One of the takeaways from our recent visit to Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes in Warrensville Heights, Ohio, is that the company takes pride in the fact that its business model is a bit different than other paint vendors.
Rather than relying on independent distributors, Sherwin-Williams serves collision repairers through its network of more than 190 company-owned stores – enabling the company to build direct relationships with body shops.
“We don’t view ourselves as a paint manufacturer,” Bryan Draga, marketing director, VR Global OEM and Services, told BodyShop Business. “We view ourselves as a partner. We have paint experts supporting painters, owners and managers each and every day.”
The company’s expertise extends far beyond paint. By bringing its vast resources to bear, Sherwin-Williams can help collision repairers reduce their cycle time, improve processes (such as repair planning and blueprinting) and get the most out of their shop layout, Draga told us.
“Our goal is to deliver programs, processes and products that help a shop get better, and not only meet the expectations of their consumer customer but also the insurance provider,” Draga said.
Speed Meets Glamour
CC200 Dynamic Clearcoat is a prime example of Sherwin-Williams’ focus on boosting shop productivity and profitability.
CC200 can help body shops ratchet up their daily throughput without sacrificing appearance, which is why the company views the premium clearcoat as an entirely new product category: the “speed-glamour finish.”
“In the past, you had to choose between a speed clear that required a bit of buffing to shine it up before delivery, or a glamour finish that was beautiful and didn’t require a lot of pre-delivery work but needed to be baked for 40, 50, 60 minutes at a pretty high temperature,” Draga explained. “[With CC200 Dynamic Clearcoat], we’ve been able to deliver both.”
Introduced at the 2016 SEMA Show, CC200’s value proposition is a five-minute bake cycle at 140 F (or a 20-minute bake cycle at 120 F), with no buffing required. That kind of quick turnaround can help shops minimize spraybooth bottlenecks and crank out more vehicles per day, while the shorter bake times can add up to big savings on energy costs.
Because CC200 is designed for just about any repair job or shop environment, it can make life simpler for shop owners, who can order one clearcoat for a variety of single- and multi-panel repairs. It can make life easier for painters as well.
“You can hand this to anyone, and with minimal training they will have successful results,” said Christopher Hill, global product manager at Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes. “We saw that extensively during our field trials.”
During our visit to the Warrensville Heights campus, BodyShop Business got a chance to spray CC200. The clearcoat was noticeably forgiving for a novice painter, and lent itself to wet-on-wet application.
“You wait a minute or so and you’re back putting another coat on,” Draga said. “So you’re saving booth time as well.”
