Page 12 - Australasian Paint & Panel May-June 2020

NEWS
12
PAINT&PANEL
MAY / JUNE 2020
WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
CORONA VIRUS DEVASTATES UK INDUSTRY
AN IN-DEPTH SURVEY HAS REVEALED
the shocking scale of devastation the Covid-19 pandemic had already caused to bodyshops within the UK automotive aftermarket by mid April.
Less than two weeks into a ‘partial lockdown’ that some fear could last months, 72.2% of respondents to the UK Body Repair Covid-19 Survey reported that claims notifications were already down more than 70%, with 49.1% of bodyshops saying they had now sus- pended trading and a further 24.3% sug- gesting they were likely to follow suit. The remaining 26.6% said they planned to stay open for the foreseeable future.
The week-long survey carried out by Trend Tracker, in partnership with ARC360 and the National Body Repair- ers Association (NBRA), generated more than 220 responses – representing over 500 individual sites – with turnovers ranging from below £1m to those greater than £10m per annum.
The survey also put the supply issue into sharp focus, with 82.9% admitting
the pandemic was a ‘disruptive’ influence on the supply of OEM parts, mainly due to key agents closing down. However, rough- ly half said they had experienced no issues at all regarding the supply of paint and materials (45.9%), aftermarket parts (45.2%), and green parts (52.6%).
In terms of staffing levels, the survey found that only 14% had retained its en- tire workforce on full pay, with 64.7% saying employees had been stood down. As bodyshops face an uncertain future, future recruitment is also an issue with less than one in 10 businesses saying they expected to take on new staff or ap- prentices in the next three months.
These figures underline the scale of the challenge facing bodyshops, many of whom admit cashflow is their biggest concern and have urged work providers to introduce a range of support meas- ures to help them remain viable. These include: quicker payment of invoices; higher labour rates during the crisis; support with courtesy car allocations; and quicker authorisation.
DRIVEN BRANDS BUYS FIX AUTO USA
DRIVEN BRANDS ANNOUNCED ITS
acquisition of Fix Auto USA and Auto Center Auto Body (ACAB) on 21 April.
Fix Auto USA (FUSA) has 150 franchise locations and ACAB has 10 company- owned locations. FUSA and ACAB will re- tain their current branding, and the acqui- sition excludes Fix Auto Canada locations.
Driven Brands’ Michael Macaluso said “In a time of consolidation for the collision repair space, this strategic move also solidi- fies our position as an industry leader for our insurance, OEM, and vendor partners."
The new acquisition would seem to put Driven Brands’ U.S. footprint on par with number two, Gerber.
Fix Network World, the owner of the Fix Auto trademark and design in the United States and globally, was ‘disap- pointed and alarmed’ to read the an- nouncement .
Steve Leal, President and CEO of Fix Network said: “We were not aware of this transaction nor did we consent to any transaction between Driven Brands and FUSA, as is required under the license agreement with FUSA’s par- ent company. As such, we will pursue all legal avenues open to us to protect our lawful position as the owner of the Fix Auto trademark and design in the United States.”
BRIEFS
55 NEW SUNCORP APPRENTICES
The Suncorp Group says it is proud to welcome 55 new recruits to its Suncorp Apprentice Scholarship Program, established to support training in the motor industry and provide young Australians with qualifications and career opportunities.
New recruits have already commenced training within Suncorp’s various network panel repairers throughout the country.
The Suncorp Apprentice Scholarship Programhas been running for more than 10 years, and currently supports over
100 apprentices across Australia. Since inception, more than 600 apprentices have been through the program.
As part of the program, Suncorp provides subsidies to repairers to the value of $12,000 for a four-year apprenticeship, to help with the costs of employing and training the apprentices.
Additionally, for every year of successfully completed studies, Suncorp provides apprentices with $1,000, to assist with tools, equipment and study-related purchases.
CALL FOR FEE FREE TRAINING
The Australian Association of Progressive Repairers is actively engaging key industry stakeholders such as the NSW Government, TAFE, PWC (Skills For Australia), automotive training boards and other entities to enlist support for expanding the current fee-free training for automotive employees who have lost their jobs or have been stood down.
While there are some free courses available these are not technical upskilling opportunities.
AAPR is campaigning for practical training such as I-CAR courses be funded by Government to benefit both the mental wellbeing and the technical abilities of these automotive employees that have been stood down or have lost their jobs.