Naperville, Illinois — Spanesi America served up another three courses of aftermarket insight on Thursday as Interactive Week wraps up its fourth day.
The day opened with a discussion of Rivian’s recently launched collision repair certification network with the automaker’s network manager for North America, Frank Phillips.
Phillips spoke to the various ways that the EV developer is strengthening the relationship between OEMs and collision repairers by designing vehicles with the repair process already in mind.
He said that Rivian is committed to providing the clearest communication to shops on what tools and procedures are required to keep their vehicles running safely.
Thursday’s midday shop owner interview featured a chat with Ian Morton of Fix Auto Thoroughbred and Fix Auto Sierra Vista of Tucson and Sierra Vista, Ariz., respectively.
Morton advised fellow shop owners to not be discouraged by a lack of response on online job boards when looking for staff, but to seek out talent through channels you already trust, like aftermarket companies, educators and your colleagues in the industry.
Spanesi COO and host of Interactive Week Tim Morgan reinforced Morton’s hiring philosophy by remarking that Morton’s shops “run like a machine” and that all of his staff “work with the same goals in mind”.
The day closed out with a demonstration led by Spanesi’s own Jeramy Holloway and Bret Runyon, walking viewers through the Spanesi Multibench and how it can be used to straighten damage of various sizes.
Friday will close off Interactive Week, when Spanesi welcomes Danny Gredinberg from Database Enhancement Gateway to discuss what his company’s software offers to the aftermarket industry, as well as a Spanesi-led welding demonstration and an event wrap-up session.
