Chasidy Rae Sisk

Published in Autobody News Longevity sets Runge’s Auto & Tire apart from the competition in Chicago, Ill. The 18,000 square foot facility has been home to automotive repair shops since 1920, before being purchased by the Runge family in 1963. The reputation the shop has built in the community over the past century has driven the success of the business, according to body shop manager Joe Sobczac, who began working for Ralph Runge shortly after the family acquired ownership. “Boasting a longevity of 100 years means that we serve third and fourth generation customers, and we’ve been able to retain that business because our focus is on treating people the…

Published in Autobody News Investing in tools that offer both quality and value is absolutely imperative for John Plevris, owner of Copley Auto & Collision in Copley, Ohio. While running a full-service mechanical and collision repair facility that repairs nearly 300 vehicles on a monthly basis, Plevris cannot afford delays caused by tool difficulties or failures. Since 2000, the shop has utilized AIRCAT Pneumatic Tools by Florida Pneumatic because “There seems to be an evolution in ergonomics that makes work easier.” By allowing the shop’s 13 employees to work more efficiently, AIRCAT Tools provide Copley Auto & Collision with an opportunity to deliver even more of the high-quality repairs, which…

Published in Autobody News Founded in 1932, Modern Auto Body in South Orange, NJ, boasts a reputation for trustworthiness, superior quality, and customer service, but as word of the shop’s excellence spread to neighboring communities, owner Jack Haberman identified the need to expand his space to meet his client’s demands just three years after taking ownership of the business. In 2016, Modern Auto Body relocated to its current location, offering 14,000 square feet of production space. Knowing that he also needed to equip the shop with tools designed for high-volume operations, Haberman turned to Accudraft for all his paint hardware needs. In addition to installing two Accudraft XL downdraft paint…

Published in Autobody News “Today’s vehicles are highly engineered and not forgiving of imprecise repair processes. When it comes to crashworthiness after the repair, millimeters and milliseconds matter!” according to Scott Peirce, Strategic Account Manager at 3M during ASA’s August 19th Webinar Wednesday. “The responsibility to restore crashworthiness lies with you, your business and your technicians. Many products and processes combine together to restore the initial condition of the vehicle so it’s capable of handling a subsequent collision.” Peirce explained that corrosion protection is vital to restoring a vehicle’s crashworthiness. Corrosion can impact airbag timing, and fatalities are more likely due to rust. He stated, “If you can effectively access…

Written for the Collision Repair Education Foundation, Printed in Autobody News Hoffman Estates, Ill. (September 16, 2020) – Justin Furman, an estimator at Bill Brown Ford on the fast track to becoming a manager, largely credits his career successes to the support he received from the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) and PPG. “The scholarships I received from the industry enabled me to graduate college with a bachelor’s degree in Technology Management, virtually debt-free,” Furman said. “Unburdened by worries about college debt, I was able to focus my attention on my passion for the automotive industry,” Furman added. “Additionally, my relationship with CREF provided a solid foundation to show the…

Published in Autobody News David Ellis, owner of CARSTAR Ellis Brothers Collision in Milford, MI, joined the CARSTAR franchise network in 2019 “in order to keep up with the changes in the industry, to up my game, and to have access to the tools, technology, training, analytics, metrics and nationwide warranty that will set me up for success in this rapidly changing industry.” Although his shop has recently joined the CARSTAR network, Ellis has over two decades of automotive industry experience. In 1999, he founded Complete Automotive Restoration Inc. (CAR Inc.) and “grew the business to one of the largest mobile paint companies in the state. That growth required us…

Published on AskPatty.com AskPatty.com, Inc. proudly announces and welcomes Dori Eppstein as its new General Manager of Sales and Marketing. “I’m very excited to join AskPatty.com,” she says. “I have extensive experience in a multitude of areas, from developing and delivering curriculum and training to top-level executive leadership roles. This position is a beautiful combination of my experiences and passions related to training, coaching, marketing, and the automotive industry.” She gained a solid reputation for being a leader who could turn a department or entire organization around. With a master’s degree from San Diego State University and more than a decade of teaching Psychology at the college level, she developed…

Published in Autobody News Mike Anderson of Collision Advice recently explained how to turn eight common collision shop owner mistakes into life lessons to benefit their businesses. “When you look at mistakes you’ve made, you have to realize that they aren’t mistakes if you’ve learned from them, and when you learn from them, they become life lessons. I’ve got a lot of life lessons I’d like to share today,” Anderson began. While presenting “Life Lessons of Collision Shop Owners” on Sherwin-Williams’ Ecolean University, Anderson was joined by Mike Lanza, Manager of Business Consulting Services at Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes, as they discussed why shops struggle and how to fix it. Anderson’s…

Printed in Autobody News Shop & Product Showcase Devin Hansen, owner of VersionEX Autobody in Eugene, OR, was raised in Okinawa, Japan and immigrated to the U.S. when he was 15 years old. “I always had a passion for cars because that was a big part of my culture,” he shared. “When I moved to America, I bought a 1996 Nissan in honor of my heritage. I started working on the car in my parents’ driveway, but the cold, rainy weather in Oregon wasn’t ideal, so a friend and I invested in a small, 300 square foot shop space where we could work on cars.” After tinting his own windows,…

Printed in Autobody News Shop & Product Showcase Bob Waldron, owner of Waldron’s Auto Body in Marlboro, MA, was among the first shop owners to join the CARSTAR franchise network in 1989. According to Waldron, “It’s hard to go it alone. CARSTAR does tons of research and development, and while I must be the driving force behind implementation, what they do for shops is huge – I can’t quantify how greatly it has benefitted my business! Joining CARSTAR has given me a wonderful quality of life, and I believe it will someday give me a really good retirement.” Waldron entered the collision repair industry as a vo-tech student in 1975,…

Printed in Autobody News The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) planned its inaugural ARA Summer Road Trip for July 23-25, 2020, with the intention of connecting up-and-coming industry leaders with experienced auto recycling veterans through tours of several ARA member facilities. The Road Trip is an evolution of the association’s FLARES (Future Leaders of Automotive Recyclers Educational Summit), which was established in 2018. The tour was scheduled to begin in Chicago, but unfortunately, in the days leading up to the tour, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued an emergency order requiring two w eeks of self-quarantine for travelers from 15 different states due to COVID-19 concerns. Although ARA was forced to postpone…

Published on AskPatty.com Most people only see scrap metal when a fender is removed from a vehicle, but Christi Schimpke, Founder of CRASH Jewelry, sees something beautiful and worthy of rebirth. After moving her studio into her husband’s auto body shop in Los Angeles, her admiration of the aesthetic appeal of discarded automotive parts led her to imagine a way to re-purpose those materials. Goal in mind, she set out to create unique cuffs, earrings and other accessories from the metal of luxury vehicles. What is CRASH Jewelry? CRASH Jewelry specializes in creating sustainable uni-sex jewelry from the metal of luxury automobiles. My husband’s shop, Beverly Coachcraft, specializes in repairs…

Printed in Autobody News Shop & Product Showcase Crossing state lines between its two locations in Texas and Oklahoma, Auto Body Concepts must comply with each state’s requirements and ensure clients in both markets are pleased with the high-quality repairs the shops perform. According to owner Dan Ott, “The main thing that sets our shop apart from others is our dedication to our customers. We aren’t here for the insurance companies or the tow companies – we are here for our customers, first and foremost. We are a local business, so these are our neighbors, friends and family, and we treat them as such.” In order to guarantee customer satisfaction…

Printed in Autobody News This year’s Collision P.R.E.P.  program commenced on August 6th with “Documenting for Repair Process and Liability, and Building a Bulletproof File,” presented by Mark Olson of VECO Experts. Hosted by the Washington Metropolitan Auto Body Association (WMABA), Collision P.R.E.P. is the educational portion of AASP/NJ’s Virtual 2020 NORTHEAST Automotive Services Show. “There’s a much bigger picture than what you’re probably already doing in your shop,” Olson began. “You’ve got to get it right the first time. You don’t have a second chance to get the right information. As soon as the car enters your shop, you need to start taking pictures of the vehicle and the…

Since 1937, Island Fender has been providing high-quality collision repairs to Honolulu, Hawaii and the surrounding area. Utilizing the latest technology in collision repair, framework, alignment and painting, Island Fender offers superior workmanship and service. According to owner Van Takemoto, the key ingredient to his shop’s success is his involvement with AkzoNobel’s Acoat Selected Performance Group. He shares, “The Acoat Selected Performance Group helped me build my body shop from $50,000 monthly sales to $250,000 and increased our net profit. With the profit generated from the shop, we were able to invest in the real estate instead of paying rent. Over the years, the cash flow from the shop and…

Printed in Autobody News Mill Run Collision Center opened in the quaint borough of Mill Village, PA in 1984, but despite being located in a historic district, the shop owned by Lee DeBrakeleer is anything but dated. Six employees work on an average of 40 vehicles each month in the facility’s two buildings which are outfitted with the industry’s latest and most technologically advanced tools and equipment. Two of the most valuable tools in Mill Run’s arsenal are the Spectrometer and the Matrix Edge™ refinish system, a Valspar Automotive® brand. DeBrakeleer said, “The reasonable cost of the Matrix Edge system, as well as the excellent coverage and ease of application,…

For the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) The mandates for social distancing in response to the COVID-19 outbreak has necessitated that schools around the world close their doors and transition to a virtual learning format. Teachers reacted quickly by creating lesson plans for students to complete remotely; however, without any in-person engagement, many students have forsaken their studies and essentially disappeared from the education system’s radar. This is not true of Alex Pruitt, a senior year student at Mercer County Technical Education Center (MCTEC) in Princeton, W. Va. MCTEC Collision Repair Technology Instructor Daryl Barton first boasted about Pruitt’s dedication to his education and the industry in an online forum:…

Printed in Autobody News On July 20th, AASP/NJ shared preliminary details for its virtual 2020 NORTHEAST Automotive Services Show. Originally scheduled for March 20-22, this year’s event was postponed until August 21-23, but when the association decided to cancel the in-person trade show in June, they announced that they would host a free virtual event instead. “We are really excited about the virtual show,” AASP/NJ President Jerry McNee said. “With the cancellation of the in-person show this year, we looked for a new way to get our exhibitors in direct contact with our attendees so that 2020 wouldn’t be a lost year. It obviously won’t be the same as face-to-face,…

Printed in Autobody News The Tennessee Collision Repairers Association (TCRA) was established in 2007 but has hit a lull in recent years. That’s about to change with the appointment of Josh Kent as the association’s executive director. “I heard from some Tennessee shops that they needed an association, and when I reached out to [TCRA admin coordinator] Georgia Thorson, I volunteered to help out,” Kent said. Kent has served as the executive director of NCACAR and SCACAR since the associations were founded four and two years ago, respectively, until the groups combined to become the Carolinas Collision Association (CCA) earlier this year. CCA and TCRA will continue to operate separately…

Printed in Autobody News As shops focus on providing a safe environment for both customers and employees during the COVID-19 outbreak, AASP/MA has received notice of a variety of collision repair industry related concerns. As a result, AASP/MA Executive Director Lucky Papageorg requested “immediate steps to stop exploitative practices being employed by insurance providers” in a letter to Massachusetts Commissioner of Insurance Gary Anderson, which was copied to Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and Attorney General Maura Healey. “As the ‘first responders’ meeting the needs of the motoring public, the collision repair industry and the customers we serve are subjected to the potentially life-threatening exposure of the pandemic…

Printed in Autobody News Now that the world has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic for a couple months, things are slowly starting to reopen, leading people to talk about the new normal and what life will be like post-corona. Bogi Lateiner, of All Girls Garage, dove into the topic of “Post Corona Customer Care and Communication” during a recent installment of a collaborative series of technical and management classes focused on necessary topics for navigating business operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The series is hosted by the Carquest Technical Institute and Worldpac Training Institute (CTI+WTI.) Charlie Sanville, most commonly known as the Humble Mechanic from YouTube, introduced Lateiner, who began by posing several questions: “How…

Printed in Autobody News The Women’s Industry Network (WIN®) hosted a free webinar May 20 for more than two dozen members, featuring Dave Luehr of Elite Body Shop Solutions. Luehr’s presentation, “WIN’ning SOPs,” dove into the difference between a good and bad SOPs (standard operation procedure), root problem solving, how winning SOPs help build a winning shop culture and how to get the team on board with the new processes. He began by sharing a positive message: “Anyone willing to work hard on the right thing can be an unlimited entrepreneur.” Good processes bring value to the customer and remove unnecessary waste from the system, according to Luehr. They challenge unnecessary waste, solve root problems…

On January 16, the Kukui Corporation hosted a webinar for shop owners entitled “How to Grow Your Money and Use It Along the Way – Just Like Banks,” featuring wealth strategist and owner of Big Life Financial, Derick Van Ness, who addressed a common entrepreneurial dilemma: “Do I invest my money, or keep it available to grow my businesses?” During the webinar, Van Ness explained how to do both by building a personal banking system that allows collision and automotive repair shop owners to use their money to prospect with almost no extra effort. He described “how to create financial certainty to allow business owners to compound profits by coercing…

Printed in Autobody News In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, auto body shops have been forced to step up their vehicle sanitization efforts. Sanitization to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is particularly important in collision repair shops because the disease can live up to several days on certain types of metals, according to the National Institutes of Health, which conducted research in collaboration with the CDC, UCLA and Princeton University. The research found “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detectable in aerosols for up to three hours, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.”…

Printed in Autobody News In addition to the risk COVID-19 poses to people’s individual health, shop owners and personnel should also be aware that the global pandemic poses increased risks for cybercrime. “The increase in cyber risk during COVID-19 is very real. Many cyber criminals were starting to focus on attacking phones and PDAs, which tend to have less cyber protection thus make for easier targets. The exponential growth in use of social apps has provided new rich targets for their devious actions,” said David Willett, underwriting value creation executive at ProSight Specialty Insurance. By the middle of April, cyber-risk specialists had identified more than 70,000 malicious COVID-19 domains, and these cyber…

Printed in Autobody News Collision repair industry associations around the country may take different stances on various matters, but one shared commonality is the intent of improving the businesses of their members. The global pandemic is impacting various communities and even individual businesses in different ways. Several association leaders graciously agreed to discuss some of the challenges they’ve seen, as well as some of the solutions they’ve presented, while helping member shops navigate the current situation to the best of their ability. Addressing the impact COVID-19 has had on shops so far, the consensus appears to be that there is no consensus. Some shops are experiencing significant reductions in workload,…

Printed in Autobody News New York has been one of the areas hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 15,000 deaths from COVID-19. When the governor closed schools March 16, Anthony DeMieri, owner of Frog Hollow Collision in Bethpage, NY, made the business decision to close his shop doors, even though collision repair shops were deemed essential. “It was a health decision,” he said. “I’m in the middle of New York. It’s a war zone, and these guys just don’t get it. They think it’s a joke, but it’s not a joke.” Frog Hollow Collision is located just outside New York City, but the shop’s employees live in Brooklyn and Queens.…

Printed in Autobody News The Auto Body Association of Texas (ABAT) hosted its 5th Annual Texas Auto Body Trade Show at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sept. 20 and 21. Attracting hundreds of collision repair industry professionals from Texas and around the country, the show broke every previous year’s attendance record, with attendees excited to network with peers, engage in invaluable educational seminars, and learn about exhibitors’ latest products and services. ABAT also used the opportunity to publicly announce its decision to merge with the Houston Auto Body Association (HABA) to create a larger united front and better serve the industry at-large. ABAT and HABA have had a close relationship…

Printed in Autobody News Business ownership always has its ups and downs, but the current economic climate has added loops and twists leaving many folks feeling nauseated. Dan Taylor, of Transformers Institute, addressed “Riding the Emotional Roller Coaster as an Owner,” during a recent installment of a collaborative series of technical and management classes focused on necessary topics for navigating business operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The series is hosted by the Carquest Technical Institute and Worldpac Training Institute (CTI+WTI.) “It has been an unbelievable six weeks—we’ve never seen anything like this,” Taylor began, recalling his first roller coaster ride when he was 10 years old. “As we started the ascent, I was pretty relaxed,…

Printed in Autobody News As a result of the economic issues related to COVID-19, many shops are experiencing reduced volume. Industry experts recommend shops take advantage of the downtime by working ON their business, instead of IN their business. Shop Marketing Pros released two videos to provide tips for Search Engine Optimized (SEO) writing and taking great photos. Sharing a template he uses when writing SEO content for clients’ blog posts, Brian Walker, who co-owns Shop Marketing Pros with his wife, Kim, said he’s a “big proponent of teaching the how.” “This is something you can learn to do, instead of having someone else do it for you,” Walker said. “This template is…

Printed in Autobody News As the U.S. strives to prevent the spread of COVID-19, most states have instituted some version of a shelter-in-place order. Many businesses are experiencing a decrease in workload, including collision repair shops and related businesses. While furloughs are happening, experts advise against it, especially in light of aid offered by the U.S. government, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which provides small businesses with forgivable loans to keep employees paid. Most shop owners are doing everything they can to maintain their employees, including pursuing less traditional schedules and duties. Industry leaders agree that looking for the opportunities within the current situation will help collision repair professionals…

Printed in Autobody News CIECA on April 6 hosted a special edition of its monthly CIECAst webinar, “How Our Industry is Addressing Challenges Created by the Coronavirus.” The webinar featured leaders from a variety of segments in the collision repair industry, including Mike Anderson of Collision Advice, Mitchell International’s Debbie Day, Shan McMillon of Cocoa Auto Salvage, Don Porter from United Recyclers Group (URG) and Dan Risley from CCC. The CIECAst webinar scheduled for April 21, “The Importance of OEM Certifications,” featuring CARSTAR’s Connor Smith, has been postponed until August. “CIECA constantly looks for ways to help the collision repair industry approach evolving issues, increase efficiency and meet the needs of its customers,” said Ed Weidmann, CIECA’s executive director. “This broadcast is aimed at addressing the many issues created…

Printed in Autobody News COVID-19 has ravaged the U.S. for more than a month, but even as social distancing separates us physically, people around the world have come together to support and aid one another. In the collision repair industry, equipment suppliers, paint manufacturers and industry associations have been hosting free informative webinars related to the ongoing crisis and updates on legislation, as well as other important topics. Also, as essential personnel, collision repairers around the country have been hard at work, repairing ambulances, police vehicles and the vehicles of medical and other essential personnel. Greg Murphy of Murphy’s Auto Body Frame in Crossett, AR, reported his shop was repairing three police vehicles.…

Printed in Autobody News Tractable, an A.I. photo estimating company, announced Feb. 27 it raised $25 million to expand into new markets and enhance research and development initiatives on its software.  The investment was led by Georgian Partners, with participation from existing investors, including Insight Partners and Ignition Partners.  Combined with the $30 million previously raised, Tractable has raised $55 million. Tractable currently operates in nine countries but plans to use the recently secured funds to expand into new markets.   It also plans to use the funds to invest in research and development to ensure its software is the best available A.I. on the market.  “Our mission at Tractable is to bring A.I. breakthroughs…

Printed in Autobody News The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) reiterated it is offering free retirement savings plan consultations to collision repair industry businesses in partnership with Virginia Asset Management, during a Feb. 26 webinar entitled “SCRS 401(k) Plan: Everything You Need to Know about Switching from an Existing Plan.” “SCRS is really excited to share information about our Multiple Employer Retirement Plan (MEP), a customized 401(k) plan solution created specifically for SCRS members,” said SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg. “Our goal is to increase retirement savings for industry professionals.” Schulenburg encouraged collision repair industry businesses to take advantage of this opportunity.  “There’s no fee for the one-on-one conversations with SCRS’s financial advisors to evaluate…

Printed in Autobody News National labor and employment law firm FordHarrison recently hosted “Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update—Is Your Business Ready for the Employment and Employee Benefit Changes?” The March 20 webinar offered useful information regarding main issues employers are facing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as best practices to help those businesses mitigate the associated employment law risks, said Aaron Schulenburg, SCRS executive director. During the webinar, three partners from FordHarrison informed attendees how to prepare their businesses to deal with the worldwide pandemic, and they discussed the employment laws impacted by the virus, as well as the impact of the Family First Coronavirus Response Act on employers. The webinar presenters included Sami Assad from the Hartford,…

Printed in Autobody News The Automotive Training Institute (ATI) on March 24 interrupted its regularly scheduled webinar series to share valuable information related to the current pandemic, “Top 5 Ways to Thrive During the COVID-19 Outbreak.” ATI Senior Instructor and Coach Chris Brower discussed how to protect staff and customers, make customers feel safe, control expenses, maintain cash flow and “thrive in this challenging time with the right mindset.” The webinar originally scheduled was “The Secret Tech.” Brower opened the webinar with some encouragement for attendees. “The coronavirus has impacted all of your businesses, the market, the industry, but during times like this, you have to realize that we will come out of it,”…

Printed in Autobody News ASA hosted a briefing March 31 to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on the automotive repair industry and the $2 trillion stimulus package, signed into law March 27. Hosts Ray Fisher, president/executive director of ASA, and Bob Redding, ASA’s Washington, D. C., representative, welcomed a special guest: U. S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-GA, a senior member of the U. S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which has jurisdiction over many automotive and collision repair industries. “We’re all facing challenges related to (the coronavirus) as individuals, as families, as businesses,” Fisher said. “COVID-19 has already begun affecting the automotive and collision repair industry, and ASA has been very busy…

Printed in Autobody News Shop Marketing Pros and AASP-MN on March 25 presented a free webinar, “How Do I Market My Shop in a Crisis?” Taught by Kim Walker of Shop Marketing Pros, the webinar helped shops understand what to say, where to say it and how to say it during a crisis. Webinar sponsor AASP-MN invited AASP-PA and IGONC to attend as well, and all three associations heavily promoted the informative session to their members. As a result, more than 100 collision and automotive repair industry professionals registered to learn about the timely topic. Walker began by explaining she and her husband, Brian, are past shop owners and now own a marketing company. When it comes to the current…

Printed in Autobody News On Feb. 13, CIECA offered a CIECAst webinar entitled “Utilizing Technology to Thrive and Not Just Survive in 2020” with Mike Anderson of Collision Advice.  Topics included eliminating human disruption, how AI will impact collision repair facilities, electronic quality control checklists, text reminders, customer updates using technology and much more. CIECA Executive Director Ed Weidmann began the webinar by welcoming attendees and introducing Anderson. After covering antitrust and competition guidelines, Anderson dove into a discussion about eliminating human disruption. “It is no secret that more and more admin tasks are being added to collision repair facilities,” Anderson said. “Due to this fact, we, as collision repairers, must find ways to utilize technology to…

Written for the Collision Repair Education Foundation Hoffman Estates, Ill. (February 12, 2020) – As part of its dedication to the future of the collision repair industry and safe and proper repairs, Audatex, a Solera Company, donated over $2 million in software subscriptions to schools with collision repair educational programs in the United States in partnership with the Collision Repair Education Foundation, an initiative that provides students with the opportunity to learn on the same software utilized in today’s shops. An additional $25,000 donation from Audatex provides unrestricted funds to support collision repair students. Audatex made a five-year commitment in 2018 to provide these funds to ensure collision repair training…

Written for the Collision Repair Education Foundation Hoffman Estates, Ill. (February 12, 2020) – The Collision Repair Education Foundation is excited to announce the creation of their new “Part of the Solution” initiative which provides dealers and dealer groups with an opportunity to support future technicians by donating leftover parts that would otherwise be discarded, allowing students to train on current model vehicles. Part of the Solution “Our philosophy is a higher quality program will attract a higher quality student which will make for a higher quality industry employee,” stated Christen Battaglia, Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Foundation. “When the technicians entering the industry are well-trained on current vehicles,…

Printed in Autobody News The 43rd installment of AASP/NJ’s NORTHEAST® Automotive Services Show is scheduled to take place at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ on March 20–22. The largest automotive services show on the East Coast, NORTHEAST attracts thousands of automotive and collision repair specialists eager for the event’s educational offerings and the opportunity to visit well-known vendors on the trade show floor.  AASP/NJ Executive Director Charles Bryant stated, “We are once again looking forward to NORTHEAST. I can’t wait to attend the trade show, because it’s the number one place to see every new type of equipment and any new service being offered to our industry. There is no…

Printed in Autobody News Over the years, the automotive and collision repair industries have become more welcoming to female professionals in the traditionally male-dominated space, yet even as the number of women in the industry has increased, few females pursue careers in more technical roles. While women account for 47% of the United States’ labor force according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor in 2018, they also reported that women made up 2.4% of automotive service technicians, 1.1% of autobody repairers, and even fewer automotive glass installers and repairers. After identifying a similarly significant gender disparity in their technician and repair specialist roles, Safelite AutoGlass launched SWIFT, Safelite Women in the Field…

Printed in Autobody News On Jan. 15, ASA’s January 2020 installment of its Webinar Wednesday series featured Becky Witt, AMAM, George Witt Service in Lincoln, NE, and former AMI president and instructor, who presented “Would You Take a Job for $200 an Hour?” Based on a university-level cost accounting class, the webinar was applied to an automotive shop to provide better understanding of how pricing should be determined as well as tools to increase profits. Witt explored how the way people look at things impacts behavior, how shops leave money on the table because they don’t recognize the value in the transaction, and the use of cost accounting principles that can open new methods to increase profits.…

Printed in Autobody News On Dec. 18, ASA’s monthly Webinar Wednesday featured a discussion on “What’s Happening With Data Access Policy” with Robert L. Redding Jr., ASA Washington, D. C. representative and Greg Scott from the U. S. Vehicle Data Access Coalition. The webinar began with ASA Vice President of Industry Relations Tony Molla welcoming attendees and introducing Redding and Scott. Redding began with a review of service information and vehicle data access which started with the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments which required independent repairers to have access to the same information as dealers. Subsequent EPA regulations, what Redding called “attempts at getting it right,” proceeded to the ASA and Automaker Service Information Agreement which facilitated…

Printed in Autobody News On Dec. 11, the Women’s Industry Network (WIN) sponsored a giving event at the Blackbird Public House in Denver, CO. WIN Board Member Kim Frasher explained, “It was held to benefit the foster kids and military families of Denver public schools to provide gifts for over 90 children, many of whom have never had Christmas gifts prior to becoming a foster child. We worked once again with the ESSA program of Denver public schools, who were present to help load the gifts and then distribute them to the families.” WIN members and their teams from work were joined by collision repair program instructors and female students from Lincoln Tech as…

Printed in Autobody News The Superior Court in Union County, NJ, denied a Motion to Dismiss filed by New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance (NJM) in relation to a class-action lawsuit filed in June 2019 alleging steering-related violations against non-DRP collision repair facilities. The lawsuit is being led by Sam Mikhail on behalf of Quality Auto Painting Center d/b/a Prestige Auto Body (now dissolved) and BMR Automotive Service, Inc. d/b/a Robbie’s Automotive & Collision Specialists. The decision means the lawsuit will proceed with NJM facing accusations on a number of offenses, including injurious falsehood and tortious interference with prospective business advantage, as well as violations of the NJ Antitrust Act, NJ’s Consumer Fraud Act, and the state’s Civil RICO Act. Plaintiffs are…

Printed in Autobody News As of Jan. 1, 2020, Mike Lane stepped down from his role as executive director of the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Illinois (AASPI) after nearly three decades. The position has been filled by Brian Wojcicki who has served as AAPI’s chief lobbyist since 2015. Wojcicki shared, “I have worked closely with AASPI’s executive director over the past several years regarding association programming and membership outreach.” “I am a practicing attorney with experience in election law and regulatory drafting as well as issues involving business and association liabilities,” Wojcicki continued. “Prior to law school, I worked on various state and local campaigns and was on staff with the governor’s office of…

Printed in Autobody News The Certified Collision Group (CCG) experienced a substantial amount of growth and success in 2019, adding 164 affiliate shops and five new vendor partners in addition to increasing its internal team significantly. On Dec. 17, CCG hosted a teleconference to review the year’s successes and discuss plans to sustain and enhance their growth in 2020 and beyond. The teleconference featured CCG’s CEO Tom Matlack and COO Marty Evans, as well as Vice President of Affiliate Services Bob Cornelius, Vice President of Vendor Procurement Ernie Laky, Vice President of Insurance Services Chris Sestito, and Vice President of Marketing Jeff Ingalls who served as moderator for the discussion. Prior to the call, Ingalls had informed attendees via email…