Page 10 - Australian Paint & Panel Nov-Dec 2020

NEWS
10
PAINT&PANEL NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2020
WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
$1.2B BOOST
THE FEDERAL CHAMBER OF AUTOMOTIVE
Industries (FCAI) has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of a boost to Australian apprenticeships positions.
The scheme includes an investment of $1.2 billion to employ 100,000 new ap- prentices and trainees.
Tony Weber, chief executive of FCAI said: “In the automotive industry, training is particularly important given the advent of highly sophisticated emerging technol- ogies, such as the electrification of fleets and connected autonomous vehicles.
“So, it is critical our technicians are highly qualified to ensure the safety of themselves and their customers.
“In addition, attracting, developing, men- toring, and retaining new talent through ro- bust entry-level programs is a huge factor in ensuring industry and business thrives and prospers. ”
MITSUBISHI BACKLASH
AS MANY AS 150 SUBMISSIONS HAVE
been lodged with the Australian Compe- tition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) objecting to Mitsubishi’s bid to seek approval to offer a 10-year warran- ty on the condition that the purchaser exclusively acquires servicing from a Mitsubishi dealership.
The ACCC has been inundated with opposition from a large number of auto- motive parts suppliers, industry associa- tions and small independent repairers.
The ACCC will make a decision on the application to either revoke the notification or allow
it to stand.
AAAA’s CEO Stuart Char- ity said: "Mitsubishi’s ap- plication constitutes a deliberate attempt to
exclude Australian owned businesses from supplying safe and legitimate products and services to consumers and should be revoked.
“Extended warranties promised by car manufacturers are designed to en- courage consumers to purchase a vehi- cle with ‘peace of mind’. The fact that car companies feel that they can use conflict-free warranty repairs as a mar-
keting tool is very concerning,” he said. Charity said there was also real con- cern that by approving this applica- tion the ACCC will set a precedent that other car companies will follow, and likely result in 10- year conditional warranties being offered by many of
the car companies op- erating in Australia.
BRIEFS
Scott Croaker ishead of operations for Fix Network Australia.
GRANTS FOR WOMEN
FIX AUTO SENIOR APPOINTMENT
End of year funding grants are available to women who work in the automotive sector to support their participation in a professional development program.
The fee support opportunity provides a scholarship of up to $5,000 for women to take part in one of three leadership courses. The grants have been provisioned for use by women right across the country, with a specific focus on the automotive sector, but must be allocated by the end of 2020. The programs are suitable for junior managers right through to executive level women and the closing date is 4 December. Find out more at: wla.edu.au/automotive
HIGGINS LEADS SUNCORP NZ
Jimmy Higgins is now CEO of Suncorp New Zealand. Since joining Suncorp in 2008, Higgins has held a range of roles across the Australian and New Zealand insurance businesses. Prior to being
appointed acting CEO of
Suncorp New Zealand in
July 2020, he held roles in
the New Zealand business
as CFO and Executive
General Manager, Claims.
FIX NETWORK AUSTRALIA THE UMBRELLA
entity encompassing both the Fix Auto and Novus Glass brands in Australia has announced the appointment of Scott Croaker into the role of head of opera- tions for its Australian business.
Stuart Faid, vice president for Fix Net- work in Asia, Australia and New Zealand said “ Scott brings with him more than 30 years experience across a broad range of key roles within the automotive industry and is highly experienced in both busi- ness development and operational perfor- mance management. Scott’s primary fo- cus will be on reinforcing our customer centric approach and building out on our existing capability in the fields of data analysis, KPI management and our propri- etary performance improvement pro- grammes. Working across both Fix and Novus brands, these elements continue to differentiate us in the marketplace."
Having had a decade of automotive re-
tail experience, Croaker then spent a fur- ther 22 years with BMW Australia, work- ing across various management and leadership positions. His final role with BMW saw him responsible for the devel- opment of the BMW Collision Repair net- work amongst other strategic initiatives.
Croaker said: “Having spent the ma- jority of my career in a large enterprise, I have gained a great deal of experience on the key metrics, processes and strate- gies that can ensure success. The op- portunity to do this at a more direct lev- el and in a way that makes a tangible difference to individual businesses and customers is very exciting”.