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News
Discount Celebrates an Olympic Hockey Night in Canada In light of Canada playing host to the world for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Discount Car and Truck Rental joined in the spirit by hosting hundreds of their staff, associates, partners and their family and friends when the Canadian and US hockey t ... Read More >>
How will bans on cellular phone use and texting while driving impact the collision repair industry? Well, possibly not at all.Bans in California, New York, Connecticut and Washington, DC had no impact on collision rates, according to a study by the H ...
Mirka Abrasives adds two new members to its team Eric Simard and Andrew Rennert have joined the team at Mirka Abrasives Canada Inc.Eric Simard comes to Mirka as a sales representative covering the Western Quebec and Ottawa markets. Eric has over 10 years experience in the OEM, wood and industrial m ... Read More >>
ike just about every other Canadian, I sat glued to the television as Sidney Crosby took the shot that united the country. Maybe it was only for a moment, but it was a magic moment in which an entire country felt a surge of pride—an intangible that couldn’t be bought like every other commoditized emotion on the market today. The beauty of the situation was that no one on either team was playing their guts out for money. There were no back-room agent/owner negotiations even though the net s... Read More >>
When ever a group of collision repair shop owners get together, the elephant in the room is always human resources. Everybody knows it’s there, but nobody wants to be the first to talk about it.At the risk of offending some, or getting the silent praise of others, I’d like to share my views. Like I’ve said many times before, there are always exceptions to rules and rules to exceptions. In this case, there’s the good, the bad and the ugly of employer–employee relationships.Morton said i
Tempers were running high at a recent industry meeting when the subject of profitability came up. Inevitably, the focal point became compensation. Without doubt, compensation is an issue that must over time be reviewed and adjusted to properly provide enough of a financial base to make it worthwhile for business people to stay in this industry. Compensation, of course, runs way beyond just the door rate. That said, the door rate when adjusted for inflation over the past 20 years is laggin
Every time I hear someone refer to an insurance company as an industry “partner” I give my head a shake. Webster’s dictionary provides the following definitions of the word:
1)one that shares: partaker. 2)a .one associated with another especially in an action: associate, colleague. b .either of two persons who dance together. c. one of two or more persons who play together in a game against an opposing side. d. a person with whom one shares an intimate relationship: one member of a coup ...
Often times I am asked what drives me. Or how do you keep so motivated. My answers are always fairly simple: it is the people in this industry and our customers that keep me going more than anything else.This is because there is nothing more rewarding than to know that our businesses help sustain not only our lives but that it also has a profound impact on the lives of our employees and their families. The auto industry has in many ways been a stepping stone for new immigrants in the country t ...
Audatex has added a new dimension to its popular estimating software: the third one.
With this new addition, you’re still able to bring up the familiar vehicle diagrams using Audatex’s popular software. But with 3D Intelligent Graphics, you can now zoom in on parts, spin them around, or view them from the opposite side, underneath, above or diagonally—just as if you were holding them in own hands.
“We feel the market has been in need of [something] beyond 2D graphics,” said John Kots
A name well-respected and recognized by shops, jobbers and insurers across the country is about to get a lot more renowned. With the Cross Canada Autobody Supply acquisition of Collision Parts Specialists (CPS), the company is ratcheting up its service to shops and jobbers right across the country. The focal point of the acquisition is the state-of-the-art Winnipeg bumper rebuilding operation.
Peter Sepetanc, president of Cross Canada, says the move helps reach his goal of raising the ben
Beginning in May, the Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA) is set to take over I-CAR training in Canada. That word came from AIA president Marc Brazeau and I-CAR president John Edelen when they officially announced partnership January 23.
“Fundamentally, it was based on some of the difficulties I-CAR International faced in 2007—it was particularly devastating for us financially. The original plan for I-CAR Canada under its current structure was to cease operations at the end of
Main street perceptions of the lean philosophy are that its concepts can only be applied to the manufacturing industry and that the best candidates for its implementation are companies producing only one type of product. My experience with the auto collision repair industry is similar, in that regard. Often, the argument is that body shops do not have repetitive work. The diversity which exists in the type and quantity of automobiles, as well as the complexity of the damage, makes it near
The Hatch Jammer XL allows collision repair technicians to hold lift gates or hatches in a partially open position for sanding, painting or buffing. It adjusts the work angle of the hatch door from 15” to 21” to 34” and to full extension of 59”. This allows technicians to secure the hatch position to repair and paint the hatch as well as securing the hatch to replace lift struts and access interior cargo area work. Hatch doors are easily positioned by attaching the ... Read More >>
Products
Minding their Business When Paul Tseng says he believes in the power of word of mouth, he means it. He first discovered AutoMind Collision after asking a friend for a good place to get his car fixed. A few years later, he took over as the company’s president and CEO. Still, it’s been a long journey. Under Paul’s guidance, AutoMind has become a considerable force in British Columbia’s lower mainland. They can lay claim to being one of the most technologically savvy facilities in the business. Their website is a ... Read More >>
Profile
Hail Mary Two things that come to mind upon meeting Mary Monardo: the first fearlessness. The second is respect. Before life as president of Mondial Fine Cars began for Mary in 1992, she ran a smooth operation in the Monardo household as a stay-at-home mom to two girls. The idea to start an auto collision business came to her when talking to her husband, Vince, who was a painter at the time taking care of high-end vehicles. She believed so much in his skills that she was confident they could take his tale ... Read More >>
Feature
Around the World 2 It was a tough year for the global economy, and the auto industry wasn’t spared any pain. As plunging car sales continued to dominate the market, the collision repair industry faced its share of challenges as well. The rocky year may be behind us, but just how well has the world’s repair industry fared in the current economic climate? IBIS, the International Bodyshop Industry Symposium, conducted a Global Focus report using the collected data from 14 varied publications around the world. The ... Read More >>
After months of posturing and politics, the industry came together to create the Canadian Automotive Service Information Standard (CASIS). It establishes a framework for OEMs to share purchasable service information—particularly diagnostic codes for on-board computers—with the repair industry online.
It also means bill C-273, the “Right to Repair,” is now dead.
Canadian auto manufacturers will fully implement CASIS before the deadline of May 1, 2010.
It started with an idea from Fix Auto’s Steve Leal to create a system that accurately and efficiently measured paint use in collision repair shops. Easier said than done. But Leal found the right people to put the idea into play and together they are working on something that could change the paint game for the entire industry.
Currently, there is no way to get true numbers for paint materials and have the data in real time in your repair order details. That’s because, currently, there’s no
We’ve talked a lot about lean concepts this issue, which I like—an efficient industry is a happy industry. Considered processes help us do more for less and, more importantly on an individual level, help us avoid the terrible situations that arise when we realize a business isn’t sustainable. The thing that resonated with me most while working on this issue was ad admission from the AutoMind team: nothing is ever going to be perfect. The important part is evaluating constantly and imp ... Read More >>
When ever a group of collision repair shop owners get together, the elephant in the room is always human resources. Everybody knows it’s there, but nobody wants to be the first to talk about it.At the risk of offending some, or getting the silent praise of others, I’d like to share my views. Like I’ve said many times before, there are always exceptions to rules and rules to exceptions. In this case, there’s the good, the bad and the ugly of employer–employee relationships.Morton said i
Often times I am asked what drives me. Or how do you keep so motivated. My answers are always fairly simple: it is the people in this industry and our customers that keep me going more than anything else.This is because there is nothing more rewarding than to know that our businesses help sustain not only our lives but that it also has a profound impact on the lives of our employees and their families. The auto industry has in many ways been a stepping stone for new immigrants in the country t
We’ve talked a lot about lean concepts this issue, which I like—an efficient industry is a happy industry. Considered processes help us do more for less and, more importantly on an individual level, help us avoid the terrible situations that arise when we realize a business isn’t sustainable.