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DuPont Performance Coatings' (DPC) customers can now attend any of three new marketing courses specially designed to target four key audiences - consumers, insurers, fleets and dealers. These courses are offered as part of the DuPont Performance Services (DPS) educational series.
The courses are titled:"The goal of these courses is to provide a fresh view of marketing for the collision industry," said Steve Trapp, Collision Services development manager. "They focus on new media approaches intermixed with proven ideas to target previous customers, supporting the sales of incoming prospects, and generating demand with new prospects."Each course was developed in collaboration with the "voice of customer" per segment, industry experts on the topic and repairers who have had a successful track record using the tools and techniques featured. Each course includes video role plays of many of the tools and techniques in practical use, as well as numerous exercises including a key exercise that encourages repairers to build a marketing budget customized for their target markets and showcasing the benefits their repair center offers.
DPC Business Development Managers (BDM's) and DPS Customer Care Center Account Managers (CCAM), who are focused on business development, have reported that after an attendee returns to his or her repair center they have seen a 5 to 15 percent growth in customer sales following a renewed effort on investing in and implementing their marketing plan.To learn more about DPS and these courses, visit www.pc.dupont.com.
According to reports by the Associated Press, General Motors Co. said June 17 that it will keep most of its U.S. factories, including the Arlington Assembly Plant, open through the normal two-week summer shutdown to meet demand for some of its vehicles.
The automaker will keep nine of 11 assembly plants open to make 56,000 more vehicles that are in high demand, such as the Buick LaCrosse luxury sedan and the Chevrolet Traverse large crossover vehicle.
GM said in a statement that the company is trying to reduce waiting time for dealers and customers to get vehicles.
In addition to Arlington, plants that will stay open from June 28 to July 9 are located in Bowling Green, Ky.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Hamtramck, Mich., Kansas City, Kan.; Flint, Mich.; Delta Township, Mich.; Lansing, Mich.; and Wentzville, Mo.
Automakers have traditionally shut down plants for short periods during the summer while switching production of model years and to manage vacation time for workers.
GM is recovering from a tumultuous 2009, during which it filed for bankruptcy and accepted nearly $50 billion in federal aid. Its sales have rebounded in recent months, including a 17 percent rise in May. That was fueled by models like the Buick LaCrosse, which posted a 212 percent spike in sales last month.
The two GM plants that will have a summer shutdown are in Lordstown, Ohio and Shreveport, La.
Carpenter said the Lordstown plant needs time to change over from the Chevy Cobalt to the Chevy Cruze models.
The Shreveport facility recently lost production when the Hummer brand was discontinued, and it makes a small pickup that is not in high demand.
The company has kept some locations open during the summer shutdown, but company spokeswoman Kimberly Carpenter said GM is keeping far more open this summer than it has during recent years. To help meet the increased demand, GM is also expected to increase the staff of temporary workers, Carpenter said. Thursday, 22 July 2010 10:23 The Texas Attorney General ordered insurer Travelers Cos. Inc. to stop running a television advertisement that he called deceptive. Attorney General Greg Abbott said that the Travelers ad improperly tells Texas homeowners that they should buy additional automobile insurance to prevent losing their homes.
“Texans are protected by robust homestead laws that insulate homeowners from the losses depicted in Travelers’ advertisements,” Abbott said in the release.
The Texas Constitution (Article 16, Section 50) strictly prohibits the forced sale of a person’s homestead except in narrow circumstances, clearly protecting homeowners from just the type of situation outlined in the Travelers television ad.
If Travelers continues to air the ad, the company will face legal action by the state, Abbott said. Abbott’s action comes two days after Texas Watch, a consumer advocacy group, asked Abbott and Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin to take action against the company.
Boyd Group Income Fund plans to acquire True2Form Collision Repair Centers, one of the largest multi-location collision repair companies in the United States with 37 locations, for $18 million.
"The acquisition of True2Form is a significant strategic move for the Boyd Group as it allows us to enhance our presence in the eastern United States with an additional 37 locations in states and markets that we do not currently operate in, thereby complementing our existing network," said Brock Bulbuck, president and chief executive officer of the Boyd Group. "True2Form is also attractive to us because of its strong leadership team, its deep operational expertise and its tradition of providing industry-leading repair quality and customer service. While we are continuing our growth strategy of adding between eight to 10 new locations per year, this acquisition represents a unique opportunity to acquire a strategic multi-location repair business that can accelerate our growth."The transaction, valued at approximately $18 million, is expected to be completed by Aug.1, 2010, subject to closing conditions. Funding for the transaction will be a combination of cash, U.S. bank debt, third-party financing and a vendor take-back note. The Boyd Group Income Fund will not be issuing any new equity to fund the transaction and therefore there will be no equity dilution to unitholders.
True2Form is a private company that operates 37 locations in four U.S. states; 17 locations in North Carolina, eight locations in Ohio seven locations in Maryland and five locations in Pennsylvania. True2Form reported revenues of more than $71 million in the 12 months ended May 31, 2010.
"We are looking forward to being a part of the Boyd Group," said Rex Dunn, CEO of True2Form. "We believe that the combination of our two market leading companies represents an excellent strategic fit and creates an even stronger industry leader which will be better positioned to deliver innovative, best-in-class service to insurance company customers and vehicle owners."
With the acquisition of True2Form, the Boyd Group will significantly expand its footprint and will operate 129 centers in North America; with 92 centers in 11 U.S. states and 37 centers in the four Western Canadian provinces.
The Boyd Group Inc. is the largest operator of collision repair centers in Canada and among the largest in North America. The company operates locations in the four western Canadian provinces under the trade name Boyd Autobody & Glass, as well as in seven U.S. states under the trade name Gerber Collision & Glass. The company also operates Gerber National Glass Services, an auto glass repair and replacement referral business with approximately 3,000 affiliated service providers throughout the United States.
"The collision industry has seen radical change in the past two years, as what used to be a modestly dwindling supply of business has turned down sharply, consumers are more frugal with their car repair dollars and insurance companies are more demanding of the performance of their collision repair partners," says Dick Cross, chairman and CEO of CARSTAR Collision Centers, the nation's largest chain of collision centers.
• What do you foresee for the collision industry in 2010?
Bailey doesn't see a relief from the economy in 2010, and expects to see more stores closing. But for stores with the vision, resources and support to look beyond the current times, the economy offers many opportunities to become better operations, and Bailey says we'll see such stores trying to become green and doing everything else they can to improve revenues, improve productivity and stay in business.
Cross warns that there will be no recovery of revenues in sight, and is concerned about the acceleration of store failures as owners with significant debt obligations, who are holding their breath for the recession to ease, run out of time. He says there will be continued pressures from insurers for superior productivity and shop performance, while consumers demand a greater emphasis on customer satisfaction. But the bright side for well-managed and forward- thinking shops is the resulting acceleration of flow of revenues from less well-managed shops toward more progressively managed shops.
• What are the current issues in car construction and car repair that consumers should know about?
According to Cross, new materials and assembly methods have made many of the routine repair methods in body shops obsolete. Only the leading edge shops have access to the information and technologies required to keep pace with the rate of change in car construction and, therefore, to ensure safe and non-value-degrading repairs on many vehicles. He guides consumers to look for industry and maker certifications, along with national warranties, in selecting both mechanical, and particularly, body repairers.
Bailey warns consumers to know who is making their repairs. As a 30-year-veteran of the business, he says many of the metals in vehicles today can only be repaired or replaced by a trained professional who has access to the correct equipment in the shop. He notes there are fewer body shops everyday that are trained and equipped to repair the vehicle sold today.
Both Cross and Bailey are working closely with the CARSTAR stores around the country to continue technology training programs, improve customer service and help guide consumers through the repair process. For collision shop owners, CARSTAR Collision Centers offers a unique resource of insurance relationships, business management programs, margin improvement initiatives and movement toward green collision repair.
CARSTAR Collision Center's leadership team remains positive on the collision industry, and believes that the store owners and operators will emerge from today's economic challenges stronger and as better business people than before.