Barry Dorn is a second-generation collision professional and one of two owners of Dorn’s Body & Paint in Mechanicsville, VA.
His thorough knowledge and expertise come from having held a variety of positions within the shop over the years---from technician to repair planner, overseeing parts management and operations.
In addition to his experience, Dorn relies on his vendor partners to help him carry out quality repairs the first time to minimize comebacks. One of his foremost partners is KECO Body Repair Products.
Dorn’s Body & Paint
Location: Mechanicsville, VA
(804) 746-3928
www.dornsbodyandpaint.com
Facebook: @DornsBodyandPaint
Twitter: @DornsBodyPaint
Company At A Glance...
Type: Collision Repair
Facility Employees: 68
In Business Since: 1964
Number of Locations: One
Production Space: 52,000 square feet
KECO’s products allow him to use glue pull repair (GPR) systems for a less invasive repair, which results in a more efficient repair process while maintaining profitability. The products also support the challenges that come with working on newer cars---such as EVs and aluminum.
The refinish team at Dorn’s Body & Paint is made up of a dozen body shop technicians who are able to implement a more fluid repair process, thanks to KECO’s GPR kits. To make it convenient and easy for the team, KECO provided on-site and in-depth training that grew their confidence and knowledge.
“Their training is unbelievable,” said Dorn of his KECO experience. “Chris White and Gene Fetty helped us every step of the way. It was intense two-day training and it was well worth it.”
KECO provides ongoing technical support online or over the phone. KECO also taught their apprentices about metallurgy, since there are many questions surrounding the use of their systems on aluminum and steel. As a result of the quality training, Dorn’s team was able to immediately perform successful glue pull paint repair with the KECO system.
Automobiles are using more aluminum than ever before. KECO’s GPR system doesn’t require a different set of tools to work with aluminum and can replace both spot welders required for steel and aluminum. This creates less investment for a shop. Additionally, the GPR tools and techniques can actually make more aluminum panels repairable, getting cars completed faster.
Since the three years Dorn made the switch to KECO, he has found his technicians’ speed, efficiency and panel flatness have increased over time. Overall, he found the KECO system and 6C process easy to learn and implement, and highly reliable.
Dorn said as a result of using KECO, it has changed their complete repair process, not only with paintless dent repair but on larger- to smaller-scale jobs. As a result, it’s required less paintwork, less priming and less intrusion.
Dorn made the decision to switch to KECO because the shop wanted a cleaner, more efficient repair using GPR.
According to KECO, GPR works by gluing specially designed tabs to the exterior panels of a vehicle and pulling the dent out with varying tools. This method of damage removal offers significant advantages over traditional collision repair techniques, as it does not remove e-coatings and corrosion protection applied to the panel by the vehicle manufacturer, yielding a simpler, cleaner repair that can significantly reduce the amount of body fillers and/or paint to finish. Additionally, GPR can also be performed on EVs without powering down the vehicle.
Another benefit to KECO is in the billing process. In charging consumables to repairs, the KECO system contains tangible items that can be invoiced in the form of tabs and glue, which helps with tracking spend and ultimately increases a shop’s profitability.
Shrinking the repair size is another advantage to the KECO GPR system. Reducing the size of the repair, it results in directly proportional savings in filler, primer and paint. Leaving the paint intact and beginning to straighten the panel with glue tabs---while using knockdown tools---reduces the repair area immediately. How much it shrinks is related to the dent location, shape, depth and skill set of the technician.
Dorn appreciates KECO products for another reason.
“There are also some OEMs that are very limited in what they will allow a shop to do during a repair, such as not allowing the use of anything but soft push tools or glue,” he said. Therefore, using KECO makes it easier to meet OEM compliance standards.
Dorn is grateful for partners such as KECO Body Repair Products because it helps the shop build strong operations for today, as well as position it for strong growth in the future.
“Using KECO GPR today is like having the future now,” Dorn said. “In the future, estimating systems, insurance adjusters and other companies will know the value of glue pull repair. So it is possible that charging for glue pull kits, using less filler/primer/paint than allowed by the system, and labor unit ratio gains will no longer be a given with GPR in the same way they are today.
“How quickly shops can adapt to GPR and reap the benefits before the system changes will be key,” he said. “That adoption speed will determine their profitability threshold. Once the future is here, shops operating in the past will not be able to keep up.”
KECO Body Repair Products
Company Contact: Scott Stayton
(405) 694-5161
KECOTabs.com
Facebook: @KECOBodyRepairProducts
Instagram: @kecodentrepair
YouTube: KECO Body Repair Products
TikTok: @kecogpr
To read more auto body shop profiles from the October 2022 Shop and Product Showcase, click here.
