidated than Canada’s

By Barett Poley

I

n France, the pressures of being a smaller country that is part of a larger union weigh heavily on the collision repair industry.

Consolidation within the country has led to tougher times than usual for collision repair shops.

The International Bodyshop Industry Symposium (IBIS) draws together key influencers and thought leaders from across the globe to discuss the trends and factors impacting the collision repair industry both at home and abroad. Collision Repair magazine is the exclusive Canadian Media Partner for IBIS. In this report we present information compiled by IBIS on the current state of the collision repair industry in France. The data in this report is provided courtesy of Le Journal d’Automobile.

As it stands, France is seeing a temporary downturn in the collision repair industry. A small number of shops take on most of the jobs and there has been an overall reduced rate of claims. Alexander Guillet of Le Journal d’Automobile says “ … there’s a reduction in claims rates, combined with a difficult economic situation. We have also seen consolidation of the sector both with insurance companies and body shops.”

The population of France is 66 million and the country boasts 40 million fully licensed drivers and over 38 million vehicles on the road, but despite this there are fewer and fewer collision repair centres.

The country is host to around 7,500 collision repair businesses, with 70 percent of business going to just 3,500 of those shops, according to Guillet.

Unlike Italy, where carmakers are just beginning to form networks to influence the collision repair industry, in France it is standard practice, and there are many outside forces exerting influence on the market. This has essentially driven out the concept of independent

France’s industry is well consolidated, with 7,500 collision repair facilities serving a population of 66 million.

shops as a whole in the country, as everybody seeks standardization and consolidation. Guillet says “We have a high involvement of carmakers’ networks on the market, in order to compete with other [non-manufacturer] networks – there are now nearly no significant, true independents in the market.”

In addition to the pressures from the OEMs, insurance companies are also seeking to control the average price of repairs. In France there are 77 motor insurance companies, but a small number takes the majority of business. In fact, in France, the top three companies, MACIF, AXA, and Groupama get the vast majority of business, which gives them the means to exercise some control over the collision repair industry. According to Guillet, “Between 3,500 and 4,000 body shops absorb approximately 70 percent of the business which gives great importance to these ‘heavy’ accounts for the players.

Insurance companies are paying close attention to the balance between carmakers’ networks and [non-carmakers’] ones, in order to control the average repair cost.” february 2017 collision Repair 47

Global View

Though the market is in a strange place, France is taking it in stride. In fact, when it comes to new technologies, the country is very much ahead of the curve, embracing pre- and post-repair scans, perhaps as an extension of the mass consolidation in the country. The new technologies have been adapted quite well by collision repair shops, and the collision repair sector is considered incredibly modern in that sense. Guillet explains “… nowadays [we are making use of] new materials, electronics etc. coming to market – the new architecture of cars designed to avoid, or limit, the severity of collisions.” He says that this is a “crucial point.”

With regard to computerized systems, he says they have been very widely implemented.

“France is a mature market from this point of view, with experts having nearly fulfilled their professionalization.” However, France’s industry has a hard time finding qualified workers, just as in Canada.

“It is not a desirable profession. Sometimes it is difficult to appoint personnel. Training also represents a key point for the workshops,” explains Guillet.

The total fleet in France consists of about 38.2 million vehicles. Canada’s is slightly under 24 million.

When it comes to new technologies, the country is very much ahead of the curve.

FACTS AT A GLANCE: FRANCE (All figures are in Canadian dollars)

Population

The information in the IBIS Report was prepared by Alexander Guillet of Journal de l’Automobile.

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Population:

66,917,994

GDP:

$3.72 trillion

Licensed Drivers:

Approximately 40 million

Total Vehicle Fleet:

Approximately 38.2 million

Collision Repair Facilities:

Approximately 7,500

Number of Insurers:

77

Average Labour Rate:

$81

Report On Training

I-CAR launches new courses on calibration, scanning and OEM-specific procedures

I

t can be difficult to access high-quality training on the latest topics. I-CAR has made accessing that training a little easier with the release of seven new one-hour, online courses. The new courses are part of I-CAR’s Vehicle and Technology Specific Training curriculum portfolio.

The courses include three that are Nissan/INFINITI specific, a Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Collision Repair Overview, a course on calibration of front facing cameras and front radar, an introduction to diagnostics and scan tools and a new, one-hour online version of the 2017 edition of I-CAR’s popular vehicle technology and trends course.

All seven courses are offered online and have been specifically designed to provide collision repair technicians with cutting-edge knowledge that targets today’s innovative vehicles.

and quality repairs. As repairs become more vehicle specific, the industry will find that our new Vehicle and Technology Specific Training curriculum offering is both relevant and complementary to I-CAR’s core training programs.”

Safety Shield Technologies (NI001E01) – Nissan’s Safety Shield Technologies are a suite of advanced safety features that are designed to provide an extra set of eyes for the driver and help reduce response time in braking situations. This course provides detailed explanations of how to identify if a vehicle is equipped with Safety Shield Technologies, how the systems function, what parts are associated with each system, what kind of damage is typical when the systems are involved in a collision and what procedures are required when parts are removed or replaced.

Calibration of Front Facing Cameras and Front Radars (VT200E01) – Systems that require either a front facing camera or front millimetre wave radar are intricate and procedures for repairing them are complex.

Students will learn what is involved with calibrating these two advanced electronic systems.

Introduction to Diagnostics and Scan Tools (VT201E01) – Students will gain knowledge on the differences between certain electrical troubleshooting tools, when OEM scan tools are required and how they can most effectively handle their diagnostic needs.

Niss an Re p air C onsi d er ati ons (NI002E01) – This course familiarizes the technician with the vehicles that make up the Nissan model lineup.

Additionally, it looks at how to access the repair procedures required for quality repairs. Students will become familiar with the unique repair considerations that are required by Nissan.

One of the new I-CAR courses deals specifically with Nissan’s Safety Shield technologies.

Vehicle Technology and Trends (VT017E01) – This course covers new features and collision repair procedures for 2017 Model Year vehicles, both foreign and domestic. Technology highlights include composite reinforcements, a battery-powered GMA pulse welder and resistance spot riveting.

“Vehicle manufacturers are continuing to innovate with regards to the technologies and materials that are going into their new models,” said Josh McFarlin, I-CAR Director of Curriculum and Product Development. “The need for, and the value of, I-CAR training to the industry continues to increase. We are committed to working with the OEMs so that we are able to deliver the most relevant courses possible, and help repair facilities and technicians by providing the information and knowledge they need to perform complete, safe,

INFINITI Repair Considerations (NI003E01) – This offering is designed to provide technicians with specific details on vehicles in the INFINITI model lineup. Students will learn about required repair considerations that are unique to INFINITI, as well as how to access specific repair procedures.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Collision Repair Overview (VT205E01) – The course provides an overview covering everything from FCA’s rich repair history to their position on modern repair issues including their position on cold straightening, partial replacements, types of specified joints for repair and pre- and post-repair scans for collision repair.

All of the new courses are available now. To learn more about the courses, please visit i-car.com/newcourses. For information on I-CAR and the organization’s full education, knowledge and solutions portfolio, visit the I-CAR website at i-car.ca.

February 2017 collision Repair 51

Report on Training

Discover Leadership training approved for AMi credit

Tom McGee of Spanesi (centre) conducts a Touch training class at Prochilo Brothers.

Spanesi holds Touch training session at Prochilo Brothers Auto Collision

By Barett Poley Scarborough’s Prochilo Brothers Auto Collision was host to a training session put on by Spanesi to educate collision repairers on the company’s Touch electronic measuring system, in addition to highlighting the features of the system.

The Touch system was originally conceptualized two decades ago, but has continued to be refined and improved on over the last 20 years. According to a media release by Spanesi, “Touch is a universal electronic measuring system, which allows a repairer to quickly carry out a diagnosis on damaged vehicles, to realize the certification of correct reparation and to measure all the mechanical parts.”

The machine boasts the ability to take measurements without the need for any sort of adapters, and the company says the Touch system gives repairers the ability to “measure all the mechanical parts of a vehicle, assembled or disassembled on the vehicle in order to diagnose every single mechanical component” in what they call a “personal database” for each vehicle or customer.

According to Domenic Ieraci, Sales/Marketing & Corporate Communications for Prochilo Brothers, the system has helped to maximize their shops’ efficiencies. “In using the Spanesi Touch Measuring System we’ve found more accuracy in our estimates and have streamlined the repair process,” says Ieraci.

Anthony Iaboni, President of Collision 360, arranged to have head trainer Tom McGee of Spanesi Americas come in to conduct the training. Iaboni conducts many such training events in collision shops and has hosted courses at the Collision 360 Training Centre, set to officially open in the coming weeks. Amongst the trainees were technicians, apprentices and appraisal staff.

This training is an important step for Prochilo Brothers, as it helps its employees and its customers. “We believe that investing in the training of our technicians is paramount to ensuring our customers vehicles are repaired safely and accurately,” says Ieraci.

52 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

The Automotive Management Institute (AMi) has announced approval of the Discover Leadership Master Graduate Program and Ignition Program for elective credit hours. Past and future students successfully completing the Master Graduate Program will be awarded 60 AMi elective credits hours and the Ignition Leadership Program 24 credit hours toward the achievement of AMi’s Accredited Automotive Office Manager (AAOM), Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) and Accredited Master Automotive Manager (AMAM) professional designations.

“We are proud to add the Discover Leadership Master Graduate and Ignition Leadership Programs to our growing list of AMi approved programs. Its unique approach to leadership training provides a solid foundation for both personal and professional success,” said AMi President Jeff Peevy.

Mike Anderson is the owner of consulting firm Collision Advice and a course designer for AMi. He says the Master Graduate experience can be literally life-changing.

“You often hear of things that change a person’s life, getting married, having kids, and so on. I can assure you that attending Discover Leadership is absolutely one of these types of life changing events,” said Anderson. “I would encourage anyone and everyone you know to attend Discover Leadership. It will leave you more focused and more honed in on what it is that life has to offer you!”

Discover Leadership Training is a Houston, Texas based training organization. More information on the organization can be found

Jeff Peevy.

Mike Anderson.

at discoverleadership.com. Mike Jones, Discover Leadership Training’s President and Master Trainer, has worked on large worldwide projects with Coca-Cola and Exxon/Mobil as well as local projects with Zions Bank and Caliber Collision.

“I am very excited to be working with Jeff Peevy and Ami,” said Jones. Discover Leadership Training is always looking for organizations that are focused on helping people create a better version of themselves and AMi is certainly doing that for thousands. The winwin relationship between AMi and Discover Leadership Training will give the businesses we serve the winning edge.”

To receive credit for the recently approved Discover Leadership Training Programs, download, complete and return the AMi Course Completion Form. The form can be downloaded from AMi’s website at amionline.org.

INDUSTRY EVENT

Police cars crash

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/ / ///COP SHOP uliarities c e p n w o s it s vehicles ha y c n e g r e m e g Repairin

By Barett Poley

W

hat happens when a police cruiser is in a collision, or a local ambulance is involved in a crash? Emergency vehicles have a far higher chance of becoming damaged in a collision than a passenger vehicle does, due to the high-risk nature of the work they do. Before they go back on the road, they need to be up to standard.

According to Sgt. Peter Leon with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), the process is just as much external as it is internal.

“First off we send the vehicle to Fleet, Supply and Weapons, and they estimate the damage, alongside the age and mileage of the vehicle to see if it’s worth replacing.”

This depot is located in Orillia, Ontario. This

is similar to the process used to determine if a regular vehicle is a total loss. If it’s a brand new Ford Police Interceptor with a few hundred kilometers on the odometer, it will likely be repaired. An aging Crown Vic that’s seen a lot of action may be better off decommissioned.

Police auctions typically see many such vehicles, either decommissioned thanks to high mileage, or cars that wouldn’t be a write-off if they were passenger vehicles, but are too damaged to warrant repairing them for police work.

“It’s sent through whichever branch it’s from to a local collision shop,” says Sgt. Leon. The vehicles are repaired mostly by local autobody facilities, but they need to follow a strict set of guidelines.

Police vehicles are kept in good order,

54 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

and this applies to the body and finish just as much as the mechanical parts. Public perception is extremely important to police work. A battered and dented cruiser won’t project the solid and professional appearance that police officers need when dealing with the public.

Ambulances, on the other hand, are often left unrepaired in the cases of small dings and scratches, as their public image is less important than the fact that they get there swiftly and accurately. Still, like police cruisers from the OPP, their vehicles are sent out to local collision repair shops. This helps to both support the local economy and helps to ensure the vehicles are back on the road as soon as possible.

Fred Kylie is a technician at Fix Auto Peterborough. He used to work with ambulances quite frequently, and says working on the emergency vehicles is business as usual, with a few twists.

INDUSTRY EVENT

Even relatively minor damage to a fire engine requires specialized repair. Photo courtesy of E-One Factory Service.

“Well, there are specialty parts to take into consideration. Emergency vehicles have special lights and body panels, but really it’s not so different than working on any other vehicle,” says Kylie. Finding OEM parts isn’t that much of a hassle either, despite the relative rarity of purpose-built ambulances.

“Usually if it’s a specialty vehicle each body

in a different class from other emergency vehicles. A police interceptor is, at its core, just a modified commercial vehicle. The same goes for an ambulance. Despite their specialized modifications, they’re built on commercial van frames.

While there are fire engines, such as pumpers and rescues, that are mounted

In addition to the specialized skills and knowledge needed for the job, parts can be difficult to find for older engines. Simply put, a lot of “OEM” parts for an older fire engine are simply too rare to be feasible.

“For our refurbishments, it’s a lot of custom fabrication,” says McVean. “There are some proprietary parts to the design from

A battered and dented cruiser won’t project the solid and professional appearance that police officers need when dealing with the public. panel will have a sticker saying where it was made, so we can call up the manufacturer and get exactly the part we need,” he says.

City police forces, however, often do things a little bit differently. For example, the Toronto Metropolitan police actually have an internal fleet management system in place, which includes repairs and maintenance.

Repairing or refurbishing a fire engine can be a tricky thing, and the custom-fabricated vehicles need to be up to scratch to do the difficult job they’ve been assigned. With a new pumper engine costing upwards of $500,000 USD, the best option isn’t always to buy new if an engine has been involved in a collision. That’s where the unique fabricators and collision repairers of the firefighting industry come into play.

The vehicles used by fire departments are

on commercial chassis, the majority of these vehicles are custom designed and built. Kevin McVean is the Service Sales Manager for E-One Factory Service. He provided some insight into the specialized world of fire engine repair in an interview with Collision Repair magazine.

“With an ambulance, there will be a commercial chassis that can be used for all sorts of applications and vocations, but with a special box on the back,” says McVean. “But a fire truck is custom built from the ground up for the explicit purpose of fighting fires.”

This means not only are the engines themselves more expensive, but repairing them can be a more specialized job than ambulances or police interceptors, which can often just be brought to standard collision repair facilities.

the vendors though, for our application.”

E-One has been serving the fire apparatus industry since 1974, and since then the company has made many connections in the business. “There are some third party parts, such as lights and brass parts, that we’ll get from vendors like Akron, Elkhart and Whelen lighting, but that’s universal for all repairers,” says McVean. Those parts cover the basics of what separate a fire engine from being just a big boxy truck – the lights, the nozzles and the hoses that it needs to do its job.

Firefighting is an important service and keeping those vehicles roadworthy and in good condition is likewise important.

It’s another example of how people in the collision repair industry can be literal life-savers. february 2017 collision Repair 55

MATERIALS

Understanding Carbon Fibre Repair What you need to know about the up-and-coming material

By Julie Douglas

M

ost of us likely associate wonder about the cost of repairing such carbon fibre with highan expensive and specialized material. end luxury vehicles, Collision Repair magazine interviewed Gary the sort of cars that are typically Lin, Certified Collision Repair Program out of reach for use as a daily Specialist at BMW Group Canada, to driver. However, innovations in discuss what’s involved with repairs to the manufacturing process are carbon fibre frames and body panels. making the material more and “It isn’t as complicated as it seems,” said more accessible to automotive Lin, noting that carbon fibre is a mix of manufacturers. carbon and polymers, and is much stronger We’ve already seen carbon fibre than traditional steel components. used extensively on the BMW i3, He says that with carbon fibre you aren’t one of the first mass produced able to manipulate the material to massage vehicles to use a carbon fibre frame. A BMW i3 body shell that is used for training the technicians in repair a dent out. Instead, you need to remove the How did carbon fibre go from being processes. Photo courtesy of BMW Group Canada. portion that requires repair and then glue trim and accent on luxury vehicles in a new part. In the case of the i3, there to something more accessible to the masses? are markings where the cuts need to be made, so that the technician Rebecca Kiehne is a Product and Technical Communications can remove the damaged portion and then bond the new piece in.

Spokesperson with BMW. In an interview with Collision Repair The cuts are made with a specially designed carbon milling tool. magazine, she explained that improvements in the manufacturing The major differences between repairing traditional vehicles process has lowered the material’s overall cost. and repairing carbon fibre vehicles are the safety equipment and “Increases in availability and improvements in production efficiency training needed. have improved the feasibility of using carbon fibre over time,” said “Carbon fibre particles are highly combustible,” said Lin. “If you Kiehne. “For example, not long ago it was commonplace in CFRP were to sweep them up in a shop you would see little sparks!” (carbon fibre reinforced plastic – Ed.) manufacturing to build a Of course when BMW built the i3, they took safety into monocoque and cure it in an autoclave. This is extremely labour consideration with the design of special tools. BMW’s milling tool and energy intensive. Advancements in the production process have has a built-in vacuum system to extract the dust being released. A been able to significantly reduce this cost and complexity.” traditional grinder would release all of that extremely combustible With the advent of the i3 as a mass production vehicle, we might dust into the shop. february 2017 collision Repair 57

MATERIALS

Carbon fibre repair also requires the use of many adhesives, solvents and resins, so proper ventilation and careful handling of the materials is a must. Technicians also must wear appropriate protective equipment to avoid inhaling harmful fumes and dust.

With the growing demand for carbon fibre, and the costs of manufacturing the material lowering, the likelihood of shops seeing this material are becoming greater. Repairs to it require some specialized equipment and training. Check out “Carbon Fibre Requirements” on page 59 for details.

It’s initially a large investment, but as more vehicle manufacturers begin to incorporate carbon fibre into their vehicles, it could pay off to be ahead of the curve by the time we start to see carbon fibre incorporated into many mass-produced vehicles.

With the newly formed LeMond An i3 under construction. Overall, the repair process is very similar to how the vehicle would have been put together Composites Company promising high- at the factory, but involving hand labour and on a smaller scale. Photo courtesy of BMW Group Canada. volume, low cost carbon fibre to the automotive industry by 2018, we could be on the cusp of a revolution strength, low-weight characteristics of carbon fibre make it very in car design. The company’s recently developed manufacturing appealing to automotive manufacturers. The biggest barrier to using process targets the major expenses of carbon fibre production: it in production has been the high cost of the material. Further reductions in cost means an increasing number of OEMs willing labour and energy costs.

With the push to make vehicles more fuel efficient, the high- to use carbon fibre more extensively.

58 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

MATERIALS

Carbon Fibre Requirements Clean Room: A dedicated space is a must to avoid cross-contamination with metals in the shop. Carbon fibre particles can cause galvanic corrosion.

Dust Extraction System: Cutting and grinding releases dust and particles into the air that are dangerous for technicians to inhale, and must be kept out of the rest of the shop.

Carbon fibre may show no visible damage, but nevertheless be weakened or cracked. The aerospace industry uses electronic digital tap hammers to determine the location and extent of any damage.

These tools are now seeing use in some collision shops as well.

“Carbon fibre offers many benefits that are good for the auto industry, in particular in light of regulatory pressures to decrease fuel consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Kiehne. “The more widely adopted these materials become, the more economies of scale benefit the industry and ultimately the customer.”

We asked Lin what he thought about the future of carbon fibre in the automotive world, and if we would start seeing it incorporated into more and more mass-produced vehicles.

Without hesitation he replied, “Carbon fibre is the way of the future.”

Electronic Digital Tap Hammer: Carbon fibre doesn’t crumple like more traditional steel body parts, so damage is not always visible to the naked eye. This tool detects damage and provides a reading that illustrates the damage to the component.

Specialized Training for Technicians: This can include learning new processes such as mold-making and material casting, polymer resin application and vacuum bagging. Technicians who will be working on the i8 or i3 receive vehicle-specific training before they are able to perform any repairs.

You will also need to acquire a variety of specialized equipment for the curing, bonding, and storage processes.

february 2017 collision Repair 59

Big Draw!

INDUSTRY EVENT

First CCIF meeting of 2017 shatters attendance records

“T

here’s no other industry developing strategic studies for OEMs, parts that’s as flexible, that would manufacturers and aftermarket distributors. actually get together in a During his presentation, he outlined what he room like this to discuss these issues.” With saw as potential disruptors to the industry, those words, Chairman Joe Carvalho brought the latest meeting of the Canadian Collision Industry Forum (CCIF) to a close. Over 740 industry stakeholders packed Universal Event Space in Vaughan, Ontario over two days for the first CCIF meeting of 2017.

The event officially started with the opening of the Cars & Technology Showcase on the evening of January 26.

Patrice Marcil of Axalta served as moderator for the panel The Showcase featured some of the latest discussion on training. technological advancements in terms of both the cars themselves and the tools needed to repair them.

The meeting portion of CCIF began on January 27 with opening remarks

by Carvalho and Brigitte Pesant, CCIF Administrator for AIA Canada. Carvalho and Pesant also took a few moments to thank Koos Reieneking of AkzoNobel Brigitte Pesant, CCIF Administrator, and Joe Carvalho, CCIF and present him with an award for his Chairman (right) present an award to Koos Reineking of AkzoNobel for his service on the CCIF Steering Committee. service on the CCIF Steering Committee.

The presentations got rolling with Annab elle C or mack of C or mack Recruitment, speaking on “Recruitment: Bumper to Bumper.” Cormack gave a brief background on her experience as a recruiter, noting that she has been heavily involved in the automotive business in the past year, working closely with stakeholders to understand the specific issues impacting recruitment for Sinh Quan and Michel Gagnon of Mitchell. automotive repair.

Her presentation provided best practices sorting them into “hard” and “soft” categories. and tactics for recruitment and looked at Chief among the “hard” disruptors, in ways the industry can promote existing King’s view, is the coming era of autonomous career options. vehicles. He warned that they will lead Andrew King of DesRosiers Automotive to massive issues for both insurance and Consulting followed Cormack, providing a regulation. top-level view of the Canadian automotive “The technology is there, it can happen,” landscape. King’s presentation drew heavily he said. “When it does happen, you will see on his extensive experience researching accident rates fall. It is going to shake up the the auto industry and his current work on industry, tear it up.”

60 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

By Mike Davey

The first panel discussion of the day followed a short networking break. Conducted by Patrice Marcil, North American Learning & Development Director for Axalta Coating Systems, the panel focused on the “Collision Industry-Education Connection” with representatives of technical colleges from across Canada serving as panelists. For more on this, please see “State of Training” on page 61.

The training panel was followed by Andrew Shepherd of I-CAR Canada, who outlined some of the improvements to continuous training that are being rolled out now and in the near future.

Shepherd provided an overview of the current status of Gold Class shops across Canada, noting that the program had been modified in recent years, meaning many formerly Gold Class shops needed more training to receive the designation.

This training is still underway. Ontario currently has the most Gold Class shops at 17 across the province. The numbers for all provinces will likely increase in the near future.

I-CAR will also be rolling out a number of shorter courses soon, according to Shepherd.

“These are one and two-hour packages that will allow you, as a manager, to target gaps that you need to fill,” he said, also noting that we can expect to see more OEM specific courses as well.

“We’ve released a few already and there’s about 20 more in the pipeline. You can probably expect about 10 of these every year going forward,” said Shepherd.

A short lunch break was followed by a panel discussion led by Mike Anderson of Collision Advice. Anderson’s high energy levels kept the crowd’s attention focused on one of his favour topics: scanning and calibration.

This is one of the biggest issues in the sector currently, and it’s fitting that it was discussed by a big panel. The discussion naturally

INDUSTRY EVENT

advancements in automated driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automotive vehicles before pointing to what he considers one of the biggest changes to hit the auto industry.

Toyota will be including its Safety Sense P package on every car. Toyota Safety Sense P is a multi-feature system that includes Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection.

Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Derek Naidoo of NitroHeat, Desmond Chan of Fix Auto World Cruise Control, Lane Departure Alert and Amjad Farah of AkzoNobel. with Steering Assist and Automatic presented many different viewpoints on the High Beams. various issues surrounding scanning, but in “If Toyota does that, who’s going to do the end the consensus seemed relatively clear: that next?” asked Spencer. He concluded his scanning and calibration are now necessary presentation with a statement that many in parts of the repair process. For more on the audience would likely agree with. “You this, please see “Scanning and Calibration” are living through the greatest era of change on page 62. since the car was invented over 100 years The final presentation of the day featured ago,” he said. automotive journalist Zack Spencer of The next meeting of CCIF takes place in Motormouth. Spencer showed a video Fredericton, New Brunswick on May 25 to 26, highlighting some of the more recent 2017. For more information, please visit ccif.ca.

CCIF: State of Training Polytechnic; Claude Viau, Enseignant en Carrosserie/ Autobody Instructor, Centre d’études professionnelles Saint-Jérôme and Don MacKay, Autobody Instructor/ Enseignant en Carrosserie, New Brunswick Community College (NBCC). The panel discussion was led by Patrice Training panelists at CCIF Vaughan, from left: Don MacKay of NBCC, Marcil of Axalta Coating Claude Viau of Centre d’études professionnelles Saint-Jérôme, Paulo Santos of Centennial College, Scott Kucharyshen of Saskatchewan Systems.

Polytechnic and Mark Deroche of BCIT. The discussion was moderated Marcil kicked off the

by Patrice Marcil of Axalta Coating Systems. discussion with an overview Continuously advancing technology is of some of the challenges making itself felt throughout the industry, affecting collision repair training before but Canada’s trade colleges may be feeling leading the panelists through a survey dealing the impact the most. A panel discussion at with various questions about conditions CCIF Vaughan looked into the challenges and challenges to training delivery at their today’s collision repair trainers are facing. individual schools.

The OEM repair procedures are constantly Budgets and overall costs ranked high on under revision, with frequent updates rolled the list of concerns. Everyone in the repair out. Keeping up-to-date can certainly be industry knows that keeping up-to-date on challenging for shops, but the colleges have equipment is expensive, but there are also a slightly different problem. Paulo Santos of high expenses involved with the purchase Centennial College put it into perspective. of consumables. The students must practice “The manufacturers keep changing the their techniques and to do this they must use process. By the time we’ve set the budget, up supplies. There’s really no getting around asked for funding and had the request this. The instructors at CCIF indicated that approved, they changed the procedures again.” their schools had partnered with various Santos shared the panel with Mark industry companies to lower costs, but the Deroche, Chief Instructor, British Columbia fact of the matter is that the programs are Institute of Technology (BCIT); Scott still very expensive compared to some other Kucharyshen, Program Head, Saskatchewan college programs.

Continued on page 62

Darryl Simmons, publisher of Collision Repair magazine, and Rodica Matei, COO of Wedge Clamp Systems.

Don Teevens of Consolidated Dealers Co-Op and Sharon Ashely of Micazen Consulting/BodyshopConnect at the Cars & Technology Showcase.

Frank and Bernice DeVito of Autobahn CARSTAR Barrie.

Paul Prochilo of Prochilo Brothers and Tony DeSantis of Fix Auto.

Steven Hudey of I-CAR and James Kerr of Collision Repair magazine. february 2017 collision Repair 61

INDUSTRY EVENT State of Training continued from page 61

“It’s one of the most expensive programs to run, and that’s because of the consumables,” said Santos.

The topic of budgets kept coming up throughout the discussion. Don MacKay of NBCC provided some comic relief before highlighting just how grim the situation may be. “They give us a budget every year, and I think they calculate it by … magic,” which drew a laugh from the crowd. No one laughed at what came next. “Do more with less, do more with less, do more with less,” said MacKay. “Currently, our budget is $5,000 less than it was in 1964.”

This is not an issue limited to just one

school. Deroche of BCIT followed MacKay’s comments by noting, “I guess magic is nationwide.”

The discussion covered a wide range of topics aside from funding, such as how to capture and hold students. Kucharyshen of Saskatchewan Polytechnic noted that his program used “fun, cool projects” to attract students. Deroche built on this statement, noting that, “We need to show them the fascinating technologies in the world of collision repair.”

Claude Viau, instructor at Centre d’études professionnelles Saint-Jérôme provided all of his answers in French, with the gist

of his statements provided in English by Marcil. He noted that while getting industry involved in the educational process is important, school authorities need to understand that these programs are about training the workforce of tomorrow, not just getting students in seats and keeping them there until the end of the program.

Marcil concluded the panel discussion by noting that a survey of students would be conducted in the first quarter of 2017, with results presented at the next meeting of CCIF, taking place May 25 to 26 at Delta Fredericton in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

CCIF: Scanning and Calibration

CCIF’s panel discussion on scanning and calibration included representatives from OEMs, insurance, software and a lone repairer.

“Possible injury or even death.” Those are among the possible consequences of not scanning and performing the correct calibrations during the repair process, according to Scott Wideman of Volkswagen Canada.

Wideman made the comment during a panel discussion at the first CCIF meeting of 2017.

The meeting took place at Universal Event Space in Vaughan, Ontario.

It was a perspective that seemed to be shared by the other OEM representatives on the panel. When asked a similar question by moderator Mike Anderson of Collision Advice, Paul Stella of Toyota noted that the consequences of allowing a vehicle to leave the shop without properly calibrating various systems could be “Serious injury. Or worse.”

Anderson led the panel on pre- and postrepair scanning and calibration. The panelists represented many of the major sectors involved in the business of collision repair.

The OEMs were represented by Paul Stella of Toyota Canada, Chris Hogg of Honda Canada, Scott Wideman of Volkswagen Group Canada and Bruce Woodrich of FCA Canada.

The insurance side was represented by Joe Carvalho of Economical, David Wedlake of Intact Insurance and Tony Sutera Sardo for RSA Canada. Representing the software side were Michel Caron of Audatex Canada, Michel Gagnon of Mitchell and Dan Young of Collision Diagnostic Services (CDS), makers of the AsTech scan tool.

In fact, the segment with the least representation was collision repair itself, with just one representative: Terrence Bradimore of CK Collision.

Anderson told the assembled crowd that he had approached six repairers to participate.

While some bowed out due to fear of public speaking, others indicated that they “feared insurance company retribution,” according to Anderson.

It’s easy to sympathize with this attitude, but the fears may be unfounded. By and large, the insurers on the panel seemed to agree that the modern repair process requires scanning and may require that systems be recalibrated. In general, they simply want to have the correct documentation to explain

62 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

what was done and why it was needed.

“They want to pay what’s fair and reasonable,” said Anderson. “I’ve seen some shops in New York that are taking advantage of this situation and gouging the insurance company, and that’s wrong.”

The insurers on the panel indicated that policies were still being developed, but Sutera Sardo of RSA outlined what may be the best way forward for repairers at this juncture: document everything.

“My thoughts are that to properly repair the vehicle, we need to scan the vehicle,” he said. “We still find that the files are not welldocumented. It’s important to build the file properly. Explain what came up: you scanned the vehicle and it gave you some fault codes.

Often what we find is that we have the price, but not the explanation. We need that.”

Anderson reinforced this need to document and verify the procedures.

“There are well over a million claims in Canada every year. Let’s say the cost is $100 per car. That’s $100 million dollars,” said Anderson. “We all know that there are shops that will not do it, but still charge for it. How do we verify?”

There are at least three different liability issues at play here. First, there is obvious liability on the shops if they let potentially unsafe cars back onto the road. Second, there is a similar situation for insurers if they refuse to pay for operations that turned out to be necessary for a safe repair. The third issue is less obvious but ties into the idea of documenting and proving that the scans were needed.

Anderson started the panel discussion by sharing some anecdotes about various vehicles he had personally witnessed. One in particular ties into the liability issues that arise when it comes to sharing data.

INDUSTRY EVENT

means there are a lot of variables.”

“This is something we take very seriously,” said Gagnon.

“You know we do time studies on repair operations and this is a space we need to get into.

There’s a discussion to be had on what, exactly, a prePaul Stella of Toyota, Gloria Mann of Collision Repair magazine and Greg Konarowski of Toyota. repair scan is. Can you use aftermarket or does it have to go to the dealer?”

Long story short, both Eric Ritchie and Chris Hogg of Honda Canada flank their display at the Mitchell and Audatex are Cars & Tech Showcase. looking into developing l ab ou r t i me s for t he s e operations. All of the insurers Steve Fletcher of the Automotive Recyclers of Canada on the panel agreed that it and Mike Davey of Collision Repair magazine. would be helpful to have these determined. The OEM representatives indicated that they would be willing to work with the industry to develop these times.

Terrence Bradimore of CK Collision noted that his company performed pre- and Lianne Perissinotti Le Rue of CSN, Lorezno D’Alessandro of Jeff Schroder of Car-Part.com and Keith Jones of CSN-427 and CSN-Avenue Collision and Flavio Battilana of CSN Crash Space Appraisals. post-repair scans on every Collision Centres. single vehicle, even if it the Anderson told the story of an Audi Q7 that aftermarket scan tools can do the same thing. insurance company refused to pay for it, needed work on its bumper cover. However, Dan Young of CDS noted that while the although he noted that this issue doesn’t arise the customer also stated something like “my AsTech scanner uses 100 percent OEM tools very often as the shop personnel thoroughly navigation system hasn’t worked since the on every test, the company owns a lot of document scans. accident.” The shop duly looked into the issue. aftermarket scanners as well.

“A lot of times, we’ll find with the preAfter a thorough scan, they determined that “They’re in our R&D lab. We’re constantly repair scan, things that aren’t related to the the navigation system had gone offline a full monitoring the difference between the two,” accident. This is an opportunity to upsell seven months before the accident. The shop said Young. Following up, Anderson asked the customer or least get rid of that issue shared this data with the insurer to inform Young how much the company spent on scan at the end,” he said. “Nearly every time, if a them that the navigation system was not tools. “It’s significant,” he said. “The top of the fault code is showing, we’ll take a picture of damaged in the collision and should not be line, in terms of costs, is about $10,000. We’re that, and we’ll include a pdf of the pre- and covered under the repair. The customer then probably on a run rate of close to a million post-repair scans. So that’s not an issue. A sued the shop on the basis that the repairer dollars by the time we get into next year.” handful of times, it’s denied.” did not have permission to share that data.

CDS has a wealth of real world scanning Anderson closed out the scanning The point of all this is that it’s necessary for data to draw on, so naturally Anderson asked discussion by beating the drum once again for the shop to obtain authorization to share any Young what percentage of pre-repair scans always checking the current OEM procedures. data they recover from a vehicle. Anderson find nothing wrong related to the accident.

“We don’t know what we don’t know. It’s not and Dan Young of CDS noted that AsTech has “We have a lot of data for the US, but just about scanning cars. It’s about researching a sample authorization form on the company’s compared to the whole industry it’s a small OEM procedures,” he said. His next comment website that can be used for this purpose. sample size,” noted Young before mentioning reinforced the need to check on every single This is a concern for all involved parties. that about 80 or 81 percent of scans show repair. “If I’ve already fixed that car, why do I As Intact’s Wedlake noted, “We’ve had at least one diagnostic trouble code (DTC). need to research? Did you know Ford changed discussions at the national level regarding “About … one out of every two cars we scan how you put the bed on four times last year? authorization. Who owns that data? There have accident related fault codes.”

You need to check every time.” are still a lot of moving parts to this that we It’s important to have documented labour Anderson provided several other examples all need to understand.” times for scanning and calibration. Anderson highlighting why shops should check the The panel also discussed the difference asked Michel Caron of Audatex and Michel current procedure on every repair, before between OEM and aftermarket scan tools. Gagnon of Mitchell if their companies were delivering what may have been the most The bullet point from the OEMs on this is in the process of developing these. chilling message ever heard at a meeting essentially the same: they know their scan “Yes, we’re currently reviewing it,” said of the CCIF. “If someone dies because of tools work on all of their vehicles and have Caron. “The complexity of this process, with an improper repair, we will all be guilty the correct build data. They cannot say if pre- and post-repair scans, then calibration, by association.” february 2017 collision Repair 65

CANADIAN LAUNCH

Yunus Tak was originally employed with SATA in Germany.

John Turner and Nathalie Pelletier.

Rose MacDonald has spent nearly a decade working with SATA products.

Meet the Team

Brian Rigo details the features of a SATA gun at the recent Grand Opening event.

S

Brian Rigo is highly experienced with distribution, having spent more than 20 years working in the distribution sector. However, his new position with SATA Canada has already meant learning new skills.

“It’s a very exciting company to work for. There’s much more of a personal interaction with customers,” he said. “I’m also involved in repairs to the equipment as well. That means I can directly experience what our customers’ needs are and service them accordingly.”

Brian received training from a major SATA distributor in the US, as well as directly from Yunus Tak, SATA Canada’s resident technical guru.

The people behind SATA Canada ATA Canada is now officially open for business. Products from the well-known spray gun manufacturer have long been available in this country, but the opening of SATA Canada marks a new era in how the company will service its products for Canadian customers.

“One of the things that was lacking was the service for our products,” said John Turner, General Manager for SATA Canada in a recent interview with Collision Repair magazine. “We’re making a significant change to that now. Our goal is to help anyone and everyone who has a SATA product.”

John also noted that the company’s new Canadian headquarters includes a service facility right in the building. The new headquarters of SATA Canada is in Vaughan, Ontario. He outlined the company’s plans to offer extensive training opportunities in the near future.

“The training program we’re putting together will run from the compressor through to filtration and the final product, and also cover hazardous materials, how to keep yourself safe while you’re working in the booth, how to make sure you’ve got the proper ventilation, how to maintain your spray gun and much more,” he said. “It will be a more comprehensive training program than anything that’s currently available.”

Let’s meet the team behind this new company:

Nathalie Pelletier, Administration Manager As the Administration Manager for SATA Canada, Nathalie handles accounting, human resources and manages relationships with services and suppliers. In short, she makes sure everybody in the company has what they need to do their work.

Nathalie has a strong background of high-level administration experience from her last job. “I used to be the General Manager of a non-profit in Quebec,” she said in an interview with Collision Repair magazine. “PANDA was a group put in place to help and support families living with ADHD.” 66 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

Brian Rigo, Warehouse and Distribution

Yunus Tak, Business Development Manager As Business Development Manager for SATA Canada, Yunus is on the road a lot. He came to SATA Canada directly from SATA in Germany.

He started with the company in 2009 with an apprenticeship and he knows SATA inside out. In 2012 he started in the domestic sales department, assisting the head of sales for Germany and Austria. He later moved up to Business Development Manager – Export, which lead directly to his new position with SATA Canada.

“They wanted someone on the ground who could act as liaison between the two operations,” said Yunus. “It’s a great opportunity and I feel honoured to be able to join SATA Canada.”

Rose MacDonald, Customer Service Rose may be new to SATA Canada, but she certainly knows the products. She worked for the company’s former distributor in Calgary for over eight years in a similar capacity. When you’ve got questions about pricing, availability or the products themselves, chances are it is Rose who will field the call.

“I get a lot of technical questions,” she said. “It’s typically ’What kind of nozzle should I use with this brand?’ and ‘Which gun should I buy for this type of work?’ There are also questions about breathing equipment and filtration.”

For more information on SATA Canada, please visit sata.ca.

NEWS

SATA Canada hosts Grand Opening

Nicole Constantineau of Uni-Select and Gloria Mann of Collision Repair magazine.

At the Grand Opening of SATA Canada. Albrecht Kruse, CEO of SATA; John Turner, GM of SATA Canada and Gila Martow, MPP for Thornhill. Martow presented SATA Canada with a certificate officially welcoming SATA to the province and city of Vaughan.

SATA Canada opened for business on January 1 and the company held an official Grand Opening event at its Vaughan offices on January 26. Industry stakeholders were treated to a tour of the operation during the event. Over 160 people attended, with at least 50 people in the building at any given time.

SATA is headquartered in Germany. The company has long relied on a network of international distributors to get its products into customer’s hands. It’s relatively rare for the company to set up a subsidiary operation such as this.

John Turner is the General Manager for SATA Canada. During the Grand Opening event, he noted that part of the reason for the new operation was to provide faster service for customers. The company’s new Canadian headquarters includes a service facility right in the building.

“Our goal is to help anyone and everyone who has a SATA product,” said Turner. “If you don’t have your gun in your hand, you can’t work.

We’ll loan you something to keep you up and running.”

SATA Canada’s facility occupies a total of 15,000 sq. ft., including the office, warehouse and a training centre that’s currently under construction. Comprehensive training programs will be offered in the near future. For more on the team at SATA Canada, please see “Meet the Team” on page 66.

68 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

Matt Gibson of Flat Line Spray Booth Specialists.

Jeff Murphy of FinishMaster Canada.

NEWS

Industry packs Budds’ for annual Christmas party The production area of Budds’ Collision Services was packed for the company’s annual Pig Roast and Christmas party. In addition to great food and great company, this year’s event also served as the official launch of the Sam Piercey Foundation, supporting young collision repair apprentices in the industry.

The foundation is in honour of the late Sam Piercey, co-owner of Budds’, frequent Collision Repair magazine columnist and one of the collision repair industry’s most well-known and outspoken advocates. He passed away July 24, 2016, as a result of complications arising due to leukemia.

This yearly event is always attended by a wide cross-section of the industry, with plenty of representation from insurers and vendors.

Repairers were particularly well represented, with many attending from the local area and beyond.

Watch for more news on the Sam Piercey Foundation in coming issues.

This year’s event served as the official launch of the Sam Piercey Foundation.

Sam Piercey Jr. of Canadian Hail Repair.

Gloria Mann of Collision Repair magazine and Nicole and Joe Piercey.

Joe Da Cunha of Allstate and Steve Ingoglia of CSN-Automacs.

Greg Fenzl, Don Teevens of Consolidated Dealers Co-Op and Larry King of Caruk & Associates. february 2017 collision Repair 69

NEWS

NAPA holds National Business Conference and Trade Show NAPA held its National Business Conference and Trade Show at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel from January 26 to 29, 2017.

The trade show portion of the event ran on January 27 and featured a new electronic purchase tool for easy ordering, special trade show pricing and a grand prize draw for a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

The motorcycle was won by NAPA Auto Parts – Proline Automotive Supply in Saint John, New Brunswick. Manager Tom Parsons accepted the bike on behalf of the business.

The NAPA Resource Centre was open at the same time as the trade show and allowed industry stakeholders to receive information on various NAPA programs, such as NAPA Privilege, the uniform program, NAPA Excellence and NAPA Marketing.

The NAPA National Business Conference takes place every two years. The objective is to provide information to NAPA store owners and managers and to present them with new marketing initiatives and programs.

NAPA welcomed about 800 participants to the National Business Conference. The trade show portion showcased exhibits from 120 different suppliers.

The National Business Conference featured two speakers: Tom Chapman, who presented on “Stop providing, start enabling” and Scott McKain who discussed “Distinctive sales: how to stand out in a hyper-competitive marketplace.” The meeting also featured breakout sessions for conference participants to learn about different programs, products and marketing initiatives.

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Scott Goetz, Director, Sales, NAPA Batteries/East Penn; Tim MacDonald, President, Ideal Supply; Glenn Perrini, Group Vice President Sales, East Penn; Martin Deschênes, Vice Chairman of the Board, Deschênes Group; Alain Primeau, Regional Vice President, NAPA Québec and Alain Masse, President of UAP.

Eric Léveillé, VP of Paint and Body Equipment at UAP and Éric Dufresne, Head of Corporate Communications at UAP.

Anouar Bélganche of Saint-Gobain and Dan Dominato of Precision Marketing.

NEWS

Economical Insurance endorses CCIAP Since its launch in mid-October 2016, the Canadian Collision Industry Accreditation Program (CCIAP) has grown with remarkable speed. In January, officials announced that over 1,000 Canadian collision facilities have been registered in the program. The program is run by AIA Canada.

“We’ve all seen the appearance of OEM certified repair network programs over the past few years, particularly at the mass market level,” said Andrew Shepherd, coordinator of the program for AIA Canada. “The US was ahead in this respect by a couple of years, and in the US several private sector companies have appeared to serve these programs by accrediting repair facilities on behalf of the OEMs. When these private sector companies decided to expand into Canada, many of our major Canadian repair network partners approached AIA Canada to create an industrydriven, industry-controlled accreditation program – hence CCIAP.” Economical Insurance announced its official support for CCIAP in December 2016.

“We applaud AIA Canada for taking leadership on this and are exceptionally proud to be the first Canadian insurer to endorse this new accreditation program,” said Rocco Neglia, Vice President of Claims at Economical. “We will require all of our collision repair facilities to work towards and become accredited through this independent non-profit organization.”

AIA Canada developed the program in recognition of the increasing complexity of repairs. Modern vehicles have new requirements. According to AIA Canada, the new accreditation program verifies shop quality which is critical for all industry stakeholders and for the public at large.

“CCIAP is a program created by, and run by, the Canadian collision repair industry,” said Jean-François Champagne, President of AIA Canada. “By making this commitment, major partners such as Economical Insurance are enhancing their focus on excellence – not only in vehicle repair but in customer service. We are extremely pleased to be meeting the needs of such an important industry stakeholder.”

“We focus on our customers first,” said Joe Carvalho, Manager of National Auto Vendor Programs at Economical. “We have always maintained the highest standards of auto repairs. We believe this accreditation will help us ensure the collision repair shops in our direct repair program continue to deliver the highest level of repair standards in the industry … period.”

There is no charge for a repair facility to create an account and start tracking its progress. The facility is only charged when it is ready for the audit. AIA Canada is also working on synchronizing CCIAP with the accreditation program run by the Automotive Retailers Association of British Columbia.

“We’re on the verge of a memorandum of understanding on program coordination,” Shepherd said to Collision Repair magazine.

“One of our goals is to make sure the programs are synchronized. Nobody wants to see shops pay twice.”

CCIAP is backed by a national field staff of auditors with a rigorous set of audit standards, and will also measure shops against participating OEM requirements. AIA Canada says the program will thus serve vehicle manufacturers who are seeking shop audits to support their certified repair network programs. For more information, please visit cciap.ca.

february 2017 collision Repair 71

Ontario to allow ‘education period’ for tow truck operators to obtain CVOR Effective January 1, 2017, all tow truck operators in Ontario are now required to hold a valid Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration (CVOR) certificate. However, Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has announced that a new CVOR test has been developed specifically to meet the needs of the towing and recovery industry.

The new CVOR test is only available to tow truck operators who only operate tow trucks. It cannot be used for other commercial vehicles.

The new test consists of 20 questions. A passing grade requires that 16 out of 20 questions must be answered correctly. The test questions are based on information in the Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Safety Manual.

Tow truck operators must bring the “CVOR Test Required” letter to DriveTest and tell DriveTest staff that you are a tow truck operator prior to writing the test. A statement from MTO says that after applicants have fulfilled all the

requirements, a CVOR certificate will be sent to them.

MTO has also stated that an “education period” will be in place, lasting from January 1 to May 31, 2017, to assist with industry transition and avoid disruption to highway clearance activities during the winter season.

This grace period is for tow truck operators who have applied for their CVOR certificate but have yet to receive it.

During the time of the education period, all drivers must be prepared to surrender any one of the following documents to an officer upon request: a copy of the ‘Written Test Required’ letter, a copy of a completed CVOR application or a payment receipt or copy of application if the CVOR application was submitted online.

The operator is the person or legal entity responsible for all drivers and vehicles in their operation. One CVOR certificate is required for all tow trucks within an operator’s fleet. A

Tow truck operators have until May 31, 2017 to obtain the newly-required permit.

copy of the CVOR certificate (or the original) must be carried in each tow truck operated under the CVOR. Drivers must surrender the certificate for inspection when requested by a MTO enforcement officer or police officer.

Tow truck operators are encouraged to apply for their CVOR certificate as soon as possible and carry proof of the submitted application in the vehicle until their CVOR certificate is issued.

New storage rules now in effect Ontario now has new requirements under the Consumer Protection Act, Highway Traffic Act and the Repair and Storage Liens Act. According to the government of Ontario, the changes are intended to increase consumer protection and road safety in the towing and vehicle storage sectors.

Changes to the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) now require towing and storage service providers to: • Get permission from a consumer or someone acting on behalf of the consumer before providing or charging for towing and storage services.

• Record the name and contact information of the person giving the authorization, along with the date and time of authorization.

• Disclose, in writing, information such as the provider’s business name, contact information, and address where the vehicle will be towed.

• Make a current statement of rates available at all business premises, on a website (if one is maintained) and give a copy to any person upon request.

• Provide an itemized invoice before demanding or receiving payment.

• Accept credit card payments.

• Provide a consumer (or someone acting on their

behalf) with access to the towed vehicle, at no charge, so that they may remove personal property between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on business days.

• Prohibit tow and storage providers from recommending repair and storage facilities, legal service providers or health care service providers, unless a consumer or a person acting on their behalf specifically asks, or the provider offers to make a recommendation and that person agrees.

• Disclose to a consumer whether the provider is getting a financial reward or incentive for towing a vehicle to a particular storage or repair shop.

• Establish minimum insurance coverage including general liability insurance of $2 million, customer vehicle insurance of $100,000 and $50,000 cargo insurance.

• Maintain authorization and disclosure records, invoices, copies of insurance policy, and statements of rates for three years.

Exemptions to the above may be made under certain circumstances. For example, some of the disclosure and record keeping requirements are not needed when services are provided under an existing agreement, such as tows performed for members of the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). In

addition, a limited number of the new rules will apply when a vehicle is towed and stored for law enforcement purposes or detained or impounded under other statutes, regulations or municipal by-laws, or as a result of a lawful power of seizure. The new regulation will protect the consumer, for example, by requiring the provider to make available publicly a current statement of rates, post identifiers and other information, and provide the consumer with the option to pay by credit card.

The maximum amount of a lien for towing and storage services may also be subject to restrictions under the CPA. A towing and storage provider cannot charge a greater amount just because the cost is to be paid by an insurer or another third party, or is being impounded or detained for law enforcement purposes. Please note that this rule does not apply in the case of law enforcement, if there is an agreement in place that contains terms of payment.

If an authorization includes an estimate, the amount charged may not exceed it by more than 10 percent. However, the consumer or a person acting on their behalf can agree to change the estimate if they require additional or different services.

February august 2013 2017 collision Repair 73

Contents Recycling News....................77 - 79

Introducing the new Canadian Auto Recyclers magazine!

Simple solutions to meet elv regulations End-of-life vehicle (ELV) processing regulations now in force in Ontario and coming to other provinces are having a significant impact. Recycling Equipment Canada (REC) set out to find the safest, easiest-to-use and highest-quality solution to meet the new standards. REC focused its search on Europe and concluded that Iris-Mec equipment was the right choice.

“We reviewed all the leading manufacturers and chose Iris-Mec because of its proven track record, its simple, rugged design, and ease of operation,” says Pete Mulvany, CEO of REC. “Iris-Mec is also competitively priced compared to other systems, maximizing profit opportunities for our customers.”

Key features and benefits include: • Iris-Mec drainage systems are pneumatic, requiring only a compressor.

• All hands-free drainage tools are completely self-supporting.

Our very first issue on the left, and the all-new CAR on the right. There is a fresh new look, but the changes are much more than skin deep.

Get ready for the first issue of the all-new Canadian Auto Recyclers magazine! It’s been over a decade since the first issue was published and a lot has changed.

The industry itself had already changed enormously by 2006 when we put out that first issue. Progressive operators had improved and streamlined operations, parts grading was well established and many operators were already seeing themselves not just as businesspeople, but as environmental stewards.

Yet they still had, for many people, the image of the junkyard. The public needed to know the real story.

The way the automotive recycling industry transformed itself was truly an amazing story

and it’s one we’ve had the privilege of telling for the last 10 years. That first issue of Canadian Auto Recyclers had a very specific purpose: communicate the evolution of auto recycling to repairers, to insurers, to government and to the public.

With your help and the help of the professional recycling associations, we’ve succeeded in fulfilling that original mission.

The term “auto recycler” gets more hits on Google than the word “junkyard” and it’s now common to see “auto recycling” used in the media and by the public. Rest assured, there’s still work to be done on that original mission.

The message has gotten out, but it hasn’t reached every single member of the public quite yet.

Continued on page 78

• Iris-Mec’s hands-free fuel extractor drill is fully self-supporting. This ensures maximum drainage because it’s always at the lowest point of the tank. The drill also has a larger sealing bellows, which eliminates fuel spillage.

• The systems are modular and can be configured to deal with all fluids: gasoline, diesel, engine oil, transmission and differential fluids, power steering fluid, brake fluid, coolant and washer fluid. It’s easy to add other fluids that may be required in the future, such as shock absorber fluid.

REC worked with Iris-Mec to develop two systems optimized for Canada.

• For auto dismantlers recovering used parts, the ISQ compact drainage system allows for efficient throughput of fluid removal without damaging car parts. Its compact footprint allows it to fit between two lifts, so the operator can work on two vehicles at once.

Continued on page 78.

February 2017 collision Repair 77

features

Introducing the new ... ontinued from page 77.

With that said, it’s time for a change. The business changed from the junkyard to the automotive recycling facility, and we helped to tell that story. Now, the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs is coming to the fore in a much more mature and professional industry. It’s time for Canadian Auto Recyclers to reflect that change.

The magazine started life being about you, the professional auto recycler. That hasn’t changed. What’s different, though, is that

it’s for you now as well. You’ll find profiles of some of the up-and-comers in the auto recycling industry, information from your suppliers on the latest and greatest equipment and articles and tips from colleagues on how to do business better, faster and cheaper.

Thanks for the opportunity to tell your stories over the last 10 years. On behalf of everyone involved in Canadian Auto Recyclers, thanks for the opportunity to help keep you informed for the next 10 years.

• For scrap dealers, the IBQ compact drainage system has the same features as the ISQ and includes a built-in vehicle stand. This allows cars to be placed on the stand using a front-end loader, eliminating the need for lifts.

“Our Iris-Mec ISQ systems are excellent value.

They were easy to install, and are simple to operate and maintain. If you’re looking for a solution to increase your productivity, Iris-Mec is a great choice,” says Chris Miller, co-owner of Miller’s Auto Recycling in Fort Erie, Ontario.

Iris-Mec manufacturers a comprehensive range including complete compact drainage systems, vehicle lifts, racks, airbag deactivators, glass cutters, wheel splitters, containment tanks, and gasoline extractors, all available in Canada through REC. Mulvany says that Iris-Mec impressed him with their dedication to customer service and accessibility, as well as their technology. “The people at Iris-Mec are great to work with. We deal directly with the owners, and have access to senior engineers for design and support.”

REC is able to offer a complete package for processors who are starting from scratch, and can help optimize the design of expanded or new facilities. REC also offers parts and accessories for all Iris-Mec equipment, and stocks service items and common wear parts for same-day shipping.

To learn more, contact REC at 866-496-4955 or visit recyclingequipmentcanada.com.

The ISQ is shown here.

78 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

features

Automotive recyclers applaud federal action to ban asbestos The government of Canada has pledged to ban asbestos and asbestos-containing products by 2018. The comprehensive ban will include new regulations that ban the manufacture, use, import and export of asbestos and establish new federal workplace health and safety rules that will drastically limit the risk of coming into contact with asbestos.

“Protecting the health and safety of Canadians is of utmost importance to the government,” said Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science “There is irrefutable evidence that has led us to take concrete action to ban asbestos.” The Automotive Recyclers of Canada (ARC) strongly supports the federal government’s announcement.

While vehicle manufacturers do not install asbestos brake pads, aftermarket brake pads are one of the largest categories of asbestos containing products imported into Canada.

Canada imported more than $100-million in asbestos brake pads and linings between 2005 and 2015.

On April 5, 2016 the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change promu lgate d regu lat ions re quir ing automotive recyclers to recycle ELV to set environmental standards. These standards include the removal of asbestos brake pads prior to compaction of vehicle hulks in preparation for shipment to metals recyclers.

Steve Fletcher, Managing Director of ARC noted, “For an auto recycler there is no way to know whether a brake pad contains asbestos or not.

In Ontario, every pad will need to be removed and where the recycler encounters an asbestos brake pad there is inevitably

79 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

going to be some release of asbestos particulate into the air.”

Fletcher also noted that the government’s announcement is a tremendous step forward in protecting the health of workers that dismantle and recycle ELVs. “This policy change could not have come soon enough,” he said.

February 2017 collision Repair 79

| recycling

features

strongassociation We all benefit when recyclers can get the data they need

By David Gold

M

ost industr y segments have an association that engaged and forward thinking businesses participate in. An association is often vital to not only the specific industry it represents, but can also be crucial to other important stakeholders, such as customers.

In that vein, the Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) held its semi-annual strategic planning retreat on January 14 and 15 in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Although the meeting was touted as a “retreat” we all knew going into it that it was going to be anything but that.

The automotive recyclers that many of the collision repair customers in Canada do business with are members of the ARA. Formed in 1943, the ARA is an international trade association that services approximately 4,000 auto recyclers in 16 countries. Like many associations, we are run by a small and dedicated team, led by our CEO Michael Wilson. Additionally, volunteer auto recyclers from around the globe, the executive team and board and committee members complete the contingent involved in initiatives to enhance the association.

The association is important because it is an advocate for the auto recycling industry and we all acknowledge that this alone will not insure our survival. This year anonymous surveys were sent out to really get a better understanding of what we can do as an association. The group was asked what we did well, what issues will affect the membership in the next two to three years, what areas should ARA focus on, why is ARA unique and what should we aspire to?

This homework done in advance of our “retreat” proved to be invaluable as we all need direction and what better place to get it from than those entrenched in the day to day working of the business that have a direct connection to the customers. Like any business should, we have to continually ask ourselves, how do the decisions we make affect our customers? It was made really clear to the group that auto recyclers require access to important parts data information in order to ensure the proper reutilization of OEM auto parts.

Our collision repair customers and the insurance companies want to know that we are well informed about the parts they require from us and in that respect we are in sync.

The auto recyclers inventor y management

81 collision Repair collisionrepairmag.com

systems (IMS) are not nearly as advanced from an OEM part information perspective as our customers’ estimating systems are, for example.

Information that is mainstream for repairers is not made available to auto recyclers and therein lies a big part of the problem. This consensus is unanimously and universally agreed to by all those in the know and this extends further than those in our association. Wouldn’t it make sense for you to know that the auto recycling management systems contain the same information as your estimating systems? Of course it would! Advancing the auto recyclers IMS is not top of the priority list for the OEMs, which effectively means that they are inhibiting the safe reusability and recycling of the very vehicles they produce.

All makes and models eventually reach an auto recycler. We must spread the word and push for what we know is right. This is important for our industry and all stakeholders. How can any automaker really boast about being green and sustainable when they have no concern for the reutilization of the parts that make up the vehicle?

The ARA makes a great effort to promote the professional auto recycler and the industry.

Associations are important. Each member needs it to be strong so that it can stand up for what’s right and explain it to the outside world and to legislators. We are here to serve your industry and continue the relationships that we have developed over the years while at the same time doing what is required to reuse and recycle every automobile.

Sometimes an association is faced with simple issues and other times with far more complicated ones. This particular issue needs understanding by all stakeholders to enact the change that is required. While we knew the importance of it going into our meetings, we are now more inspired than ever before.

We want to obtain the data we need to better ser ve our customers and to promote further support for this cause for society’s benefit as well.

David Gold of Standard Auto Wreckers is a founding member of Fenix Parts and holds the title of President for Canadian Operations. Locations in Canada include Toronto, Port Hope and Ottawa. He can be reached at 416-286-8686.

February 2017 collision Repair 81

Industry insight

Advertiser Index Company

Planettrump Working through the weirdness

Page

3M...................................................4

By Jeff Sanford

AADCO.......................................... 13 AkzoNobel.......................................7 ARSLAN .......................................21 Assured Automotive..................... 12 Auto Quip........................................8 Automotive Recyclers of Canada... 78 Axalta............................................84 BASF...............................................9 Boston Auto Wreckers..................79 Car-O-Liner...................................28 Car-Part.com................................80 Carcone’s Auto Recycling............59 Cardinal Couriers..........................68 CARSTAR Canada........................46 Collision 360.................................70 Collision Solutions Network.........49 Color Compass............................. 11 Dominion Sure Seal...................... 19 Equalizer........................................58 Eurovac.........................................16 FBS Distribution............................26 Finixa.............................................53 Fix Auto Canada...........................24 Formula Honda.............................50 Garmat..........................................71 Global Finishing Solutions............27 Hollander..................................74-75 Impact Auto..................................76 Kia Canada...................................23 Martech......................................... 13 Micazen......................................... 41 Monidex........................................67 NACE Automechanika..................63 Polyvance...................................... 17 PPG............................................. 2,3 Pro Spot International..................64 QRP Canada.................................79 SATA Canada................................42 Spanesi Americas.........................56 Stark Auto Sales...........................72 Steck Manufacturing....................69 Thorold Auto Parts.......................43 Toyota................................. 34-35,36 Valspar Refinish............................83 Wurth Canada.............................. 15

T

he ascension of Donald Trump to the office of President of the United States seems to have left Canadian economic elites stunned. Trump’s stated intention to put America first seems to have rendered conventional thinking about free trade moot. Suddenly there are worries the Canadian OEM auto sector could be gutted.

Welcome to 2017, a year when it seems every industrial sector in the economy is dealing with epic levels of flux, change and shift. The publishing and music industries have famously been sideswiped by digital technology. Obama, on his way out of office, warned that this culture needs to consider the rapidly approaching effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI). A Japanese insurance company announced it has begun to automate claims processes through the use of AI, and Mitchell partnered with Tractable for its AI technology.

Change, it seems, is everywhere. And so it is with the collision repair sector. Big manufacturers like Symach are beginning to offer new robotic paint technologies, which may be the answer to perennial labour shortages. An interesting deal signed just before Christmas suggests one potential strategy for facing the gale force change whipping through the industry.

Two days before Christmas, Belron Canada acquired the 24 locations of full-service collision repair chain Speedy Collision.

Its parent company, Belron International, acquired a collision concern in Belgium around the same time.

Belron now manages a portfolio of brands including Speedy Glass, Lebeau Vitres d’auto, DURO, Apple Auto Glass (the largest franchise network in Canada) and Broco Auto Glass.

The Canadian division of Belron is part of Belron International, a global vehicle glass repair company that employs 25,600 people in more than 30 countries and completes a new glass repair job somewhere in the world

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every three seconds. What does Belron Canada want with a full-service collision repair chain?

The acquisition gives insurance companies and other B2B partners a single point of contact for services and expands the services available to clients.

Everyone understands the shifts emerging.

The ‘Uberization’ of the auto industry could lead to fewer kilometres driven. New anticollision technologies will reduce the number of accidents. In the case of the auto glass repair industry, growth will like be minimal.

As a way of girding the company for the new future, the decision was made to widen the service offering of the company.

One way to navigate these newly choppy waters is to appeal to a wider swathe of potential customers. As one executive involved in the deal put it, “With the changes going on in the aftermarket world, with the way vehicles are changing ... we’re going to be able to offer our client combined services from each entity.

In the collision industry today you’re always looking for synergies. If we look at where the collision sector is going—and there are a lot of moving parts today—the more services we can offer to customers, the better.”

Expanding the depth of service reduces reliance on a single market and diversifies the potential client base. Doing so makes an organization more resilient, better able to survive and thrive in an era of change. Really, the whole becomes much greater than the sum of its parts. Expanding the service offering is a great strategy for dealing with the challenges of a changing industry, allowing Belron—and Speedy Collision—to stay ahead of the curve and the competition.

Jeff Sanford is the Staff Writer for Collision Repair magazine. He can be reached at 905-370-0101 or at jeff@ collisionrepairmag.com.