More than 200 members of AkzoNobel’s Acoat Selected group gathered in Washington, D.C., Sept. 17-19 at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Pentagon City for the summer North American Performance Group (NAPG) meeting.
The NAPG bi-annual meetings are held each winter and summer and are one of the longest-running business services programs found within the collision repair industry today. The meetings aim to provide industry-leading information and tools that enable member businesses to build sustainable futures.
The event focused on a variety of topics, such as:
- Engaging the Digital Consumer (Marketing)
- Principles of Downdraft Technology (Technical / Facilities / Finance)
- “Your Business” 2.0 – A Guide to Succession Planning (Operations / Finance)
- Impact of Technology on Future Vehicles (Technical / Sustainability)
- Is Your Way of Working, Working? (HR / Leadership)
- Super Vision, not Supervision! (HR / Leadership)
- The Impact of Aluminum Repair on Facility Design and Equipment (Technical / Facility / Production)
- Mobile Estimating Technology by Mitchell (IT / Sales)
- OSHA Awareness by GMG EnviroSafe (HS&E)
In addition to the educational opportunities, Acoat Selected members, distributors and guests attended Performance Group meetings with like-minded colleagues to exchange ideas, benchmark financial performance, discuss challenges and solutions, discover new processes and celebrate successes.
A highlight of the summer meeting was the group team building “Capital Quest” scavenger hunt exercise that took place in the D.C. area, as well as the annual awards presentation.
2014 award recipients included:
- Business of the Year
Brandywine Coach Works, Pa. (three locations)
- Action Award
Collision Damage Experts (10 locations in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan)
- Pride Award
Pride Auto Body (seven locations in Southern California)
- Growth Award – Top Five Above the Median
Britland Autobody (Green Brook Township, N.J.)
Island Fender (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Country Hills Toyota (Calgary, Canada)
Collision Damage Experts (Chicago, Ill. [western])
Westmont Body Werks (Westmont, Ill.)
- Growth Award – Top Five Below the Median
Collision Damage Experts (Lansing, Ill.)
Collision Damage Experts – Lynwood, Ill.
Collision Damage Experts – Crown Point, Ind.
International Autocrafters – Lake Elsinore, Calif.
Moody’s Collision Center – Lewiston, Maine
“For more than 20 years, our members have looked forward to coming to these bi-annual meetings to see old colleagues and meet new ones, grapple with issues facing the collision repair industry, and work together in finding solutions,” said Barry Rinehart, AkzoNobel Commercial Services leader North America. “The camaraderie is extraordinary and each member comes away with a fresh infusion of new ideas and tools for strengthening their businesses. We strongly encourage all of our customers to take advantage of this valuable resource.”
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