BASF’s Automotive Refinish Business named Richard Oster the 2015 North America Employee of the Year and Robert Alvarado as 2015 North America Salesperson of the Year. The awards were presented at the first annual Coatings Impact Awards presentation in Whitehouse, Ohio. Oster, Strategic Account Manager, was recognized for not only exceeding his sales goals but […]
J.D. Power Reduces Light Vehicle Retail Sales Forecast
April sales projection from J.D. Power and LMC Automotive flat on selling day basis. Revised full-year forecast calls for modest growth over 2015. Fleet sales projected to increase. New-vehicle retail sales in April are expected to reach 1,195,000 units, the same level as a year ago on a selling-day adjusted basis, according to a monthly […]
Audatex and Driven Brands Announce Strategic Relationship
Audatex, a Solera Company, announced today its strategic relationship with Driven Brands, the automotive franchise company and parent of CARSTAR and Maaco. This new relationship will enable every franchise location to have the Audatex solution with integrated estimating support and a branded customer app for estimate appointments. Driven Brands’ CARSTAR North America group currently has […]
Insurance Auto Auctions Collaborates with New York State DMV
Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. (IAA), a business unit of KAR Auction Services (NYSE: KAR), has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on February 22, 2016. The Memorandum provides the New York State DMV with daily electronic file transfers of information associated to each salvage […]
AASP/NJ Sponsored SkillsUSA Competition Successful
On Saturday, April 16, nine of New Jersey’s top collision repair students put their talents to the test in the state’s annual SkillsUSA competition. The contest, held this year at Somerset County Vocational and Technical High School, set the students to work on a variety of tasks associated with collision repair, including estimating, bumper repair, […]
Chief Announces 2016 North American Training Schedule
Chief University will offer over 60 updated training classes for technicians, estimators and insurance appraisers across North America this year. A complete schedule is available to download. “Due to the whirlwind changes in vehicle design, technology and materials, we have found that training is the most asked for aspect of collision repair in shops around […]
Independent Collision Repair Facility Population Increased in 2014
Latest data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics confirms that trend of independent collision repair facility population growth that started in 2012. The latest available data from the U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns annual research series covering 2014 shows that the number of independent collision repair facilities with payroll increased slightly for the third […]
LKQ Finalizes Pittsburgh Glass Works Acquisition
LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) yesterday announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Pittsburgh Glass Works LLC (PGW). LKQ Corporation logo“With the acquisition of PGW and our entrance into the sizable automotive glass market, we continue to grow our industry-leading position and product offerings to further serve the needs of our professional repairer customer,” […]
Sullivan’s Equipment Opens Training Center
Car-O-Liner announced that its distributor, Sullivan’s Equipment Sales and Service in Danville, Ind., has opened an on-site training center. The 13,000 sq. ft. warehouse includes a remodeled training area that will feature live repairs, OEM training, proper sectioning processes and more, said Craig Sullivan, Owner and President of Sullivan’s Equipment. “Rather than telling a technician […]
NACE Releases Conference Program Details
The complete conference program, including the session and training details for both NACE and CARS, has been released for the 2016 event, taking place August 9 – 13 in Anaheim, Calif. The program features new developments, including the introduction of programs for heavy duty vehicles, expanded business management training and OE involvement, and the return […]