Not only is Latuff Brothers the first autobody repair shop in Minnesota to transition from solvent-based paints to water-based paints, but the shop received the prestigious Governor’s Award for Pollution Prevention for its efforts. Latuff Brothers is a family-owned auto body shop founded in 1933 by Joe Latuff and his two brothers Mike and John. Joe and Mike’s sons, Pete and Mike, joined the business in 1971 and by 1973 began to buy out one uncle. These two cousins have run the business ever since. A fourth generation is also involved in the business as Pete’s two sons, William and Robert, now work as estimators and his wife, Lola Latuff, is the bookkeeper.

   The shop started out in one modest 4,000 sq. ft. building, growing to 16,000 sq. ft. with several add-ons over the years. The facility is spread over two buildings and the Latuffs continue to add nearby property as it becomes available. Enterprise Rent-A-Car has an office on site.

   These days the state-of-the-art shop is staffed with 22 employees, including production manager Steve Pederson and parts manager Terry Walkosz, a veteran at Latuff Brothers with 38 years under his belt. Most of Latuff’s employees have been with the shop ten plus years.
    “Having experienced technicians adds to the success of our business,” said Latuff. “We don’t have to retrain employees about the procedures within the shop. From that standpoint we are on autopilot.”

Switching paint in the frozen north
Spraying Spies Hecker waterborne, Latuff Brothers was the first shop in the upper midwest to convert to waterborne paint. The changeover was spurred on by Latuff’s participation in his DuPont 20 group. One member had already converted with great success and after observing him for a year and visiting his shop, Latuff’s decided to implement the waterborne system.
    In further preparation for the conversion, Latuff participated in shop tours conducted by the EPA. “I learned all about water-based paints when I sat in on an EPA panel. We had a lot of support from Spies Hecker. Our painters went to their training center in Detroit for instruction. Finishmaster provided assistance locally to help us on our journey to waterborne, and DuPont did a fantastic job for us.”
    There was an element trial and error, but, said Latuff, “If you can shoot waterborne in Minnesota, with extreme conditions winter and summer, the paint will work anywhere.”
    The process began by purchasing a computer mixing program to reduce paint waste. The company next replaced the metal cups on its paint spray guns with 3M’s Paint Preparation System (PPS) cup with a plastic liner. The new system allows all of the paint in the cup to be sprayed, which reduces the amount that needs to be mixed. The new cups detach from the gun, so less cleanup is required between paint jobs, which has drastically reduced the amount of thinner used at the facility.