Automotive Service & Repair Week (ASRW) has announced that its schedule for its MSO Symposium is now available. Designed for collision repair multi-shop operators and held during ASRW, the MSO Symposium is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 12.

Registration for the MSO Symposium is $125 and is available online for qualified MSOs only. The symposium was created specifically for shop owners with two or more locations.

“Our success with last year’s inaugural MSO Symposium generated tremendous enthusiasm and interest among MSOs in the U.S. and Canada. It has also proven to be a draw for our speakers who want to share their thoughts with this growing segment of the collision repair industry,” said symposium facilitator and co-producer Matthew Ohrnstein, Symphony Advisors. “We are especially pleased to be able to tailor this year’s content to respond to specific feedback from last year’s attendees.”

The 2012 Schedule-at-a-Glance is as follows:

“The MSO Symposium was one of the most anticipated events of 2011, and this year’s event is on pace to exceed our expectations once again,” said Ron Pyle, ASA president. “The overwhelming response and support by the sponsors of this event have truly shaped it, and we are grateful to each of the sponsoring companies who have played a critical role in this year’s symposium.”

The MSO Symposium debuted at ASRW in 2011 specifically for multi-shop owners. A sold-out success in its first year, the MSO Symposium provides relevant content to the multiple store operator segment. The symposium includes multiple networking opportunities for MSOs and access to the ASRW show floor throughout the event.

Sponsorship opportunities for the MSO Symposium are limited and are selling quickly, with 13 sponsors confirmed to date: Enterprise Rent-A-Car, UniCure Spraybooths, Nissan, Universal Technical Institute, Garmat USA, BASF, DuPont Performance Coatings, CCC Information Services, Car-O-Liner, Mitchell, BB&T Capital Partners, ABRA Auto Body & Glass, and Service King Collision Centers. It is produced by ASA, NACE and Symphony Advisors, and will again be facilitated by Matthew Ohrnstein of Symphony Advisors.

Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group and DuPont announced that they have signed a definitive agreement whereby Carlyle will purchase DuPont Performance Coatings (DPC) for $4.9 billion in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter 2013, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
DPC is a global supplier of vehicle and industrial coating systems with 2012 expected sales of more than $4 billion and more than 11,000 employees. The investment will be funded with equity from Carlyle Partners V and Carlyle Europe Partners III.

“DuPont Performance Coatings is a leader in the automotive and industrial coatings sectors with world-class products and customer service. The business continues to grow and deliver solid results. After a careful review, however, we have determined that DPC’s full growth potential would be best realized outside DuPont and through the sale to Carlyle,” said DuPont Chair and CEO Ellen Kullman. “This transaction is consistent with our vision to be the world’s most dynamic science company and long-term strategy of driving competitive advantages in agriculture and nutrition, advanced materials and biotechnology, which represent high-growth, high-margin opportunities.”

Greg Ledford, Carlyle Managing Director and Head of the Industrial and Transportation team, said, “DuPont Performance Coatings is a successful business with attractive market positions, next-generation technology and established brands. Through targeted investments we will support DPC’s product development and growth objectives as it transitions to a stand-alone company. We look forward to working with management to fully realize DPC’s great potential.”

Kim Hazelbaker of HLDI to present a free RDE session at 2012 SEMA Show

According to some in the popular press, the age of autonomous vehicles is almost here and they promise a crash-free future. The question for many in the industry is whether a roadway filled with self driving cars is really that close, and what will that mean for repair businesses that would be impacted by a speculated decline in vehicle damage occurrences?

To help decipher what the emerging trends in vehicle technology are, and how those vehicle design features will truly impact the industry, the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has announced that it will be hosting an additional Repairer Driven Education (RDE) session at the SEMA Show this fall. The session, Is New Vehicle Technology Endangering Your Business?, will be presented from 10:00am to 12:00pm on Tuesday, October 30th, by Kim Hazelbaker, Senior Vice President of the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI).

This session, which will be free to all pre-registered attendees will look at the current state of vehicle advancements, both crashworthiness and crash avoidance technologies.

The Northwest Louisiana Collision Repair Association will meet on September 11, 2012 at noon. The meeting will be held at the Magnolia Room at Louisiana Technical College. Lunch is provided by the College Culinary Arts Dept. and cost $7.00.

Dick McDaniel, with CAR-O-Liner & Garmat Paint Booth Equipment, will be the guest speaker. His presentation will include basic paint booth maintenance, trouble shooting problems, and conditions for proper booth operation.

Thanks for such a great turnout at last month's meeting! We will be watching to see how the State Farm PartsTrader pilot program evolves. We will give periodic updates at our meetings. If a major announcement happens, we'll be sure to send out a newsletter about it. Stay informed, come to the meetings, join the NWLCRA!

Be sure to start planning for the Christmas Party, which is going to be held at Fielder's Paint & Body.

BASF has announced that Karen Broccardo joined the Automotive Refinish Business group as Distribution Services Manager. She will be located in Southfield, MI. 

According to Chuck Soeder, Vice President, Automotive Refinish and Industrial Coatings Solutions, Broccardo will be responsible for sales forecasting, sales compensation administration, ColorSource Distribution administration, Customer Relationship Management Tools, and sales history and data administration.

Prior to joining BASF, she was the Sales Operations Specialist for Ricardo in Van Buren Township, MI, where she was responsible for all sales forecasting in the U.S. and was part of the global SAP implementation team. 

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones will be joined by the Consumer Federation of California, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, and the Automotive Machinists Union at a press conference Weds. Aug. 29 in Sacramento to denounce last-minute, gut and amend efforts to pass bills such as AB 1098 (Assembly Member Curt Hagman) and SB 1460 (Senator Leland Yee). These bills would essentially terminate a 20-year consumer protection standard that would allow insurers—without any checks or balances—to force repair shops to use aftermarket parts on consumers’ automobiles in the event of a collision and shift warranty coverage from insurers to lesser known suppliers or distributors. Additional protections would also be lost or denied to consumers.

Xtreme Makeover Collision owner Joe Mariscal is planning to boost his services with prompt house calls and free quotes.

Mariscal says, “We do what most auto body shops won’t. We make house calls.”

Xtreme Makeover Collision Center goes an extra mile to show care for their customers by lightening the load associated with vehicular accidents.

The Pennsylvania Collision Trade Guild will host the Coalition for Collision Repair Excellence (CCRE) for its next series of legal seminars Sept. 21-22 at the Philadelphia Airport Embassy Suites. Featured guest speakers are collision industry attorneys Erica Eversman and John Parese. This seminar will focus deeper into the legal aspects of running your collision business without third-party interference. Topics will include: avoiding contracts of adhesion; authorization to repair/repair contracts; blueprinting and damage analysis; documenting your services; final billing/getting paid in full; assignment of proceeds/claim.

Cost is $495.99 per person, or $595.99 per person if you register after Aug. 31. Includes breakfast and lunch both days. For more information, email the CCRE office at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.theccre.com or www.pctg.org. Or call The CCRE at (877)700-7743 or the PCTG at (215)342-1818.

GCIA has the following announcement regarding its September 20 meeting:

The September 20 GCIA Meeting will feature George Avery from State Farm for an in-depth discussion on their PartsTrader Program

Unless you live under a rock, you have probably heard of State Farm's PartsTrader program being tested in several markets in the U.S. However, State Farm has not provided much in the way of details on the program. Industry media have been mostly unsuccessful getting State Farm to respond to requests for more information.

Now you have an opportunity to hear first-hand about PartsTrader from State Farm's own George Avery. Mr. Avery has agreed to be the featured speaker at the September 20th GCIA meeting. If you don't attend but one GCIA meeting this year, this is the one.

We're expecting a huge attendance so we are requesting that you visit the GCIA website and complete the RSVP form as soon as possible. It only takes a couple of minutes and it will help us in planning this important meeting.

Click Here to RSVP

This meeting will be open to all collision repair professionals and industry supporting vendor representatives. There is a fee of $10 (member/$20-non-member) per person to cover the cost of this very special meeting. This may be the most important collision industry meeting you will attend all year. RSVP today. Pay at the door - check or cash. Need to be invoiced, call Howard Batchelor at 770-367-9816.