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AASP/NJ’s 40th Annual NORTHEAST Bigger and Better Than Ever
Tuesday, 28 March 2017 21:17 Featured in AUTOBODYNEWS With 2017 marking AASP/NJ’s 40th Annual NORTHEAST Conference and Tradeshow, it comes as no surprise that this year’s event, held at the Meadowlands Exposition Center on March 17-19, was bigger and better than ever with a handful of firsts. AASP/NJ hosted a four-part Path to Certification panel series and presented the first James Moy Memorial Award for Dedication to the Automotive Repair Industry. Additionally, this was the first agenda to include presentations from Superare Marketing, and Mike Anderson of Collision Advice presented a brand new seminar on the importance of disassembly. According to AASP/NJ Executive Director Charles Bryant, “The 2017 NORTHEAST Automotive…
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23-Year-Old Female Shop Owner Runs the Show at VA Maaco
Friday, 03 March 2017 21:45 Featured in AUTOBODYNEWS The collision repair industry is known for being male-dominated, and with the increasing need for young professionals to enter the industry, it’s refreshing to meet Katie Inge, a 23-year-old shop owner in Chesapeake, VA. Inge’s passion for cars transcends any question of her place in this industry and proves that women have an important perspective to bring and role to play as we move into the future; it’s not just a man’s world anymore! Inge grew up in her father’s Maaco Collision and Repair Center, spending weekends in the shop where she learned about the entire process, from painting to sanding to…
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Larry Montanez Plays Devil’s Advocate for State Farm Labor Rate Decreases
Wednesday, 28 December 2016 00:07 Featured in AUTOBODYNEWS Many collision repair industry professionals have taken up arms in reaction to State Farm’s decision to lower labor rates in parts of NJ and NY, but amidst the outrage, a very recognizable voice is strangely absent. Industry advocate Larry Montanez of P & L Consultants has taken a different stance on this situation as he appeals to the industry to consider a logical approach. Montanez notes, “State Farm is lowering labor rates to what they consider to be a reasonable amount based on what they say is their market research. Conversely, they did originally claim that their extensive market rate survey is what placed their…
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What Does Photo Estimating Mean for the Collision Repair Industry?
Thursday, 07 July 2016 17:22 Featured in AUTOBODYNEWS Photo estimating is the newest hot topic in the collision repair industry, causing quite a stir after Pennsylvania, Virginia and Delaware passed laws allowing insurers to write estimates based on photos of vehicle damage submitted by the insured. Advocates of photo estimating praise its convenience while those in opposition are concerned about supplement increases and its impact on the reputation of collision repair facilities. So how does photo estimating impact shops, consumers and insurance companies? To find out what this new trend really entails, Autobody News spoke with CJ Przybyl, president of Snapsheet; Aaron Schulenburg, executive director of SCRS; Dan Risley, executive director of…
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WIN© Honors 2016 Scholarship Recipients at Gala Awards Ceremony
Tuesday, 10 May 2016 17:20 Featured in AUTOBODYNEWS On Tuesday, May 3, during the 2016 Educational Conference, WIN members took a break from the informative sessions to honor the 2016 Most Influential Woman (MIW) honoree as well as this year’s scholarship winners. The MIW Reception was held outside and attendees were dressed to the nines as they sampled hors d’oeuvres while networking with their collision repair industry peers. Read full article in PDF format here Cheryl Boswell welcomed attendees and introduced Beverly Rook-Twibell and Petra Schroeder, co-Chairs of the Scholarship Committee. Recipients of the scholarships are required to possess a 3.0 GPA, provide school involvement, engage in community service, bring a recommendation…
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Industry Observations From Erica Eversman
Sunday, 26 January 2014 17:57 Featured in AUTOBODYNEWS If you’ve been paying the least bit of attention to legal issues in the collision repair industry over the past decade, you probably know of Erica Eversman. She’s an OH attorney and consumer advocate specializing in understanding collision repairers’ issues and their impact on consumer safety. A noted authority and frequent speaker on the topics of diminished value, DRP networks and the influence insurers attempt to exert over repairers, Eversman serves as a consultant to the industry, assisting repairers to analyze proposed regulations and laws affecting the industry. In addition to writing “AutoMuse”, an award-winning blog, she is chief counsel for Vehicle…
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Maryland Shop Owners Prevail Against Short Pays
Wednesday, 25 September 2013 22:21 Featured in AUTOBODYNEWS Anyone who has been involved in repair for any amount of time knows how frustrating it can be when insurers refuse to pay the full amount billed for a repair. Many repairers count their losses and move on to the next vehicle, but Mark Schaech Jr., co-owner of Mark’s Body Shop in Baltimore, MD, refuses to take this insult lying down. While he and his partner, his father, would prefer to avoid the necessity of taking legal action, he’s definitely “not taking it anymore!” Schaech knows this is a common problem that shop owners face, so he’s glad to share his experience…
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CCRE’s Fall Seminar Covers Adhesion, Warranties, and Much More
Thursday, 25 October 2012 16:47 To view a pdf file of this article with photos, click HERE. As a follow-up to the CCRE legal seminar held in March 2012—which I attended and wrote about in Autobody News (search “CCRE” at autobodynews.com)—the Pennsylvania Collision Trade Guild (PCTG) hosted the Coalition for Collision Repair Excellence for the second event in this series of seminars. CCRE’s 2012 Fall Seminar was held Friday and Saturday, September 21–22 at the Airport Embassy Suites in Philadelphia, PA. PCTG decided to host CCRE again due to the overwhelmingly positive responses they received on the 2012 Spring Seminar. An audience of nearly 50 came to Philadelphia from as far away…
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Gunpowder, Auto Refinishing, and Jeff Gordon—Two Centuries of DuPont
Thursday, 23 December 2010 20:08 Featured in AUTOBODYNEWS What’s the connection between black gunpowder, auto refinishing, and Jeff Gordon? In a word: DuPont. On December 10, 2010, DuPont held a grand opening to dedicate their new Coatings Technology Center at the Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware, only a short distance from where DuPont’s legacy began with the manufacturing of gunpowder at Eleutherian Mills—now known as Hagley—in 1802. The opening celebration consisted of a tour of the new facility, and Hagley Museum and a memorable lunch with NASCAR-champ Jeff Gordon. DuPont’s Experimental Station in Wilmington is the site of extensive research that has lead to many game-changing inventions, such as nylon, Kevlar…
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Female Circumcision’s Unknown Appearance in America
Submitted On October 28, 2007 Featured in Ezine Articles Pain. Hemorrhage. Death. By methods of cutting and ripping with knives, thorns, glass shards. A surgery that has affected over 100 million women. And the name? Female circumcision, genital mutilation, or simply torture. Each year, approximately 2 million women and girls across the world experience this surgery that ranges from a small incision on the clitoris to complete removal of all external genitalia. For many, there is nothing that they can do to stop it. Female genital mutilation or circumcision is the cutting, pricking, or complete removal of external female genitalia. The reasons for this are to promote chastity, to enhance…
