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The pace of acquisition of both smaller MSOs by larger ones and independent shops has substantially increased during 2012. The rate of acquisitions has been running at more than two shops per week for 2012.

CARSTAR
CARSTAR Auto Body Repair Experts is North America’s largest Multi-Shop Operator (MSO) Network of independently owned collision repair facilities with more than 400 locations in 31 states and 10 Canadian provinces. CARSTAR recently expanded its business development team to accelerate the expansion of the MSO network into two of the fastest growing regions—the Western U.S. and the Southeast. Shops that join CARSTAR pay a one-time joining fee ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, and then pay a percentage of sales each month, according to former CARSTAR CEO Dan Bailey. Typical monthly royalty fees are .75 percent to 2 percent of sales.

American Honda recently launched two consumer-related websites to provide pertinent and timely information to owners of Hondas and Acuras. See next story for new collision center focused Honda website.

Earlier this year, the manufacturer launched its collision consumer site, Collision.Honda.com, after years of development and the early reviews are very positive, according to Gary Ledoux, Honda’s Assistant National Manager of Wholesale Parts Marketing.

Last month, the carmaker also launched AirbagAware.Honda.com, a site the company created in response to the burgeoning problem associated with the proliferation of counterfeit airbags on the market.

A lot happens in the collision repair industry, so trying to compile it all into a single year-end review is a challenge. But here’s our look at what we saw as among the most important or just plain interesting and memorable news item, event or quote from each of the last 12 months.

January
State Farm’s George Avery announced that his company is testing the electronic parts ordering system “PartsTrader” with two collision repair businesses. He declined to identify the shops, saying that it is too early in the testing “to put those folks under the microscope and ask, ‘What do you think of the new system?’”
Lots of shops have since voiced what they think of the system. By the end of the year, the program was being rolled out to a fifth market (Chicago) for a total of about 600 Select Service shops.

2012 was an interesting year in the industry; a year that was filled with both new and pre-existing challenges for collision repair business owners. Business activity fluctuated from week to week causing market uncertainty, daily reports of consolidation filled the headlines of the trade press, insurance companies continued to develop ways to interject themselves into collision repair business management, and reports of technology development cast a long term question mark over the future of collision repair businesses. When concern and uncertainty occupy the marketplace, businesses often look to the collective power of community to find information, lean on support from their peers, and collaboratively innovate solutions.

As a trade association that has spent more than three decades solely dedicated to educate, inform and represent the collision repair professional in all aspects of the industry, 2012 was a remarkably busy year for the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS). In taking stock of the past year, I am confident that the entire staff and volunteer board of directors of SCRS are proud of the work that we embarked upon in each of the three areas of our mission. While the ultimate results of those efforts may not be fully realized, the momentum from that work will serve the organization and its membership well, leading into 2013.