On March 11-12, the Refinish Distributors Alliance (RDA) held its fifth Collision Solutions Seminar in Dallas Texas. RDA members, their key people and supporting manufacturers attended a day and a half of excellent presentations. Kevin Wolfe, Industry Consultant with Leaders Way, presented talent assessment, understanding why smart people underperform, and creating profitable and happy work […]
Caliber Acquires Craig’s Collision in Texas
Caliber Collision Centers announced that it has acquired seven Craig’s Collision locations across the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Craig’s Collision has served the North Texas area for more than three decades. Steve Grimshaw, Caliber Collision Chief Executive Officer announced, “We are extremely excited to have the Craig’s Collision organization join forces with Caliber Collision as we […]
GM and Toyota Expand Autonomous Vehicle Development Efforts
Both General Motors and Toyota announced efforts last week to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles. General Motors announced it is acquiring Cruise Automation to add Cruise’s software talent and rapid development capability to further accelerate GM’s development of autonomous vehicle technology. “Fully autonomous vehicles can bring our customers enormous benefits in terms of greater […]
Cars, Careers & Celebrities Returns to Chicago in September
The Collision Repair Education Foundation announced that the second annual Cars, Careers & Celebrities career fair event will take place at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill) on Friday, September 16 in conjunction with the first race in The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup . Hundreds of students are anticipated to attend to meet industry […]
Automotive Aftermarket Scholarship Deadline March 31
Applications for automotive scholarships funded by the University of the Aftermarket Foundation are being accepted through March 31, 2016. The foundation will award over 200 scholarships this year to deserving students pursuing careers in the auto care industry. “With the scholarship application deadline on the horizon, we encourage all interested candidates to log on and […]
Service King Names Sean Huurman Chief Human Resources Officer
Service King Collision Repair Centers today announced the organization has appointed tenured global business executive Sean Huurman to the role of Chief Human Resources Officer. Huurman joins Service King with more than 25 years of diverse experience, most recently serving as the Chief Administrative Officer at Imagine Communications. He will begin his new post at […]
Hearing Held on Maryland Aftermarket Parts Bill
Bill would provide require OEM parts for two years after the vehicle was manufactured during insurance-paid collision repair. Requires any non-OEM, aftermarket parts be certified by a non-profit entity, with a public standard setting process, after the two year period. The Maryland House Committee on Economic Matters held a hearing yesterday on House Bill 1258 […]
Connecticut Considers Legislation to Eliminate Double Taxation on Paint and Materials
On March 9, the Connecticut Joint Committee on Finance, Revenue and Bonding held a hearing on Senate Bill 335 (SB 335). The bill proposes to eliminate the sales and use tax on goods used exclusively in a business process such as paint in materials. The bill would help clarify the sales tax treatment of paint […]
#1 Cochran Acquires Sixth Collision Repair Center
#1 Cochran, the Western Pennsylvania automotive retailer and collision repair facility operator, announced that it has acquired Mignogna Collision in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, 35 miles east of Pittsburgh. With the acquisition, #1 Cochran’s operates six collision repair centers. The new facility marks the company’s entry into the Westmoreland County market. The 30,000-square-foot facility will continue to […]
Rome Technologies Announces Integration with Auto/Mate
Rome Technologies Inc., the collision repair facility management software provider, announced an integration with Auto/Mate, a dealership management system (DMS) provider. Using the Rome Management interface with the Auto/Mate program enables data to flow between Rome and Auto/Mate. Scott Rome, President of Rome Technologies said, “Rome talking to Auto/Mate will greatly improve the efficiency and […]