Car ADAS Solutions’ network of calibration facility owners from across the country attended the 2nd annual Car ADAS Business Owners’ Summit in Snowbird, UT, in August.
“I’m overwhelmed, impressed, encouraged and enthused about this event,” said Greg Peeters, CEO of Car ADAS Solutions. “It’s invigorating to have these incredible conversations with our leaders in the automotive space -- entrepreneurs who make things happen.”
I-CAR CEO and President John Van Alstyne, left, with Greg Peeters, right, CEO of Car ADAS Solutions, at the Car ADAS Open House.
"We feel that bringing together the Car ADAS licensees for our annual summit is key to unlocking our network's collective potential,” said COO Kevin Caruso. “Collaboration transforms individual strengths in a tapestry of the shared success across our network.”
Car ADAS’s first licensee, Sean Guthrie, opened OpenRoad Collision in April 2021 in Albuquerque, NM. Today, there are more than 70 centers in 30 states owned by Car ADAS Solutions licensees. Cumulatively, Peters said more than 5,000 calibrations are completed each month.
“The core purpose of our company is to protect people’s lives by certifying the performance of their safety systems,” said Peeters. “We do that through precise calibration, testing and a verification process."
The day prior to the Summit, Car ADAS held an open house at the company’s training facility in Salt Lake City, UT, where licensees, vendors and guests had an opportunity to network. Over the next two days, presentations focused on business support and growth, as well as leadership principles.
The Summit was sponsored by AkzoNobel, Autel, Fountane, PPG, Seagull Printing, J.D. Power and Sunbelt Rentals.
Cole Strandberg, principal with FOCUS Investment Banking, emceed the two-day event. Strandberg is also the host of The Collision Vision, a weekly podcast by Autobody News focused on the business side of the collision industry.
“The energy throughout the week was intense and positive. Everyone present was excited and passionate about the industry they’re in,” said Strandberg. "There’s a real sense that, yes, you can do well financially. But even more so, the work being done in the ADAS calibration space is saving lives.”
Strandberg said the ADAS calibration space is really in its infancy, so to have an event like this that allows entrepreneurs in the space to compare notes and tackle challenges together is a great thing.
Offering Benefits for Collision Repair Employees
Richie Seaberry, vice president of business development, enterprise portfolio manager at Decisely, talked about the importance of having benefits and why they matter to collision repair businesses.
“Only 15% of collision shops offer health benefits to their employees,” noted Seaberry. “Businesses that prioritize the well-being of their employees not only attract top talent but also nurture a loyal and motivated workforce.”
Seaberry discussed the impact of benefits on employee recruitment and retention and provided an overview of the benefits program Decisely launched with the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) in 2022 to offer affordable coverage to the collision industry.
Scott Broaddus, equity partner at Irongate Capital Advisors, provided information about 401(k) plan solutions offered through SCRS. During his presentation, Broaddus discussed the retirement plan landscape and options for collision repair business owners.
“Over 40 states have initiated or passed legislation that either requires, or are staging in requirements, for small businesses to offer basic retirement savings programs,” said Broaddus. These include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Virginia.
By offering a retirement plan, Broaddus said it can help businesses attract and retain top talent and reduce taxable income for business owners.
Business and Training Tips for Shop Owners
Jon Shaw and Reed Nielsen, partners at Shaw and Nielsen, provided insight on strategic tax planning for small businesses. In addition to offering tips on how to select the best entity -- LLC, S-Corporation or C-Corporation -- they shared tax planning strategies and best practices. This included setting up a separate bank account and credit card, keeping personal transactions separate, classifying workers using a W2 or 1099, keeping a set of books, and using accounting software to get organized.
High-impact insurance evaluation for ADAS was shared by David Willett, SPARK Underwriters chief underwriting officer and founder.
“As a Car ADAS licensee, your business focus is to support safe and proper repairs,” said Willett. “How can you tell if your insurance provider is prepared to do the same for your business?”
Willett reviewed aspects involving missing coverage and how to tell if an underwriter knows the business.
“ADAS operations are not a targeted risk class by underwriters within the insurance industry,” Willett explained.
Willett shared information about proper coverages and warned business owners about exclusions or gaps. He also discussed proper limits, pricing, claims handling and risk management.
As an I-CAR sustaining partner and training alliance member, Car ADAS invited I-CAR CEO and President John Van Alstyne to share information about the organization and the collaboration for ADAS success.
In his presentation, “Powering the Industry Forward,” Van Alstyne highlighted I-CAR’s vision that EVERY person in the collision repair industry has the information, knowledge and skills required to perform complete, safe and quality repairs for the ultimate benefit of the consumer.
He also discussed the organization’s four core programming pillars: technical education, technical information, technical services and talent attraction, development and retention.
Van Alstyne then talked about the impact of ADAS on shops and how it is growing as repair complexity is increasing. I-CAR currently offers a variety of ADAS courses; Van Alstyne reviewed the organization’s ADAS technician platinum path and Car ADAS calibration technician training path.
Left to right: Andy Tylka, owner of Tag Calibrations, Cheryl Boswell from DCR Systems/Collision Clarity, and Eric Newell from Quality Collision Group.
Panel Discussions and Keynote Speeches
Strandberg moderated two panel discussions where Car ADAS licensees had an opportunity to share best practices and how they overcame challenges. The first, “Marketing Successes: Experiences and Forging Forward,” included Mark Bruno, owner of ADAS Calibrations of Florida; C.J. Peeters, owner of MN ADAS; and Luke Price, owner of ADAS Smart. The licensees for the second panel, “Establishing a Regional Footprint,” were Doug Higgins, CFO of Tag Calibrations; Jamie Humphries, owner of Salus Vehicle Solutions; and Jay Lundeen, owner of Precision ADAS USA.
“The panels were exceptionally valuable, giving the audience unfiltered access to some of the best operators in the space, who were transparent about their successes and struggles,” said Strandberg.
Keynote speaker Matt Schneider, founder and CEO of Memento Mori Capital, shared insight on how business owners can use their story to unlock things they didn’t think possible as entrepreneurs and how to thrive in business.
“When failure is not an option, the things that you can overcome are incredible,” he said. “You just have to commit to success… and fully immerse yourself in the outcome.”
Schneider said it’s easy to make commitments to ourselves and other people that aren’t kept.
“We live in a world where that happens constantly,” he noted. “One of best ways to erode confidence and trust in yourself is to make commitments to yourself that you don’t keep.”
Schneider stressed the importance of having core values, which he described as not just words but a filter that a person processes information through.
“As an entrepreneur, you are constantly faced with challenges and decisions that need to be made,” he said.
By having core values -- a North Star -- he said it helps business owners make the best possible decisions.
Summit Day Two
On the Summit’s second day, Christopher Koepsell, vice president of learning and development for Car ADAS Solutions, talked about the company's unique training and software offerings.
Sheryl Driggers, coach and speaker for Collision Advice, discussed strategies to create high-performance teams. This included how to become a leader people want to follow and the importance of building leaders within the organization.
“When owners and managers engage and start developing team members and providing resources to help them grow, they become engaged,” said Driggers.
Insight on how to overcome objections to payment for needed procedures was shared by Tim Ronak, senior services consultant for AkzoNobel. Ronak explained what insurers are required to do to settle a loss and why it is important to know as a calibration facility owner. He also explained how to handle pushback when there are objections to payment and offered insight on some general objection categories.
“Paraphrasing Greg Peeters, there are three crucial steps to secure calibration reimbursement,” noted Ronak. These include documenting why a calibration is required, the procedures and steps that need to occur to achieve the calibration and proof that it was done.
Lastly, he explained the provision in most policies called an RTA or The Right To Appraisal, which permits an insured to elect to have an impartial third party engage to arbitrate the loss when there is a disagreement.
Dan Carranza, AkzoNobel national sales director, gave a presentation on the “ONE Word That Will Change Your Life, Business and Culture” based on the book “One Word That Will Change Your Life” by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton and Jimmy Page. Carranza encouraged attendees to replace resolutions with creating a vision statement for the year.
“It will narrow the focus for great life change and put things front and center,” he explained.
Carranza shared the impact of positive change, which he said will help create an extraordinary culture and a team of individuals that will ultimately lead to extraordinary customer service. In closing, he encouraged attendees to have a clear set of goals with focused actions and asked each person to write down the “one word” that will guide them in 2024.
During the last presentation, Car ADAS Chief Information Officer Michael Jokinen moderated a discussion with Jim Vecchio, head of VIN products, Autodata Solutions Division of J.D. Power and Tim Herby, president of Fountane, on the importance of providing and delivering quality vehicle data across the Car ADAS ecosystem.
“The mark of a successful industry event is actionable takeaways,” said Strandberg. “The 2024 Car ADAS Business Owners’ Summit had no shortage of actionable takeaways.”
Stacey Phillips Ronak