Nashville, Tenessee — Dave Luehr’s Elite Bodyshop Solutions hosted the 2023 Positivity Summit, featuring more than 25 speeches from bodyshop owners, managers, trainers and industry experts.
Several Canadians were part of the six-hour broadcast, including Steve Trapp of AutoCanada; Lorenzo D’Alessandro of CSN 427; Leanne Jeffries of Certified Collision Care/OEConnection; Johnny Kloeckes of CARSTAR Edmonton; Fix Auto MSO Claudia Morgillo; Ryan Smith of Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) and Tom Bissonnette of the Saskatchewan Association of Automotive Repairers.
Trapp was the first Canadian on Luehr’s stage, where he discussed recent activities at the ever-expanding dealer group AutoCanada. The company has picked up several big-name shops in recent months, including Kavia Auto Body in Saskatoon and Excellence Auto in Toronto. Last month it acquired DCCHail, and Trapp says AutoCanada plans to hone in on the “one-day repair” concept and focus on small repairs, something often seen in the European market, he explained.
Trapp also said AutoCanada has emphasized standardized procedures and cross-network goals for maximized efficiency.
“We believe there can be no improvement without a set standard,” explained Trapp.
D’Alessandro was next to the stage. With four Toronto-area shops under his leadership, D’Alessandro told the audience of the continued COVID-19 fallout affecting Toronto and Ontario as a whole.
“We’re really clawing back from something that’s never happened before,” he said.
D’Alessandro also partnerships, both with OEMs and insurers, have grown stronger since early pandemic times.
“There’s a lot of insurers stepping up to the plate [now].”
Jeffries and Liz Stein, also from OEConnection, kicked off the noon-hour presentations. They discussed the integration of RepairLogic into the OEC fold, as well as the recent rollout of the Canadian VINFast certification program.
Kloeckes followed the pair to discuss his positivity-oriented strategy, which involves a heavy emphasis on any “win” achieved by the team at any of Kloeckes’ five shops in the Edmonton area.
“There are plenty of opportunities ahead–but there is also a myriad of changes in the industry,” he agreed with the audience.
Morgillo continued the string of Canadians with her upbeat update. She discussed the impact of negative hormones and the chemical effects of stress.
“When we live [with those levels of stress], that’s when things reach a peak. We’re not made to withstand those levels of stress.”
Morgillo also noted will also be presenting alongside Luehr at the International Bodyshop Industry Symposium (IBIS) in Nashville next month.
Saskatchewan’s very own Smith and Bissonnette were the final Canadians to speak to the audience, covering the leaps and bounds SGI has made in its approach to bodyshop relations in the province.
Of course, Canadians were represented throughout the entire Friday broadcast, with Taylor repping his homeland by sporting the title of “Canada’s Most Wanted” on his Zoom name banner for the entirety of the broadcast.
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