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Summer 2019
PLUS: • SCRS Leader to Address Indianhead Auto Body Association • WACTAL Shares Collision Industry Concerns with Insurance Commissioner
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2019 WACTAL BOARD of DIRECTORS President Larry Terrien, MJ Collision Center larry@mjcollisioncenter.com Vice President Mark Williams, Williams Auto Body mark@williamsautobody.com Secretary Ronnie Goss, Goss Auto Body, Inc. ronnie@gossautobody.com Treasurer Sue Black, Dean’s Auto Body suzieq@deansautobody.com Directors Eileen Haberman, Glen's Auto Body, Inc. Mike Miyagawa, M & M Auto Body Inc. Michael Taylor, Zimbrick ChevroletSun Prairie
Summer 2019
Vol. 6, Number 4
CONTENTS PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE................................................................4 Don’t Believe the Hype by Larry Terrien LOCAL NEWS..................................................................................6 Indianhead Auto Body Association Honors Founding Members by Alana Bonillo WACTAL Shares Collision Industry Concerns with Insurance Commissioner ....8
Tracy Black, Dean’s Auto Body, Inc. Association Administration Sue Peterson info@wactal.com (800) 366-9472 Lobbyist Jolene Plautz jplautz@aol.com
CELEBRATING 30 YEARS PUBLISHED BY: Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. 244 Chestnut St., Suite 202 Nutley, NJ 07110 PHONE: 973-667-6922 • FAX: 973-235-1963
Society of Collision Repair Specialists Leader to Address Indianhead Auto Body Association in September ....................................................10 BUSINESS INSURANCE SAVINGS FOR WACTAL MEMBERS ..........................11 FEATURE ................................................................................14 Mystery Solved? The Industry's Push for Parts Definitions by Joel Gausten WACTAL MEMBER PROFILE ............................................................16 Grange Hall Auto - Maiden Rock, WI by Alana Bonillo
ADVERTISING: 973-667-6922 • alicia@grecopublishing.com
WACTAL MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION ................................................18 PUBLISHER Thomas Greco (thomas@grecopublishing.com) SALES DIRECTOR Alicia Figurelli (alicia@grecopublishing.com) CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lea Velocci (lea@grecopublishing.com) EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Joel Gausten (joel@grecopublishing.com) EDITORIAL / CREATIVE COORDINATOR Alana Bonillo (alana@grecopublishing.com) OFFICE MANAGER Donna Greco (donna@grecopublishing.com) www.grecopublishing.com Wisconsin Automotive News is published quarterly by Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc., 244 Chestnut Street, Suite 202 Nutley, NJ 07110. Distributed free to qualified recipients; $48 to all others. Additional copies of Wisconsin Automotive News are available at $5 per copy. Reproduction of any portions of this publication is specifically prohibited without written permission of the publisher. The opinions and ideas appearing in this magazine are not necessarily representations of Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. or of WACTAL. Copyright © 2019 by Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc. Cover image © www.istockphoto.com.
ADVERTISER’S INDEX Akzo Nobel ..........................................IBC
Morrison’s Auto Parts ............................13
American Honda Motor Co.....................9
PAM’s Auto ..........................................10
Axalta Coating Systems ........................IFC
Reliable Automotive Equipment ..............OBC
Body Shop Supply Co. ..........................7
Sherwin-Williams ..................................5
Buerkle Hyundai....................................4
Straight and Square ..............................17
Dentsmart ............................................6
Zorn Compressor & Equipment ..............17
Summer 2019
Wisconsin Automotive News
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Don’t Believe the Hype I recently purchased a “new” vehicle. I say “new” because it is a 2016, and it is one of the newest vehicles that I have ever owned. (And one of the very few that wasn’t a rebuilt salvage vehicle!) It does, however, have all of the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) on it. As with anything different, there is quite a learning curve for getting used to all of the features. As I toy with these systems and their operation, it gets me thinking of a seminar that I attended a couple of years ago. The speaker stated that ADAS would reduce crashes by 40 percent, and he went on to explain how we all needed to prepare for this. If you pick
up any trade publication, they are all filled with similar doom and gloom predictions. When looking back at the vehicles that have come into our shop over the last couple of years, I see that the majority are less than three to four years old, and most have some type of ADAS. I have also been watching the type of work coming in, and it seems the vast majority is damage that wouldn’t have been prevented by ADAS. Damage from things like parking lot bumps, a deer collision, shopping carts, scraping the garage, breaking off a side mirror, roundabouts, vandalism or hail. It also seems to me that as cars
get smarter, the drivers become more complacent and rely more and more on these systems. You don’t have to drive very far down the highway before you see someone on their phone, eating/ drinking, reading, sitting with a dog on their lap or applying makeup. (Yes, I have seen all of these!) In order to truly reduce accidents, the automakers need to do a better job educating drivers that these systems are only a tool to help them drive safer, and not an excuse to pay less attention to their driving! Larry Terrien WACTAL President WAN
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LOCAL NEWS by Alana Bonillo
Indianhead Auto Body Association Honors Founding Members At its annual trade show in May, the Indianhead Auto Body Association honored two of its founding members Brian Keeler and Harvey Yeager - for their dedication and length of service over the past 36 years. Without their wisdom, the association would not be what it is today. Keeler served as acting president and gave uninterrupted service to the association from its inception until his recent retirement. Like Keeler, Yeager has also served continuously for the past 36 years and still acts as the Board’s secretary. Although Steve Moulette, another founding member, was not formally recognized at the event, fellow Board member Mike Sperry (Diamond Collision; Webster) says he should be acknowledged for his many years of service over the past 36 years and his influence on the association and what it stands for. An active association, the group hosts monthly meetings eight months each year (September to May), regularly bringing in recognized speakers (such as industry consultant Mike Anderson of Collision Advice) and hosting roundtable discussions to talk about anything and everything. “We try to keep things lively and fresh,” states Sperry. “We all seem to get along, so it’s not a competitive thing. We can talk about our businesses and what we’re all doing.” WAN
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LET US TURN THEM AROUND!
Contact
Wisconsin Automotive Sales Director Alicia Figurelli
(973) 667-6922
ALICIA@GRECOPUBLISHING.COM
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Wisconsin Automotive News
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LOCAL NEWS by Alana Bonillo
WACTAL Shares Collision Industry Concerns with Insurance Commissioner WACTAL representatives recently met with Insurance Commissioner Mark Afable to bring forth and discuss the most pressing issues its members face, including photobased estimating, insurers failing to pay for required or necessary repairs and untimely processing of supplements. Even though the Commissioner and his staff were open to listening to and reviewing the complaints WACTAL members submitted, it was a reminder that complaints really need to come from consumers. “WACTAL responded that consumers have a misplaced fear of rate increases or policy cancellation if they complain,” explained WACTAL’s Sue Peterson, in a note to members. “The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) understands that; however, they’re tasked with ‘informing and protecting the public and responding to its insurance needs’ and seeing that insurers are not violating any state statutes or codes.” During the meeting, an OCI staff member suggested that consumers could call in with questions without
having to file a formal complaint. Based on the type of question(s), the caller may then be encouraged to file a formal complaint. “Even though the complaints and issues discussed at this meeting came from collision shops, in reality, they impact consumers, especially photo-based estimates,” added Peterson. “Consumers place their faith and trust in the insurance company to make them whole, and in the collision shop to perform a proper repair.” Peterson added that Rebecca Rebholz, J.D., director of Market Regulation, is reviewing the complaints and will respond. WACTAL will continue to work with Rebholz on these matters and will keep members apprised. WACTAL is also seeking out the input of Andy Franken, president of the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance; Franken will attend the next board of directors meeting. WACTAL encourages its members to continue to submit concerns and complaints to the WACTAL office and to encourage customers to file complaints directly with OCI. WAN
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LOCAL NEWS
Society of Collision Repair Specialists Leader to Address Indianhead Auto Body Association in September Mark your calendars for September 17.
The Indianhead Auto Body Association is proud to welcome Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg, who will address collision repair professionals on a variety of industry-related topics.
The meeting will be held at Rolling Oaks in Barron, beginning at 5pm with dinner at 5:30pm. The event is open to members and nonmembers. Schulenburg will share information gleaned from national-level vantage points on issues, trends and activities that have direct relativity to challenges and concerns faced by collision repairers. His presentation will cover a number of topics and programs designed to boost small businesses’ insight and amplify what our industry has to offer. Topics will include an overview of SCRS resources and benefits (including the recently launched retirement benefit); current trends, inaccuracies and omissions being tackled by the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG); and victories in addressing estimating data. Other noted topics of discussion include OEM procedures, notable legislation, protection of data, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and more. Attendees must pre-register. For more information on SCRS, visit scrs.com.
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Summer 2019
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FEATURE by Joel Gausten
MYSTERY SOLVED?
The Industry's Push for Parts Definitions If a part is made by an OEM, labelled and packaged as OEM and sold by an OEM, it’s easy for repairers and consumers to know what they’re getting. But what happens when an OEM part is sold from a source not authorized by the vehicle manufacturer and doesn’t carry the same warranty? Can it truly
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be considered an OEM part? These were some of the major – and often confounding – questions tackled during a recent panel discussion by the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) Parts and Materials Committee in Nashville, TN.
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With so-called “Opt-OE” or “Alt-OE” products filtering into the US market on a consistent basis (and resulting in a lawsuit/countersuit between Hyundai and third-party vendor Direct Technologies International, Inc.), CIC participants and industry stakeholders struggle to develop and agree on streamlined terminology that would make sense to everyone from estimators to the motoring public. The debate has grown to the point where nearly 230 inter-industry members have participated in 10 one-hour committee conference calls held since late January. Have these gatherings led to a definitive conclusion on the topic? Not exactly. “We’re pretty much in consensus on what the part is,” offered Parts and Materials Committee Co-Chair Ken Weiss (SSF Imported Parts). “Where we’re deadlocked or stuck is with what to call it. “We’ve got seven – maybe eight or nine – industry platforms that all take this and call it something different,” he added. “If we can put an industry consensus label on this part, then we can put pressure on all the platforms to adopt it. If you get a CCC estimate that says ‘x’ and a Mitchell estimate that may say ‘y,’ that’s what we’re trying to get consensus on.” Panelist Ron Reichen (Precision Body & Paint; Beaverton, OR) expressed the need for all parties involved in the repair process to have a thorough understanding of the products being utilized. “Some vehicles are leased that require the use of OE parts. We have to follow that documentation. You may be on a Direct Repair Program where you have a particular requirement. All of those codes have to filter down, and everybody who’s a player in this repair reconstruction has to have a perfect understanding of exactly what that part is and how it affects everything else downstream.” Jeff Schroder, CEO of Car-Part.com, echoed Reichen’s concerns. “It’s important that when the parts supplier describes their part, they use the same definition as someone looking at it in the marketplace or with the estimating or shop management system so that everybody is on the same page [on] how to process and deal with that part.” The demands for easily understood and transmitted parts information between common industry computer systems have
led the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) to collaborate with industry members to find a concise way to represent these parts in the codes it develops. (Currently, no CIECA codes exist for “Opt-OE” or “Alt-OE” parts.) During his presentation at CIC, CIECA then Executive Director Fred Iantorno noted that further inter-industry agreement is needed in developing a definition for new OEM parts supplied by third parties that offer their own warranties instead of those approved and issued by vehicle manufacturers. Committee CoChair Aaron Schulenburg (Society of Collision Repair Specialists) opined that while it is important to develop greater cohesion among computer systems in regard to parts categorizations, the industry also needs to place equal attention on guaranteeing effective communication to the motoring public.
As the industry grapples with defining third-party-supplied OEM parts and addressing the warranty issues associated with them, state governments are beginning to step up to the plate with their own solutions. “I think it’s good that CIC and CIECA have been working collaboratively on the conversation points, but how we identify it forward-facing to the consumer in a way they can understand and connect with is a really important piece to us.” Addressing the panel from the crowd, Tim Ronak (AkzoNobel) cautioned that the growth of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and other vehicle technologies is prompting a shift in liability from the driver to the manufacturer, thus placing a greater emphasis on the warranties attached to the parts used in a repair. “Whether we like it or not, liability is attached to the operation of that system that we call a vehicle, and that liability has a connection to where the implied warranty comes from…[There is] a connection or belief that if I’m using an OEM part, it’s warranted by the manufacturer. That belief implies to [consumers] that if I use that, I’m good [and] if something was to happen to that
vehicle, I’ve protected myself as best as I know how. Now, if I choose to use something not warranted by the manufacturer, that’s on me and apparently my decision. But we need to create a classification that clearly links the manufacturer and the owner of the liability of the operation of that vehicle.” Ronak suggested that additional language such as “grey market” or “not warrantied by the OEM” be used when categorizing parts purchased by third-party vendors. “Because [the part] has left that chain of custody, the liability path has a break in it.” As the industry grapples with defining third-party-supplied OEM parts and addressing the warranty issues associated with them, state governments are beginning to step up to the plate with their own solutions. Last fall, both the California Department of Insurance (citing possible violations of the California Unfair Practices Act) and the California Bureau of Automotive Repair called for terms including “Opt-OE” and “Alt-OE” to be removed from future collision repair estimates in the state. While this move was an obvious success in clearing up confusion over what constitutes an OEM part in the Golden State, Schulenburg warned that there are potential disadvantages to having outside regulatory parties oversee decisions that could instead be made through industry forums like CIC. “Legislators and legislation often don’t consider or have the understanding of the nuances within an industry. That’s one state; there are obviously 49 others who may define it differently or not at all. I think our objective as an industry is to figure out what [parts] should be called, then work with groups like [the one in] California if maybe they miss some of the nuances that are important to consumers.” While the panel discussion at CIC failed to yield a definition position, it represented the first step towards open dialog and – if inter-industry parties can work together – eventual resolution to one of the most complex dilemmas in auto body history.
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WACTAL MEMBER PROFILE by Alana Bonillo
Grange Hall Auto Maiden Rock, WI Grange Hall Auto owners Phil and Mary Roberts believe their calling is to help others in need. They have devoted their lives to doing that in a variety of ways. Helping family members became a necessity, and their body shop business provided them with the flexibility to do what was needed. They are equally proud to provide for the many customers who continue to need their services. When Phil initially explored purchasing the body shop, he knew nothing about the collision industry. In the beginning, he was afraid to be in the office for fear that someone would ask him a question that he should’ve been able to answer. To solve this dilemma, he became a member of WACTAL to immerse himself with business leaders of the industry. After 36 years of service, Grange Hall Auto has become a staple of the community. Tim, Lewis and John handle the technical sides of the business. Phil has been gradually passing them the baton to lead the charge into the future. Mary handles the office and accounting for the company. Grange Hall Auto stays busy because they have an experienced team that can fix things correctly. Tim and Lewis have been with the company for 60 years combined. The guys in the shop don’t want Phil touching anything. “That is not my expertise,” he says. “I provide our customers with a happy, seamless experience. We help our customers get whole again.”
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Grange Hall Auto has created a family atmosphere. They are now servicing the vehicles of their customers’ grandkids. Always an advocate for the consumer, Phil walked away from Direct Repair programs years ago. He feels there is a conflict of interest in those relationships. It’s a personal choice that he has become quite comfortable with. Phil credits WACTAL for being a tremendous help to the collision industry. When he first joined the association, he became heavily involved. Being a small company – as well as the evolution of the industry putting a burden on the administration of the shop – later limited his time for in-person participation. At nearly 68 years of age, he truly feels blessed that the shop has given him the opportunity to help family and community all of these years. His oldest daughter, Lisa, was born with a physical challenge, and he’s glad that being in business for himself allowed him the extra time to devote to her needs. Most recently, Phil and Mary have opened their home to their daughter Jessica as her husband, Clayton, was taken down with a severe stroke at the age of 38. Clayton has no ability to move his body. His brain is functional, but his only means of communication at this point is the movement of his eyes. “We don’t plan to stop doing what we are doing at the shop or at home now that Clayton needs our attention.”
Summer 2019
Phil Roberts of Grange Hall Auto of Maiden Rock.
Instead of retiring, they are retreading for the future. Finding the perfect balance between work and family life is no easy feat, but Phil and Mary Roberts have enjoyed a winning formula for 36 years and counting.
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