K&M Collision has spent 35 years building its reputation around one idea: every repair should be performed the way the vehicle manufacturer says it should be. Michael Bradshaw's parents founded the family-owned Hickory, NC, shop in 1991, and he joined around 2006. Now the executive vice president of operations, he oversees a facility that holds 34 OEM certifications with more on the way, using only OEM parts and following manufacturer procedures on every job.
That commitment to OEM-correct repair is what eventually pushed K&M toward glue pull repair. The shop was already doing extensive metalwork and wasn't relying heavily on filler. But Bradshaw knew that conventional methods had limits, especially when heat from grinding or stud welding could compromise the very panel integrity the shop was trying to protect.
"It's far less invasive than what traditional repair methods have been in the past," Bradshaw said. "[The goal] is performing a better repair in a less invasive manner.”
Welded Keys Opened the Door, but Only Partway
Before adopting glue pull repair, K&M had invested in a key-based welding system that allowed technicians to make cosmetic pulls by welding keys to the panel surface. The system proved that less-invasive pulling techniques had real potential, and the shop started experimenting with a limited glue-pulling attachment.
But the limited tools only went so far. The shop needed a system with broader capability, and one that came with the training to back it up.
Less Heat, Less Filler, and Panels That Stay Intact
The most recent KECO upgrade added lateral tension capability, which Bradshaw says has made panels repairable that K&M previously wouldn't have attempted.K&M was an early adopter of the KECO Body Repair Products glue pull repair (GPR) system and has upgraded two or three times as KECO has continued developing the platform. Each upgrade has expanded what the shop's technicians can do.
Because glue pulling doesn't introduce heat into the panel through grinding or stud welding, the steel or aluminum retains more of its original rigidity. Bradshaw says the system has virtually eliminated filler use at K&M. And because the repair area stays smaller, the shop has been able to skip blending into adjacent panels in some cases, cutting steps and materials out of the process entirely.
The most recent upgrade added lateral tension capability, which Bradshaw says has pushed that even further by making panels repairable that the shop previously wouldn't have attempted.
Repairing Instead of Replacing Cuts More Than Costs
Where Bradshaw sees the clearest operational benefit is in panels that would have been replacement candidates under conventional methods. When a panel can be repaired with GPR instead of replaced, the shop avoids disassembly, parts ordering, delivery wait times, and the additional labor that comes with a structural replacement.
The consumable costs associated with glue and tabs also fit into K&M's existing approach to tracking every cost on every job. KECO's itemized consumables help make that process easy to maintain.
Bradshaw admits he doesn't always see the value in new equipment right away. When KECO introduced the K-Tower, a portable pull tower designed for large damage correction, he didn't think the shop needed it. K&M already had towers mounted to its repair benches and was making glue pulls from those.
"Once we demoed it in the shop and the technicians got to use it, it was abundantly clear very quickly that that was also something that could move the needle in a big way for us," Bradshaw said.
Training That Technicians Actually Want to Repeat
Bradshaw is careful to separate the tools from the training, but only to make the point that both matter. KECO's team has visited K&M three times for on-site training sessions, and Bradshaw says every technician who went through a previous session wanted to participate again.
"The training, in my opinion, is second to none," he said.
KECO's training team has visited K&M three times for on-site sessions, working through repairs on real vehicles in the shop rather than in a classroom.The training is hands-on, conducted in the shop on real vehicles, not confined to a classroom. Shortly after the most recent session, one technician pulled Bradshaw over to a vehicle to walk through a repair he'd completed using the lateral tension system.
"The tech was genuinely excited to show me the vehicle," Bradshaw said.
That enthusiasm doesn't end when the trainers leave. Bradshaw says it's common for his technicians to message KECO's training team to share photos of repairs they've completed or talk through challenges they've encountered with the system.
That confidence carries over to how the shop thinks about the future, especially as vehicles incorporate more welded and bonded structural panels.
"Anytime you don't have to remove factory connection points and you can maintain all of those factory original connection methods, that's ultimately a win, not only for you as a shop, but really for the consumer long term," Bradshaw said.
For shop owners weighing whether GPR is worth the investment, Bradshaw doesn't hesitate.
"If you're a shop and you're looking to improve your capabilities and place real knowledge in your technician's hands, there's not a better dollar-for-dollar investment in the industry currently."
