Toronto, Ontario — Fix Network hosted its Ontario franchisees alongside collision industry stakeholders at the Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale on Wednesday to kick off its regional meeting for the province.
Amin Youssef, regional vice president for Fix Network’s Ontario operations, welcomed attendees before Sylvain Seguin, president of Fix Network Canada, and Daryll O’Keefe, senior vice president for Fix Network discussed the constantly evolving industry and changes collision centres face today and in the near future.
The morning continued with a focus on employment, as Debbie McCarthy, Fix’s global v-p of HR, took the stage to talk trends and current employment stats. Alexandra Labarre from Indeed was up next to deliver a tutorial on how to hire faster with Indeed.
After a break, Holly Switzer-Pitts of OEConnection was on stage to discuss the company’s OEM procedure access tool, RepairLogic—specifically it’s integration as Canada’s collision centres head into an electrified future. She revealed that, in the May 2023 RepairLogic data refresh, 52 brand-new procedures were added to the available catalogue, and 883 updates were made to existing procedures. That’s how fast OEM procedures can change.
Next up was Martyn Johns of NAPA, who elaborated on EV safety procedures. He said Canada remains in a unique position where electrification in considered; the United States, he said, still denies that EVs will ever be the norm—except maybe in California. There’s a ton of pent up demand, said Johns, and repairers need to consider the thorough safety procedures and training the shift to EVs will bring. Thankfully, NAPA has a training solution for that—see napa high voltage.ca for more.
The Milestone Award presentations followed next, where members of the network were honoured for their commitments to the brand and the betterment of their businesses. Recipients were:
10 Years:
- Fix Auto Georgetown
- Fix Auto Kingsville
- Fix Auto Niagara-on-the-Lake
- Fix Auto Ottawa Airport
- Fix Auto Windsor East
- Speedy Auto Service Kitchener
- Speedy Auto Service Sarnia
15 Years:
- Speedy Auto Service Brampton North
30 Years:
- Speedy Auto Service London Northeast
40 Years:
- Speedy Auto Service Hamilton Mountain
- Speedy Auto Service London South
- Speedy Auto Service Toronto St. Clair
45 Years:
- Speedy Auto Service Timmins
50 Years:
- Speedy Auto Service Sudbury
- Speedy Auto Service Kingston
55 Years:
- Speedy Auto Service Burlington
- Speedy Auto Service Ottawa
- Speedy Auto Service Brampton
60 Years:
- Speedy Auto Service Hamilton
Ronald McDonald House Charities representative Kendra Hinds took the stage just before lunch to reiterate Fix Network’s $20,000 goal for the Ontario meeting—a goal they exceeded by the end of the event.
A trade show opened with lunch, and we hit the show floor to talk to some of the exhibitors. Meanwhile, breakout sessions kicked off behind closed doors, allowing time for facilities to connect and get down to the nitty-gritty conversation.
Fix Network will continue its regional meetings next week in Halifax.
