Quebec City, Quebec — May 15, 2016 — Carrossier ProColor marked a special occasion at its annual conference this year, celebrating its 15th anniversary. The conference theme was “Grande Cuvée,” drawing a theme between the creation of a Grande Cuvée champagne and the formation of the Quebec-wide collision network over the last 15 years. Carrossier ProColor is a member of CSN Collision Centres.
The conference took place over three days, from May 12 to 14, at the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac hotel in Quebec City.
The bulk of the sessions occurred on May 13, but many stakeholders took the opportunity on the afternoon of May 12 to visit the Vendor Showcase and peruse the latest offerings from Carrossier ProColor’s suppliers, partners and vendors. The opening day of the conference also featured a networking event with dinner and wine tasting, and recognition of shops celebrating their five and 10 year anniversaries as members of Carrossier ProColor. The event concluded with live musical entertainment provided by Acoustic Soul.
The conference really got into gear on Friday, May 13 with the general session. Opening remarks were delivered by Michel Charbonneau, VP of Sales and Marketing, PBE Division for Uni-Select. In this role, Charbonneau is responsible for the Carrossier ProColor business unit.
During his remarks, Charbonneau welcomed the more than 500 attendees to the conference. He also mentioned that the network had grown by four new shops in the last year. Charbonneau gave an overview of Carrossier ProColor’s achievements in 2015, saying that the online, television and radio advertising campaigns had been very effective. He also pointed to the company’s new bilingual website as a sales and marketing tool.
Charbonneau also discussed the current state of the collision repair industry, focusing on the trends that are impacting the business today and how they are likely to shape up in the future. One of the main impacts, he says, will come from self-driving cars. There will also be impacts from climate and the economy. He concluded his address by discussing Carrossier ProColor’s many charitable endeavours, including the company’s recent donations to help the citizens of Fort McMurray.
Benoit Charette was next to take the podium to address the assembled stakeholders. Charette is an automotive journalist, well known in Quebec as the editor of two popular publications, Annuel de l’automobile and Annuel de l’auto d’occasion. He is also the co-host of two television shows, RPM and RPM+.
During his address, Charette noted that the industry is developing at a fast rate, but that this has always been the case. New advancements in technology demand that shop personnel must be willing to learn new things every year and continue to educate themselves to keep up with the cars that are being produced. He also noted that the hiring process is more important than ever before, as today’s technicians and other shop staff must be adaptable.
Much of the session on May 13 was given over to various breakout meetings, with stakeholders splitting up to attend the sessions they found most appealing.
The official closing banquet took place on the evening of May 13. In addition to live musical entertainment provided by Känam Experience, there were two major highlights to the evening. The first was the recognition of shops who had been with Carrossier ProColor for 15 years. In other words, it was an opportunity to honour the shops who had joined the network in its very first year.
The other highlight was the Insurers Choice Awards. Seven shops received the prestigious award, given to the shops that have stood out and made the strongest impression among insurance partners during the last year.
According to a statement from Carrossier ProColor, the selection critera is left entirely up to insurance partners. However, the insurers typically base these decisions on common key performance indicators, such as cycle time, average cost and customer satisifaction index.
The 15th annual Carrossier ProColor conference concluded on May 14 with a networking breakfast.
For more information on Carrossier ProColor, please visit carrossier-procolor.com, and make sure to watch for a full report on the conference in upcoming issues of Collision Quebec and Collision Repair magazines!
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