Attendees of the BodyShop Business Waterborne Conference to be held Aug. 13-14, 2009 in Huron, Ohio, will be treated to presentations from some of the collision repair industry’s most progressive and innovative minds.
Mark Clark, a 30-plus year industry veteran and owner of PBE Systems in Waterloo, Iowa, is one of the foremost leading experts on the industry-wide movement to low-VOC coatings and has been keeping a close eye on when and where they will be mandated next.
“Although the original impetus for adding water to auto paint came from the smoggy air in Southern California, the resulting product has lots of good things to offer auto body painters across the country,” Clark says. “All the major paint manufacturers have created products that comply with the 3.5 lb.-per-gallon VOC limits set by the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s amendments to Rule 1151. Along the way, shops in the affected region gained a product that hides very quickly, has nice, clean-looking color and blends easily into the waterborne finish the OEM vehicle came with.”
“Many paint shops across the country have already switched to waterborne basecoats, even though no government agency required them to do so,” Clark adds. “They’re gaining market share by promoting their environmentally friendly paint system to ecologically concerned consumers and finding consistent color match and fast cycle times to boot.”
Michael Giarrizzo, Jr., president and CEO of DCR Systems of Mentor, Ohio, was recently granted a full U.S. patent for his vehicle collision repair process and system. The patent is the first of its kind, validating the innovation of DCR’s lean-based process and confirming that a collision repair system can be so unique as to warrant a patent. DCR Systems moved to waterborne basecoats last year.
“At DCR Systems, our patented production process is about predictability and dependability,” Giarrizzo says. “The move to waterborne has helped a great deal in that effort. The product is stable and it gave us a chance to reset standard work initiatives in an area that is typically challenging because of old habits.”
Tom Horvath has received much notoriety demonstrating his SYSTEM ONE detailing products on the TV show “Jay Leno’s Garage.” He has also sprayed waterborne basecoats for 10 years at his successful shop in southern California, Tom’s Custom Auto Body.
“Change has always been hard for me, but waterborne truly makes the body shop environment a better place to work,” Horvath says.
Mike Anderson, owner of Wagonwork Collision Centers in Alexandria, Va., is a very popular speaker in the industry who is much in demand for his humorous and passionate presentations. His success has been due to establishing a lean-and-mean model of standard operating procedures (SOPs) in his shops for every single duty down to cleaning the restrooms (click HERE to read a story on Anderson’s SOPs). His shops have also made a successful transition to low-VOC coatings.
“Waterborne is a great product,” says Anderson. “It’s a lot more user-friendly.”
The conference will also feature special guests Holly Wilson, collision repair campaign project coordinator for the EPA, and Naveen Berry, planning and rules manager for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
To sign up for the BodyShop Business Waterborne Conference, call Elise Frate at (330) 670-1234 ext. 234 or visit www.waterbornefacts.com. Click HERE to view the conference flyer.
