Collision Repair 11#6

Serving the Business of the Industry

SPECIAL REPORT: CASH IN ON APPRENTICESHIP INCENTIVES

Volume 11, Number 6 l December 2012 l $4.95 Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40841632 l 86 John Street, Thornhill, ON L3T 1Y2

PLUS Welding spotlight, the 10th Annual CSN Conference and much, much more!!!

Darrell and Wade MacKay keep an eye on business in Nova Scotia.

STEEL STRONGSupreme

Collision’s I-CAR welding

training.

VIEW FROM

THE TOPHow to

think andact like a

CEO.

NACE 2012

Strategy and tactics

in New Orleans.

MAACO’SEASTERN VANGUARD

COLLISIONREPAIRMAG.COM

DECEMBER 2012 collision RepaiR 03

40SPOTLIGHT!

On The cOver

feaTures

HAVE YOUR SAY. We welcome your comments on anything you see in Collision Repair magazine. Send your feedback to [email protected].

26 csn confeRence Celebrating CSN’s 10th Anniversary.

33 appRenticeships: cash incentives Hire an apprentice and watch your worth soar.

04 publisheR’s page by Darryl Simmons

Show season.

50 point blank by Sam Piercey

Fight night.

19 Who’s dRiving? by Jay Perry

Not about you.

16 pRaiRie vieW by Tom Bissonnette

Big dreams.

48 Recycling by David Gold

Capitalizing on friendships to survive.

40 spotlight: WeldingShowcasing the latest and greatest in welding equipment.

CONTENTS

Volume 11 Issue 6, December 2012

28 nace confeRenceLeadership, management tactics and more highlights from NACE 2012.

18 vieW fRom the top by Dick Cross

The first step to acting like a CEO.

neWs

06 collision RepaiR

43 Recycling

deparTmenTs

21 pRoactive paRtneRsWade and Darrell MacKay are looking to the future in Nova Scotia.

38 steel stRongSupreme Collision embraces I-CAR welding training.

YOUR ONLINE SOURCECanada’s collision repair information resource. New articles and top news stories daily. Visit www.collisionrepairmag.com.

on the coveR: Darrell and Wade MacKay.photography by bruce Jollimore.

Serving the Business of the Industry

SPECIAL REPORT: CASH IN ON APPRENTICESHIP INCENTIVES

Volume 11, Number 6 l December 2012 l $4.95 Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40841632 l 86 John Street, Thornhill, ON L3T 1Y2

PLUS Welding spotlight, the 10th Annual CSN Conference and much, much more!!!

Darrell and Wade MacKay keep an eye on business in Nova Scotia.

STEEL STRONGSupreme

Collision’s I-CAR welding

training.

VIEW FROM

THE TOPHow to

think andact like a

CEO.

NACE 2012

Strategy and tactics

in New Orleans.

MAACO’SEASTERN VANGUARD

COLLISIONREPAIRMAG.COM

38

28

04 collision RepaiR COLLISIONREpAIRMAg.COM

CERTIFIEDVALuEThe OEM are becoming more invested in repairs.

I’m writing this hot off the heels of at-tending both NACE in New Orleans and SEMA in Las Vegas. They took place pretty much one right after the other. You might think the shows would

tend to blend together in my mind, but nothing could be further from the truth. The two shows are so different there’s just no chance of that happening.

SEMA draws absolutely huge crowds, in part because the show features every-thing under the sun relating to modifying and restyling cars. It’s a good thing they don’t let the public in, or it would be even

more crowded. It’s still very much a profes-sional event, as evidenced by the fact that there are some great seminars. However, the track for collision repair professionals is only one small part of that. The star of the show at SEMA is still the hot car, and there’s certainly no shortage of them on display. The thing is, although custom paint jobs and restyling products are sexy and exciting, they’re still a very small part of the industry.

NACE stands out by being devoted to the collision repair business, and in fo-cusing on the needs of the collision repair professional. There’s no shortage of glitz and glamour, but it’s not the main focus. The main focus is you.

One thing in particular stood out. The first was an Original Equipment Manufac-turer (OEM) panel discussion specifically geared to collision repairers. Not the auto-motive aftermarket or auto repair in general, but collision repair. The conversation be-tween Randy Boyd of GM, Doug Craig of

Chrysler, Dan Espersen of AutoZone and Chris Risdon of Toyota revealed a lot about the increasing involvement of the OEM in the repair process. Another presentation by Dan Esperen focused on how to use OEM procedures throughout your repair pro-cess, providing examples of how using the OEM procedures can improve decisions, ef-ficiency, quality and accuracy.

This is vital information at a time when car makers are becoming more invested in how repairers deal with their vehicles.

The last year has seen an increase in the number of car manufacturers producing

brand-based programs. The thinking at the OEM level seems to be that advancing technology demands that the technician know precisely how to do with that par-ticular make of car. They’re not wrong. We may soon see a world where every manu-facturer demands you be certified before you work on their cars. I-CAR is working closely with the OEM to make sure re-pairers have access to training. Even better, many car makers are using I-CAR stan-dards and training as building blocks for their own programs.

No matter how things play out, one thing is certain. Training, in process and practice, is integral to the success of your business. Make sure you and your staff take it and more importantly, track it. CRM

By Darryl Simmons

puBLISHER’S pAgE

car makers are usIng I-carstandards and training.

PuBLIsHerdarrYL siMMOns (905) [email protected]

generaL managerrYan [email protected]

eDITOrMiKE [email protected]

arT DIrecTOrdaniELa [email protected]

InTernsCindY Xin, haYdEn KEnEz, JiEssiE ChEn, MarK KiMMiCh

cOLumnIsTsdaVid gOLd, diCK CrOss, JaY PErrY, saM PiErCEY, tOM BissOnnEttE

VP InDusTrY reLaTIOnsgLOria Mann (647) [email protected]

VP DIgITaL meDIaJOE PLati (905) 370-0101 [email protected]

naTIOnaL accOunTs managerdan BrEnnan (905) 370-0101 [email protected]

suBscrIPTIOnOne-year $29.95 / Two-year $55.95Collision 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 with out 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.

PrintEd in Canada issn 1707-6072Canada POst Canadian PUBLiCatiOns MaiLsaLEs PrOdUCt agrEEMEntno. 40841632rEtUrn POstagE gUarantEEd

Send change of address notices and undeliverablecopies to: 86 John Street Thornhill, ON L3T 1Y2

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

magazine

Trainingmatters.caTHE TRAINING PORTAL FOR COLLISION REPAIR

BMW CertifiedCollision RepairCentres

bmw.ca/ccrc

©2012 BMW Canada Inc. “BMW”, the BMW logo, BMW model designations and all other BMW related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and/or trademarks of BMW AG, used under licence.

BMW CERTIFIEDCOLLISION REPAIR CENTRES.

Accidents happen. And while a BMW Certifi ed Collision Repair Centre can’t undo the accident, it can undo the damage. BMW Certifi ed Collision Repair Centres are equipped with the most sophisticated BMW technology, including frame straightening machinery developed and designed specifi cally for repairing BMWs, advanced bonding and riveting techniques, and a steadfast commitment to upholding BMW’s strict standards. Whether it’s a minor scratch or a major accident, your BMW is better off in expert hands.

Year after year, the network of BMW Certifi ed Collision Repair Centres continues to grow. Launched in 2004 with a mere 10 repair centres, the network has grown to 26 today. By early 2013, there will be a total of 36 BMW Certifi ed Collision Repair Centres in the country. You can be confi dent that our highly-trained professionals will restore the safety and performance of every BMW to its original pre-collision factory specifi cations, and at the best possible price. For more information, visit bmw.ca/ccrc.

THE ONLY APPROVED OPTION, GUARANTEED.

ALBERTAContemporary Coachworks, NorthContemporary Coachworks, SouthDoug’s Place CollisionModern Auto Body

BRITISH COLUMBIABavara Auto Haus Inc.B&D Autobody & Glass Ltd.No. 1 Collision (Lougheed)No. 1 Collision (Richmond)No. 1 Collision (Vancouver)Richmond Auto Body of North Vancouver

MANITOBADon Vito Collision

NOVA SCOTIAChapman Auto Body

ONTARIOAWIN Advanced Autobody CentreBudds’ Collision Services Ltd.Camco Collision CentreEuropean Auto BodyExcellence Auto CollisionExcellence Auto Collision (Concord)Heartland B&BMitek Fine Automobile Body & PaintOtto’s Collision CentreSouth Barrie Collision CentreWhite Oaks Auto Body

QUÉBECBMW Canbec Collision CentreBMW MINI Laval Collision Centre

SASKATCHEWANSherwood Collision


THE FRONT END

Timothy Morgan has been named Managing Di-rector of the new subsidiary Spanesi Americas. In this role, Morgan will lead the new subsid-iary, headquartered in the Chicago, Ill. area.

With over 36 years in the collision repair industry, Morgan has held positions in sales, technical and training areas, and most re-cently in Managing Director positions for international equipment suppliers. He is also a former technician, shop manager, collision repair facility owner, and director/educator of a collision repair training program for a tech-nical college. Morgan’s positions have also given him international experience with proj-ects in both Europe and Asia. He is also a frequent contributor to trade magazines on a variety of subjects.

“Working internationally, I noticed Span-esi’s simple technical approach to equipment

and repairs. This, coupled with the passion Orazio Spanesi and his family have for the collision business, has inspired me to head this project. Over the past couple years, I have been looking for that ‘new’ approach to the collision equipment industry while assisting companies that needed leader-ship and stability. I am now proud to be a part of the Spanesi family. Spanesi has been offering their ‘Touch’ Computer-ized Measuring in North America for years with success, now it’s time for the rest of the product line to shine,” said Morgan.

PeoPle on the movetimothy morgan to head Spanesi Americas

Timothy morgan.

CARSTAR has appointed patr ick Joly as CARSTAR’s new Regional Manager in Québec, working closely alongside CARSTAR’s Regional Director for Québec, Yves Robichaud and CARSTAR’s Quality Specialist for Quebec, Rémi Michaud.

In this role, Joly will act as a main contact for CARSTAR’s current Québec-based Fran-

chise partners as he brings a diverse range of skills and experience to the position.

“The appo in t -m e n t o f p a t r i c k Joly is crucial to our development o f C A R S TA R i n Québec,” said Yves

Robichaud, CARSTAR’s Regional Director – Québec. “patrick brings a wealth of expe-rience to the Québec region and will be an asset in helping sell CARSTAR’s unique busi-ness model to new partners and satisfy the needs of CARSTAR’s existing Franchise and Insurance partners.

prior to joining CARSTAR, Joly was the Business Development Manager with NApA Autopro Collision in Québec. In addition, Joly has spent time in sales and development roles at LKQ Keystone, BL2000, AT pAC pièces and with the Economic Development Department for the City of Brampton.

Joly is a graduate of Cégép in comput-erized Financial Management and Business Administration and has earned a Certificate in Economic Development from the univer-sity of Waterloo in Ontario.

CARStAR appoints Regional manager for Quebec

ILLu

STra

TIOn

S by

jIe

SSIe

cHe

n

new car feel?Nissan reportedly has people

working on new trim material

that feels like human skin.

Research has show hu-

mans tend to like surfaces

that are soft, warm, smooth

and moist. In other words, human skin is

one of the most pleasurable surfaces for a

person to touch. Nissan is trying to emulate

that feel. It’s still in the research stages, so it

might be some years before we see vehicle

interiors with that human skin feel.

never forgetA man claims he crashed his vehicle while

trying avoid a collision with an ele-

phant. police haven’t found

any evidence of a local es-

caped elephant, but they

did find that the driver had

been previously tagged with

six DuIs. He admitted to

having smoked marijuana

and taking pCp before driving, so his cur-

rent record now stands at seven.

signs of the timesA caller to a radio show said she was frus-

trated with deer crossing signs, asking why

they had to be in such high traffic areas. “I

mean, I’ve even seen them on the interstate,”

she said. “Why are we encouraging deer to

cross the interstate? I don’t get it.”

The host tried to explain the real

purpose of the signs,

but the caller didn’t

seem to understand.

Patrick Joly.


THE FRONT END

Mirka Abrasives Canada is pleased to an-nounce the addition of two new members to its sales team.

Stephane preston has been named Sales Representative for the Montreal and South Shore area. In his new posi-tion, preston will serve as a first point of contact for Mirka’s current and fu-ture customers in the area. He can be reached at 514-618-7674.

Mirka has also announced that Keren Binmahar will now serve as Sales & Mar-keting Assistant. In this role, Binmahar will act as a vital support person for the other members of the Mirka team. For more in-formation, please visit mirka.com.

The Canadian paint and Coat ings Association approved its Board of Directors for 2012-2013 at i ts re-cent Conference and Annual general Meeting in Vancouver.

“This appointment is an honour. I look forward to the privilege of serving the association and the collision repair industry in general to develop and ex-ecute our strategic plan,” says Harry Dhanjal, Business Manager, Refinish Division of BASF Canada.

CpCA Board of Directors are: Dale Constantinoff, general paint (Chair); Tim Vogel, Cloverdale paint (Treasurer and Chair of Finance & Audit Committee); Darrin Noble, Home Hardware (Nominations Committee Chair); Sharon Kelly, KelCoatings Lim-ited; Ed Thompson, L.V. Lomas Ltd.; Mario Tremblay, Dupont performance Coatings; Andy Doyle, American Coatings Asso-ciation; Fred Veghelyi, OpC polymers Canada; Carl Minchew, Benjamin Moore & Co. Ltd.; Rick J. Duha, The Duha group; Andre Buisson, Boomerang paint; Mike Klein, Dominion Color Corporation; Ron Nakamura, ppg Canada Inc.; Harry Dhanjal, BASF Canada Inc.; Claude Brosseau, AkzoNobel.

BASF’s Harry Dhanjal, DuPont’s Mario Tremblay join CPCA Board of Directors

Preston, Binmahar join mirka’s sales team

Harry Dhanjal.

keren Binmahar.

stephane Preston.

John Euloth joins Okanagan CollegeJohn Euloth has joined the faculty of Oka-nagan College. Euloth has established himself as an expert in the field of re-finishing, having worked 20 years in the industry, with a Red Seal in Automotive Refinishing paint Technician, and spent more than a decade as a technical rep-resentative with BASF Canada. He will be responsible for students enrolled in both foundation and apprenticeship programs.

John euloth.

HOW TO CHOOSE yOur network ?

Any network thAt scores lower thAn 75 points will not live up to your expectAtions.

Choosing a network is an important decision. Fix Auto has put together this exercise to make it easier. Rate three networks, and compare the results.

0 points — hopeless

2 points — weak

4 points — average

6 points — good

8 points — very good

10 points — excellent ? ?

Rate the networks from 1 to 10 on each of the following criteria, then add up the totals.

Networks >

1 Leadership

2 Network image

3 Customer service

4 Freedom of action

5 Member selection

6 Commitment

7 Training and support

8 Relations with insurers

9 Marketing

10 Innovation and technology

total per Network / 100

1 2 3


NEWS

West End Autobody found a recipe for suc-cess in 1952 that has remained largely unchanged throughout the decades.

“putting the customer first,” explains man-ager Jeff Englebrecht. “Our reputation has been earned over the years.”

This priority is something its customers clearly appreciate, as 250 of them gathered at the Chiliwack, B.C. shop recently for an

open house to mark its 60th anniversary. The facility was founded by partners Ken Dargatz, Alfred prachnau and Emil gaudet, and changed ownership once, when current owner Harry Englebrecht took over opera-tions in 1974.

Over half-a-century in business marks not only a successful venture, but also one that can sustain itself through changes in owner-

ship, according to manager Jeff Englebrecht.

“60 years to me signals not only a one-time success o f a business, but the ability to maintain and change with the times,” says Englebrecht.

West End is a member of the Quality Assured Collision Services family, an umbrella organization comprised of 16 inde-pendently owned shops in B.C.

For more information on West End Auto-body, please visit westendautobodyltd.com. For more information on Quality Assured Col-lision Services, please visit qacollision.ca.

West end autobody celebRates 60 yeaRs

darlene, Jeff and harry Englebrecht, respectively Office Manager, Manager and President of West End autobody.

Avenue Collision~CSN certified for repairs to Toyota, Lexus and ScionBy Mike Davey

Avenue Collision~CSN in Toronto is now officially recognized as a Toyota Certi-fied Collision Centre and as a Lexus Certified Collision Centre. The facility is also certified to perform repairs to Scion vehicles under the TCCC program.

The Toyota Certified Collision Centre and the Lexus Certified Collision Centre programs recognize affiliated collision centres and staff as able to serve cus-tomers at the level expected by Toyota and Lexus owners. The program is based on continuous improvement and monitors equipment, process, skills and customer satisfaction.

CSN Collision & glass released the following statement: “CSN Corporate Office, and all of our 130 CSN Members across the country, would like to offer our congratulations to Avenue Collision~CSN for achieving this impressive designation. We are extremely proud of the entire team at Avenue Collision~CSN for building the foundation and following the processes necessary to be recognized by Toyota/Lexus as an elite collision repair facility.”

By Hayden Kenez


NEWS

Maaco Collision Repair & Auto painting (Re-gina) has been awarded the 2012 Achievement for Business Excellence Award for Service.

The ABEX Award for Service goes to a business demonstrating exceptional perfor-mance in providing quality customer service. The ABEX are provincial awards, and busi-nesses of all sizes and categories are eligible. It is Saskatchewan’s oldest and most presti-gious business award.

Maaco Regina is owned by Charlene and Marty Klyne. Charlene says it was an honour to make it onto the finalists list, much less take the award.

“A business colleague of Marty’s contacted us and suggested we submit a nomination,” says Charlene. “So, we thought, ‘Why not?’ Then when we learned we were one of the finalists and saw the other finalists listed, we thought, ‘uh-oh ... that’s tough competition ... we can only wait and see what the out-come will be.’ We were pretty proud just to be named a finalist.”

The Achievement for Business Excellence Award for Service is awarded after a selection panel examines the dozens of nominations from across the province, paying particular attention to each company’s safety record, sales performance, evidence of quality customer service and evidence of being a prospering and forward-looking company.

Maaco Regina has numerous awards and recognized achievements to its credit. It is renowned as one the top performing Maaco stores in Canada and is consistently ranked

in the top 10 locations across the 475-store, North American-wide network. A recent cus-tomer survey compiled by CSi Complete says 100 per cent of Maaco Regina’s clients are indeed happy customers. This is the third consecutive independent survey and all re-sulted in 100 per cent customer satisfaction. Maaco Regina has also recently achieved the I-CAR gold Class professional designation.

maaco Regina Receives pRestigious abeX aWaRd

The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum will continue operations beyond March 31, 2013, when operational funding through the federal Sector Council program ends. Over the next year, CAF-FCA will continue to engage members, pursue project funding to continue its research and promotion activities, and streamline its governance structure. Members will help establish a new strategic plan and priorities, as well as identify a new Board of Directors, which is being reduced to 15. More informa-tion is available at caf-fca.org.

Apprenticeship forum to continue despite funding cuts

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charlene klyne (centre left) accepts the service award from marion ghiglione of Handy special events (sponsor). also present are corporal marianne coulibaly and corporal Dan Toppings of rcmP Depot Division.

By Mike Davey


NEWS

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When CARSTAR president & CEO Sam Mercanti had the vision of creating the CARSTAR network in Canada, he knew he needed the right group of partners. Domenic and Rosanna Lucarelli and Sam and Rosa Saputo were part of this initial group. Today CARSTAR is nationally recognized, with over 160 locations from coast to coast.

Recent l y, Domen ic Lucare l l i , Sam

Saputo, Sam Mercanti and Larry Jefferies put pen to paper once again; re-signing commitments for another 20 years.

Originally starting as employees of Mer-canti in the 80s, both Lucarelli and Saputo eventually opened their own locations. Recognizing their talent, work ethic and desire to succeed, Mercanti reached out to both Lucarelli and Saputo, and in June of 1992 signed the first two locations to the CARSTAR Automotive Canada fran-chise network. Their wives Rosa Saputo and Rosanna Lucarelli were instrumental in the development of their businesses over the years.

The keys are about to be handed over to a new generation as Sam Saputo’s two sons, paul and Joe will take over opera-tions at CARSTAR Ancaster, while Domenic Lucarelli will eventually be passing on the keys to his son Joseph. For more informa-tion, please visit carstar.ca.

caRstaR ReneWs fiRst fRanchises foR neXt 20 yeaRs

From left: Joseph Lucarelli, domenic Lucarelli, teresa Lucarelli, rosanna Lucarelli, Larry Jefferies, Michael Macaluso, domenic Lucarelli, sam Mercanti and Lisa Mercanti-Ladd.

From left: Larry Jefferies, michael macaluso, Dennis concordia, Lisa mercanti-Ladd, sam mercanti, sam saputo, rosa saputo, Joseph saputo and Paul saputo.

Fix Auto expands with Fix Auto edmonton StrathconaFix Auto is pleased to announce its newest member, Fix Auto Edmonton Strathcona. Formerly operating as Apollo Auto Body, the new store is located at 9946 77 Ave. in Edmonton, Alta.

proudly serving Edmonton for over 35 years, the collision centre recently renovated at a new location to ac-commodate their increasing need for space. Owner, Lew Lamontagne, has invested heavily in new technologies and equipment to further increase the shop’s portfolio of achievements.

For more information, please visit fixautoedmontonstrathcona.com or call Lew Lamontagne at 780-424-9736.


NEWS

Quality Assured Collision Services hits the airwaves

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For Quality Assured Collision Services, their road trip with Shaw Media has been a hit. president Mike Srigley says a half-hour pro-gram sponsored by the Quality Assured Collision group of independent shops that runs on 17 of Shaw Media’s cable television channels has increased customer interest in their collision repair shops, and gotten com-petitors wondering how they’ve generated the new business.

The Quality Assured Collision Road Trip, which airs throughout the week on high-profile channels such as CNN, NBC and the Speed Network, sponsor the Road Trip pro-gram. past episodes have whisked viewers into the sky via seaplanes that ferry pas-sengers from Vancouver Island to mainland B.C., horseback riding through the interior in Burnaby and bungee-jumping in old-growth forests in Nanaimo.

In return for sponsorship, Quality Assured Collision Services receives a thirty-second segment that follows the program. In ad-dition to the advertisement segment of the show, Srigley and all other QA shop owners and managers appear in the segments on Shaw channels throughout the week, urging viewers to tune into the program.

Dan Laird is the manager of BC Colli-sions, Quality Assured Collision Services’ Burnaby East location. He says that the idea for a partnership between the media con-glomerate and collision repair chain came from the owner of the prince george loca-tion, who proposed the idea at a meeting. They then contacted Shaw, which made a proposal for a series of TV segments spon-sored by the collision repair group.

The funding for the program came from resources pooled by the 16 shops oper-ating under the Quality Assured Collision Services’ brand, according to Laird. The collective funding is for advertising and promotional campaigns, such as the Quality Assured Collision Road Trip.

Customers are warmly embracing the program, and recognize Srigley and other members when they see them.

“I run into people that know me and they say, ‘Hey, I saw you on T.V. ! ’ ” laughs Srigley.

Viewers can expect an optimistic future for the program. According to Laird, Quality Assured Collision Services retains the first right of refusal, meaning that as long as they’re satisfied with the episodes Shaw

produces, they’ll be appearing as part of the show for the foreseeable future.

The road trip for Quality Assured Colli-sion Services and Shaw is going full-speed, and doesn’t appear to be detouring any-time soon.

For more information on Quality As-sured, please visit qacollision.ca.

By Hayden Kenez

Dan Laird, manager of Bc collisions, appears in one of the TV segments.


NEWS

Twice a year, AkzoNobel facil itates meetings of collision repair facilities that manage their business based on AkzoNobel’s process Centered Environ-ment program. The Canadian group has been together for four years and has held meetings at members’ shops in Vancouver, Kelowna, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, guelph and Burlington.

pCE is AkzoNobel’s program incor-porating complimentary elements of lean, TOC and Six Sigma, designed to assist shops to reduce wastes while providing a high level of value.

In October of this year, the group trav-elled to Fredericton, New Brunswick for a two-and-a-half day meeting hosted by Dana Alexander and Shellie Andrews of Dana’s Collision Center~CSN.

The meeting started with “The Role of the Repair planner,” facilitated by Bob DuBreuil of AkzoNobel, assisted by James Landry, Repair planner at Kelowna performance Collision. The next morning, Michel guerette from AkzoNobel led a discussion on organization and pay plans. After lunch, the group toured Da-na’s Collision Center~CSN, later breaking into groups to perform an audit on the fa-cility’s processes and 5S implantation.

The highlight of the day was a “Lob-sterfest” hosted at the shop. picnic tables were set up in the prep area where the group enjoyed fresh lobster, fresh baked bread and salads.

The next day the group met again to discuss challenges the members were having at their shops.

Dana’s Collision Center~CSN hosts AkzoNobel PCE meeting

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Dick Cross shows how to think and a c t l i k e a CEO starting in this issue.

See page 1 8 f o r h i s first column.

Founded in 1962 by Jim White and Walt peters, White & peters is proud to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2012. The B.C.-based pBE supplier held seven events over the course of the summer to thank valued customers.

Each event featured the White & peters custom restored Chevy delivery van, new products and equipment, dinner and refreshments, door prizes and much more. White & peters is a wholly owned business unit of the Color Compass Corporation.

Watch the next issue of Collision Repair magazine for a full recap of White & peters 50th anniversary celebrations, including photos, prize winners and more!

White & peteRs celebRates 50th anniveRsaRy

collision repair professionals travelled from all four Western provinces, Ontario and the maritime provinces to attend the akzonobel Pce event at Dana’s collision center~csn.


NEWS

Caruk & Associates has been named the Lord Fusor Rep Agency of the Year. Representatives of Caruk & Associates accepted the award during the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nev.

The Lord Fusor Rep Agency of the Year is selected based on total sales dollar growth by a territory and total sales percentage increase by a territory.

Caruk & Associates has served Canada’s collision repair industry since 1985. The company is headquartered in British Columbia, but a network of professional reps in all major centres across the country ensure the company’s reach is nationwide.

For more information on Caruk & Associates, please visit justreps.com.

caRuk & associates named loRd fusoR Rep agency of the yeaR

Paint Stick™

CALL

UH OH...BETTER GETMaaco!

We encourage other independent shop owners to make the switch!

These items, combined with Maaco's process and procedures, enabled us

to increase revenue and profit.”

The following are comments froma recently converted franchisee:

“I was able to find success with Maaco in the following areas:

Brand Name recognitionIncreased buying power

Increased sales (Retail, Fleet & Trade)Business & Technical support

WHY CONVERT?

Maaco Mississauga

East

Maaco Thornhill

These shops already made the move!

members of the caruk & associates team were on hand to accept the award at sema in Las Vegas.


Are they unrealistic in today’s collision repair industry?

I love to hear stories of guys that started their collision careers at their dad’s farm where they painted cars in a chicken coop with a buddy, yet still managed to build their busi-ness into a multi-million dollar enterprise.

It is inspiring for me to know that even if you are a small business you can still dream and achieve big. Is this a realistic scenario in today’s collision repair industry?

In 2010, Meyers, Norris & Penny completed a detailed report for Manitoba Public Insur-ance. This report stated that shops with less than $1 million a year in sales were practically not making any money. For sure, those colli-sion repair facilities did not have enough cash to upgrade their facilities and equipment, but I can guarantee that they did spend the money to train their people, because MPI demands I-CAR Gold Class as a requirement for accreditation. I suspect to see similar findings in the recently

completed Meyers, Norris & Penny report on the Saskatchewan industry.

It is estimated that more than 50 percent of shops in Canada have sales below the $1 million dollar mark and therefore do not make enough money to be a viable collision repair facility. Does this mean that half of our industry is just hanging onto a job that they created for themselves?

too many? too few?It seems weird that we have an industry with an oversupply of shops, when at the same time there is a shortage of skilled tradespeople, labour rates that are too low, fewer accidents on the horizon and the complexity of repairs is fast getting out of reach of many progressive shops due to a lack of invest-ment in training and equipment! Do you think it is a good idea to address these concerns?

The CCIF Chairman’s Council will meet in Toronto to discuss options that CCIF can and

By Tom Bissonnette

BIgDREAMS

pRAIRIE VIEW


will take to address these pressing concerns of our industry.

action armWe are looking at partnering with a national au-tomotive organization that could be the “action arm” of CCIF. In addition, we are planning to bring in some industry experts to the January

2013 CCIF meeting in Toronto to help us drill down and identify issues that need to be ad-dressed. We will also be using some amazing technology that will allow attendees to give their input on key issues in a completely anonymous way, via electronic voting.

From this meeting, we will develop action plans to come up with solutions to address the most pressing issues that will be identified by the stakeholders in attendance.

I wish I had the wisdom to come up with the ultimate solution to address the concerns of all in-dustry stakeholders but I do not. However, those of you that make your living in this industry have pieces of the puzzle figured out and we need you to come and share them with the industry this coming January in Toronto.

Please join us and become part of the solution

to help our industry become a viable business op-portunity and a great place for young people to embark on a career. CRM

tom Bissonnette is the owner/operator of Parr auto Body, a collision repair facility located in saskatoon, sK. he can be reached at [email protected].

pRAIRIE VIEW

mOre THan 50 PercenT OF sHOPs In canaDa haVE saLEs BELOW thE $1 MiLLiOn dOLLar MarK.

[email protected] ©2012 Wedge Clamp Systems Inc. All rights reserved. Patents pending.

98% nitrogen. 100% magic.Nitrogen-based NitroHeat. A new way to paint – and profit.

NitroHeat‘s 98% pure, heated nitrogen reduces over-spray so dramatically, you’ll save up to 35% on paint costs. Because it’s also much faster to flash-off, you can

cycle more cars through your shop – with no need to upgrade ventilation when converting to waterborne. And its cleaner delivery makes

servicing filters easier and cheaper. Great for solvent-based and ideal for waterborne, NitroHeat is even pure pleasure to use, laying down a smoother finish and more brilliant luster. Call us at 1.800.615.9949, or visit us at www.wedgeclamp.com. Then discover the magic of nitrogen.


REALLIFE Focusing on what works and what doesn’t.

It’s that shallow, last breath before taking the field for the championship game. In front of the hometown crowd. A swirling inhalation of anticipations with no small measure of angst … because you’ve decided to expose yourself

… No, not that way! … to everyone in the stadium. Only this stadium is bigger. A lot bigger.

Yes, I do have a best selling book and lots of ar-ticles in fancy places about how to run a business. And I’ve done a lot of it. But this time I’ve decided to show you all of it. Things that have gone great. As well as those that haven’t.

Each issue I’ll give you some of both. From my own stores and from those belonging to others. So you’ll never see, “The Seven Keys to blah, blah,

blah,” coming from me. If that’s what you want, read something else.

This is about real life. At the top of an organi-zation. What works and doesn’t. And about the consequences in either case. Big organizations and small. Then, it’ll be up to you to decide how much of it to absorb into your own life.

the job at the topWithout a dram of hesitation or modesty, I’ll tell you exactly what I’ve found out, the hard way, about how to be a great CEO. About how to do a great job at the top.

Because from the knot on my noggin to the very soles of my feet … I know that your performance in that role is the greatest determinant of success in your business. And of the impact you’ll have in other peoples’ lives. And that nothing else even comes close. If you want a great business, you need to know this stuff! It’s as simple as that.

But get ready for a wild ride. Because I am ob-sessed with finding out the TRUTH about what

makes a great CEO. Hands-on. For myself, not from others.

Accordingly, some of my viewpoints are full frontal assaults to everything else you’ve ever heard about management and leadership. Which comes mostly from people who’ve never run any-thing. Which might be why so many people in jobs at the top do them so poorly.

the benefitsBut doing that job well, even great, really isn’t all that hard. In fact, it’s fun. And for many, deciding to pursue excellence in that role puts them on a path for a lifetime of fascination and satisfac-tion with getting better, and better ... and with

stacking up the positive contributions you’ve made to others.

Looking forward to 2013, each new installment will deliver immediately actionable advice on what I know are the two key responsibilities of the Job At The Top, and how to do it very well.

First, how to think like a CEO ... so you can drive your business with crystal clarity and heart-felt conviction. And, second, how to handle yourself like a CEO … so you can inspire your organization to give you all they’ve got and to support your intentions with tireless and un-swerving zeal.

It ought to be some fun. I’m already looking for-ward to next time. CRM

By Dick Cross

dick Cross is an eight-time turnaround CEO, private equity partner, consultant, the originator of the Mid tier Presidents Course for Executives at harvard, frequent speaker, chairman and member of numerous boards, and author of the book “Just run it!” he can be reached at [email protected].

VIEW FROM THE TOp

I’LL TeLL YOu exacTLY WHaT I’Ve FOunD OuT, THe HarD WaY,

aBOUt hOW tO BE a grEat CEO.


NOTABOuTYOuSuccessful leaders need to be there for their staff.

I am working with a client on their leader-ship development. We were doing a realistic simulation of having a weekly meeting be-tween his management team and my team. The goal, as always, is to find ways to im-

prove the performance of his company.When debriefing at the conclusion of the meeting

we found that the managerial employees actually responded more positively than the owner.

Why such a funny response from the owner? It’s because the owner still doesn’t fully grasp the con-cept of leadership. While the weekly meetings may seem mundane to him, they are viewed as produc-tive by the employees. Sometimes the leader must participate in proceedings that are of benefit to the

others in their organization even though they hold less direct-value to them. Notice I said “direct-value.” This is because the value isn’t necessarily from the content of the meetings but rather from the optics provided by the owner taking an active role in the development of his staff.

Basic stuffBy sitting in a classroom taking a course that was very elementary to another client but leading his people through participation and presence, a dif-ferent owner had even better results with his staffing. Yes, for him the material was again mun-dane - stuff that he had covered years ago. Upon completion, however, his staff spoke of the course being beneficial and interesting. They concluded that they had “learned a lot.”

As a matter of fact, one manager said, “I wish it was longer so we could have dove in deeper to some of the components!” That was interesting: despite the owner’s disinterest, his people were lapping up the information with enthusiasm.

I pointed this out to him after and it rein-forced that through his voluntary attendance, he had demonstrated good leadership. He was providing a good example, embracing contin-uous education and helping set the expectations of his staff by being there with them.

Commonsense: not so commonSo that is how it is not always about you. What is good for the development of your people is what you need to do for them. That could include re-viewing things that you treat as second-nature or commonsense. These things probably will not be so obvious to your developing staff.

Many times I have to remind owners and

managers that have a handle on some very so-phisticated business concepts that they at one time had to learn those things. They need to exercise patience with their people as the staff develops and goes through learning curves that they treat as old hat.

I am working with another owner that had to let his manager go through some expensive lessons to fully feel the pain of making a wrong decision. This manager has become better for that lesson and is now weighing decisions much more carefully than before and also looking for value in his people through a different paradigm. This exercise of patience and realization that it is not all about him is how the owner/leader shows he is the one who’s driving. CRM

By Jay Perry

Jay Perry is the founder and owner of automotive Business Consultants (aBC), a performance coaching company spe- cializing in the automotive service in-dustry. he can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].

WHO’S DRIVINg?

WHY sucH a FunnY resPOnse? thE OWnEr stiLL dOEsn’t FULLY grasP

thE COnCEPt OF LEadErshiP.


pROFILES OF SuCCESS

TeamDon, Darrell and Wade

MacKay foster a culture of teamwork and independence.

By Mike Davey

Power There’s no shortage of multi-generation

family businesses in the collision repair industry. However, the MacKay’s two Maaco locations in Halifax and Dartmouth are a little bit different.


pROFILES OF SuCCESS

The typical path is that a parent or grandparent starts the business and builds it up over the years. Succeeding genera-tions come along later and build on what has gone before.

The MacKay’s first Maaco in Dartmouth started out as more of a father and son partnership than anything else. Donald MacKay was a regional representative for a large fastener company who spent most of his days on the road, helping his clients to build their businesses. He had noticed that collision repair facilities seemed to have steady work.

His eldest son, Wade, was in the final stages of acquiring a B.B.A. in Marketing and Management from Mount Saint Vin-

cent University in Halifax. The two began discussing the possibility of acquiring a franchise business.

“We looked at a lot of different franchises before we decided collision repair was right for us,” says Wade.

The MacKays flew out to Ontario to visit Maaco Canada’s head office and a number of Maaco facilities, and opened the doors of their first location in 1994.

The way the family business started might be a little out of the ordinary, but how younger son Darrell started working there is a more familiar story.

“I was in high school when I started working weekends, evenings, summers and March breaks,” says Darrell. Although it was

a combination of, as he puts it “volunteered and voluntold,” it turned out to be a life-changing experience.

“Honestly, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I figured I would follow what ev-eryone else did: go to university and get a degree,” says Darrell. Like so many others who have joined the industry for the sake of a paycheque, he found that collision re-pair got into his blood.

By 1999, the MacKays decided it was time to expand with a new location in the province’s biggest market: Halifax. Darrell was tapped to run it, while Wade continued to manage the Dartmouth location.

The new store in Halifax started out as a satellite location to the Maaco in Dart-

“We’ve evolved fRom a caR

painting business to full scale RepaiR and

Refinishing. the Whole

business model has changed.”

– Wade MaCKay

cleve Isenor and cory matthews examine a vehicle in maaco Dartmouth’s main production area.

maaco Dartmouth is the 2012 maaco cup recipient!

From left: Patricia, Taylor, kaitlyn, Wade, Dylan and Don

mackay and Dave Lapps, President of maaco, following

the award ceremony.

Ben gendronbuffs a rear bumper.


pROFILES OF SuCCESS

mouth. It was only a couple of thousand square feet and featured a modified cross draft spray booth, four body/prep bays and a wash/detail bay. As a small shop, the Halifax location originally stuck to paint jobs, bumper repairs and one to two panel spot repairs, sending all the heavy hits over to Dartmouth.

By 2005, there was enough business at the Halifax location to warrant a shop ex-pansion and the business moved to a new 8,000 sq. ft. facility. The expansion of size went hand in hand with an expansion of services, mirroring many of the changes that have taken place in the Maaco network as a whole.

“We’ve evolved from a car painting business to f u l l s c a le rep ai r and refinishing,” says Wa d e . “O ut o f ou r Dartmouth store, we’d do 40 cars a week and about 35 of those were ov e r a l l p a i nt j o b s . Now the same 40 cars would be mostly spot repair and collision. The whole business model has changed.”

Wade notes that his younger brother has re-ally grown into the role of an owner.

“He’s always been good as a manager, but he’s also always been hands-on,” says Wade. “He’s learned how to delegate and give responsibility to someone else.”

That can be a hard thing to do. Giving someone else respon-sibility is, in some ways, very much a case of giving up control. It can be a very dif-ficult aspect to come to terms with, but it helps if you have a great team.

“That’s the way I’ve always operated, be-cause I’ve got a great management team and staff. They’re why we’ve been successful,” says Wade. “I want to know every problem that happens, but I want to hear a proposed solution at the same time. That’s something our management team and all of the other staff are great at. They understand that to keep up with the times, we’ve got to em-brace positive changes whenever we can.”

Collision repair is a constantly evolving industry. Nova Scotia shops in particular

have had to adapt to changing conditions and regulations.

“There was no mandatory licensing when I got into the business, and there was not as much product or procedural training,” says Darrell. “The technology in the cars today is way ahead of what it was 18 years ago. You really have to know what you’re doing. Without the right training, you won’t even realize how much you don’t know.”

Training is something the MacKays take seriously. The Halifax shop is cur-rently I-CAR Gold Class and plans are

in place for the Dartmouth facility to acquire the status soon.

“If you don’t have the tools, whether that’s literal tools or training tools, you can’t accomplish much. You’ve got to in-vest in the right people,” says Wade. The MacKays aren’t afraid to invest in young people with a passion for the work, but Wade notes that his last few hires have been highly experienced technicians.

“You can never stop looking, both for new people and for new ways to expand the business,” says Wade.

“We have built our business around three key pr inciples ,” says Darrel l . “High quality, quick turnaround and by giving our customers the most value

for money spent. Insurance, dealership, fleet and customer out-of-pocket pay and referrals have helped our shops to continue to grow by over 10 per cent a year in sales. The next logical step for us is to persue insurer direct repair pro-grams which will help take our business to the next level.”

High quality will always be a big draw. This is especially true for fleet and deal-ership customers, who interact with the shop’s staff much more often than the average consumer. However, the MacKay’s facilities have no shortage of

loyal customers from the general public.“We have a lot of customers who come

in and say ‘I had a good experience be-fore, you guys are my shop from now on,’” says Wade.

With a CSI rating that’s consistently in the high 90s, it’s certain that customers are comfortable referring friends and families to the MacKays’ facilities, and that trust was validated recently with the awarding of the 2012 Maaco Cup to the Dartmouth location. Given to just one shop of the roughly 450 Maaco locations in North America, it is the company’s highest honour for consis-tent excellence in quality, production, customer service and sales. CRM

a rare shot of the entire team from both locations. Techs at the mackay’s facilities are a solid blend of highly experienced, mature tradespeople and younger people with a passion for the industry.

Confidence.

Integrity.

Trust.

To learn more about CSN Collision & Glass, visit us at www.csninc.ca

CSN Collision & Glass Celebrates 10 Years in Collision Repair!Make the right decision – with confi dence. And trust a leading

group of experienced collision repair professionals to maintain the

same high standards you have. CSN Members do what they say they

are going to do. Independently owned CSN shops deliver a level of

quality that is quite simply unmatched in the industry.

CSN Collision & Glass is proud to be celebrating a decade of

dedication to the collision repair industry. CSN is committed to

building stronger relationships Network-wide with all industry

stakeholders in order to continue to exceed customer expectations.

CSN is dedicated to deliver on this promise today and moving

forward.

34888_2CSN_Collision_Ad.indd 1 12-02-01 12:48 PM

v

Insurer relations one highlight at 10th Annual CSN Conference.

Basic customer satisfaction and doing what you’re supposed to do is no longer enough. That was one of the messages at the 10th Annual CSN Conference

in Toronto, Ont. It’s an insight that fits well with the

theme CSN Collision & Glass chose for their 10th anniversary conference: Evolu-tion. It’s a theme that speaks to the success that the network has enjoyed since its founding in 2002. Starting with just four members, CSN Collision & Glass’ coverage has expanded from coast to coast.

The conference kicked off Thursday night with a welcome reception at the Westin Harbour Castle, the host hotel. At-tendees were then bussed to Glenn Gould Studio for the CSN Master Awards. The full list of award winners appears at right.

The conference kicked of f Thursday night with a

1 FlavioBattilana, COO ofCSN Collision & glass.

2 Nick DiLuca, Lorenzo D’Alessandro, Julio Bruno and Rob pavan present a chequeto representatives of the Make-A Wish Foundation on behalf of the network.

4 paul Nestoriwich

of Discount, gloria Mann of Collision Repair magazine and John

Kotsopoulos of iautoconnect.

By Mike Davey

welcome reception at the Westin Harbour Castle, the host hotel. Attendees were then bussed to Glenn Gould Studio for the CSN Master Awards. The event at Glenn Gould Studio also included an address by David Chilton, the conference’s keynote speaker. Chilton is the author of “The Wealthy Barber,” “The Wealthy Barber Returns” and a judge on the popular CBC program “Dragon’s Den.” Chilton provided a blend of humour and common sense, including the almost unbelievable story of how he became the publisher of cookbooks “Loo-neyspoons,” “Crazy Plates” and “Eat, Shrink & Be Merry.”

The first full day of the conference started with opening remarks by Flavio Battilana, COO of CSN Collision & Glass. He introduced the first speaker of the day, Richard Flint. Flint is famous as a moti-vational speaker and business coach. He gave the attendees his own personal take on behaviour management and how to develop self-discipline.

Flint is highly experienced as a speaker and crowd pleaser, which can make him a tough act to follow, but Darren Hug-gins, National Collision Centre Director of the Van Tuyl Group was up to the job. Huggins high-energy presentation liter-ally brought the crowd to its feet. Huggins oversees 36 collision centres in the U.S. with total sales of about $175 million. His brand of management and motivation certainly

got people talking.

One thing’s for certain: you can’t argue with results. The Van Tuyl Group has ex-perienced five consecutive years of record sales grown under his leadership.

Vasco Rebuli of Toyota Canada in-formed attendees on the Toyota Collision Centre Certification program. His presen-tation generated a lot of interest. Going forward, it seems obvious that more and more of the OEM will begin to roll out programs of this type, due to increasing customer expectation and the technical complexities of repairing modern vehicles. Rebuli discuss how and why the program and audit system were developed. Although some Toyota dealers have collision centres of their own, many do not.

“The majority of our dealers are still using independents, so we saw a need to develop this program. Dealers who don’t have a colli-sion centre can sponsor a local independent shop for the program,” said Rebuli.

Toyota has developed training programs for managers, body techs, painters, estima-tors and detailers. The training takes the form of online courses for basic theory and classroom instruction for hands-on technical training.

A panel discussion on the evolu-tion of the collision repair industry followed. Moderated by Larry French of CSN Collision & Glass, the panel was comprised of Dana Alexander, Mike Elliot, Ken

1

2 3

4

3 gino Mascarin of Mascarin Collision Centre~CSN, Harry Dhanjal of BASF, David D’Addio of Maple Leaf Collision~CSN and peter Deguili of BASF.


INDuSTRY EVENTS

v

Friesen and Wade Bartok. The panel discussed various issues, such as KPIs and the di f f iculty of f inding high- quality personnel.

Friesen commented on how KPIs are measured, and how that can change from one insurer to the next, based on what is being measured and how.

“It’s a little frustrating for repairers. I can be on top for one, but closer to the bottom for another. KPIs are absolutely paramount in running any business today,” said Friesen “Insurers were really strong on measuring the customer satis-faction index for a while …but that KPI really needs to be kept to the forefront.” Friesen also mentioned one item that he views as a key indicator of performance, but one that the insurance companies may have overlooked.

“I don’t see a KPI for supplemental ra-tios,” said Friesen. “If we could eliminate or bring down supplemental ratios, it would improve things across the whole network.”

Wade Bartok discussed his techniques for attracting new talent. “I got started on this when I realized I’ve got to find younger people,” he said, noting that many of his key personnel are at or near retirement age. “I started slowly moving younger guys in as older guys retired.”

Bartok says there are people out there, but finding them may require taking a step beyond the traditional.

“We took one guy from Tim Hortons,” he said, indicating that the new staffer had worked out well. “There are people out there, but you’ve got to put in the effort at tracking them down.”

The day ended with cocktails and dinner at the 360 Restaurant, the revolving eatery atop Toronto’s famous CN Tower. It was a chance for CSN members and guests to network in a setting of opulence with an undeniably great view.

The third and final day of the conference started with the Keynote Workshop, deliv-ered by Richard Flint. The guiding principle behind “A Day at the Zoo” was that there are no difficult people, only different per-sonalities for leaders to lead. By detailing the personalities of 18 different animals to the people we have to deal with every day, Flint gave tips on how we can get beyond personalities and work on issues.

The final day of the conference also included the CSN Collision & Glass Mem-bers Meeting. The CSN Collision & Glass 11th annual conference will take place next September in Calgary, Alta. For more information, please visit csninc.ca. CRM

5 Martin Monteith of Zenetec Collision~CSN and Fiona and Ken Friesen of Concours Collision Centres~CSN.

5

6

78

6 Sharon Wells of The Collision Clinic~CSN, Kelvin Campbell of Chapman Auto Body~CSN and Manuel Der Haroutiounian of Bayview Steeles Auto Collision~CSN.

7 A panel discussion moderated by Larry French. On the panel, from left: Mike Elliott, Ken Friesen, Wade Bartok and Dana Alexander.

8 Jay Hayward, Director of Operations for CSN Collision & glass.

2012 CSN AwArdS

sales gRoWth under 8,000 sq. ft.: City Centre Collision, north Bay, Ont.between 8,001 and 12,000 sq. ft.:

regency Collision Waterloo, Waterloo, Ont.

over 12,000 sq. ft.: Emeryville Collision, tecumseh, Ont.

csi aWaRd under 8,000 sq. ft.:

high street auto Body, strathroy, Ont.between 8,001 and 12,000 sq. ft.:

Outlaw Collision, dunmore, alb.under 12,000 sq. ft.:

Walkerton Collision, Walkerton, Ont.

csn eXpeRience aWaRd under 8,000 sq. ft.:

hutten Collision, Fergus, Ont.between 8,001 and 12,000 sq. ft.:

howden Collision, toronto, Ont.under 12,000 sq. ft.:

Walkerton Collision, Walkerton, Ont.

shop of the yeaR aWaRd Walkerton Collision, Walkerton, Ont.


INDuSTRY EVENTS


INDuSTRY EVENTS

Dan sommerhauser of autobody

equipment solutions, Jim shirtliff of

canco carsTar collision and kurt

Lammon of urethane supply company.

Collision repair professionals from across North America came to-gether recently at NACE in New Orleans, La., to network, see the latest and greatest in

equipment and products and, perhaps most important, how to “Just Run It!”

That’s the title of a book by Dick Cross, former CEO of CARSTAR U.S. and a noted turnaround expert. Cross was the keynote speaker for the event.

Cross addressed the audience and talked on how to improve the opera-tional and financial performance of businesses. Cross’ book, “Just Run It!” is an instructional book on turning un-derperforming businesses into efficient and thriving enterprises. He is also the founder of The Cross Partnership III, a

Boston-based “hands-on” consulting and turn around firm. Cross spoke on how to increase success through universal and always-pertinent aspects of business, such as leadership and team morale. The presentation was sponsored by DuPont Performance Coatings.

LeaderSHIP and ManaGeMenT TacTIcSNACE began October 10 with a series of seminars and lectures regarding sales tac-tics and innovation of paint and materials, including The Art of the Deal – Acquiring and Developing New Locations; Mar-keting to Generations X and Y; and Paint and Materials: The Paradigm Shift.

The afternoon sessions saw a focus on leadership, delegation and customer

management tactics, aimed at retaining and appeasing your staff and customers. Seminars included Leadership Best Prac-tices – How to Inspire, Delegate and Coach Your Team to Success, by Mike Anderson; Calming and Retaining Angry Customers, by Margie Seyfer and Guilt by Association – Defining Your Image, by Tony Nethery. Kurt Lammon of Urethane Supply Company instructed viewers on how to properly weld plastic with ni-trogen, while Dan Espersen of ALLDATA taught the best practical applications of OEM Information.

I-CAR spokesmen Bob Zelano and Jeff Poole ran afternoon seminars on Corrosion Protection and Hazardous Materials, Personal Safety and Refinish Safety, respectively.

Practical advice

NACE 2012 brings leadership,

management tactics and

more to New Orleans.

By Hayden Kenez

Jay Hayward of csn and

rick Valin of BasF.

martin monteith of Zenetec collision~csn and Darryl simmons, publisher of Collision Repair magazine.

rick Tuuri of audatex.


INDuSTRY EVENTS

David O. smith of akzonobel and Paul reichert of across canada.

The first day of NACE was capped off with the Assembly, a confidential, closed-door forum for collision repairers.

PrOfIT buILdInGNACE continued Thursday, offering tu-torials, demonstrations and information pertaining to every aspect of the collision repair industry. The exposition portion of the event also opened Thursday, offering the latest products, services and technolo-gies from industry leaders.

The Profit Building Pavilion portion of the exposition showcased vendors with customer-driven products, such as Auto-shop Solutions, Demandforce, Mudlick Mail Co. and Net Driven Media.

Thursday morning saw several semi-nars headed by I-CAR. Bob Zelano ran a

seminar on automotive foams and Tony Nethery instructed participants on proper measuring methods.

Educational highlights included I-CAR representative Shawn Collins’s workshop on Blueprinting Process and Damage Discovery, Bob Zelano of I-CAR’s Steel Unitized Structures Technologies and Repair class and Bryan Dodge of Dodge Development’s presentation on the deli-cate balance of work and life, and how to achieve harmony among the two.

The day wound down with the ASRW Welcome Party, held at the iconic Mardi Gras World venue. Attendees were given a guided tour through the warehouse where Mardi Gras floats are manufactured, ending up at the Grand Oaks Mansion next door – a replica antebellum mansion.

NACE events on Friday ended with a bang. The ASRW Industry Awards ceremony on Friday evening completed the second day of NACE. The ceremony was held at the National World War II museum.

The NACE conference continued on Friday with several I-CAR seminars, human resource tutorials and team de-velopment clinics. The ASRW Collision Forum also took place Friday morning.

MSO SyMPOSIuMThe full-day MSO Symposium hosted by Matthew Ohrnstein of Symphony Advisors enjoyed a sold-out crowd and much audi-ence participation. The symposium spanned the duration of the NACE Friday schedule and was comprised of five panels that aimed to help multi-store business owners, many of

sam mercanti, President

and ceO of carsTar

automotive canada.

gene scambray of copart and gloria mann of Collision Repair magazine.

Patrick Turcotte and Diane chaine of Progi.

glenn Baker of Baker’s

auto Body in clarenville,

newfoundland. Dan espersen, susan clayton and colleen Harrison of aLLDaTa.

Terry Bradimore

and Terrence

Bradimore of

ck collision.


INDuSTRY EVENTS

Jerry snyder of collision equipment group.

matthew Ohrnstein of symphony advisors.

whom take over failing operations in order to rejuvenate them, improve aspects of their businesses including culture, branding, cus-tomer relations, leadership and finance. The symposium offered great insight into the technical aspects of multi-store operations.

Shawn Collins held his second seminar on Blueprinting Process and Damage Dis-covery, while Bob Zelano taught the second Structural Straightening Steel seminar, both hosted by I-CAR. Marty Reddick of Supreme Collision Centre was particularly impressed with Collins’ blueprinting seminar, marking it as a great introduction for beginners.

“If we were to hire someone who wasn’t familiar with blueprinting, we could send them to the course so when they came back they would know what to do,” says Reddick.

The seminars were add-on educational seminars available on both Thursday and Friday. OEMs including General Motors, Toyota and Nissan all sponsored booths during the show, offering promotional giveaways and showcasing new products.

Highlights from the on-floor demo area include exhibits from Innova Electronics on benefits of their CarScan tools and CAS of New England revealing The Truth About Programming in Today’s Vehicles.

Some workshops on Friday afternoon focused on financial aspects. Mike An-derson of CollisonAdvice.com spoke on measuring performance in Financial Best Practices. Dan Stander of Fix Auto Highland Ranch moderated The Keys to Successful Estimating! panel, in which data

providers addressed audience questions.Denise Caspersen of ASA and Melissa

Miller of CARSTAR encouraged women to be courageous leaders in their seminar, one of several in the Women’s Professional Development track of NACE.

A Twenty 2.0 peer benchmarking event ran on Friday afternoon, hosted by key-note speaker Dick Cross. Cross, a business turn-around expert, addressed NACE pre-viously on Thursday and spoke on how to improve efficiency and rejuvenate busi-nesses. The Twenty 2.0 peer benchmarking event is new to NACE this year.

NACE concluded Saturday at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, La. For more information on NACE, please visit naceexpo.com. CRM

Cap

Cap

Cap

marc Bourne of Wedge clamp and Danny Yablonski of DJ’s Yablonski auto Body in Wadena, sask.

mary moberg and kirk monger of Hollander.

Debbie Teeter of garmat, roger Turmel of autoQuip and Heather Harriman of garmat.

Vic Pasnyk and rich Zamperin of allstate.

norm angrove and Thane

Higgs of PPg canada.

mike Jerry of mitchell International,

norm and caroline Bryk of

aro motors carsTar.

chris and marty reddick of supreme collision centres.

stephan Brisard and craig Peterson of mitchell flank gloria mann of Collision Repair magazine. Pete north and steve Hansen of mitchell add some colour in the background.

mark guay and Pablo nieto of First choice auto repair systems.

Daryll O’keefe and Bob Liebel of sherwin-Williams.

Don morton of Don-mor carsTar, rick Valin of BasF and Dave sutherland of Don-mor carsTar. .

Yves robichaud of carsTar automotive canada.

roger schroder of car-Part.com (centre) details the systems for attendees.

John moreau, Harry Dhanjal and mary ann short of BasF.

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AppRENTICESHIp

The technician shortage has reached critical levels, and yet many body repair graduates still find it difficult to get into an apprenticeship.

In 2004, in response to an anticipated shortage of skilled labour, the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF) commis-sioned a study to determine what barriers existed to the hiring of apprentices in Canada. That study indicated that em-ployers in the skilled trades saw cost as a serious impediment to apprenticeship training. The idea that cost might prevent hiring is one that is anecdotally true as well. Talk to many collision repair centre owners about apprenticeship, and you’ll find that among owners who don’t hire apprentices, they would often rather hire a journeyperson trained elsewhere because they see hiring and training an apprentice as cost prohibitive.

In response to this perception, the CAF decided to more deeply explore the issue of the cost of apprenticeship. The goals of the further study were twofold. First, the study leaders wanted to investigate what the actual costs of apprenticeship were through a cost-benefit analysis. Secondly, they wanted to determine what the per-ceived barriers to hiring apprentices were

Eric Brown, prepper and apprentice. A number of incentives are available for shops that hire apprentices.

You’re leaving money on the table by not hiring apprentices.By Mark Kimmich

IncentivesCa h$

for employers. In June of 2009, the results of the second phase of this study were published. As far as collision repairers should be concerned, the results were startling in their clarity.

“There was a perception that there was a huge cost to hiring,” explains Emily Ar-rowsmith, Project Manager at CAF, “And yes, there are costs. But administrative and paperwork costs, for example, are quite low, is the reality. The benefits out-weigh the costs.”

The study revealed that contrary to ap-prenticeship training costing employers money, it actually provided tangible re-turns for those willing to invest in it. In terms of monetary benefits to hiring ap-prentices, the average return was nearly

50 per cent across the 16 different trades studied. For every dollar spent on hiring and training an apprentice, the average employer across all trades and across all regions received $1.47. The return for Motor Vehicle Body Repairers was even higher at $1.72 for every dollar spent. Beyond the monetary benefits, employers who hired apprentices saw substantial non-monetary benefit to hiring appren-tices as well.

In order to make the cost-benefit analysis for the study, researchers took into account wages, opportunity costs (which includes wastage and jour-neyperson t ime to correct mistakes among other factors) and disbursements as the costs to hiring apprentices. To


AppRENTICESHIp

determine the benefits, employers were asked to submit their “charge-out” rates for apprentices. In addition, employers who did hire apprentices were asked to complete one survey, while employers who didn’t were asked to complete an-other. Each sur vey asked quest ions relating to the reasoning and benefit of the employers’ hiring practices at-tempt to determine why employers were or were not hiring apprentices. If they were, they were asked what the results of hiring apprentices were. If they did not have an apprenticeship program in place, they were asked what barriers ex-isted to their hiring of apprentices.

Don Strong is Vice President of Opera-tions; Assured Ontario East, and based in Ottawa. He says he isn’t surprised by the results. A renowned industry proponent of apprenticeship, Strong has been recog-

nized for building jobs and growth by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Univer-sities. He has also had an apprenticeship program in place since the mid 1980s.

“We feel that apprentices are making money for us within 90 days,” says

Strong. The study indicates that there are more than a few employers who re-alize a net benefit after relatively short periods of time with their apprentices.

While Strong’s estimate of when ap-prentices become profit earners for him is exceptionally fast, 30 per cent of those employers who hire appren-t ices saw apprentices earning more for them than training costs after two years of apprenticeship, and another 33 per cent saw a net benefit by the end of the first year or earlier.

When Strong calculates how his ap-prentices earn money for him, he doesn’t just look at their ’charge-out’ rate, he also looks at the government subsidies that he receives for hiring them. “I get $11,000 per year, per apprentice, for four years,” says Strong. “You do the math.” Strong typi-cally has four or five apprentices working for him. Right now he has 12, so the math yields some substantial numbers.

And that is just one government in-centive that Strong takes advantage of. According to him, the first 16 weeks of an apprentice’s time are subsidized through a provincial program. While government incentives typically come in the form of tax credits and provincial incentives vary from province to prov-ince, federal incentives are available to every Canadian employer and the ben-efit in taking advantage of whatever is available is undeniable.

Strong feels that provincial incentives in Ontario have been very helpful in im-plementing his apprenticeship program over the years. “In my opinion, Ontario has really stepped up to the plate in the last six to eight years,” says Strong

federal grantsThere is one key federal tax credit that applies to employers. The Apprentice-ship Job Creation Tax Credit is a non-refundable tax credit equal to 10% of the eligible salaries and wages payable to eligible apprentices in respect of employment after May 1, 2006. The maximum credit is $2,000 per year for each eligible apprentice.

Mike Richards works on autobody

at a facility in Ottawa. Apprentices

with a passion for the business tend to develop

skills quickly.

J.S. grenier, autobody apprentice, examines some damage.

in teRms of monetaRy benefits to hiRing

appRentices, the aveRage RetuRn Was

neaRly 50 peR cent.

over the next few pages we’ve gathered information from both federal and provincial sources relating to incentives available when hiring apprentices. apprentices themselves are in many cases eligible to receive financial incentives upon being hired - those incentives will be detailed in a future article

information provided here is not intended to be exhaustive. in some cases, provincial incentives are enhanced to include apprentices of certain backgrounds or disabilities. please seek this information out with your provincial government. this guide is intended to be beneficial to those employers training apprentices in the Red seal trades relating to repair and refinish of motor vehicles

finally, for details on how to claim specific credits, please visit the individual government’s website.


AppRENTICESHIp

when asked about provincial subsidies. “If you walk through the average body shop today, the majority of the techs are in their mid 50s, so it’s clear that some-thing needed to be done.”

The study identified benefits beyond money to the hiring of apprentices rather than what Strong calls “re-treads”; those journeypersons who move from shop to shop without typically staying in one place for very long. Ironically, the qual-itative benefit that most employers of apprentices can agree that they see is the benefit to the journeypersons who su-pervise the incoming apprentices – over

80 per cent of the employers surveyed said that that’d seen such a benefit to their journeypersons.

“Initially our journeypersons like the idea but they don’t think that it will work,” says Strong. “Young people change, they come through and there are different cultures. The older people aren’t used to dealing with the newer generation.”

“Once they’ve adjusted though, most see the benefit to having apprentices working with and under them. There are benefits.”

Over 60 per cent of employers con-s i d e re d a j ou r ne y p e rs on t h at w a s “homegrown” to be more productive

than an externally hired journeyperson. Employers also estimated these internally trained journeypeople to be 29 per cent more productive than those hired exter-nally. But the most significant qualitative benefit to employing a journeyperson who they trained was that they simply fit into their company culture better.

“The person is just a better fit in with the organization,” says Emily Arrow-smith. “And there were other benefits. They are better at avoiding spill short-ages, they have better health and safety performance, they have better relation-ships with customers and they made fewer mistakes in addition to having better overall productivity.”

Each employer still needs to decide if developing an apprenticeship program at their business is right for them, but many employers across the country and of var-ious sizes have found that there are real and tangible benefits to the hiring of ap-prentices both financially and otherwise.

For more information on the CAF study, visit caf-fca.org. CRM

provincial grantsmaritime provincesNewfoundland offers a wage subsidy that provides funding to employers to help offset salary costs of hiring appren-tices. To be eligible, employ-ers must be in the private sector and in ‘good standing’.The wage subsidy offers up to $14 per hour to help offset the cost of hiring apprentices.The other maritime prov-

inces do not offer incentives directly to employers for apprenticeship training.

QuebecThe government of Quebec provides employers with a credit for on-the-job training. This is eligible to all taxpay-ers who engage a trainee or apprentice in eligible training. The eligibility conditions vary depending on the training

that is being provided.The tax credit (for unincor-

porated taxpayers) is 15 per cent of the eligible expenses and the weekly maximum for such expenses is $600 or $750 depending on the type of training. The maximum number of hours of training supervision varies from 10 to 20 hours per week for a trainee or a group of trainees.The tax credit is increased to

20 per cent and the maxi-mums to $750 and $1,050 in respect of expenditures incurred to hire certain immi-grant or handicapped trainees. In addition, the number of supervisory hours is doubled.

ontarioEmployers in Ontario have a couple of incen-tives available to them.The largest such incen-

Apprentice A.J. Quarrington peers into a wheel well.

Apprentice Brandon Robinson started in the detail department. It’s a good way for a young person to learn attention to detail and thoroughness.


AppRENTICESHIp

tive is the Apprenticeship Training Tax Credit (ATTC). This credit is on salaries and wages paid to eligible apprentices. According to a government spokesper-son, “Enhancements to the ATTC in 2009 made it the most generous tax credit in Canada encouraging em-ployers to hire apprentices.”The spokesperson de-scribes the credit as follows:For eligible expenditures incurred after March 26, 2009, the eligible percent-age is increased (35 per cent to 45 per cent) and the maximum credit for each apprentice is $10,000 per year to a maximum of $40,000 over the first 48-month period of the qualifying apprenticeship.

In addition to the ATTC, employers are eligible to receive a $1,000 bonus for each apprentice who is certified while under their employment.

manitobaThere are three significant tax credits available to

employers in Manitoba. Employers who hire early-level apprentices are able to claim ten per cent of wages paid to apprentices who are levels one and two, to a maximum of $2,000 per year per apprentice. The advanced-level incentive is similar for levels three, four and five but allows only five per cent of wages paid to maximum of $2,500 per year per apprentice.The third incentive provides five per cent of wages per 12 months of permanent, full-time employment paid to journeypersons who recently graduated from an apprenticeship program. This credit is available to a maximum of $2,500.

saskatchewanWhile there is a robust slate of tax credits avail-able to apprentices in Saskatchewan, there are no provincial incentives in place for employers.

albertaThere are no provincial

tax-benefits relating to apprenticeship for employ-ers located in Alberta.

british columbiaBritish Columbia’s comple-tion training tax credit applies when apprentices complete level three or

higher of their training. For the completion of level three, employers can receive 15 per cent of eligible wages to a maximum of $2,500. For completion of level four or higher, employers can re-ceive 15 per cent of wages to a maximum of $3,000.

0 2 4 6 8

Benefits of Employing a “Homegrown” Journeyperson

Better fit with the organization 8.3

Avoids risk of skill shortages 8.1

Potential for career advancement in company 8.0

Better health and safety performance 8.0

Greater overall productivity 7.9

Better relations with customers 7.8

Fewer mistakes 7.7

No bene�t Signi�cantbene�t

Source: Apprenticeship Survey (A11, n=589-602)

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WELDINg

becoming the only collision network in Ontario to have all of their technicians I-CAR Welding certified.

“Welding is a critical component for a majority of repairs conducted in our facili-ties and it is imperative that our technicians have the proper training and skill set nec-essary to complete each repair properly,” said Marty Reddick, President of Supreme Collision. “When it comes to safety and quality, expense is never an issue for us.”

I-CAR Canada organized the class and brought in instructors from Manitoba, where all technicians performing structural repairs are required to be I-CAR Welding certified. “Dean Saffie and Dave Brooker, who are doing the training, may be among the worlds best at this,” said Andrew Shep-herd, I-CAR Canada Director. “They are qualified to give the training, to administer the exam, and to conduct the destructive testing used to pass or fail the candidate. They are also great at making the techni-cians feel relaxed and confident.”

Chris Reddick, Vice President of Op-erations for Supreme was pleased with the level of commitment and enthusiasm shown by the technicians. Rajendr Sukhu, an apprentice structural technician at the Bolton facility, was really impressed.

“This was great. I stayed on Friday evening to practice, and then learned an incredible amount on Saturday,” said Sukhu. “Welding quality is important – you need to perform under pressure. I was really pleased to pass.”

David Friars, Production Manager for Supreme and part of Supreme’s “process team” was instrumental in organizing the welding course and is currently involved with the Lean process change at Supreme’s Aurora location.

“I think it is important for the staff to know that the organization they work for is always willing to invest in their training and future,” said Friars.

“This welding course is another example of our commitment to advanced training as an organization and will help us to achieve our mandate that all people within our organization become I-Car Platinum certified,” said Chris Reddick. CRM

Supreme Collision Centre, with four collision facilities in the Toronto area, is a multi-store operator dedicated to process excellence, training and lead-

ership. Although its 50-year anniversary approaches, Supreme embraces tech-nology and modernization in every aspect of the business.

The most recent example was at Supreme’s new training centre in Bolton, Ontario, where they hosted the first I-CAR welding certification class since AIA Canada took over the program in 2010. Seven techni-cians and two senior staff from the firm spent an entire day going through MIG Welding theory and practice, followed by a rigorous test. This resulted in Supreme

Left: When it comes to welding, the classroom will only take you so far. sooner or later, you’ve got to get in and weld.

Bottom left: i-Car welding training at supreme. From left: Mike Caicedo, William Manjarrez, sindhu Mahendrarasa, george rauch, tony sukhu, Jamie smith, abdul zaman and Chris reddick.

Bottom left, inset photo: david Friars of supreme Collision Centres.

supreme collision embraces I-car Welding certification.

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computspot 900fusionAMH Canada calls the ComputSpot 900Fusion the ideal answer for how to weld today’s high strength dual phase and boron steels. The system offers up to 630 daN (1,386lbf) of tip pressure and 14,000 amps of welding current. The CompuSpot 900Fusion eliminates guess work with automatic recognition of both sheet thickness and material type, such as HSS, uHSS, Boron, etc. The setting of weld power, weld time and tip pres-sure is also automatic. The CompuSpot 900 Fusion measures the thickness of the metal and its electrical resistance to determine its properties and surface coating. Based upon the measurements, the unit automatically ad-justs the settings or suggests a factory specified weld program.

Other features include a uSB port for data transfer and pro-gram updates, weld history storage and liquid cooling all the way to the electrode tips. The unit also features a 7-inch touch screen control panel with high resolution colour display. EMF shielded cables are standard on this unit. A complete single side welding and dent pulling package is included.

A number of accessories are available, including various offset arms, straight arms and the new liquid cooled g Clamp.

> www.amh.ca

car-o-liner

ctR12000Car-O-Liner says the CTR12000 is designed to simplify vehicle collision repair, as the high power, medium frequency inverter op-eration of the unit is ideal for today’s newer materials, including high, ultra-high and laminated steels. Features include automatic recognition of total material thickness via pulse-Sonar-System, automatic recognition of material type via Virtual generator, an advanced quality control system that monitors and adjusts the welder to guarantee the total energy input and automatically es-tablished required settings to ensure the proper weld nugget.

The CTR12000 provides welding current up to 12,000 Amps. The entire unit is liquid-cooled, from the power module to the caps. The CTR12000 also features a uSB port for convenient up-grading, and Car-O-Liner can provide welding data documentation through the use of its optional WinSpot QS-Software.

Car-O-Liner’s Complete Set Spotter/Dent Fixer is available as an option for the CTR12000 and includes a multi-function spot welding gun for dent repairs, pulling, push-spotting and shrinking. The set comes with a pulling hammer, workpiece cable with connector, ground cable, ac-cessories box and delivery plate.

> www.car-o-liner.com

celette

syneRgic migThe Synergic Mig from Celette uses a three-phase power source from 230 to 400V. In addition to Mig welds, the unit also includes a spot welding function. Celette recommends it for welding and brazing of galvanized sheet metal, high strength steels and aluminum.

The machine is equipped with two aluminum rollers to ease the progress of the wire and it can be used with flux cored wire.

The Synergic Mig features seven adjustment positions. It weighs 53.5 kilograms and measure 515 cm by 820 cm by 660 cm.

Celette says the synergic program is easily updated, thanks to a processor installed in the control circuit. Two different types of torch may be fitted, the Standard and the push-pull 2003.

The Synergic Mig features two by six adjustment positions. It weighs 167 lbs., and measure 21-inches by 36-inches by 31-inches.

The control circuit is fully programmable, and the unit performs impedance calculation according to the different type of materials being worked on, for a maximized and optimal welding process.

> www.celette.com

Welding has been around since ancient times, but it’s certainly come a long way. There’s no going back to the days of the blacksmith when you could weld with nothing but heat, anvil and hammer. Not that we’d want to. Today’s systems aren’t just advanced, they’re smart. They often know what material you’re working with and what to do about it. On these pages we’ve gathered together some of the latest and greatest systems on the market today. As always, please research any purchases thoroughly. All information comes from the manufacturer, and inclusion in this section does not constitute an endorsement from Collision Repair magazine or its staff.

WeldingToday’s systems offer power and sensitivity.

pRODuCTS


The i5 from pro Spot is a significant upgrade to the company’s i4 unit. The i5 gathers much of its pre-cision from an intelligent operating system that au-tomat i ca l l y ad jus ts i t s settings to pertain to the thickness of metal being welded. The welds remain very consistent from 2 to 5 layers, as well as when using boron steel. The i5 also features a double-acting spot welding gun, an exclusive feature that allows for welding over contours with the click of a button. Another feature offered on the i5 is the spot gun that boasts a high squeeze-pressure of more than 1,000 lbs.

Standard on the i5 are three extension arms: the 508mm u-arm, the wheel house arm and the c-arm. Single-sided welding adaptor is included, and offers attachments for carbon shrinking, stitch, washer, nail, bolt and nut and moulding clip rivet welding, as well as a spot hammer and pro pull for dent pulling.

The i5 offers uSB input and a high-resolution touch screen to nav-igate the 4,000 OEM repair screens. It weighs in at 314 pounds.

> www.prospot.com

pro spot

i5victor technologies

theRmal aRc fabRicatoRVictor Technologies says the new Thermal Arc 3-in-1 welding system is game-changing. The system provides MIg, Stick and TIg capabilities from one integrated machine. The Thermal Arc 3-in-1’s portability allows for easy switches between the three different settings, eliminating the time spent switching between machines.

There are three models available under the 3-in-1 name. The Fabricator 181i is the smallest, but by no means weak. From 230 Volts input it manages to exert from 10 to 180 amps of output power. The Fabricator 252i offers high output, high duty cycles for light industrial welding applications. The newest addition to the 3-in-1 team is the Fabricator 211i. The 211i is the most ver-satile of the trio and can accomodate industrial size 33 and 44 lb 12-inch spools. The Fabricator 211i’s maximum output is 210

Amps for 115 and 208/230 VAC input power in virtually any welding equipment.

The Fabricator series also features digital metres showing voltage, amperage and preview and hold capability, overload protection and intelligent fan control that cools components and reduces airborne contaminants pulled through the power source.

> www.victortechnologies.com

At Assured Automotive, we deliver on our promise to provide each policy holder with a quality collision repair. We fully understand that a positive repair experience with us, leads to a repeat customer for our Insurance and Dealer Partners.

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Those who want to succeed must keep an eye on the future. For mem-bers of Quebec’s recycling association ARpAC, the future is today. That was the central theme of the association’s annual meeting, held at the Delta Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Que.

The conference started with the traditional round of golf at the Sherbrooke golf Club and was followed by a casual dinner. The real meat of the annual meeting began with the next day’s activities, starting with the annual general meeting, reserved for ARpAC members only. This was followed by a presentation by patrice Vachon of Fasken Martineau on business transfers.

ARpAC members again met after lunch for an interactive ques-tion session. Michel gou then gave a presentation on the proper handling of airbags, followed by Jean-guy Trottier, who spoke on AuTO prevention, a little-known resource dedicated to helping prevent accidents in the automotive services industry. The first full day of the meeting ended with cocktails and dinner at the host hotel, followed by the Alter Ego show and dance.

The Saturday session began with an address by Jacques Demers, senator and former coach of the Quebec Nordiques, Montreal Cana-diens and other NHL teams. Demers’ keynote address was followed by a whirlwind opportunity to visit the trade show. After lunch, at-tendees were treated to a discussion on the differences in perception and reality when it comes to due diligence, presented by Maryline Rosan, lawyer and workplace health and safety counsellor.

The last speaker of the day was wheelchair racer Chantal peticlerc. peticlerc lost the use of her legs at the age of 13. Her high school gym teacher, gaston Jacques, encouraged her to try swimming to de-

The future is today at the ARPAC 2012 Convention

neW boaRd elected at aRaac meeting

simon matte, executive

Director of arPac.

contentsrecycling news..........43-47Cash for Clunkersreturns, regional meetings and much more.

recycling column...........48Greatest asset, by David Gold

By Mike davey

Continued on page 44.

Continued on page 45.

The most recent meeting of the Automotive Recyclers Association of Atlantic Canada celebrated both successful conclusions and new beginnings. The meeting took place in Truro, Nova Scotia.

Harvey Livingstone of Island Auto Supply and Sheldon Blenkhorn, Blenkhorn Auto Recyclers are stepping down after 40 years of service to the Automotive Recyclers Association of Atlantic Canada. Both men have served at various times throughout the organization’s history, back to the days when it was known as the Maritime Auto Wreckers Association.

The meeting also provided the ARAAC membership with a chance to elect a new board. The new board is comprised of:

president: Brian green, green’s Auto Recyclers•Vice president: Dalbert Livingstone, Island Auto Supply•Secretary: Larry Drouin, One Stop Auto•Treasurer: Dana poehl, poehl’s Auto Recyclers•Director: glen Vatcher, Vatcher’s used Auto parts•Director: Andrew MacDonald, Maritime Auto Salvage•Director: Ron Bastarache, Bastarache Auto Salvage•past president: Derek Covey, Covey’s Auto Recyclers•

guest speaker Chantal peticlerc displays one of her 14 gold medals. peticlerc lost the use of her legs at the age of 13.


velop herself physcially. She took part in her first wheelchair race at 18, coming in dead last. She perservered, however, eventually competing in the paralympic games on nu-merous occasions. To date, she has won 14

gold medals at the paralympics, with a total medal count of 21.

Two auctions were held to support the ARpAC Foundation, an automobile auction and a silent auction. The Saturday session

concluded with the ARpAC banquet, and en-tertainment by comedian patrick groulx.

The final day of the meeting included a tour of Certi-Auto. For more information on ARpAC, please visit arpac.org.


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You know Green Recycled Parts are greatfor the environment, but you might notrealize they’re actually a great way to buildcustomer loyalty and goodwill... and morerepeat business.

When you offer them an alternative that willsave them about half the price of new OEM

parts without sacrificing performance orquality, you’ll be showing that you really careabout what’s important to them when theyshop for car repairs.

So next time, offer them the choice of GreenRecycled Parts... It might just be the start ofa beautiful lifelong relationship.

You might be surprised at the reaction you get when you offer customers

ARPAC 2012 Convention ... continued from page 43.

gM Canada has once again selected the Automotive Recyclers of Canada to manage the vehicles generated by the company’s Cash for Clunkers dealer incentive program.

The latest iteration of the program began on October 2, 2012 and runs through January 2, 2013. under gM Canada’s Cash for Clunkers program, Canadians can turn in their older vehi-cles for a new gM vehicle and receive a cash incentive. Retired vehicles will be processed by ARC members accred-ited to the Canadian Auto Recyclers Environmental Code. This network of 350 certified recyclers is the largest in the nation.

ARC to manage GM’s Cash for Clunkers

george Dingman, owner and operator of Caughill Auto Wreckers, passed away peaceful ly on Wednesday, October 31 at the greater Niagara general Hospital on his 69th birthday. Our sincere condo-lences go out to Wally Dingman, Chairman of the OARA and ARC Boards, and to the entire Dingman family and staff at Caug-hill Auto Wreckers.

He will be missed by his loving wife of 46 years, Mary, and his cherished sons Wally (Ingrid) and Brad (Denise). Devoted grand-father of Amanda, Jessica, Adam, Zach, Bridgette and Josh. He will be missed by his sister gloria (Jim) Baker and brother Cecil (Debbie) Dingman. Also survived by his many nieces, nephews and friends. He was predeceased by his parents george and Francis.

geoRge dingman: 1943 - 2012


Incoming ARAAC president Brian green recognized both Directors for their long service and dedication.

“ARAAC is in a great place because of the visionary work of gen-tlemen like Harvey and Sheldon. We are growing the association again on the shoulders of these founding members,” said green.

Both men quipped that their wives probably did more than they did to support their involvement, and both are pleased that the younger generation are stepping up and getting involved.

Highlights from the ARAAC meeting included a presentation by Diane Châine of progi group and Jacques Lavigne of Intact Insur-ance on products that are coming to Atlantic Canada: progipix and progiparts and discussion focused on the possible return of Retire Your Ride, not as a federally mandated scrappage initiative, but as a program run by and for auto recyclers.

ARAAC would like to thank its meeting sponsors:

AIM Atlantic•Monidex Distribution International•LKQ Cross Canada•Car-part•Hollander•

Rosco Crushing & Recycling•Andrew MacDonald, Director - Nova Scotia•

The next ARAAC meeting will take place May 24, 2013 in St. John’s, Newfoundland as part of the Canadian Collision Industry Forum weekend.

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Harvey Livingstone of Island auto supply and sheldon Blenkhorn, Blenkhorn auto recyclers have stepped down from the araac board after 40 years of working with the association.

ARAAC meeting ... continued from page 43.


Customers at Carcone’s Auto Recycling have quickly warmed to the concept of steel rims, a new product line designed to help increase the longevity of drivers’ wheels through the winter months.

Co-wner Michael Carcone says the reaction from customers to the new steel rims has been positive. These rims will help drivers get through the winter months without the corrosion that all too often eats

away at aluminum rims.“The steel rims are an economical

alternative,” says Carcone, whose facility began offering the product line in late September. “Many drivers simply remove their rims in the winter months in order to prevent corrosion. Trading the aesthetics of their vehicle for safety is quickly becoming the new normal amongst drivers today. The look of a wheel makes the car.”

Carcone says customers have taken to the concept of having a sepa-rate set of winter rims, and have been

placing orders since they were first offered at the shop in September. Carcone is optimistic for the product’s future as winter approaches

and more drivers begin to make the necessary adjustments to winter driving. With over 3000 new steel rims in stock, Carcone’s is looking forward to the opportunity to help drivers get through the wintery road conditions. For more information on Carcone’s Auto Recycling, please visit carcone.com.

carcOne’s nOW OFFers sTeeL rIms FOr WInTer DrIVIng

michael carcone shows one of the new steel rims that

carcone’s auto recycling now

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Impact Auto Auctions has announced that its new Impact Toronto facility opened and began accepting assignments on October 9, with auction sales beginning in mid-November. The new facility is located at 535 Wentworth Street in Oshawa, Ont. The new Impact Toronto location features 37 acres of vehicle storage as well as a 12,000 sq. ft. office, auction, and inspection building. The facility will increase Impact’s gTA storage capacity by 60 per cent, housing 5,500 vehicles. For further details, please visit impactauto.ca.

Impact Auto Auction opens new Toronto-area facility

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Members of the Alberta Automotive Re-cyclers & Dismantlers Association excel at meeting the highest standards. AARDA is a member of the Automotive Recyclers of Canada, an umbrella organization that represents recycling professionals at the national and international levels. The ARC Board adopted the Canadian Auto Recyclers’ Environmental Code as a re-quirement of membership at its annual meeting in Banff in April 2011. The code is more commonly known as CAREC. It was determined that a minimum score of 75 per cent would be required for membership in the national and provincial associations.

Aside from congratulating the AARDA yards for their determination and hard work to get this result, there is one person in particular who deserves recognition for this accom-plishment, and that is the CAREC auditor, Colin McKean. McKean is one of four auditors nationally, and he personally performed all of the yard inspections in Alberta.

CAREC auditors don’t just write down scores and call it a day. When a yard is not performing adequately, the auditor will often provide advice on what the recycler must do to improve. With

the advice that M c K e a n h a d given these yards at the time of their initial visit, they were able to suc-ceed in their score on the second visit. With more than 55 yards to cover, and some more than once, that represented a heavy work and travel commit-ment by McKean. AARDA would like to thank McKean for his hard work i n h e l p i n g t o ensure the asso-ciation’s members are on track for a successful and environmentally friendly future. For more information on AARDA, visit aarda.com. For more information on CAREC, visit carec.ca.


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colin mckean, carec auditor, and Jack cohen, Owner of Jasper auto Parts during a carec audit at cohen’s business.


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Auto recyclers are a tight-knit community – we need to capitalize on this notion to survive.

For this month’s column I have decided to take a step back and reflect on one of the many reasons why I feel this industry is so great. It’s not the typical reasons that come to mind, such as the return on in-

vestment, but rather something so much more rewarding: friendships.

Progressive auto recyclers have recognized that there is more to gain by working together as op-posed to simply viewing ourselves as staunch competitors. From our associations to our smaller networking groups, we have learned that the syner-gies we can create by ‘holding hands’ yields a much better future for our collective businesses. It is clear our close bond helps to increase business. Since any individual location might not have the part that the customer is looking for, it is imperative that we be-come each others’ best customers.

In many ways, the better an auto recycler member does in their own market, the better opportunity the rest of us have at filling their order with our

parts. For example, one recycler sells a part that is originally bought from another recycler, increasing both of their profits. We are able to do this effec-tively because we have agreed on basic procedures and standards. Our member auto recyclers know what they can expect from each other and we are constantly communicating to enhance these princi-ples. To further compliment the sentiment that we are better off working together than independently, auto recyclers have established transportation models to move parts efficiently amongst our fa-cilities. More products available for more sales is the result. In recent years I have heard over and over how unique the auto recycling industry is, es-pecially as it relates to the close bond that many of us share. Collision repairers might be surprised to hear that more than actually trading parts with each other, we share critical information and knowledge in a group setting. Essentially we take the “open book” position where many seemingly confidential numbers and metrics are discussed

By David Gold

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to ensure that participating recyclers are getting useful information that can help their business stay profitable. Increasingly the auto recycling industry is seeing what used to be strong recyclers either shrinking, being consumed by a consolidator, or, at worst, closing. When recyclers with deep roots in the community simply cease doing business we all lose - this is not good for anyone. While there are many factors that contribute to this growing trend

it is clear that investing and networking with your peers is fundamental to having the opportunity to be profitable. I can honestly say that without the close friendships that I have fostered throughout the years, our company would not be near the same strength that it is today. I have leaned on these friends for help and they have all been gra-cious enough to share their wealth of knowledge for our company’s benefit. At the same time, I am always happy to assist in any way that I can - which happens all the time. The auto recycling and colli-sion repair industries can build on this notion that

working more closely is fundamental to our collec-tive success. If we can all sit down at a roundtable and work on some solutions to the more common barriers to trade we could develop solutions. In the daunting and ever-changing business climate in which we operate today, it is comforting to know that when faced with a dilemma, none of us have to reinvent the wheel. There are systems in place at many similar operations that have solutions to help

us - we just need to harness each other’s power. I would like to take this moment to thank all of my friends in the industry who have helped me on my journey. Together we will foster an environment where we will continue to improve and be better able to serve your industry. CRM

david gold is the co-owner of standard auto Wreckers, an auto recycling facility with locations in toronto, Ontario and niagara Falls, new York. he can be reached by telephone at 416-286-8686 or via e-mail at [email protected].

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CANADIAN LOCATIONS

NORTH AMERICAN HEADQUARTERS

Gilles DaigleAuto Traction Inc.301 Route 132 St. Vallier, Quebec G0R 4J0Phone: 418-884-3273Fax: [email protected]

Matthews Collision Equipment Ltd.105 Walden Square S.E.Calgary, AlbertaT2X 0R9Phone: 403-560-6925Fax: [email protected]

Car-O-Liner Company29900 Anthony DriveWixom, MI 48393Phone: 1-800-521-9696Fax: [email protected]

FIgHTNIgHT

pOINT BLANK WITH pIERCEY

Time to drop the gloves.

People ask me what I do for a living. I tell them I’m a profes-sional fighter. Sometime I fight with the customer, sometimes I fight with the person who ac-

tually pays the bill at the other end and sometimes I fight with parts people who can’t get it right.

We have to pay our bills in 30 days, but we don’t get paid for 60 days or more, and we sometimes end up fighting for our pay cheques even then.

The thing about fighting is that no matter how good you are, sooner or later someone is going to sucker punch you. Just keeping your guard up all the time is exhausting.

I still cannot believe that an industry as big as collision repair can be as manipulated as we are. We’re part of a system that dic-tates how we must do things, but doesn’t let us write estimates the way they should be, to allow us to charge what we need to make sure our businesses are profitable and allow us to pay our people what they’re worth.

Imagine a program that will not total your estimate. I put a blend in, and it says it allows point nine on a quarter panel, and then kicks out the real time that it takes to do it right! Then we upload it, the person at the end looks it over and sends it back because we made a manual entry. It’s fine for them, but it causes us hours of wasted time going back and forth.

It’s stuff like this that sometimes makes me think we should go back to pen and paper. It was easier in some ways and didn’t cost as much. Just send someone who knows what they’re doing to come and take a look at the vehicle, okay the repairs and we can get on with repairing the car.

I don’t know about you guys and gals, but I have had to hire more office staff and deal

with more files and longer cycle times, just so we could do things the way some of our “partners” insist they want it done, rather than just wanting it done right.

This industry is a great one in a lot of ways, as long as you do what you’re told. But even then it doesn’t always work out well for you. You might have to go through a ton of crap just to get parts, your cycle time goes up, and the person on the other end of the phone says, “Hey, you’re over on your rental car and we’re not paying for it.” When does it stop?

It stops when we say NO. Enough is enough. Don’t they get it? As an industry, we’re often making very little money, or in some cases, none! Paint materials are

through the roof. We’ve had four increases in paint prices in the last two years, and no increase from our insurance partners to compensate.

It’s not just the price of paint that’s crunching us. Cars take longer to repair than they used to and sometimes we need parts that aren’t always available. We need to train the technicians and buy more equip-ment as the cars change. The automakers are going to keep innovating and we’ve got to keep up. But that costs money. Dipping into your profits isn’t an option. I’m sure you like the business, but are you in it for fun? Doctors probably like treating patients, but I bet they’ll demand rate increases when their costs go up. Cars and the people who ser-vice and repair them are vital parts of the economy. If we dry up and disappear, what else will disappear with us? CRM

IF We DrY uP anD DIsaPPear, What ELsE WiLL?

By Sam Piercey

CANADIAN LOCATIONSGilles DaigleAuto Traction Inc.301 Route 132 St. Vallier, Quebec G0R 4J0Phone: 418-884-3273Fax: [email protected]

Matthews Collision Equipment Ltd.105 Walden Square S.E.Calgary, Alberta T2X 0R9Phone: 403-560-6925Fax: [email protected]

R.S. FinishingSystems, Inc.145 Industrial Parkway South, Unit #2Aurora, Ontario L4G 3V5Phone: 905-881-9768Fax: 905-727-7555www.rsfinishing.com

NORTH AMERICAN HEADQUARTERSCar-O-Liner Company29900 Anthony DriveWixom, MI 48393Phone: 1-800-521-9696Fax: [email protected]

sam Piercey is the co-owner of Budds' Collision services in Oakville, On. sam is a long-time Coyote member and sits on many boards and committees. he can be con-tacted at [email protected].

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Collision Repair 11#6

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