Richard Nopper, owner of Nopper's Collision Repairs Inc. in East Greenbush, N.Y., painted his entire building blue to attract customers. Nopper plays on this in his advertising by telling customers to look for the "blue building" when in need of collision repair. When asked why blue, Nopper replies, "I like blue and I felt that the color would get the attention of customers and make my business stand out."

Nopper began his auto body repair business in 1980 as a one-man operation in a small two-car garage in the town of East Greenbush. "I ran the business alone for the first two years and eventually outgrew the small two-car garage," said Nopper. He then located a larger building in East Greenbush and moved to the present location.

Upon moving to the new location Nopper hired his brother, Herb Nopper Jr., as his first employee. Soon after, their father, Herb Nopper Sr., joined the staff. Today Nopper's brother and father are still employed at Nopper's as auto body technicians. Nopper Sr. is in the process of retiring; however, he continues to come in every day to open the shop and works until noon. "I have always been able to depend on my father and brother over the years," said Nopper.

In addition to his brother and father, Nopper's wife, Barbara, is also employed at the shop. "Barbara has held many job titles over the years. She currently handles all the aspects of accounts payable, including payroll. She also oversees the insurance on the building and vehicles, phone charges and advertising," said Nopper. In 1988, Nopper's was in need of an additional accounting person and Nopper hired Mary Pat Lashoff, Barbara's sister. "Mary Pat handles accounts receivables as well as helps with estimating and the parts ordering," said Nopper. William Bruso, Nopper's father-in-law, is the cleanup man and is responsible for detailing every vehicle before it is returned to the customer.

Other staff members are George Scrum, heavy frame technician; Jeff Kronau, head painter; Peter Battistoni, part-time painter's helper and second-year vocational student; and Cary Peek, body shop manager. Peek is responsible for customer service, estimating, scheduling, ordering parts and assigning work to technicians. "Cary has been a great asset to our work force. He is also an ambassador to our customers in helping them with all aspects of their insurance claim," said Nopper. Nopper's entire staff make the shop the success it is and all plan to remain at Nopper's for quite some time.

To keep good employees, many shops offer a well-rounded benefit package and Nopper's is no different. "We have paid holidays, paid sick days and paid vacation days. We also pay for health insurance for our employees and offer additional family coverage at a reasonable rate," said Nopper. Recently, the shop added a Simple IRA to its benefit package that allows employees to contribute a percentage of their salary and Nopper's matches up to 3 percent of the employee's gross salary. "I feel that our pay plan for technicians is also a benefit to them. We pay on a flat rate scale that allows them to make a lot of money each week without working overtime," said Nopper.

Taking care of his employees and customers is a top priority to Nopper. To satisfy the customers, Nopper has invested in top notch equipment and tools, including a down draft paint booth and drive-on frame equipment. Nopper's was the first shop in the area to have the paint booth and drive-on frame and unibody straightening rack with a computerized/laser measuring system. Nopper's has been using computerized estimating since 1983 and is well known by the major insurance companies in the area. Nopper's has paint mixing capabilities on site to offer the highest quality collision repair. Nopper's also provides its customers with towing, a loaner car and a lifetime warranty on workmanship.

In addition to the body shop, Nopper runs Blue Ribbon Glass Inc., d.b.a. Glass Doctor, from the same location. When Nopper purchased the glass company in 1996, it had one employee, one van and had been in business for one year. "I tried to grow the glass business with my connections in the auto body industry but struggled to keep it alive for three years," said Nopper. At that point, he decided that he did not have enough knowledge of the glass industry, so Nopper began looking at other options. "I found a franchise company called the Dwyer Group that had recently purchased the 'Glass Doctor' name and rights. After checking into the company, I signed up. Now the company is growing by leaps and bounds. We perform auto, home and business glass repair," said Nopper. The business has three installers and one full-time customer service representative. The Glass Doctor's recent growth has made it necessary to move from its office at Nopper's Collision to a new, larger location in Rensselaer, N.Y.

Nopper has invested in his employees, equipment and business to continue his success. He also invests in his industry through membership in various associations. Nopper's has been an ASA member since 1994. When asked why he joined ASA, Nopper said, "We joined after learning more about ASA at NACE shows that my wife and I had attended." Nopper is also a member of the Capital District Auto Collision Technician Association (ACT). He is a past president of ACT and is currently serving as treasurer. Nopper believes it is extremely important for business owners to belong and participate in local and national associations to further improve the collision repair industry.

Nopper is also a firm believer of keeping up with technology and due to this belief, he has Web sites for both the body shop and the glass company. "I contacted iPartners Inc. about six months ago and he had me up and running in no time," said Nopper.

The future of Nopper's Collision Repair is full of possibilities and the staff and ownership are looking forward to the new challenges in the ever-changing collision repair industry. "I feel that the DRP programs are making it is easier to do business. However, DRP programs can all be different for each insurance company, as well as for each body shop. We strive to understand what is expected of each company and that seems to make the process run smoother and speed up the claim settlement process. I am hopeful that the insurance industry will stop mandating the use of aftermarket parts. I think that the public is being made more aware of their rights and are going to demand that the insurance companies put their vehicles back to pre-accident condition. I am also looking forward to growing both companies, Nopper's Collision Repair Inc. and Glass Doctor," said Nopper.

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