AUTO RECYCLERS IN ORLANDO
Recycling delegates from all corners of the globe gathered in Orlando, Florida, in September for the annual Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) Convention and Trade Show. With almost 1,000 in attendance, this was the world’s largest auto recycling event for auto recyclers.
One of the highlights from the event came from eBay Motors, which announced a new airbag program wherein only certified auto recyclers will be allowed to list airbags. The virtual marketplace with cover certification and member costs–click here for more information.
Certification was a big conversation topic, said Steve Fletcher, managing director of the Automotive Recyclers of Canada (ARC). The ARA has had its certified auto recycler program in place for many years longer than the ARC–but less than 20 percent of ARA members are certified, compared to 100 percent of ARC members. With these eBay benefits in place–and more on the way– the goal is to get every ARA member certified. Canada has certainly seen the benefits of certification and look forward to sharing how to achieve this goal. Handling electric vehicles (EVs) was another heady subject.
Ryan Mandell from Mitchell International was present to speak on collision industry trends around repairing EVs, where he focused on parts utilization, delivery delays and other industry trends affecting the repair or totaling of insured electric vehicles.
One audience member compared EV battery recycling with catalytic converter recycling 20 years ago. Mirrored by the current confusion around EV recycling, catalytic converters, too, were once a product avoided by many recyclers.
“Information was scarce, then,” said Fletcher. “Today there are hundreds of [catalytic converter] buyers, and the data exchange is significant such that they add very nice profit for every auto recycler.” Approximately 20 Canadian companies were in attendance, represented in both exhibitors and industry delegates. “For sure the highest number [of people] from a country outside the United States,” said Fletcher.
Team Canada’s presence at the event will surely be remembered–if not for their passion to learn, then certainly for their big win during the awards banquet trivia contest.
“We made sure they heard from us there,” said Fletcher.
SETTING A STANDARD
Standard Auto Wreckers owners Ken and David Gold were recently presented with an appreciation certificate, courtesy of Markham, Ont. mayor Frank Scarpitti, for the company’s work alongside the Markham Fire crew.
The Golds accepted the honour at Standard’s Toronto location alongside Fire Chief Brad Sterling and the rest of his crew. “I want to say thank you to Dave and his team here because they give our firefighters the opportunity to come in and train on these vehicles. It speaks to another great value–sustainability and ensuring that we use the resources we have accordingly,” explained Scarpitti. “This is a very important initiative. It may look like a simple training exercise, but what happens here saves vital seconds on the scene.”
“Dave from Standard Auto has been phenomenal with us,” said Sterling. “He gives us the opportunity to create car accidents that we feel resemble real-life scenarios. A few weeks ago, we had a real incident with a late-model car. We were highly successful in that scenario because we train at Standard every Wednesday.”
“Thank you all for these kind words,” remarked Gold. “The nicest thing to be able to do is give back to our community. To be part of the community where many of us live, and to give back and understand the importance of this training–for us, that’s all we need.”
