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Comment by Bill Hinchcliffe on July 31, 2012 at 7:46am

Check out the next Truck Frame & Axle Association's fall meeting October 4-7 in Oklahoma City. www.taraassociation.com

Comment by Kris Jones on July 30, 2012 at 7:08pm

I have been involved with a major shift in our business model by converting a successful automotive collision center to a facility that is 100% focusing on medium and heavy duty collision repair.  We have upgraded our refinish facilities along with our frame and alignment equipment to handle up to class 8 trucks along with specialty vehicles.  I am looking for marketing advice, and/or groups of peers to communicate with to better our business. 

What is your business model, and what separates you from the competition?

Comment by jeri boyd on April 11, 2011 at 10:52am

I am a recruiter for Travelers Insurance.  I am looking for a Heavy Equipment Technical Specialist for the Texas area.  If you know someone or are intersted in more information please take a look at our posting on our website www.travelers.com posting 797826

Comment by Bill Hinchcliffe on November 22, 2010 at 7:40pm

Stay in touch with me through this page or go to www.taraassociation.com for the latest information for our upcoming meeting in February 8 - 11 in association with TMC annual meeting in Tampa FL. We are doing a program on Trailer Frame repair and axle correction and alignment for the TMC group on Friday morning. We are also taking part in the exhibition and we have several engineers to speak at our meetings to enlighten us on the latest heavy truck changes. All are welcome so get in touch with us if your interested.
Bill

Comment by john pettinato on November 22, 2010 at 6:15pm

Blowtherm USA offers quality downdraft spraybooths for the heavy truck industry. Please feel feel to email us at mmiller@blowtherm-usa.com
or phone 1-855-GO EXTRA 1-855-463-9872

Comment by Robert Holland on September 27, 2010 at 10:02am

My name is Bob Holland with Chief/Chassis Liner and we offer a very popular frame repair system for trucks. If I can answer any questions about our product, please feel free to give me a call so I can provide more information. Please follow the link below to see more information about our machines.

www.chassisliner.com/Product_HDTrucker_All.shtml


Regards ,

Bob Holland
Chief Automotive Technologies
800-445-9262 x837
hollandb@chiefautomotive.com

Comment by jeri boyd on June 9, 2010 at 9:41am

I am currently looking for 2 HE techs (appraisers) to work as a Travelers Employee. One will cover the Baltimore Virgina area. The second will cover the Northern Texas and Oklahoma Area. Please contact me if you are or someone you know may be interested in the positions.
jaboyd@travelers.com

Comment by Greg Fritz on February 11, 2010 at 1:26am

Hi Bill, great article. I read the same article you refer to by MR. Passwater. It's very sad to see the state of BOTH the Truck repair and Automotive Collision repair going down the road of accepting DRP and lower profits. I feel it is due to not knowing the cost of doing business, deal making and the like. I have seen that there are a few shops that DO have DRP agreements but still do not give concessions
on parts and labor. But they do, as they should be giving the customers what they charge for and can prove it with proper documentation. This is what most insurance companies need to justify to their own superiors to justify what they pay a service provider. I send out a challenge or maybe it should be called a pole. How many shops really know the cost of running their own business and WHY do we not stand on our own and charge what it cost to operate our OWN company with out basing your door rate on what the so called "Industry standard" is.
Healthy competition is good, but dropping our company's pants to save someone else a few or more dollars per repair job is only hurting our selves. We may as well shoot our selves in the foot, which basically is what we have done. It's no wonder most of the shops can not afford to purchase equipment up grades and meet government compliance standards. This cycle is never going to end or get better until Everyone stands up and backs up why they charge what they charge for the services provided.

Who out there is up for the challenge??

Comment by Bill Hinchcliffe on February 10, 2010 at 10:59am

Last month I was reading an article in Auto Body Repair News by Tony Passwater about the change in the auto body repair business and thought how these changes affect our profession. I took the liberty to borrow some similar points from Tony’s article.

Major Change has swept thru our industry in the last few years. Truck design has dramatically evolved, which requires new ways of analyzing and repairing, as well as the new equipment needed to accomplish these tasks. We evolved as well because we received the needed training. Bought the right equipment and most importantly committed ourselves to repairing these trucks properly and safely.

Lately we are facing more change. Air Ride steer axles, Rack & Pinion steering on class 8 trucks, Direct Repair Programs, computerized estimates, change in paint technology, VOC laws and waterborne conversion, and shortages of qualified technicians. Let alone the new very low emission engines, CVSA10 and the brake technology coming our way.

Mr. Passwater draws the following scenario for the Auto Body Industry and a lot of it pertains to our side of Truck Repair. “A Perfect Storm is brewing, for starters we have a major evolution of vehicle design that only a very small percentage of our industry understands. There is major new equipment requirements that even a smaller percentage of the industry knows are occurring every year. And if that isn’t enough, even a smaller percentage of the industry is willing to invest in this capital expense due to the poor economic conditions. The declining insurance claim counts available and the increasing insurer intervention in the collision industry by way of suppressing labor rates and market practices to the point it is not economically practical to update and upgrade as required. Undoubtedly, these conditions have begun to compromise repair quality”. Tony then describes an improper repair to a laminated steel structural member of a car, either by an unknowing or uncaring repair shop/technician. How many improper repairs by other repairers have you seen in your shop?

The technology used on the new vehicles today will require major changes for our industry. A very large percentage of the repairs require access to information, new or upgraded equipment, specialized training and special precautions. Nothing can be taken for granted.

If you are reading this, chances are you are committed to this industry and improving repair qualities. T.A.R.A. has always been the leader in advanced repair to the transportation industry and remains committed to create industry standards or codes that outline what is, or is not acceptable. What equipment must be used and to what ethics we uphold to ensure the safe repair of commercial vehicles. Our meetings and Tech sessions are devoted to these principles and I urge you to make every attempt to join us in the future for the wealth of knowledge that is available to every T.A.R.A. member and guest.







Bill Hinchcliffe

Comment by jeri boyd on February 4, 2010 at 6:46am

I recruit HE Tech Spec appraisers across the country for Travelers Insurance if you know anyone that would be interested have them email me jaboyd@travelers.com

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