National News

The Auto Care Alliance has partnered with health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) provider Take Command Health to offer unique HRAs that enable small employers to reimburse their employees tax-free for health insurance premiums and medical expenses.

Employers can set an allowance and employees choose the plan that fits their needs.

Take Command offers two types of programs, a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA) and an Individual Coverage HRA (ICHRA).

In contrast to a group plan, HRAs provide employers the benefit of not worrying about annual premium increases, participation rate concerns and management of underlying health risks of employees. HRAs also ensure employers are not privy to the private medical information of

NABCmembers have the opportunity to save lives by driving public awareness about one of the leading causes of traffic collisions today---distracted driving.

From GPS to cell phones, entertainment screens, rowdy passengers and more, just one quick glance from the road can results in a dented fender, a damaged bumper or worse.

The National Safety Council reports cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. One out of every four car accidents in the U.S. is caused by

During the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey’s (AASP/NJ) recent Annual Meeting, Mike Kaufmann of the Mike Kaufmann Dealer Groupbecame the newest inductee into the association’s Hall of Fame.

Kaufmann has devoted his career to automotive parts distribution and is well-known throughout the Garden State for his work.

Upon presenting him with the honor, AASP/NJ Treasurer Tom Elder recalled meeting Kaufmann 30 years ago when the future Hall of Fame inductee worked as a parts manager at a dealership. Right away, he knew Kaufmann was a “pretty sharp guy.”

Elder referred to Kaufmann’s presence in the industry as “quite a force,” as he went on to start the Mike Kaufmann Dealer Group and has

I-CAR® recognized three industry leaders for their outstanding service to I-CAR and the inter-industry during this year’s SEMA Show.

Jim Roach received the prestigious I-CAR Chairman’s Award, recognizing an individual or organization whose contributions to I-CAR have been significant or extraordinary. The Chairman’s Award recipient is selected by the Executive Committee of the I-CAR Board of Directors (BOD).

The Chairman’s Award was presented to Roach, who participated virtually, by Kyle Thompson, immediate past chair of I-CAR’s BOD and assistant vice president of property and casualty for USAA.

Roach served in various roles on I-CAR’s BOD from 2011-2020, including the I-CAR Executive Committee. Roach

At the 2022 NABC® Annual Meeting, the National Auto Body Council held its board elections for the upcoming year.

In addition to re-electing four members whose terms were expiring, it also welcomed three new members to the NABC Board.

Active members in attendance at the in-person and virtual NABC annual meeting had an opportunity to vote on the board members to guide the organization forward over the next three years. Newly elected board members include:

• Justin Clark, senior director of sales–U.S., LKQ
• Kyle Medeiros, business solutions manager, Entegral
• Roy Schnepper, president, Butler's

Following the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) announcement in September that it implemented a national health care solution for members, Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg said the program has received an overwhelmingly positive response from the collision repair industry.

“Since launching the plan, we've been able to save companies within the collision repair space close to $650,000 in premiums,” said Schulenburg. “That’s the tip of the iceberg and doesn't account for the out-of-pocket expenses families can save.”

Schulenburg said the plan is saving companies up to 20% versus the renewals they are receiving from their current insurance providers. Additionally, he said the plan is unique in that it provides $0 deductibles,

With the Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ release in November of the results of its hands-on study demonstrating that blending of a panel takes an average of 31% more time than a full panel refinish---rather than the 50% less time allocated in the three estimating systems---the association was asked during CICwhere the issue goes moving forward.

“Here’s the beauty of CIC: That’s up to you,” Aaron Schulenburg of SCRS

At its annual dinner gala during Industry Week, Young Suhr Jr. of APW Knox Seeman Warehouse was installed as CAWA’s 2023 chair of the Board of Directors.

Other officers installed were: Vice-Chair Tom Ogaz of the Parts Authority; Treasurer Wayne Schaack of the Pronto Group; Secretary Dan Hanson Jr.of Hanson Distributing Company and Immediate Past Chair Michael Rukov of IMR, Inc.

The officers will assume their positions effective Jan. 1, 2023.

The association also sends a special thanks to its exclusive dinner sponsor, Motorcar Parts of America, and its President and CEO Selwyn Joffe.

The next formal

A highlight of the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey’s (AASP/NJ) recent Annual Meeting was the presentation of the New Jersey Automotive/Stan Wilson Body Shop of the Year award to Paul Sgro of Lee’s Garage in West Long Branch, NJ. 

“This award was known solely as the New Jersey Automotive Body Shop of the Year award before Stan passed,” AASP/NJ Past President Jeff McDowell, of Leslie’s Auto Body in Fords, NJ, noted as he presented the award to Sgro, remembering his late friend as “a legend. So, we added his name to the award to keep his memory alive. We do this by recognizing our finest members. With that in mind, it is my honor to present this award to

The National Auto Body Council® made a big splash---raindrops and high winds included---during its 2022 NABC SEMA Celebration at this year’s SEMA Show on the SEMA Reveal main stage outside the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The celebration showcased NABC annual awards, the Hall of Eagles recipients and the NABC Recycled Rides presentation to nine deserving Las Vegas families.

The 2022 NABC SEMA Celebration was held Nov. 2 right in front of the world’s largest automotive aftermarket event. More than 300 NABC members, guests and colleagues joined in the celebration. Alan Taylor of “The Drive”radio network was the emcee for the event.

“What an incredible day to reconnect with our collision repair industry colleagues and auto

Small steps lead to big progress, and that’s the obvious lesson behind the industry’s support of the Collision Repair Education Foundation’s (CREF) Benchmark Grant program.

Thanks to the generosity of a multitude of industry partners---both small and large---the foundation is proud to announce 69 collision schools will receive $436,000 in Benchmark Grant funding to financially support their efforts to educate the collision industry’s future workforce and making a difference in the lives of the students training in those programs.

“Congratulations to the CREF Benchmark grant recipient schools and thank you to our industry partners for their continued support,” said CREF Managing Director Brandon Eckenrode. “I would also like to specifically

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has published the results of its blend study research project conducted in August with major North American refinish companies.

To download the "Blend Study Report: A comparative analysis between full refinish and blend operations," visit www.scrs.com/blendstudy.

Blending a panel adjacent to a panel being replaced or repaired is a necessary process to achieve a proper color match, and is recommended by all the major automotive refinish companies in North America.

The three primary estimating system information providers (IPs) in the U.S.---Audatex, CCC/MOTOR and Mitchell---each

On Nov. 4---the last day of the 2022 SEMA Show---SEMA announced a five-year vision to expand the Show into an “all-city” experience.

Officially called SEMA Week, the expansion’s goal is to create the most passionate and exciting automotive event in the world. SEMA Week will kick off in 2023 with new concepts, activities and events introduced over the five-year roll-out period.

SEMA Week will be headlined by the SEMA Show, which will remain a trade-only event Monday through Friday.

On Friday, the final day of the SEMA Show, a limited number of enthusiasts will be able to attend the SEMA Show through the Friday Experience program, which launched at the 2021 SEMA Show.

Beginning on Friday evening of SEMA Week, SEMA will take over the Las Vegas Festival

As part of the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey’s (AASP/NJ) Annual Meeting held Oct. 19 at Gran Centurions in Clark, NJ, Patrick Crome, a Mercer County Vocational School student employed by Compact Kars in Clarksburg, NJ, was named the recipient of the 2022 Russ Robson Scholarship Award.

“Russ was a big supporter of training, and he taught part-time at the Mercer County Vocational School where the recipient of the Russ Robson Scholarship Award is a student,” said AASP/NJ Treasurer Tom Elder, of Compact Kars, of the former president. “Patrick came to us as someone interested in learning about our industry, and he does a great job working in our shop.”

Receiving the scholarship award

The Auto Care Alliance (ACA) announced a new resource for the aftermarket automotive industry.

The ACA Industry Events Calendar is an available resource for shop owners, technicians, educators and vendors to stay up-to-date with the latest conferences and expos throughout the U.S.

"We found that there wasn't a comprehensive listing of industry events available. This will provide not only be a valuable resource for industry professionals but will also assist organizations in scheduling future events so as to not conflict with other industry events," said Sheri Hamilton, executive director for the Auto Care Alliance.

The calendar can be found at ...

SEMA Show attendees will be able to take advantage of consultative services on health and retirement plans available to the collision industry at the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) booth 31147 in the Upper South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

In September, SCRS announced the availability of a unique new health care solution available for its members, with the objective of raising the standard of care for those in the collision repair industry.

“Health care benefits are a significant challenge and expense for small businesses,” said Aaron Schulenburg, SCRS executive director. “It was extremely important to SCRS that we find a way to meaningfully decrease costs for employers and employees while increasing the

SEMA Show attendees are invited to join the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) in booth 31147 (Collision Repair & Refinish Section, Upper South Hall) of the Las Vegas Convention Center to see the Lucid Motors Service Fastener Display Unit, along with special presentations from Lucid.

The Service Fastener Display Unit serves two key functions.

The first is to show the multiple different fastener types used in typical Lucid Collision Repair Methods.

The service fasteners used in the display and in vehicle repair were chosen to maintain the absolute closest representation of the factory installed fasteners (SPRs) that are removed and replaced during structural repair processes.

The second function is to display the

Collision repairers and automotive professionals from all over the Garden State packed the Gran Centurions in Clark, NJ, on Oct. 19 to honor their peers, collaboratively discuss ideas and obtain valuable resources and information during the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey’s (AASP/NJ) Annual Meeting.

After opening remarks from AASP/NJ President Jerry McNee and Executive Director Charles Bryant, the association re-elected Tom Elder of Compact Kars, Mike Kaufmann of the Mike Kaufmann Dealer Group and Tom Greco of Thomas Greco Publishing to its Board of Directors for the 2022-2025 term.

AASP/NJ also elected Danielle

Women in Auto Care, a community of the Auto Care Association, saw another record year for its scholarship program, distributing 96 awards worth $300,000 in both cash scholarships and starter tool sets to female students across the U.S. looking to have a career in the auto care industry.

The incredible success of this year’s program was supported by the generosity of Women in Auto Care community sponsors and member donations, as well as tool partnerships with Genuine Parts/NAPA and Acuity.

“We know that the cost of toolkits can be a major barrier for students and new techs entering the field because of the cost associated with them," said Chelsea Burriss, Acuity. “We want to help remove that barrier, so that those

When GMawarded the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) with a $100,000 grant for 2022, the foundation made good use of the funds to develop its Career Opportunity Awareness Initiative.

The initiative aims to increase the number of collision repair students who graduate with marketable technical skills by tackling the challenging dilemma from three specific angles: career awareness, career pathing and career readiness---and CREF exceeded expectations in every area.

“General Motors is proud to support the Collision Repair Education Foundation,” said Terry Rhadigan, vice president of corporate giving at GM. “CREF’s work to increase awareness of career opportunities in the collision repair industry will help attract talent and

The Women’s Industry Network (WIN) is excited to announce it is kicking off its 2023 sponsorship campaign.

The organization, which provides great networking and connection opportunities for women in a male-dominated collision industry, announced this year’s sponsorship campaign is vital to the organization’s goal to attract, retain and advance women in the collision repair industry.

“Our sponsors have been a key factor in WIN’s growth and our ability to achieve the strategic initiatives to strengthen our network, resource our industry and expand our capacity,” said Jessica Rob, WIN sponsorship chair and distribution program manager at AkzoNobel Coatings Inc. “We appreciate and thank all our sponsors for their commitment to women in the

Members of the Los Angeles/Orange County chapter of the California Autobody Association (CAA) recently met in Seal Beach, CA, to network, learn from one another and hear up-to-date industry information.
  
Part of the Sept. 20 event included a presentation from Tim Ronak, senior services business consultant for AkzoNobel, focused on inflation and its impact on the collision ecosystem.

“Tim spoke about the challenges in the economy and our industry that influence what we are charging our customers,” said CAA President Melanie Allan, vice president of Craftsman Collision USA. “As shop owners and managers, we need to take information like this into consideration when running our businesses so we can

An enthusiastic crowd of collision repairers from across the Garden State assembled at Car Lofts in Fairfield, NJ, on Sept. 14 for the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of New Jersey’s (AASP/NJ) fall kickoff meeting.

In the words of Executive Director Charles Bryant, “It was great to see so many familiar faces come out to not only better themselves through valuable information, but also to stick around and socialize after the meeting! It’s encouraging to see our members taking the time to keep abreast of what resources are available to them.”

Attendees learned estimating best practices from Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ (SCRS) Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg, who set out to equip the

The MSO Symposium, an exclusive one-day conference created by and for multi-shop owners and operators, will be held Oct. 31, the Monday before SEMA/AAPEX, in Las Vegas.

Developed by the Automotive Service Association (ASA) and the MSO Symposium advisory board, the conference includes unique programming with insight on a diverse set of topics top-of-mind to the leadership of the industry’s most influential collision repair operators in North America and beyond.

The event begins at 9:30 a.m. PDT with a light breakfast, networking and vendor displays. Three additional networking opportunities for attendees during this event include a formal luncheon sponsored by Berkeley Capital Advisors, a refreshment break sponsored by Axalta Coating

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has provided a few more details about its studybeginning in August into the accuracy of the blend time formula commonly used in the industry.

Speaking at the association’s open board meeting in late July in Pittsburgh, Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg noted the three estimating system providers each establish its own refinish labor allowance for any given

CIECA hosted its latest CIECAST webinar on June 23, “Charged for Success: Understanding EV Trends and Their Impact.”

Ryan Mandell, director of claims performance for Mitchell International, spoke about the trends in electric vehicle adoption and what is driving them, how EVs should be handled differently in a repair facility than their gas-powered counterparts, and what needs to be done to facilitate better, safer repairs.

“This is a critical topic for collision repair and

The Auto Body Association of Texas (ABAT) on Feb. 10 hosted “How to Compete in a Tight Job Market: Fresh Ideas to Attract and Keep Good Talent.”

ABAT Executive Director Jill Tuggle said the pandemic has exacerbated the technician shortage by creating a staffing shortage in general. She said ABAT hosted the webinar to help auto body shops compete for quality staff without resorting to unsustainable tactics, like huge sign-on bonuses.

Speakers during the roughly two-hour broadcast talked about how to cost-effectively offer benefits, no matter the size of the business, refocusing technician training in alignment with trends in collision repair and helping young technicians establish a foothold in the industry that leads to a long-term