When the Goan Gets Tough: the Goan Body Shops
The age of refinish technology has yet to dawn in India. With a population in excess of 900 million, labor is cheap and plentiful and money is scarce. Needless to say, specialized collision-repair equipment is virtually nonexistent. Although India has only 5 million cars and CVs, the demand for collision-repair shops is high. The roads
Seeds of Success: Redfield Collision Center
Name: Redfield Collision Center Location: Festus, Mo. Owner: Greg Redfield Established: 1976 Square Footage: 18,200 Number of Employees: 27 Repair Volume: 116 cars per month Average Repair Cost: $1,640 The first Harley-Davidson motorcycle was made entirely by hand by four men in a backyard shed. Although it started out simple, the now-mass-produced Iron Horse ended
Explaining the Choices
It would be hard to name another product category in our industry that has more vendors than compounds, polishes and waxes.
Masking Methods
Masking a vehicle in preparation for painting typically takes more time than does the actual painting – which means a good masking technique is one of the real secrets of the professional-refinisher’s trade.
Creative Recruitment
Your right arm. How important is it to you? An independent body shop owner recently said he would give his to find one good technician. If people are willing to give up body parts, you know things are bad!
Bringing Home the Gold: Betty Coon
The first woman to pass the I-CAR Automotive MIG Welding Qualification Exam.
The Daily Grind: Methods for Grinding
Grinding methods, like virtually everything else in collision repair, have certainly changed.
Before the Booth: Saving Time
In a business where money hinges on your completion time for any job, the impetus to go fast is universal. And painters battle harder to beat the book time than metal men do. While painters are constrained by dry times between coats, metal men have only the suggested book labor time to beat.
Insurance Involvement
The collision-repair industry has seen many on-going changes. One aspect of change has been the growing involvement of insurance companies in the industry. We asked body shop owners and managers across the nation the following questions: “How
do you feel about the growing involvement of insurance companies”.
in the collision-repair business?" and "Has it affected
your labor rates? If so, how?"