Page 38 - Australasian Paint & Panel magazine

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PEOPLE MATTER
A TRUE LEADER AND GENTLEMAN MAX CHANTER PASSED AWAY ON
20 JANUARY 2023.
HE INDUSTRY LOST A TRUE
leader and gentleman in Max Chanter who passed away on 20th January 2023 in Melbourne. Max’s wife Judy — a long time in- dustry participant — sadly passed away less than a month before Max, on Christ-
mas Eve, 2022.
Max began his career in the industry
more than 50 years ago when he changed careers to work at The Woods Group in Melbourne. He was employed in manage- ment roles of their many panel shops be- fore leaving to start his own business Lemax Body Repairs in the ‘90’s. The name Lemax came about because of the names of the partners in the business, Leon and Max. Leon subsequently left the business and Max along with his wife Judy ran their very successful business until June 2009 when they closed the doors.
He was a great
believer in looking at new and innovative
products as well as training and education.”
Max then became the executive direc- tor of the Society of Automotive Engi- neers (SAE), a position he held for a few years until he “semi-retired”. Max was in fact involved with SAE for over 25 years as a member and board member before working full time with them.
Max would always be seen at trade shows, conferences, and seminars in Aus- tralia as well as New Zealand and the USA at NACE (National Association of Corro- sion Engineers) and SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association). He was a great believer in looking at new and inno-
vative products as well as training and ed- ucation. He also loved to visit other colli- sion repair shops and talk to the owners, sharing ideas and procedures with them.
He was a founder member of the CRSA (Collision Repair Specialists of Austral- ia), a member of the VACC and a founder of the Independent Body Repair Group (IBR Group which he ran as Chairman with Judy until very recently. He was a great believer in I-CAR and once again
was an early member and customer of their training for his staff.
Max stayed in touch with the industry not only via the IBR Group but also as a reporter for National Collision Repairer (NCR) magazine from 2015 to 2018.
Max was a recipient of the NCR Life- time Achievement Award in 2009 as rec- ognition from his peers for his service to the industry. Paint & Panel sends con- dolences to his family.
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VALE MAX CHANTER
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