WESTERN NEWS (573)
California, Arizona and Nevada
Autobody News Western print edition is mailed to 8,500 body shops monthly
Single Source Inc., a PPG platinum distributor, recently held the grand opening of its new store location in Riverside, CA.
Guy Gagne, Southern California regional manager for Single Source, said the new location will offer a mobile store strategy—which includes automated purchasing, inventory control and on-time deliveries—to address the operational needs of larger collision centers in the region.
The collision division of Greulich’s Automotive Services of Arizona was recently acquired by multi-shop operator Service King Collision Repair Centers.
Service King will take over the ownership and operation of Greulich’s three collision repair locations in Scottsdale, Mesa and Peoria, AZ. Greulich’s Automotive Service has been a provider of automotive services throughout the Phoenix metro area since 1977. The acquisition officially closed March 26.
Service King now operates more than 80 collision repair locations throughout Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.
“We are very excited to work with a company with as much history in Arizona as Greulich’s Automotive Services,” said Chris Anderson, market vice president for Service King. “Both companies share a similar commitment to continued innovation, quality repairs and customer satisfaction, which will make this partnership successful.”
Larry H. Miller Group Dealerships has acquired seven dealerships in Arizona for an undisclosed price. It is the privately-held group’s largest acquisition to date.
The newly acquired stores bring the Sandy, UT, group’s dealership total to 55 in seven western states. Four of the new stores are located in Tucson: Tucson Dodge Ram, Tucson Chrysler Jeep, Tucson Fiat and Tucson Volkswagen. The other three are in Avondale, a western suburb of Phoenix: Avondale Chrysler Jeep, Avondale Dodge Ram and Avondale Fiat.
FinishMaster/PPG San Diego Roundtable Group Awards 2012 Winners
Written by staffOn February 19, the FinishMaster/PPG San Diego Roundtable Group awarded its 2012 winners.
The group is comprised of refinish technicians from some of the top shops in the San Diego area who are FinishMaster customers using the PPG EnvirobaseHP paint line.
The groups meets for breakfast every other month to discuss issues, suggestions, and successes. As a technicians’ meeting, painters share techniques, color information, how they overcame certain issues and also gives them the opportunity to network with other refinish technicians.
The three award winners are: David Collins of Courtesy Chevrolet in Mission Valley (South Group) who won a Participation Leader Plaque); Fransisco “Chico” Valdovinos of Mossy Collision Center in Escondido (North Group) who won a Participation Leader Plaque; and Javier Castaneda of FIX Auto/Carter Collision in Mission Valley who won a Participation Leadership Award.
Da-Les Auto Body in Sunnyvale is resuming its proposal plans to expand to a neighboring city.
With the opening of its new location in Mountain View, Da-Les Auto Body plans to hire approximately 15 employees to work at the shop.
Duane Stewart closed his long-time auto body repair business, D&L Body and Plastics, Inc., in Bellingham, WA, on March 29.
Stewart and his father, Les, opened the business at 1421 N. Forest St. in 1962. Now 79, he started working in the industry as a teenager.
After 50 years in the business, Stewart retired from the business he loved and from which he operated at the same address in Bellingham for more than 50 years, the Bellingham Herald reported.
Capitol Collision Repair Specialists of Phoenix has added Star Rent-A-Car as a satellite rental car location.
Capitol Collision Repair is one of the largest independent body shops in Phoenix and recently celebrated their 25th anniversary in business.
Rick Leos with Toyota Motors continues to make the rounds visiting several California Autobody Association chapters. On April 10 he is the guest speaker at the Los Angeles CAA chapter in Torrance, CA.
Leos is the Toyota Motors Sales Collision Business Development Consultant and will give his overview of the advancements the vehicle manufacturer is making to provide comprehensive estimate data to aid in the preparation of repair blueprints that reflect the OEM recommended procedures.
Weatherford BMW’s Parts Department’s Dedication to Wholesale
Written by Ed AttanasioTo view a pdf file of this article with photos, click HERE.
Parts Manager Chuck MacLeod has been running the parts department at Weatherford BMW in Berkeley, CA, since 1989 after joining the industry in 1975. He worked briefly for another BMW dealership for a few years and MacLeod has been employed in one capacity or another for the Bavarian carmaker for almost four decades. He knows the brand known for performance and BMW parts inside and out.
Bill Luke Fiat Comes from a Long Line of True Pioneers
Written by Bill Luke FiatTo view a pdf file of this article with photos, click HERE.
In 1873, a teenager with an adventuresome spirit rode into a remote western town populated by about 1,000 hardy souls, liked what he saw, and decided to put down his roots in the desert. His name was Frank Luke and the town was Phoenix. In the years that followed, Frank married, raised nine children, prospered in business and spent the last 20 years of his life in public service. At the time of his death, in 1939, he was State Tax Commissioner.
Frank Luke Jr. was the fifth child of Ottilia and Frank Luke. He only lived for 21 years but his name and deeds will live forever in American military history. Second only to Captain Eddie Rickenbacker as the leading ace of World War I, Luke was credited with 18 kills in nine months of combat. Rickenbacker was quoted as saying “Had he (Luke) lived, he would have put me out of business as the Army’s leading ace.” Lieutenant Frank Luke, Jr. was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, had a statue erected in his memory in the mall of the State Capitol and was further honored when Luke Air Force Base was named after him.
The San Diego chapter of the California Autobody Association on April 23 hosts Rick Leos of Toyota to discuss the new Toyota Predictive Estimating System. Leos has been making the rounds to association meetings since the system was introduced at NACE last November.
The San Diego CAA chapter meeting will be held at the Hilton San Diego Airport on Harbor Island in the Marina Ballroom at 1960 Harbor Island Dr.
