Highlights from NACE '99
"We're very, very pleased," said Galen Poss, NACE show director, in providing a summary of this year's congress and exposition.
More than 30,000 people participated in this year's show held in Atlanta. There were 604 exhibiting companies occupying 265,400 net square feet of exhibit space.
NACE 2000 will be held Dec. 7-10 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.
Congress Opening
Mission: NACE 1999
Kevin Caldwell, NACE '99 Chairman
"The theme for this year's show, Mission NACE 1999, reflects the positive results from what has been a very positive year," Kevin Caldwell said in the opening statements of his State of the Industry address. Caldwell is ASA's Collision Division director and chairman of NACE.
Caldwell delivered a direct speech highlighting industry improvements in 1999 and focusing on areas where work remains. His comments addressed not only collision repair professionals, but also information providers, insurance companies, manufacturers and paint companies.
Regarding insurance companies, Caldwell said, "Insurers must communicate to their customers what their policy does and does not cover. Don't ask collision repair professionals to explain what your policy covers. That's your job." He also discussed the issue of aftermarket vs. OEM parts.
Cycle time, Caldwell said, has different meanings for the vehicle owner, collision repairer, and insurer. To facilitate an efficient repair, the collision professional -not the insurer -should be allowed to choose the method of repair, parts, vendors, and sublet vendors, he said. A fair and equitable system built on trust between the insurer, repairer and customer will be beneficial to all, most especially to the customer.
Manufacturers, Caldwell said, must begin applying reasonable costs to air bag replacements. "Cars four to five years old shouldn't be totaled because an air bag deployed." This practice resulting from costly air bag replacements is taking business away from collision shops.
Information on OBD II and air bags must be fully available to the collision repair profession, Caldwell said. Information availability continues to be a major objective of ASA.
Turning to collision repairers, Caldwell asked why I-CAR's Uniform Procedures for Collision Repair (UPCR) failed. Uniform procedures are needed in the industry to ensure repairers and insurers are working from the same repair specifications.
UPCR contained 158 repair issues, he said. Regrettably, less than 200 shops and only one insurance company purchased it. I-CAR has now placed the information on the Internet.
In closing, Caldwell said NACE provides a forum for finding proactive, positive solutions to the problems facing the industry. Once attendees are back at their shops, Caldwell encouraged them to advance the industry by promoting "honesty, integrity and craftsmanship."
Friday Morning Keynote
New World Disorder: Challenge and Opportunity
Dr. Robert Gates
Dr. Robert Gates, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), delivered the Friday NACE keynote presentation. An intelligence officer for 27 years, Gates is the only CIA employee to enter at an entry-level position and rise to the directorship.
"A career in the CIA is very different than that portrayed in novels and James Bond movies," Gates said. "If James Bond was employed by the CIA today he would likely be subject to sexual harassment charges."
Gates shared an anecdote to give insight into some espionage activities the agency has undertaken. In one foreign nation, the CIA learned where individuals were meeting to plan terrorist activities. Planting a microphone in the room would have been difficult, Gates said. There was a cat, however, that took naps in this room. "We kidnapped the cat and planted a device in the cat where no one would pet it. For six months we heard all the terrorist planning going on," Gates said.
During his CIA tenure, Gates worked for six presidents. He worked with personally, and knew quite well, Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush.
Sharing observations about today's world political environment, Gates said the United States is unable to defend itself against a rogue attack by a terrorist group. No foreign leader is going to attack the U.S. militarily, Gates said. It is the sole surviving superpower.
Regrettably, however, the federal government has placed miniscule resources on preparing for, and defending against, terrorist attacks, he said. The nation's leaders are preoccupied with partisan politics and have "squandered years in preparing for post-Cold War defense."
"A free nation can never let down its guard," Gates concluded.
Saturday Morning Keynote
A View From Washington
George Stephanopoulos
During the Saturday Morning Keynote Address, political analyst George Stephanopoulos shared his firsthand observations of the 2000 presidential election. He focused on some key trends, followed by a brief view of the leading presidential candidates, and his predictions of what the coming year will bring.
Stephanopoulos believes voters will elect someone most unlike President Clinton. He also said voters in the next elections appear to care most about Democratic issues such as high-quality education, healthcare, Social Security and gun control.
Other trends: money dominates this campaign, and both parties are hungry for voters. He said voters seem to be favoring candidates who are willing to say what they feel, citing these reasons for the popularity of Bill Bradley and John McCain.
Stephanopoulos said the candidate who wins the White House in 2000 would also likely carry the Senate and House. "The 2000 election will also be very big because the next president will choose three, perhaps four, seats on the Supreme Court," he said, which could shift the ideological base of the Supreme Court.
He discussed the strong points of several candidates, but predicted the final matchup to be between Bush and Gore.
When asked what his political aspirations were, Stephanopoulos said he never plans more than two or three years ahead, but that he's not ruling anything out.
For more on Stephanopoulos' address, visit AutoInc.'s NACE Online Daily coverage.
Awards Presentation
Pictured to the right, ASA member Jim Busch is presented the BodyShop Business Collision Repair Executive of the Year award from Denise Lloyd, publisher, BodyShop Business.
Also during the awards presentation, led by Kevin Caldwell, the Emil Stanley Merit Award was given to Craig Hemeyer, Mike's Autocrafts, Inc. Montgomery City, Mo. And the Babcox Scholarship was presented to Gene Lopez, Seidner's Collision Centers, Monrovia, Calif.
Merwin Receives Industry Award
Sharon Merwin, manager of ASA's Collision Division, was honored at NACE as one of the 10 Most Influential Women in the Collision Repair Industry by Akzo Nobel. Also among those honored was ASA member Connie Klimisch, owner of Klimisch's Inc., in Vallejo, Calif.
Merwin has been with ASA for 11 years. Her career in the collision industry began in 1981, selling paint supplies and equipment through a jobber in Kansas City, Mo. She later served as the vice president of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) and managed the group's Kansas City office. She joined ASA in August 1988.
Merwin has participated on numerous vo-tech advisory boards, and is currently serving on the advisory boards of Texas State Technical College and Tarrant County (Texas) College. She also is on the I-CAR Foundation advisory board, the NACE Attendee advisory committee and works with all of the specialized task force and committees within ASA. She has been a member of the American Society of Association Executives for 14 years.
Also cited were Leila Bates, owner of Bates Custom & Collision, Baytown, Texas; Sheila Loftus, editor/publisher, Hammer & Dolly, Washington, D.C.; Jenenne Marshall, owner, Mainland Automotive, Burnaby, B.C., Canada; Nikki McDonald, owner, Perry & Terry's, Lakewood, Colo.; Terri McMenamin, publisher, ABRN, Radnor, Pa.; Tracy Pierce, national director for collision repair operations, AutoNation USA Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Kelly Roe, owner, Carty's Collision, Ontario, Calif.; and Joy Skinner, owner, Industrial Park Collision, Orillia, Ontario, Canada.
NABC Donates Van to Ronald McDonald House
The Atlanta Ronald McDonald House was the recipient of a Chevrolet Astro mini van donated by the National Auto Body Council (NABC).
The van was presented to Linda Morris, executive director of the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House, in a ceremony Saturday afternoon on the floor of the NACE Exposition.
The van was purchased and refurbished by Gene Hamilton, owner of Sports & Imports Collision in Atlanta. Hamilton is also a member of the NABC board of directors.
Ed Dollar, president and chairman of the NABC board of directors, said the van will be used to transport families of very sick children to and from hospitals.
Hamilton refurbished the van on behalf of NABC's charity program in which collision repair businesses volunteer to service, free of charge, Ronald McDonald House vehicles.
Booth space for NABC at NACE was provided by the Automotive Service Association.
Federal and State Legislative Objectives || Profile on Parts || Adhering to Labor Laws || Creating an Effective Shop Web Site || Top 10 Automotive Web Sites || NACE '99 Post-Show Report || Guest Editorial || Tech to Tech || Tech Tips || News Briefs || Taking the Hill || Around ASA || Net Worth || Stat Corner || Shop Profile || Chairman's Message
AutoInc. Magazine ® Vol.XIVIII, January 2000
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