AkzoNobel’s Collision Industry Experts Event (CIEE) brought together single-shop and MSO operators, consultants and innovators to share business strategies and help drive success over two days in July at the Hotel Fera Anaheim, in Orange, CA.
In addition to a vendor trade show, presentations were held focused on leadership, estimating, refinish, production sales and growth. This year’s theme, “Momentum,” provided the opportunity for presenters to discuss actionable insights, smarter processes and a clearer path forward.
A single mother of three was the recipient of a 2019 Ford Ranger as part of the NABC Recycled Rides vehicle gifting.
The event kicked off with a National Auto Body Council (NABC) Recycled Rides vehicle gifting on July 9. Alejandra, a single mother of three, was nominated by the Children’s Institute to receive a 2019 Ford Ranger. The vehicle was donated by GEICO and refurbished by technicians at MB Collision in Chatsworth, CA. The mother had left a domestic violence situation and needed to find shelter for her newborn and two children.
“Despite many challenges and difficult circumstances, she has been present for her children every day, caring for their needs and even home schooling them,” said NABC representatives. Having a reliable vehicle will help her work to meet her goal of becoming a nurse, find better housing and create a future for her and her children.
That afternoon, Dan Carranza, AkzoNobel’s national sales director for vehicle refinishes in the U.S. and Mexico, discussed the reasoning behind the theme “Momentum,” and what actions businesses can take to be successful.
“When you look at the word momentum — speed, pace, tempo, energy, force, strength and power — those things don’t happen overnight,” he noted. “You have to actually have some action.”
Carranza acknowledged that collision repairers are currently facing a tough market. “My message to my team is that we are going to have to go out there daily and fight for it,” he said.
He recalled one of his business partners telling him, “In times like this, the people who are losing are the people who are sitting idle doing nothing.”
Dan Carranza, AkzoNobel national sales director, Vehicle Refinishes.
Attendees were encouraged by Carranza to write down one, two or three ideas to implement in their businesses and two actions to achieve each one of them.
“We may not be able to control the market, but we can control what’s going to happen in Q3 and Q4 and put some things in place to set up a comeback in 2026,” he said.
The first day of the event was dedicated to information related to MSOs and shops considering scaling.
Dave Roberts, managing director of Focus Advisors, talked about independent MSO growth strategies. During his presentation, he discussed ways to build momentum and capitalize on the opportunities available in the industry, including scaling.
“Scale is the ability to generate excess margin and profits that you can then employ in other investments to grow your business,” he explained. “As you get bigger, you get to buy better, you get to be a better employer because you are a more desirable place to work, you have larger teams working with you and they have deeper experience, and you can rely on them more.”
He said scale also affords the opportunity to become a more credible partner to larger organizations willing to take a risk, as well as the ability to stay ahead of the curve.
“The biggest thing you get from scale is you get to think and plan instead of just do,” he emphasized.
Dave Roberts, managing director at Focus Advisors.
Roberts shared examples of organizations that have scaled. At the same time, he cautioned attendees that growing and scaling isn’t easy.
“It’s harder and more risky than a lot of people contemplate,” he said. “You have to be realistic about your own drive and your capabilities and those of your partners. Most of us will have around 4,000 weeks in a working life. Think deeply about how you want to spend that time.”
On the second day of the event, Roberts provided an industry overview and strategic considerations for single and multi-store operators. He also talked about emerging trends in consolidations, claims volume and OEM shifts, and offered forward-looking guidance through 2026.
Ryan Taylor, CEO of BodyShop Booster, provided insight into how repairers can supercharge their shops, specifically through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). He shared examples of how AI is rapidly transforming the collision industry by driving sales, increasing speed and enabling smarter repairs.
Ryan Taylor, CEO of BodyShop Booster.
Taylor discussed how AI is already being used in the collision repair industry to boost sales, improve efficiency and elevate customer experience. He pointed out how it can reduce downtime and enhance accuracy across the repair process.
One example he shared was straight-through processing (STP), currently used in Europe. STP is an automated process done through electronic transfer with no manual intervention.
“Ninety-one percent of all auto claims are now being handled in Japan with this kind of technology,” he explained.
Although Taylor said, “AI won’t take your job… people using AI will.”
As a result, he encouraged the industry to get ahead of the curve and be an early adopter of AI.
“Those that are early adopters are going to have all of the advantages,” he noted.
Taylor also stressed the importance of understanding your market draw.
He quoted Rupert Murdoch, the Australian-American retired business magnate, who said, “The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow.”
“I think this is incredibly true,” said Taylor. “I have never seen anything in my entire life that moves as fast.”
He recommended using AI to speed up customer service, provide them with the answers they're looking for, and accelerate the way customers and staff make decisions.
“This will outpace everything else in the marketplace,” he added.
Collision Advice owner Mike Anderson provided a mid-year look at the state of the industry in his “Stay Humble; Stay Hungry” presentation.
Mike Anderson, owner of Collision Advice.
He talked about a person’s “why,” which he said represents a person’s core purpose or the deep-seated reason for the individual’s actions and choices.
He shared a personal story about his father, who was in the U.S. military. When Anderson’s father jumped out of an airplane in Vietnam, his emergency parachute did not deploy and he fell to the ground with a partially deployed parachute. He was badly injured and lived his life in a lot of pain, which Anderson said inhibited his dad’s life.
When Anderson started doing auto body work, his dad told him that whenever they fix someone’s car, it is the equivalent of packing a parachute and they should always follow OEM repair procedures.
Anderson told CIEE attendees the No. 1 reason he is so dedicated to the industry and travels 300 days a year is because he wants people to fix cars safely and properly.
“When that customer brings their vehicle to us, they give us their keys and we sign that authorization form; they are in fact saying, ‘I trust you to pack my parachute,’” Anderson emphasized, reiterating the importance of taking that responsibility seriously.
He noted how many shops refer to today’s tough times and ask him if it’s the new norm. Anderson acknowledged that consumers are filing fewer claims; however, he doesn’t think it’s the new norm.
“I think this is the old norm that we had before, and we just forgot what the old norm was,” he said.
In response, he stressed the importance of being responsible for not only the vehicle’s repair but also the customer experience.
“The shop that can learn how to improve the customer experience and learn how to fix vehicles fast in a timely manner without sacrificing, will not just survive, but will thrive in the years to come,” he said.
He advised shop owners and managers to tighten up their belts and “be slow to hire, quick to fire.”
“I believe that you probably need to make some hard choices and cut some expenses,” he recommended. “You may have to right-size your staff, but 18 months from now, when you're still standing, there will be others who won't.”
Stacey Phillips Ronak