By Mike Davey
Toronto, Ontario — November 20, 2015 — Opportunities to peer inside one of the most advanced collision repair facilities in the country come up very rarely. Over 40 insurers and more than 20 students took advantage of one of those rare chances recently at the Career Fair held at Excellence Auto Collision in Toronto.
It was an experience that many of the area’s established technicians might regret missing out on. Excellence Auto Collision has certifications and solid relationships with many major OEMs, including BMW, Mini, Audi and Volkswagen. The facility’s equipment and layout reflect this status as a cutting edge collision centre. In addition, Excellence Auto Collision has a relationship shared by only a few others in the entire world: the business is one of the very few facilities authorized by Tesla to repair its vehicles.
Tesla collision repair experts were on hand to show how the high-end electric cars are professionally and safely repaired. Representatives of other manufacturers were also on hand to highlight the repair techniques for their respective companies. If you’re thinking PowerPoint slides and some handouts, think again. Audi, for example, had an entire body shell at the facility to demonstrate key points.
Apprenticeship opportunities were showcased with a separate booth at the event, and a presentation by John Norris of Collision Industry Information Assistance (CIIA).
Owner Peter Woo admits that he was disappointed in the lack of turnout from the area’s established technicians, but that the chance to showcase the facility’s impressive capabilities to that many insurance professionals is a benefit.
“We had representation from about five or six different insurance companies,” says Woo. “They seem very impressed. A lot of them were saying that they had never seen a facility like it before.”
