Automotive Refinisher November-December 2015

T H E V O I C E O F T H E I N D U S T R Y

November-December 2015

UTOMOTIVEAUTOMOTIVEAEdition 182

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R E F I N I S H E RR E F I N I S H E R

GOODWOOD REVIVAL

DECADE WITH KAPCI

GLASURIT CELEBRATE

DID YOU HEAR?

IN THIS ISSUEWHITE WALL BOYSWHITE WALL BOYS AKZONOBEL’S

AUTOMATCHIC VISION

THE EXPLOSIVETRUTH ABOUTMULTI-MIXREPAIR

AKZONOBEL’S

AUTOMATCHIC VISION

FRANKFURTMOTOR SHOW

REPORT

IN THIS ISSUE

THE EXPLOSIVETRUTH ABOUTMULTI-MIXREPAIR

AR COVER S-O -2_NOV/DEC COVER 05 2015/10/29 11:54 AM Page 1

TAkinG The

FRiCTion ouT oF

CoLLiSion RePAiR

CALL 0861 268 885

REPAIR SOLUTIONS N-D 2015 3_Layout 1 2015/10/29 11:22 AM Page 1

S e p t e m b e r - O c t o b e r 2 0 1 5

ContentsN o v e m b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5

Contents

48

18

3R E F I N I S H E RUTOMOTIVEAAUTOMOTIVE

2222

181212

6262

5454

Cover: Mercedes-Benz “Concept IAA” Contents: Goodwood Revival 2015

CRA NEWSSurvey Results 5FESTOOL RANGEVermont’s New Line 9SIKKENS RELAUNCHAllied Paints 11STANDOX60 Years of Service 16PORSCHETop Shop 20CYMOT NAMIBIAWindhoek Trade Show 26CONSOLIDATIONTrade Trends 36IBIS WORLDRepair Markets 48FUTURE TECHPeugeot Design by Andrew Marsh 52ALUMINIUM Repair Bays 72FUTURE TECHVW Group Drama - Meltdown or Hype? 78

CRA NEWSA Review of Activity 5FRANKFURT SHOWStars Roll Out 12KEEP PUSHINGCustom Feature 18SIKKENSAutoMatchic Vision 20EXPLOSIVE TRUTHMulti-Mix Repair 22GENROCK EXPANDUK Market Beckons 31CAPE PAINT & PANELCustomer Evening 34KINSEY PARTS SURVEYWinners and Losers 36DEVILBISS MIXING SOLUTIONSNew Binks Gems Machine 48KAPCI SUCCESS10 Years of Growth 62FUTURE TECHVW Group Drama - Meltdown or Hype? 78

48

CONTENTS N-D 2015_Layout 1 2015/10/30 2:04 PM Page 1

One of the biggest surprises of thispublishing year has been thespeed that it disappeared at aswe spent all our time over

achieving on this personal summit to lookback on some highlights.

To recount would be the mixing it upwith the captains of industry. At the CRAconference at Automechanika we fielded ourresident technical guru, Andrew Marsh toshow one and all the vast and definitelychanging process of repair technology that’sto be embraced going forward as everyone isheading for aluminium, carbon fibre and highstrength steel construction on future cars.

Attending the IBIS conference in Greeceshowed another looming trend, that of rapidindustry consolidation which is being pushedon this mainly “Ma and Pa” dominatedcollision repair trade. Big business is lookingto get a better return and insurers continueto push boundaries to control repair costs.Each and every year I’m sure that body shopowners see it all as very tedious and as aninvasion of the way normal business isconducted.

With that said, the duplication of coststhat hound repairers on compliance withapproved repair programmes where when allis said and done, over 90% of equipment laidout to meet these differing standards is thesame equipment. Surely one day a degree ofcommon sense on approved spot weldersand other equipment must be realised toreign in compliance investment costs fordifferent motor makers.

In terms of trade activity it has been aninteresting year. With work values holdingsteady the impact of the 50% write-off rateinitiative has denuded some of the smallershops of a large chunk of anticipated work

flow as the nation’s scrap yards and auctionhouses seem to bulge with getting rid ofwrite-off constipation volumes. With a largeincrease of insurance vehicles condemned tobeing scrap metal it would be nice to seesome major insurers back down withoutloosing face on this unwanted and largelyunsustainable demand. We are not Europewhere the directive was installed. Africa hasit’s own unique set of collision repaircircumstances.

Firstly, the cars and trucks are moreexpensive to purchase and so too are thereplacement spares like airbags and otherelectronic pieces of equipment which arecondemned all too soon with minor lookingaccident damage work to the breakers yards.

Take a look at this edition. It’s the largestever year-end document so it proves thatwe’re doing something right. The advent oflast years post office strike action pushed theAutomotive Refinisher digital versionforward. We’re posting some 15 000 hits amonth on that alone and its just growing.

Finally, once again we would like toextend a large thank you to our faithful bandof trade advertisers who make this magazinepossible and perhaps mostly to you, our avidreaders who seem to enjoy the efforts of usall at the publication. We strive to produce abody shop trade magazine without equal,even on a global scale.

So travel well and enjoy the festive seasonwith out too many traffic fines or intoxicationto arrive back safe and sound to take on2016, warts and all with a keen ambition todo well next year. It’s important to keep thattigerish ambition with sheer will power, don’tyou think?

Best regards, Ian Groat

Editor’s bit – A year of celebrationSome may think me mad to be

celebrating a year of tough economicdecisions and all round rubbish leadership inour government, but then I am one sandwichshort of a picnic at the best of times. I thinkit’s growing up in this beautiful country ofours and experiencing the extreme highs and

lows you get usedto in what we call“normal day life”in South Africa.

It truly has been a year of celebrations forus at Automotive Refinisher magazine as weclocked 30 years in the business with our July–August issue – our 180th edition. Whatstarted out as a hobby on the side has turnedout to be one heck of a ride.

The collision repair industry is still asinteresting and as complex as it ever was andis reaching warp speed with the technologicalonslaught that we are experiencing nowmore than ever. Harder more malleablemetals, better wet look finishes, moreeconomical every day consumables – toname a few – see us scurrying into the futureat a hectic pace. But it’s never boring!

This year has seen new paint brands beinglaunched into the SA market and a newdistribution network forging ahead. Smallarea repair has been highlighted once againas an expanding area of profit and the latestin aluminium repair has been under thespotlight along with the new tools needed.

Standox is also enjoying their 60th year ofbusiness and have plans to celebrate thisachievement the whole year through.Glasurit’s parrot also turns 90 years old thisyear. Congratulations to you both in reachingsuch amazing milestones. Such achievementsin modern day times are not to be takenlightly.

The top notch standard of the magazineis due to our wonderful teams of productionand design, printers, mailers, advertisers andour ever enthusiastic readers. It truly is ateam effort and I thank you for your hardwork. It definitely shows in the excellent“read me” quality that is widely enjoyedlocally and abroad. Wherever this festiveseason finds you, remember that the greatestgift you can ever own can’t be bought at theshops, but found in the hearts of true friendsand loving family. Have a good rest and weall look forward to making the magazinebigger and better in 2016.

Best regards, Claire Macfie

PUBLISHING NEWS

2015 - THE YEAR THAT WAS

4R E F I N I S H E R

UTOMOTIVEAAUTOMOTIVE

YEAR-END WRAP

Telephone : +27 (0)11 949 4091

Facs imi le : +27 (0)11 252 6844

Emai l : au tore f@ia fr i ca .com

Websi te : www.auto re f .co .za

Publ isher: Ian Groat

Ed ito r : C la ire Mac f ie

Accounts : Va l Groat

Design : Jay Groat

Ass ist ant : Nataschj a Fer re i ra

CT Correspondent : Dave Fa l l

Techn ica l Ed itor : Andrew Marsh

The views expressed inarticles in AutomotiveRefinisher are those of theauthors and shall not beconstrued to represent thoseof the Editor or the Publisher.Accordingly, AutomotiveRefinisher accepts noresponsibility for claims andstatements made byadvertisers and independentcolumnists. Further, theappearance of advertisementsherein does not necessarilyindicate the approval byAutomotive Refinisher for theproduct and/or serviceadvertised. Material may notbe reproduced in any formwithout the written consentof the Publisher. AutomotiveRefinisher is dedicated toservicing the businessinterests of the collision repairindustry.

A U S T R A L I A

U N I TED K I NG D O M

MEDIAPARTNER

IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

R E F I N I S H E R

AR N-DCLAIRE_NOV/DEC 2005 paganation 2015/10/30 1:21 PM Page 20


This year has absolutely flown by and CRa activities acrossthe board have been full steam ahead for ourmembership which remains committed and satisfied. wecan confirm that during this year we have also been able

to grow our insurance influence by developing relationships withthem as the industry changes constantly with consultation and newtrends in panel structures and networking which will affectprocurement practices.

the membership conference which was held at automechanikayielded positive results as we also fielded a stand at the expo. whatwas gained from this was that a large cross section of ourmembers voiced their concerns on major issues that face theSouth african motor body repair business and we have started towork on some of those issues both for members and with ourinvited associate partners at the event.

new legislation and protocol implementation has kept us onour toes this year and by being very proactive on various aspectsof the Consumer protection act and the treat Customers Fairlyprotocol amongst others and the changes that these will bring toeveryone’s business operations on a daily basis.

the Independent Industry Repair association survey placed theCRa in top position as an association in a number of key activities.Our overall score was voted the best and even though the resultswere very close I think we can take a bow for the CRa operationwhich has only been in operation for a few short years. So we mustbe doing something right for members and that is the bottom lineon the survey results.

the CRa national rollout this year to be truthful could havebeen better but like any emerging business we were beset with afew staffing issues and our focus next year will be meeting withmembers more actively, advising on immediate roll out initiatives

and to get to some of the body repairers in outlying areas. theseregions have all expressed interest in joining, so our 2016 profile ofchallenges will include a drive to gain more members or a largerfootprint of collision repair centre that meet with the associationshigh operating standards.

the impending introduction of larger network operations will inmy opinion only continue into next year so it is vital thatindependent standalone operators have a battle plan to contendwith these business related trends.

the CRa are striving to put some innovative plans together forthe members going forwards in areas like telematics and otherbusiness plans which will also change the landscape of auto bodyrepair in the future.

I thank you all for your continued support.

INDUSTRY newS

rackINg up steadY progress

CRA NEWS

“The year ahead wi l l p robably f acetr ends of new networ k oppor tuni t ies,incr eased te lematic deve lopments andga in ing a larger na t iona l foo tp r int onmembership for the CRA,” says SteveKessel , operat ions di r ector at CRA.

by Steve Kessel

Taking part in the Automechanika show gave the CRA valuable time to talkabout our performance and current trade issues that face collision repairmembership.

AR NOV-DEC 2015 NAT_NOV/DEC 2005 paganation 2015/10/29 1:15 PM Page 18

There aren’t too many ladies working in the tough worldof collision repair. we recently talked to patricia Farrellwho works as a technical sales representative for Saautopaints in newlands, Johannesburg.

patricia’s success seems to come from a long history in thebusiness for she sold abrasive systems for Klingspor for manyyears. today she is handling over 20 key accounts travelling theacross the Reef to different industrial and commercial companies.

One of her most successful clients has been Raw truck Salesrun by owner Rodney plett. they operate out of a huge site inBoksburg. Rodney and his partner paul van der Merwe havedeveloped other ancillary companies like truck Busters, a strippingyard, and Force professional tools. Raw will rebuild just about anyhorse and trailer or pantechnicon vehicle back to new condition.

Rodney who has many years of experience under his belt saysthat they concentrate on auction sales and total write-off trailers.By importing their own spares they are in many cases able tobuild them back to good, road-going units.

patricia sells them all their consumable products such as Luxor2K paint systems. the company have held their own in somedifficult trading conditions. Rodney had a long period of workingon the powerstar repair centre in Centurion and started up onhis own some 17 years ago with partner paul who is a technicalexpert on the truck repair operational side. Raw have a full yardof rebuildable commercial cabs and some trailers that would bevery intimidating to try and complete on expert repair. Howevernothing seems to frighten off the expert team at Raw truckSales.

Farrell says that these customers are typical of her satisfiedclients which are backed up by fast and expert service from Saautopaints on an everyday basis.

LOCAL update

patrIcIa doINg well INa maN’s world

WHAT’S HOT?

Visit: www.luxorpaints.co.za Mail: [email protected]

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082 885 7301Patrica Farrell 082 901 1175Trevor Basson 079 632 1612

SA Auto Paints have a solid20 year history in body shopsupplies. Our legendary service inGauteng covers a fullproduct range of foundationfillers and primers,superfast colour matchingservice and customer carethat really counts for yourbusiness.

We have a full fleet ofexpress delivery vehicles onhand.

Suppliers of:Auto Glass LampsMotor Spares BonnetsAbrasives FendersSpoilers Auto PaintsWe are stockists of Luxor Paints

SA Auto Paints have a solid20 year history in body shopsupplies. Our legendary service inGauteng covers a fullproduct range of foundationfillers and primers,superfast colour matchingservice and customer carethat really counts for yourbusiness.

We have a full fleet ofexpress delivery vehicles onhand.

Suppliers of:Auto Glass LampsMotor Spares BonnetsAbrasives FendersSpoilers Auto PaintsWe are stockists of Luxor Paints

Patricia Farrell sees to a large base of clients for SA Autopaints and says thatthe company win with their great service and express deliveries to the trade.

Rodney Plett of RAW Truck and Rebuilders has a stock of spares second tonone with parts that are self imported by the group.

R E F I N I S H E RUTOMOTIVEAAUTOMOTIVE


TRASNLINE AD N-D 2015_Layout 1 2015/10/27 11:02 AM Page 1



GUMTREE AUTOMOTIVE

ECONOMIC PRESSURE DRIVES

NEED FOR PRIVATE

AUTOMOTIVE SALE

ASSISTANCEJeff Osborne, Head ofGumtree Automotive

The latest Vehicle Price Index figures released byTransUnion indicates that the demand for used vehiclescontinues to increase, with one new vehicle financed forevery 1.78 used. New car price inflation has also

softened, while the price inflation of used cars is accelerating withincreasing speed.

“It is not unusual when considered against the backdrop oflower consumer confidence and increasing financial pressure,”says Jeff Osborne, head of Gumtree Automotive. “Fuel andelectricity costs, the rising cost of new vehicle imports, uncertaintyabout the economic outlook – all have an impact – and becausethe gap in pricing between a new vehicle and a used model is sosignificant, prospective car buyers will look to the secondhandmarket, without question. And of course, on the other side of thecoin, sellers will take advantage too.”

While Osborne says that the quality and quantity ofsecondhand vehicles are favourable, private sales can presentchallenges for the uninitiated, whether buying or selling. “Thereare thousands of individuals who use our site to sell their carsprivately and have done so for years, but if you aren’t familiar withcars or the process, there are some pitfalls to beware of. Fromthe selling side, there are obviously risks associated with dealingwith large amounts of cash as well as the ordinary risk oftransacting with individuals you don’t know. From the buying side,you might not have the technical know-how to determinewhether or not the car has undisclosed faults or been damagedin an accident. Because these deals aren’t protected by theConsumer Protection Act, the new owner will have very littlelegal recourse after the purchase to demand repairs.

“There are also other considerations. What if the owner hasn’tsettled financing at the bank, or in the worst case scenario, whatif the vehicle was stolen? How does one approach financing for aprivate deal? Or transfer ownership? The administration can be

mind-boggling if you haven’t actually completed such a deal inthe past.”

Osborne says that these factors have spurred the demand forprivate automotive sales facilitation, such as the Motofinnsolution endorsed by Gumtree. “We’ve formalised ourrelationship with Motofinn in July not only because the demandfor assistance grew significantly, but because of our greaterstrategic focus on continuously improving the automotiveoffering on our site. This service not only takes care of theadministration surrounding a private car deal – it also ensuresthat the seller receives their payment in full and that the buyer isassured that the vehicle is cleared mechanically, legally andfinancially before purchase.”

Andrew Sutherland of Motofinn says that the solution wasborn out of a need for safety as well as convenience from bothbuyers and sellers. “Buyers and sellers are being steered towardsthe informal motor trade due to financial pressure, but theywould still be willing to pay a small fee for the benefits that havetraditionally been limited to professional dealerships alone.Financing, a full HPI check, secure payments, a full service history,police clearance, administration – all of these services can beaccessed easily and without delaying the transaction.”

Osborne says that while numerous of these verifiedtransactions have taken place, they expect that these are onlythe “tip of the iceberg”. “At the current rate, making use of thirdparty facilitator could very well become the norm for privatesales. In many ways South Africans are pioneers when it comesto implementing and discovering safety solutions for the privateclassifieds market. We do, however, urge customers to onlymake use of endorsed services that have the backing ofrespected industry bodies. In Motofinn’s case, this includesDEKRA Automotive, TransUnion and Deloitte,” concludedOsborne.

AR N-D 2015 JAY_NOV/DEC 2005 paganation 2015/10/29 2:17 PM Page 1

GUMTREE AD M-A 2015_Layout 1 2015/03/19 10:27 AM Page 1

The parrot is celebrating a bigbirthday. In 1925, when it wascreated, no one would haveimagined that it would have such

an illustrious future. Back then, Glasuritdidn't choose just any member of theparrot family.

The Ara, which is the largest and mostcolourful type of parrot, has become thecompany trademark and for 90 years hasstood for premium-quality paints andcoatings worldwide.

The parrot's colourful feathers feature acombination of the primary colours red,blue and yellow, from which any colourunder the sun can be mixed. They reflectthe colour diversity of Glasurit paints. Theparrot, with its vibrant personality, standsfor the joy of colours and is characterisedby the combination of its bright plumageand its intelligence. Its large size andcommunicative personality make it bothstately and likable.

These attributes can also be found inthe Glasurit brand, which sets itself apart bycontinuously responding to the needs ofthe market and the environment. As aresult, the colourful parrot is regularlyfeatured on cans with especiallyenvironmentally friendly waterborne paintsand other solvent-free products.

For Nico Krukenberg, Glasuritcommercial manager, one thing is certain:"It's the combination of innovative ideasand years of experience, along with theongoing optimisation of 'inner values' thatensures the long-lasting excellence ofGlasurit's high-quality products."

How it all startedToday's appearance of the Glasurit

parrot is the result of a long evolutioninfluenced by historical events and fashiontrends. The parrot's biography is colourful;it also describes Glasurit's product historyand is a testimony to the changing times.

When Max Winkelmann founded thelacquers and paint company in Hamburg in1888, the parrot was nowhere in sight. Fiveyears later, Winkelmann revolutionised thelacquer market when the companymanufactured its very first product dubbed"Crystal White", the first lacquer that couldbe applied by brush.

At that time, this made applicationmuch easier and increased durability of thecoating.

Since China, as the home of lacquer,had a long tradition and guaranteed qualityof the lacquer technology, Winkelmann'slacquer cans featured a drawing of amandarin's head.

In 1898, Winkelmann was so successfulthat a separate brand name was registeredfor the numerous products: Glasurit. Thename stands for the "glaze-like hardness" ofthe paint finish and from then on, like themandarin's head, has symbolised quality.

The parrot is bornIn the golden twenties, the demand for

colorful paints rose and the developmentof sprayable nitrocellulose paints heraldeda new era. The new times called for a newindividual symbol for Glasurit. In keepingwith the joie de vivre of the RoaringTwenties, the new symbol needed to bemore modern, more colourful and moredynamic.

In 1925, more than 20 years after thefounding of the "Glasso" paint factory inMünster-Hiltrup, the parrot was featured

on Glasurit's paint cans. Until the mid-1930s, it was displayed alongside the long-established mandarin logo. It wasn't untillater that the parrot appeared alone,serving as the unmistakable symbol ofGlasurit's brightly coloured products.

In the early 1930s, the parrot had arather playful appearance. Afterwards, itlooked a bit more fluffed up and relaxed.During the war years, it had a sternexpression and the labels used GermanFraktur typeface. In the post-war era, theparrot's appearance was again adapted toreflect the re-emerging vitality.

Over the decades, the parrot'sappearance has undergone constantchanges. But one thing remains unchanged:both in the past and in the present, theparrot symbolises the joy of colours.

The parrot today – Premium qualityand stylishly refinished cars

Today, the parrot is shown in flight,which emphasises its dynamic nature andbrings colour and gloss into the world ofcars.

The brand's design is more dynamic andmodern and accurately reflects Glasurit'sposition as a globally successful premiumbrand. The exotic and luxurious auraenveloping the parrot also highlights theaspects of increasing internationalisationand the high value of the products.

Parrots tend to be very long-lived birds.The Glasurit parrot has already surpassedall age records and in 2016 will continue tostand for a blaze of colours, brilliant ideasand colour quality. "We'll make sure of that– in the coming 90 years as well...," saidKrukenberg.

inTERnATiOnAL NEWS

HERE’S TO THE NEXT 90 YEARSOF THE GLASURIT PARROT



MiLESTOnES

Glasurit logos from 1935 to 1960.


GLASURIT BIRTHDAY AD N-D 2015_Layout 1 2015/10/27 11:09 AM Page 1

Yet again the Frankfurt show showedno sign of a slow down in newmodel roll outs. The sheerenormity of this show is enough to

put the world on hold until all of the slickestconcepts and new model releases arerevealed.

Frankfurt is one of the largest car showsin the world, dwarfing Geneva and Paris forthe title of Europe’s biggest new car event interms of sheer scale. As you’d expect, theGerman home brands always dominate,battling to out-do each other and show theworld their latest innovations.

Porsche Mission EMost people are fans of 0-100 km/h in

less than 3,5 seconds, and fast batterycharging. And well done to Porsche forfinally designing a four-door car with a rearend as desirable as the 911’s.

Honda Project 2 & 4 conceptIts exceptional engine, a 999 cc V-4 four-

stroke unit, was originally developed for theworld-class MotoGP motorcycle racingseries and has been specially tuned for thepublic road. With a 14 000 rpm red line, theunit is mated to a six-speed DCT gearboxand delivers peak torque of 118 Nm at10 500 rpm.

Nissan GripzNearly the identical size as Nissan’s Juke,

FRANKFURT MOTORSHOW 2015

ThE STARS ROLLOUT ATFRANkFURTMOTOR ShOW



Mercedes-Benz Concept IAA.

Honda Project 2 & 4 Concept.




Porsche Mission E.

which has a huge fan base in Europe, theGripz uses its sports car charisma to lurespeed freaks to the crossover world.

Alfa Romeo GiuliaUnder the bonnet beats the heart of the

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, an all-aluminium, 2.9-litre turbo petrol V6 engine,inspired by Ferrari technology and expertise,which produces 600Nm of torque, resultingin a top speed of 307 km/h and a 0–100km/h time of just 3.9 seconds.

Mercedes-Benz Concept IAAThe Mercedes Concept IAA serves two

purposes. As a design study, since it featuresa fascinating capability of transforming theexterior (shape of the vehicle) for betteraerodynamic efficiency on the push of abutton or automatically when the vehiclereaches a speed of 80 km/h.

The four-door coupé is interesting,inside it previews the E-class that will debutnext year and looks a lot like the current S-Class.

The Peugeot Fractal is meant to take thisthinking even further, with an emphasis onthe absolute bleeding edge of stereo designand technology. Peugeot says that about 80percent of the car was made in a 3D printer,the Fractal is electric. It’s not an especiallypowerful car, coming in at 204 horsepower,split equally between the two motors.

Nissan Gripz.

There was no shortage of new model arrivals at whathas become the biggest motorshow of the year.

Alfa RomeoGiulia.

Peugeot F rac ta lConcept .

Hyundai N 2025 Vis ionGran Tur ismo Concep t car .

Ci t roën CactusConvert ible .


SPIES HECKER 4 PGs N-D 2015_Layout 1 2015/10/27 10:55 AM Page 1




I’m not sure how the conversation wentbut it was somewhere along these lines.“Honey, I feel that the Maserati I’ve gotisn’t really fulfilling the family car purpose

I thought it could. I think I’m going to addsome scissor doors into the equation tomake getting in and out the car easier for thekids.”

What are scissor doors you may well ask?They are doors that open up instead of out,like the ones that you would see on aLamborghini.

It’s these doors that have put DavidGumede and Lesego Legoale’s business,

White Wall Boys, on the map. Seven yearsago these friends, now business partners,began fitting white wall tyres to cars inKagiso, just outside of Randfontein. Thenpeople asked if they could introducesuspension mods, while others wanted torestore their classic cars and make them oneof kind ‘moving art’. A car bespoke just forthe owner’s taste. With great personalservice and an open mind to dream big,David and Lesego have given life to severalgolden oldies.

It was this established trust that found theowner of a white Gran Turismo Maserati

asking if the team could convert his doors toscissor ones. And they were up for thechallenge. They did such a good job that asecond Maserati owner turned up for thesame idea. Each car had a respray andsuicide doors but the dark blue GranTurismo had some body work done too.

The Grand Parisienne Pontiac – agorgeous classic car - held her own at thephotoshoot in a beautiful metallic blue. Alace curtain detail on the roof created a oneof a kind detail which was repeated insidethe boot on the air pump that pumps up thesuspension. Gadget mad David showed us

WHITE WALL BOYS

KEEP PUSHING



CUSTOM CORnER RANDFONTEIN

WHITE WALL BOYS

KEEP PUSHING




pics by Jay Groat, story by Claire Macfie

the remote control, just a normal garagedoor one, that he had converted for the car.If you press the top button the frontsuspension pops up and the bottom buttonlifts the rear of the car. A definite must havetoy for real petrol heads.

I certainly thought that I’d seen it all whenI saw a Toyota Conquest sanded down for anew colour sporting scissor doors too! Imean what the heck, why not.

Preparation of the bodywork happens atDavid’s grandfather’s house. A team of youngmen are forever washing and detailing eachvehicle with lots of enthusiasm and care.

When spraying is required, they renttime in a booth at a panel beater inRandfontein to get the job done perfectly.ABS Krugersdorp are their preferredsupplier and their favourite refinish paint isPPG with its excellent wet look finish.

The latest project is the conversion of astandard Quantum into a party bus. Theseats inside have been removed and a wraparound bench has been made inside forcomfortable socialising instead. Whenfinished, with a few hints of faux redcrocodile to boot, it will boast a fridge,flatscreen TV and it will be a truly South

African party piece.“Keep Pushing” is the company motto and it

shows the evolution from then to now and intothe future. That’s exactly what the duo of Davidand Lesego are doing.

They are presently converting David’sgrandfather’s old bicycle shop into a showroomto highlight what they can do. David is currentlyworking on an app that will allow your cellphone to tilt and adjust your suspension as youchoose. It seems that there is no dream too bigfor this team. The sky is the limit for this hardworking pair and I for one can’t wait to seewhat the future holds for them.


20REFINISHER


Digitising colour has always been something of a Holy Grailin the world of auto repair. Now, after years ofpainstaking research, we have the technology in SouthAfrica.

Over 100 years ago, Henry Ford might have said: “Any customercan have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black,”but ever since the first Model-T driver tail-ended a horse buggy, bodyshop repairers have faced the same dilemma – what exactly is black?

The infinite colour variations that reflect our individuality in carstoday hasn’t made their job any easier. Matching “just the right silver”for a Mercedes has always been more art than science, dependenton the human eye – and subjective perceptions – of the colour-matcher, however expert or experienced. Our love for modernmetallic and pearlescent finishes raised the bar even higher.

“While the age and condition of a car’s finish might influencecolour, the biggest variation in automotive colour often results fromproduction in different plants and the use of different raw input orprocesses,” explains Fabio Vitale from Allied Paint Solutions (APS).“Take, for example, Toyota red pearl metallic, which is producedsimultaneously in plants in Japan, Europe and North America. All ofthese factories could be using different paint manufacturers. Thosemanufacturers get a sample swatch of the specified colour, but theresults are not exactly the same for each batch produced, let aloneeach production site.”

“Over the last five years, however, research at AkzoNobel hasmade enormous strides in the field of colour digitisation. With thisnew development, they have finally taken the art out of the scienceof colour measurement, and together with the Mixit Pro, theAutoMatchic Vision is a revolution in colour measurement. We’reproud to be partnered with AkzoNobel in launching this producthere in South Africa, at the same time it gets introduced to the restof the world,” he continues.

The AutoMatchic Vision features a propriety engine thatmeasures colour accurately through its multi-angle lens’s, transferringthe information wirelessly to the Mixit Pro software engine then

searches for the best colour match. And if that match is not goodenough, the software engine will even calculate an improved,optimised formula using AkzoNobel’s vast colour database andcolourmetric knowledge. The smart search feature indicates theperformance level of the match next to the suggested formula, inaddition to the colour visualisation on the screen to allow easyrecognisability.

The Automatchic Vision also has the lowest measurement gap inthe vehicle refinish market meaning it can measure spots on panelswith high curvature that could not be measured before. Calibrationis also only necessary once a month.”

“Colour digitisation and the Automatchic Vision take away themargins for error and doubt,” says Jurie Scheepers from APS’stechnical team. “It gives painters an accurate answer they can rely on.AkzoNobel spent years working with many people in thebackground to develop these formulas and do the measurements.

“Giving customers access to this wealth of digitally storedknowledge and experience, at the press of a button, saves them timeand because the formula is exact, it delivers a consistent result – aconcern we all share. Of course, it also saves the money which usedto be wasted on mismatches.”

pROdUCT PROFILE

SIKKENS REVOLUTIONISE COLOUR MEASUREMENT

WHAT’S HOT?

Not only is the newAutoMatch ic V is ion muchsma l le r f rom AkzoNobel ,but i t per fo rmsfunctions in a f ract iono f the t ime says RoryK i l roe ( le ft ) and Jur ieScheeper s f rom AutoPa int Solut ion’stechnica l team.

Once ca l ibra ted the AutoMatch ic V is ion stays accura te wi thoutfur ther adjustment for 30 days. That ’s a big f i rs t.


Tel: 011 454 8128

Fax: 086 459 8211

Email: [email protected]

Autoclear Range

S i k kens p r oud ly p r esen t s

star r ing

Visit us on www.sikkensvr.com

“This clearcoat is

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all types of jobs”

SIKKENS A4 AD S-O 2015 WEB VERSION_Layout 1 2015/09/08 2:20 PM Page 1

As motor makers push the boundaries in automobile designin every direction to both save on manufacturing costs andprovide increased safety for occupants, along with evergreater fuel efficiency, the trend to incorporate aluminium

structure with high strength steel and composite plastic materials isforging ahead.

So you can now quickly forget about doing aluminium in a singlespecial working area. From now on it’s going to be a multi-mix repairstation and some of the big drivers in this new trend are Audi andVW with the TT3 model lightweight construction. This requires inreal terms, even more investment in equipment standards in themulti-mix repair station of the future. The use of the VAG integratedmodel platform MQB is extended across the group architecture withtheir new VAS 6673 level of recommended and future requirementsis unveiled.

The AdvantageWith the new concept of bringing together all the body materials

like aluminium, hybrid steels and composite materials, in reality thismeans that the area now becomes effective as an often curtained offarea for everyday workshop use. Thus the investment can work as apowerful tool for daily business. As usual with an advantage there isnormally a downside which is ever present and the emissions ofthese new material substrates in repair come under a hazardoussubstance ordinance across the world.

Often this necessitates a special assessment for local health andsafety and fire laws and all the responsibilities for compliance fall inthe bodyshop owner’s lap. Sadly as a repairer you now need some

R E F I N I S H E RUTOMOTIVEAAUTOMOTIVE22

Alex Lenaerts (left) in the Aer-o-cure multi-mix work area shows the ProWoTech GmbH mobile vacuum in action which sets the standard for health and safetywhen dealing with explosive aluminium steel and carbon fibre dust.

chemical, physical and legal knowledge to repair this multi-mix typeof vehicle.

Hazardous ProblemsLet’s start with the dust coming from the aluminium steel and

CFRP fibreglass. Aluminium dust is flammable and can be deemed tobe explosive depending on the concentration of dust and its particlesize.

If a fire does start and a worker throws water on the dust it willexplode into a ball of fire or produce toxic hydrogen gas in what iscalled a thermic reaction that burns at 2 400°C and often needsspecial extinguishers to stop the spread of the fire. Water will onlyadd to your troubles should there be an accidental fire in theworkshop.

From a health aspect recycling aluminium dust is a hazardousactivity. Due to its static electricity component, CRP dust is alsoharmful if inhaled causing splinters which are very fine and can enteran operator’s lungs. It also attacks smartphones and computers inclose proximity. Along with this list of processing red flags are therust and dust that will cause heat when being removed. These toocan cause a thermic fire.

If you’re not very careful by now perhaps you are beginning torealise that an ignition of these dust materials can easily burn theshop down and kill people as it did recently in China in the magwheel factory where 86 people were killed. The factory wasflattened when aluminium dust suffered a thermic explosion due toan ignition source from a maintenance worker on site.

HEALtH & SAFEtY MULTI-MIX REPAIR

THE

EXPLOSIVETRUTH ABOUT MULTI-MIX REPAIR

THE

EXPLOSIVETRUTH ABOUT MULTI-MIX REPAIR




Enter the VacuumThe number one priority is to eliminate external sparks (which are

vey common) via a spark trap, the sparks enter the trap at 200 km/hand are disintegrated by the TUV approved spark trap. The particlesare then returned to 200 km/h in the five metre calming pipe beforeentering the ATEX vacuum machine. This process eliminatespotential external ignition sources from entering the machine whichitself protects the contents from its own ignition source such aselectric motor and static charge (Attex 3 IID).

Most body shop owners don’t realise it is their responsibility toensure the correct usage of any equipment, therefore it is critical thatthe equipment is used in accordance with the owner’s manual by themanufacturer of the machine and approved by an independentauthority such as TUV on its effectiveness.They often carry a full classH filter and fireproof rating but even with all this it’s best to keep thedifferent waste dusts separate. Working clean at all times will reducethe ever present fire risk.

“This is the best safety device out there,” says Bernd Himmelreichof ProWoTech GmbH, who are based in Germany and whopresented a talk recently on handling these multi-mix hazards inrepair.

Bernd Himmelreich fromProWoTech GmbH, are thecompany producing thelatest TUV approved sparktrap system with thisexplosion protectedvacuum for dust with aclass H explosion proofelectric motor. It meets VWspecifications and with athree stage design alsohandles carbon fibrewaste material.

This beautifully crafted heat treatedaluminium casting from Mercedes-Benz issurrounded by a mix of sheet aluminiumand steel alloy panels.

This unique spark separator slows downthe sparks from grinding operations.

It is recommended toremove thermic dustafter each job is finishedfrom the collection tray.

story by Ian Groat and pics by Jay Groat

Further to ThisIt is interesting that VWG were among the OEMs that pushed for

dedicated aluminium working rooms inside conventional repair shops.The advent of multi material body structures has been underway forsome years, as can be seen clearly on the Mercedes-Benz C classW205. The image below is an aluminium strut tower - for the rearsuspension of S class W222, which is very similar to that used onW205.

If one does no house keeping (removing dust as it accumulates)and no segregation of tooling, then problems will come very quickly.

Yes, build up of particles smaller than 420 micro metres acrosscombined with a build up of static electricity charge can result in anexplosion. Automotive Refinisher magazine explored this subject inthe March 2015 edtion.

However, good housekeeping can result in not using dedicatedaluminium processing rooms and no risk of explosions. More criticalis the advent of bonded joints which require excellent processcontrol to achieve the correct cured joint strength. So, by all meansget the super dooper vacuum device, but it won’t solve all the issuesby itself. It requires good processes, and clean working areas too.


mobile vacuum

work centre

Marouns Johannesburg: (011) 216 0600 Marouns Bloemfontein: (051) 430 0960Marouns Midrand: (011) 312 2767 Cape Paint & Panel: (021) 510 8250Marouns Benoni: (011) 420 2700 Intercity Springs: (011) 815 4433Marouns Vereeniging: (016) 455 4423 Intercity Pretoria: (012) 327 6133Marouns Durban: (031) 208 3221

w w w . m a r o u n s g r o u p . c o . z a

new rapid bolt on repair area

l e-glass curtain with ttv red eye protection l self assembly with aluminium rails

l free standing work area l available in two sizes

MAROUNS AD S-O 2015_NOV/DEC 2005 paganation 2015/09/04 11:31 AM Page 1


In any given year, roughly 75 “significant” vehicle debuts orengineering changes hit the market, says I-CaR’s Jason Bartanen.It leaves shops in a perpetual state of playing catch-up, and it putsa premium on the industry’s hottest commodity today, data.Repair data has become a crucial aspect of the three-pronged

foundation of successful repairs, along with training and equipment.and data has become big business for industry equipment providers,so much so that companies with traditional backgrounds in pullingequipment have adopted data as their largest revenue source.

Chief automotive technologies is one of them. Roughly 25% ofChief ’s worldwide sales come from its data segment, compared to21% for its pulling equipment. Richard perry, global repair productmanager for Chief, sums up the reasoning pretty simply: withoutaccurate repair data, you can’t make accurate repairs.

“without being able to fully diagnose and find an issue with avehicle after a collision, you can’t repair it properly,” perry says. “Youjust can’t do it.” as vehicles continue to progress, shops must turn todata to make sure they don’t get left behind.

the standard go-to for shops should be OeM build data, and therepair information those automakers provide, Bartanen says.

that’s the minimum requirement, he says, and the folks at Chiefsuggest taking it a step further. Build data from OeMs provides theoriginal specs of a vehicle, as it would come off the assembly line,perry says. It allows for a threshold on slight variances in themeasurements, but it doesn’t necessarily provide a “real-world”benchmark for shops, he says. put a vehicle on a lift to measuredamage, he explains, and the front and rear of the vehicle can sag up

to 75 mm. that sag, as slight as it may sound, can cause grossmiscalculations in repairing the vehicle, especially when modernrestraint systems and advanced safety features are timed inaccordance to chain reactions in the vehicle that take place overmilliseconds.

this is where repair data comes in. Chief has built its owndatabase, measuring every available vehicle while on a lift, andadjusting the benchmark specs to reflect the conditions the averageshop would see when measuring.

Chief has data Resource Centres placed throughout the world toconsistently gather new vehicle repair specs. the info is automaticallyupdated and available through the company’s e-access platform. Itgives proper benchmarks for the repair process, perry says, and addsanother level of accuracy for technicians.

“Correct vehicle dimensions, and repair methods, are imperativefor ride quality, collision energy management, and for proper functionof safety systems, including restraint systems and many of today’sother advanced safety systems such as the plethora of electronicsassociated with collision avoidance technologies,” Bartanen says.

But data is only half the solution for repairers looking to completeaccurate and safe repairs. “what’s important is that collision-damaged vehicles are repaired using a 3-d measuring system,”Bartanen says. “today’s vehicles cannot be properly repaired without3-d measuring.”

a collision can affect a vehicle’s structure in three directions:height, width and length. Because of that, perry says, vehicles must bemeasured in all three directions; hence, the now common term 3-dmeasuring.

there are a handful of electronic measuring systems, such asthose made by Car-O-Liner, Spanezi and Chief. the devices providean accurate baseline for the repair process, often finding hiddendamage that would go unnoticed using traditional measuring gauges.and they can give instant feedback if used during the repair itself.

using one is a must in today’s industry, as far too many repairs arebeing made incorrectly, says Mike Cranfill, Chief vice president ofglobal collision and new business development. Chief reports showthat just two out of every 10 vehicles in a shop are measured beforework is begun, and based on the company’s own analysis of typicalvehicle damage, eight out of 10 vehicles need measuring to findhidden damage.

INDUSTRY newS

the eVerINcreasINgImportaNce ofrepaIr data

the marouN’s group INdurBaN ramp-up traININg

The Marouns Group branch in durban, managed by Stevetarpey, has moved to increase spray painter knowledge oncolour mixing standards along with their training on shopprimer body preparation levels.

the company operate a fully kitted out in-house theory classroomfor Spies Hecker and Standox refinish training. tarpey, who has longterm experience in refinish supply is backed-up by Rory Brough onthe technical training front. “what’s all important is that your regularsystem users actually achieve new levels of profitability and success sono one can neglect the area of rework on jobs that were unsuccessfulthe first time round,” says tarpey.

“what we aim to achieve is improved levels of our customersknowledge in getting the absolute best results with say the newStandoBlu waterborne system every time. this is a vital part of whatwe offer on improved performance. with our expanded services witha special spraybooth and Hammach dust free preparation thecompany can offer a host of new workshop technology with newspraybooths from SaIMa, Hammach, Jollife Lifts or Spanesi measuringor auto straightening benches.

“we have become a sort of one-stop shop for KZn collisionrepair concerns who want to upgrade and meet new operationchallenges on repair technology.”

You can get more information from Steve on +27 (0)31 208 3221

WHAT’S HOT?

LOCAL NEWS

Stever Tarpey has many years of experience in body shop management andtraining. The company have a superb training centre on site.

Basic primer preparation levels of improved finished work using dust freeequipment fast track improved production levels say the team in KZN.

by Bryce Evans


The tranquil settingof PPG in KZNlends itself to amuch more relaxedwork place.

Things will always change, even though change is not alwayseasy. It is inevitable, but taking those first steps withacceptance and enthusiasm are the key words to asuccessful change.

The PPG Refinish Business has excitedly embraced the change forrelocation. After many months of planning, the Cape Town andDurban depots, as well as the Krugersdorp operations moved intotheir new homes. The main drive behind the relocations, was due tothe growth of the business and the decision to outsource itswarehouse facilities.

The Cape Town depot was the first to move office to their newlocation in Tyger Waterfront, Tyger Valley. To follow was theDurban depot who burrowed down only a few kilometres from theirprevious location, now situated in a tranquil environment in Kloof.Both the facilities are now also equipped to supply theoreticaltraining sessions and interaction with their customers.

Last but not least was the Krugersdorp offices, founding their newhome in Longmeadow East Business Estate, situated in Edenvale.Together with the new training centre, they are now situated much

more centrally with easy access from all major routes. The new,state-of-the-art training centre will grant PPG’s customers theopportunity to learn in a hands-on environment.

Whether you are a refinish paint technician, body shop owner ormanager, spray painter or rebuilder, PPG offers you a wide choice oftraining curriculum to ensure that your knowledge and skills stayabreast of the latest products, technologies, equipment and collisionrepair process methodologies.

The spacious new training centre will primarily focus on trainingand support for the current existing brands in South Africa, namelyPPG Deltron®, Envirobase® High Performance, MaxMeyer® andSelemix®. It offers a complete package, from product training, PaintManager system, equipment usage, job costing and much more.

Complying with the European EHS rules and regulations, thistraining centre is well equipped, giving the customer a guarantee ofquality and will allow training with the latest technologies andequipment. All of our training techniques and services are builtaround essential body shop practices and reflect the realities of themarket.

indUSTRY UPDATE

EMBRACING CHANGE WITH PPG



WHAT’S HOT?

PPG have moved their headquarters from Krugersdorp to Longmeadow East Business Estate in Edenvale.These new premises also sport a new training facility to be launched shortly, so watch this space.

The Gauteng, KZN and Cape Town officeshave been tastefully finished and staffand clients made to feel welcome.


For more information call +27 (0)11 454 8105 or visit www.ppgrefinish.com

PPG N-D AD 2015_Layout 1 2015/10/27 10:59 AM Page 1

One of the things you have tocapture in your body shoptoday is that it has to be worldclass. when the general public is

walking into the front office of a collisioncentre, especially as more millennials arebecoming customers, they compare theexperience of walking into a collision centrewith other experiences in their life. they’recomparing a collision centre to a lawyer’soffice, a hotel, etc. Customers will make avalue judgement about your shop within thefirst five seconds of entering.

More and more, when we talk aboutlean, you think about production, but thatextends to the front office too. Recently,there has been more initiative to take a lookat the office and implementing leanprocesses for the administrative offices.they’re realising they can eliminate a lot ofwaste, save money and improve processes.By doing that, they really are taking a look attheir whole customer experience, which ispriceless. there is so much waste and non-value in the front office. until they stop totake a look at that, they’re doing the samethings day in and day out.

Many shops are streamlining the processand they’re keeping it all open and visual.Some of the ways you can do that is withglass panels from the desktop up on desksso visually you can see what’s going on in thefront office while still maintaining privacy foremployees. when the customer walks up tothe front desk, no matter who is in the office,your team can see when a customer comesin the door and greets them.

It’s about making it clear for the customer.when they enter the shop, they knowexactly where to go and what to do. Youdon’t want a customer to walk in and notknow who to talk to. there is a defined areawith a front reception desk. there mighteven be an area in the back where the front-office staff can hear a customer enter andstill greet them.

at this point, it’s no secret that having a“wow” factor is important. It’s becoming avery common refrain. there are severalthings that have become standard to acustomer waiting area and that every shopshould do just that to make theirsprofessional. every shop needs to walkthrough this checklist:

• the area is redecorated every twoyears

• the magazines are refreshed everymonth, and cover a variety of interests

• Carpets and floors are kept clean• Bathrooms are regularly cleaned• Comfortable seating and a range of

seating options are offered

• a refreshment station with free coffeeand water is always available

• If there is a tV, it is state-of-the-art kindand the volume kept relatively low

• Free wi-fi – if it is available.However, there are also new trends that

shops should follow to really stand out fromthe pack. First, the current colour standardsthat are popular are bright and light. It’s allabout keeping things very simple andstreamlined. that extends to furniture too.we’re not seeing those overstuffed leathercouches like we were a few years ago. It’sreally about keeping it simple and getting ridof the clutter. that means getting rid of oldplants, tons of brochures or papers

everywhere.when it comes to certification or

plaques, try to make it look purposeful. Manycustomers don’t know what industryorganisation actually is or what a certificationprogramme entails, but framing them andgrouping them together on a wall does makemore of an impact.

Free coffee, soda and snacks are a goodway to make customers relaxed while theywait for a repair. Make sure the refreshmentarea if well stocked. Coffee machines, sinksand other appliances should be free fromleaks. these days, it’s really about a Keurigmachine or offering cuppaccinos, expresso’sor lattes.

INDUSTRY update

NIce waItINg areas caN wINcustomers


DESIGN

Alberante Auto Spray have an extensive line up of approvals to ensure clients of their professional approach.

by Anna Zeck

N6 Panelbeaters in Aliwal North have really done a professional job to welcome clients.


CARVELO AD N-D 2015_Layout 1 2015/10/27 11:00 AM Page 1

396 1161

GENERAL A4 AD M-A 2015_Layout 1 2015/03/23 11:14 AM Page 1

INDUSTRY newS

geNrock eXpaNds INto the uk market

International applications (IaL) and General paint uK haveannounced details of a strategic partnership which sees theOxfordshire-based coatings and consumables supplier takingGeneral paint to market through its network of refinish

distributors.General paint is one of the fastest-growing producers of car paints

and ancillaries for the refinish industry with a heritage which stretchesover five decades and a market presence in more than 60 countries.Its paint range comprises specialist and general-purpose 2K compliantsolvent and waterbased systems. they boast a constantly updatedlibrary of more than 87 000 colours and a comprehensive selectionof a-grade ancillaries including clearcoats, primers and activators.

dean Royal, CeO General paint uK said, “we plan to take ourproducts across the length and breadth of the uK by building uponour international reputation for the accuracy of our colour match andthe high quality of our premium finishes. to do this we need to workwith partners who have the drive, innovation and market presence torepresent our proposition throughout the refinish industry.”

“Our first-class products need a first-class distributionrepresentative and I am delighted to announce we have appointedInternational applications as our key business partner within the uK.

Llewelyn Mulder, IaL’s managing director, said, “I have a longpersonal connection with General paint, having established it as aleading brand within the african continent, and was keen to beinvolved with its distribution in the uK. IaL is pleased to be able tooffer the full General paint range to our distributors. we are alreadybooking our first installations and look forward to a long andproductive relationship with the General paint uK team.”

IaL, which acquired the trade Group in May 2015, has recentlyexpanded its operations by opening offices in South africa and Southamerica. It takes paints, coatings and consumables to the uK refinishmarket through independent distributors.

General paint, founded in 1959, entered the automotive refinishmarket in the 1970s and introduced waterborne technology in the2000s. Its product range includes GenRock and Gen20. Its GpC prosoftware gives body shops access to a database of over 87 000colours for all major vehicle manufacturers and internationalstandards, with new colours formulated daily and added weekly foronline colour retrieval.

WHAT’S HOT?

R E F I N I S H E RUTOMOTIVEAAUTOMOTIVE 31

Competi t ive pr ice and perfo rmance has d ramatica l ly incr easedwor ld sa les o f the r e f in ish l ine for GenRock.

Llewe lyn Mulder Jun ior ( lef t) seen here w i th h is f a therLlewe lyn Senio r. They have done an amaz ing job forthe Genera l Pa int br and in Af r ica and wi l l now mar ketthe GenRock b rand in the Uni ted Kingdom.


The new peugeot 208 continues itsmove upmarket with the arrival ofthe Gt line, which has a strong,dynamic and sporty feel. the new

range combines re-energised, assertive stylingwith new, highly efficient puretech engines andan advanced automatic gearbox, while a newGt Line model adds sporty appeal. peugeot’sinnovative i-Cockpit has also undergonefurther refinement.

this latest peugeot 208 line-up consists ofthree models, offering a choice of three high-efficiency euro6-compliant puretech engines,two transmissions and two trim levels.

the exterior is compact, chic and dynamic,the peugeot 208 is a distinctive head-turner ina segment better known for its pragmatismthan its style. the new 208 improves furtheron an already attractive package by addingstronger visual impact.

Key changes include new headlights withblack and chrome elements, creating a sharper,more assertive expression, while Led daytimerunning lights are included on the active andGt Line models.

a new bumper with crisper, cleaner lines islinked to a smoothly integrated grille that’swider and gains a more pronounced chrome

surround. Higher trim levels (Gt Line) get adistinctive black and chrome grille treatmentthat creates a three-dimensional effect.

these changes, together with repositionedfog lamps, endow the new 208 with a wider,more emphatic look that also emphasises thehatchback’s dynamic character.

Safety and security remains a coreattribute. Its five-star euro-nCap safety ratingis the result of a comprehensive array of activeand passive systems across the entire modelrange.

active safety systems include aBS anti-lockbrakes with eBd, and eBa, while passivefeatures include dual front airbags, inertia reelseat belts and front and rear head restraints.the hazard lights activate automatically underemergency braking while central lockingsystems automatically lock doors when drivingoff. It also has side airbags and eSp asstandard.

the entire new peugeot 208 range isequipped with euro6-compliant three-cylinderengines featuring puretech technology. thenormally aspirated 1,2-litre engine employedin the 208 1.2 active is even more frugal,recording a combined-cycle fuel consumptionfigure of 4.3 litres/100 km, while the CO2

emissions dip to just 99 g/km. the three-cylinder is credited with 60 kw of power at5 5750 r/min, and 118 nm at 2 750 r/min.

Inside, the innovative i-Cockpit is equippedwith an Mp3-compatible Cd receiver withmultiple speakers, a trip computer, electricpower steering, air-conditioning, electric frontwindows, a height-adjustable driver’s seat,height and reach-adjustable steering wheel,and a refrigerated glove compartment.

the most notable addition is the seven-inch colour touchscreen display whichcentralises key functions and features via anintuitive user interface, while the steeringwheel gains multifunction controls. the soundsystem includes both Bluetooth and uSBconnectivity.

also standard on the Gt Line are anelectrochromatic rear-view mirror, auto-activating headlights and rain-sensingwindscreen wipers. Manual air-conditioningmakes way for an automatic bi-zone climatecontrol system.

pricing includes a three-year/100 000 kmwarranty. active and Gt Line models alsobenefit from a five-year/60 000 km premiumplan (Full Maintenance plan).

DRIVEN peuGeOt 208 Re-eneRGISed



Telephone: +27(0)79 206-7881 / Fax: +27(0)11 452-8372

Tyrone: +27(0)82 856-1200 Aki: +27(0)84 889-7014 / Email: [email protected]

Website: www.phoenixchange.co.za

PHOENIX EXCHANGE AD M-A 2013_Invoice TOYOTA 16-8-05 2015/07/16 1:31 PM Page 1

ON THE MOVE

Kansai Plascon pulled out all the stops at a recent customertrade evening to show some new innovative products intheir car refinish brands. The function was attended byclose to 80 prominent trade customers from Cape Paint

and Panel, in the heart of Cape Town. The Kansai Plascon team were all there to show some of the

innovative activities that the company are currently developing withtheir range of Acryline, Standox, Spies Hecker and Mastermixrefinish brands.

These are sold across South Africa with the latest intelligentsolutions on colour matching and computer retrieval. WarrenGillman, senior marketing executive at Kansai Plascon, said thesesystem brands have successfully positioned the group both from aquality of refinish and because the offer is very competitive.

The Maroun’s Group are the largest OEM supplier and that istheir core business which gives brands like Standox and SpiesHecker the best package in everyday body shop essentials rightthrough sub-Saharan African markets.

Axalta have also recognised the Kansai Plascon strength in thelocal market and are busy ramping up the local availability footprintfor their latest Spies Hecker and Standox waterborne range toincrease turn around speed in paint shop production as well as toimprove overall profitability for body shops.

The manufacturing headquarters remains in Port Elizabeth butthe company also operate huge sales offices in Johannesburg, CapeTown and Durban to back up their large share of the body shoprefinish business.

Rob Simpson, general manager of The Maroun’s Group thentook the stage to present The Maroun’s Group future market drive.The company, with its 10 branches across South Africa, is ideallyplaced to become a one-stop shop for their refinish paints andparts business. Their team have consistently travelled across theworld to secure great brands like Colad, Dinitrol CorrosionProtection, Indasa Abrasives, SAIMA spraybooths and Italy’s finestelectronic measuring and bench package from Spanesi. The largeequipment is handled by The Maroun’s Group key staff membersfor equipment upgrades, Rory Brough and Heinz Brügger.

Simpson went on to say that recent activity by a technical back-up team who had travelled to the local end using repair shops. Theyhad been effective in improving methods on offer and verysuccessful in improving client’s profitability with increasedthroughput and less reject work being seen.

As the night went on three lucky attendees were rewarded withweekends away. The trade evening proved to be a resoundingsuccess for The Maroun’s Group in what they term a revitalisedstate of mind.

ON THE MOVE

R E F I N I S H E RUTOMOTIVEAAUTOMOTIVE34

Genera l manager forThe Maroun’s GroupRob S impsonrev iewed new serv icelevels fo r Cape bodyshops to increasethroughput and upprof i tabi l i t y .

The Cape Pa int and Panel team of technic ians andmanagement put on a g reat evening of entertainment.

There were lucky d raw p r izes for three superb weekendsaway at exo tic loca t ions.

pAinT And AbRASivES TRADE EVENING, CAPE TOWN




Warren Gi l lman,senior marke t ingexecut ive at Kansa iP lascon, out l inedmany new p rocess-sav ing innovat ionsw i th the newwaterbornetechnology re f in ishbrands on of fe r .

The Cape Pa int and Panel team wereout in fu l l fo rce at the funct ion.

The lav ish evening spared no expense . Everyone who a ttendedhad a superb t ime, inc luding the team f rom Whee l Col l is ion.

Pe ter Dove ( lef t) f rom Pyrmo SA andRory Brough from The Maroun’s Groupequipment div is ion, were on hand tof ield customer enquir ies .



The 2015 Kinsey Report covers 74 vehicles in nine categories– the same number of vehicles as last year but with theCrossover section, which had become seriously unwieldy,now separated into two components: Crossover and

Executive Crossover. The method of data capture remains unchanged, with all prices

collected within the same calendar month, including VAT. Prices aresourced almost exclusively from franchise dealers around Durban, toreplicate as closely as possible what the customer would experience.For the customer it is very important to take note of the VIN numberfound on all vehicles when getting a quote for any parts required (leftbottom corner of the windscreen – a 17-digit alfa numeric code thatidentifies every component of the vehicle). This will ensure thateverything from trim to engine, gearbox, tyres etc will be specific toyour model vehicle and with all the variations on the market thismakes part identification both easier and more precise.

Shopping around can still pay dividends. Manufacturers are onlyallowed to set a “recommended selling price” while individualdealerships may charge whatever they feel is fair and reasonable.Large volume sellers are competitively easy to compare prices butthe lower volume brands may only have a single franchise and gettinga “second quote” may involve considerable travelling.

This year’s Kinsey Report shows some alarmingly high priceswhich I don’t think can be blamed entirely on the deteriorating rand.There are instances where items like mag rims and windscreens costR10 000 and more. Admittedly there are cases where we are notcomparing like for like, an example of this is the rear fender, whichmay be just that, or a complete side with door apertures. Bakkies arealso awkward in that some manufacturers offer sides for the load boxwhile others offer only the complete load box – which obviously isgoing to be far more costly.

Obviously comparisons must be made with similar vehicles, in thesame or similar category since physical size of the part will also affectits cost structure.

This year we have dropped some vehicles and included otherswhich were absent from last year’s report. The choice is so huge andone has to be selective. Consideration is given to the NAAMSAmonthly sales figures which reflect the volume of sales for eachvehicle. Some “iconic” vehicles are also included even though theirsales are not in the Polo/Corolla league.

The area of crash parts is probably the most important in thisstudy – most certainly the most costly. Servicing and warranties planscover most costs for as much as 120 000km (Mercedes) but themoment you drive your new vehicle out of the showroom you andyour insurance company are potentially liable to enormous costs.Vehicles with aluminium body panels and chassis components, forexample, are complicated and very expensive to repair and some areeven written off when the repair costs reach 50% of the resale valueof the vehicle. The use of alloy is very “in” at present – ostensibly tolighten the vehicle and thus improve fuel consumption. This is a falseenvironmental greening effort since aluminium requires much moreenergy to produce and recycle than steel does, which in my opinionnegates the advantages.

Other items that show big discrepancies include fan belts andflywheels. Some vehicles are now fitted with fan belts which resemblelarge elastic bands. They never need tensioning or adjusting, butunfortunately cannot be re-used if say, the engine is stripped.

Flywheels in some vehicles are a double mechanism connected bya series of strong springs. These dual mass flywheels can cost overR10 000 and unfortunately some have a fairly limited lifespan,sometimes only 80-120 000 km, before they begin to rattle andrequire replacing. The replacement of clutch and flywheel can costR20 000 to R30 000 and is not generally covered by warranty andservice plans.

Results in Categories:It is interesting to note how engine capacities have dropped to

comply with emission regulations. Several 1.0 and 1.2 litreturbocharged engines are now in vogue.

City Cars and Entry Level CarsThe new Datsun GO is a clear winner here with a parts basket of

R37 631 (and a low selling price of R102 500). It’s a great first-time

purchase, making owning a new car affordable. It may lack a fewrefinements like ABS brakes and airbags, but it’s a solid little vehiclefor basic transport. Second overall in parts is the Nissan Micra atR44 479 (both these two are sourced from India) and third is thePolo Vivo at R49 805.

Best for servicing parts is the fourth placed Ford Figo followedby the Micra and Spark. The GO shines in repair parts and crashparts with Micra second and Figo third in repair parts and Go, Micraand Polo Vivo taking the top three spots in crash parts.

Super MiniThe Renault Sandero (R65 517) narrowly pips the Fiat 500

(R65 738) with the Peugeot a not-too distant third with a partsbasket of R67 463. The least expensive car to service is the seventhplaced Polo, some R250 less than the Sandero in second place,followed by the Fiat. In the repair portion you are better off with aFiat 500, while accident parts costs are lowest for the Sandero,followed by the Peugeot 208 and Fiat.

Family FavouritesA pair of real family favourites, two Toyota Corollas take first and

second – the Prestige just edging out the Quest at R67 078 andR69 466. Third is the Alfa Giulietta which always seems to surprisewith its competitiveness.

Most economical to service is the VW Golf 7 (6th overall),followed by the Hyundai Elantra, both substantially less than theCorollas. In the repair section the Elantra and Kia Cerato are tops,with the Golf in third spot.

The Corollas come into their own with substantially lessexpensive crash parts, over R15 000 better than the third placedAlfa. It’s important to note that if the purchase price of a vehicle iscomparatively low that the crash parts are inexpensive, to avoidreaching the write-off point. With any insurance you are still betteroff repairing than writing off the vehicle as you are seldom paid outenough to replace your vehicle and end up having to pay in aconsiderable amount. The Alfa, with a more expensive selling price,is one of only two cars in the survey with a parts basket to sellingprice percentage of under 20%.

Compact CrossoverThe Toyota Avanza heads up this class with a parts basket of

R67 786, ahead of the Ford Eco Sport, one of the latest one litreturbo engined vehicles. Third is the Renault Duster.

The Duster is the least expensive vehicle to service followed bythe Avanza and new Citroen Cactus 1.2 (4th).

The Avanza is substantially less pricey for both repair and crashparts, with the Renault Duster second in repair parts and the EcoSport second in crash parts. Citroën has come up with an innovativeidea to deal with minor scratches – the Cactus has plastic panels onthe sides of the vehicle which are capable of absorbing impacts ofabout three km/hr, such as supermarket trolley damage. These canbe individually replaced when necessary.

CrossoverToyota’s Fortuner heads the list here once more with a parts

basket of R77 413 compared with the second-placed Kia Sportageat R92 992 and the Toyota Rav 4 at R97 708.

PARTS BASKET SURVEY KINSEY REPORT

Datsun GO is a clear winner in the City Cars and Entry Level group.



Most economical Crossover to service is the Mitsubishi ASXfollowed by the Hyundai iX 35 and the Nissan X Trail.

Repair cost honours go to the Fortuner just ahead of the ChevTrailblazer (fourth overall), both well ahead of the third-placed KiaSportage. Fortuner is also the most economical in the crash partssection by close to R14 000, followed by the Sportage and Rav 4. Asa percentage of basket price to selling price, the Fortuner has thelowest figure in the survey at 16%.

Executive CrossoverThese are the real top dog SUVs and I felt they warranted a class

of their own. Priced at over R750 000, and all automatic, the partsprices are probably more of academic than economic interest to theirowners, but might be an eye opener to many of us. The winner hereis the Volvo XC 90 with a total parts basket price of R164 508,followed by the Audi Q7, and close on its heels the Toyota Prado. Allthese vehicles have extensive service plans and it is only if they arekept for a long time or run up very high mileages that the cost ofservicing could become an issue.

Volvo has the lowest service parts cost at R4 810, followed by theRange Rover Evoque (4th) and the Prado. In the repair section theEvoque has the least expensive basket ahead of the Quattro and theVolvo. The Toyota Prado is severely hampered by having veryexpensive shock absorbers which make the repair basket the mostexpensive of the group, but is able to pull back to a competitiveposition by having the least costly crash parts ahead of the Volvo andAudi.

Double CabsHere three countries of origin compete for the top position. India

wins with the Tata Xenon (basket price of R58 527) followed by Japanwith the Toyota Hilux Raider (R85 986) and China’s GWM Steed 6(R89 437). The GWM has the most competitive service costs at

R2 269 ahead of the Tata and Isuzu KB300 (fourth overall).Repair parts winner is the VW Amarok – though it must be

noted here that most Amarok D/C sales are with automaticgearboxes, so there are no clutch and pressure plate/flywheel pricesin the list, as with the manual transmissions. GWM comes second.Crash parts sees Tata Xenon the clear winner by more thanR20 000 on second-placed Toyota Raider.

Single CabsWe are not exactly comparing apples with apples here, since we

have included two half-tonne bakkies in with six full tonners. TheNissan NP 200, with a parts basket of R47 026, just pips its largerbrother NP 300 Hardbody for first spot. Third is the other “small fry”the Chev Utility 1.4 Club. Servicing honours go to Nissan Hardbody,a scant R23 from the NP 200 with the Chev Ute in third. The ChevUte retaliates by having the best repair parts basket ahead of thetwo Nissans.

And in the crash parts it’s the two Nissans in 1-2 position again.However, it is interesting to look at the rest of the bakkies in this

section – the one tonners – the Isuzu 250 leads the Toyota Hilux,Mazda BT 50, Ford Ranger 2.2 and VW Amarok.

Executive SaloonsThe first three places are very closely contested – R2 500

separated them in their parts basket prices. Leader is the BMW 320,followed by the Audi A4 and The Infiniti Q50, which is a first timerin the Kinsey Report. All these vehicles are automatic, so there areno pricey clutch and flywheel costs. Audi comes out top in theservicing section ahead of the Infiniti and all the cars are within athousand rand or so. The repair portion has the Infiniti well aheadwith a larger range of costs. The crash parts costs reflect the overallbasket – first to the BMW, second to the Audi and third to theInfiniti.

CITY CARS & ENTRY LEVELParts Description DATSUN NISSAN VW FORD SUZUKI VW

GO 1.2 MICRA 1.2 POLO VIVO FIGO 1.4 SWIFT 1.2 GL MOVE UPLUX VISIA+ HATCH/TR/LINE TREND HATCH 1.0

Retail Selling Price R102500 148300 159600 154900 143900 143000Parts basket as % of selling price 36.71% 29.99% 31.21% 35.75% 40.30% 41.91%Air Filter R143.08 138.91 192.66 120..84 202.60 211.88Oil Filter R82.07 79.67 157.32 114.00 66.65 90.17Pollen Filter R318.16 224.07 250.80 297.14 224.73 168.42Spark Plug Each R68.96 43.04 61.56 102.14 54.21 140.46Glow Plug Each N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/AR/H Wiper Blade R119.28 205.47 177.41 111.61 220.00 277.00L/H Wiper Blade R119.28 147.39 157.82 95.42 160.00 244.00Front Brake Pads R1131.60 815.72 761.34 629.47 942.93 667.84Rear Brake Pads R1053.36 1022.68 1261.53 951.90 942.82 1105.73Cam Belt / Timing Chain R869.18 844.49 783.41 511.32 640.76 575.21Front Brake Disc R553.55 651.48 812.11 1283.64 1081.38 777.31Rear Brake Drum / Disc R754.25 879.91 1121.28 1306.44 1188.12 746.21Front Shock Absorber / Strut R1148.57 825.251 875.50 876.67 1673.16 1088.23Rear Shock Absorber / Strut R587.10 404.69 771.83 678.30 883.39 730.69Clutch Plate R647.45 813.20 794.87 1749.96 882.08 1865.53Pressure Plate R929.70 1163.20 719.98 KIT 1166.23 782.39Flywheel R1024.35 1475/93 2419.14 1244.88 22409.02 3342.42Fan Belt R405.03 393.24 760.30 703.38 175.43 202.10Bonnet R1681.67 2890.97 2309.22 4345.68 3326.53 4074.60Front Bumper Skin R1761.30 1681.67 2073.55 2488.42 2161.77 2200.28Grille R1174.20 911.53 495.35 N/A 590.18 749.73L/H Front Fender R1710.00 1395.50 882.19 1494.54 1749.73 1874.32Wheel Rim R367.00 706.64 1854.68 1102.38 1583.22 4072.32L/H Headlight Assembly R1710.00 1632.51 1771.74 2132.94 2061.63 1792.82Front Windscreen R1761.30 1488.97 1376.09 3425.70 4049.17 3259.68Aircon Condensor R2961.48 4118.65 5034.11 2428.30 3423.83 3748.63Radiator R1080.71 2636.50 1382.36 2443.02 4909.01 2200.28R/H Front Door R2348.40 4083.29 4933.20 4505.28 3874.47 5215.48R/H Rear Door R2348.40 4283.36 2338.50 4505.28 3650.28 N/AR/H Front Window Glass R587.10 491.82 541.43 388.74 649.76 586.75Rear Bumper Skin R1761.30 1486.72 2050.51 1633.62 1713.76 2852.22L/H Rear Fender R1140.00 1204.29 4458.13 6110.40 4869.36 5860.90Boot Lid / Tailgate R2348.40 3819.29 3460.60 5123.16 3304.83 5378.47L/H Tail Light Assembly R1174.20 675.87 1290.74 1318.98 1152.93 1124/59Rear Windscreen R1761.30 843.49 1474.52 11153.68 2169.71 1919.95 Total R37 631.73 44 479.41 49 805.78 55 377.23 57 993.59 59 911.02


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Bulldog Abrasives in the period of20-years have successfullyimported and distributed Mirkaproducts throughout sub-Saharan

Africa. During these years the business hasprogressed from traditional sanding withdifferent products to complete sandingsystems consisting of abrasives, tools andpolishing compounds.

The feedback from both end-users anddistributors has been the key to successwhen it comes down to the introductionand development of Mirka’s new sandingsolutions. Customer feedback is commonlyused throughout the product developmentprocess to ensure that the end product issomething that solves a customer’sproblem or fulfils their need. BulldogAbrasives have always played a crucial partin this by continuously rolling out productdemonstrations on Mirka products.

Mirka has established subsidiaries allaround the world (with some exceptions)and South Africa, including the Sub-Saharanregion, is one of the territories where Mirkadistribution is successfully handled on an

importer basis. Bulldog Abrasives havethroughout the years built up an efficientlogistic system and a dedicated sales teamfor each market sector. With the localknowledge and optimised product rangethe common set targets have been reachedyear after year.

The relationship between BulldogAbrasives and Mirka has evolved over theyears and the level of understanding,communication and trust has been a keyfactor to the growth of Mirka’s productrange in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Mirka is a world leader in abrasivetechnology and innovation with the trainingof the end-user being a critical part of this,enabling them to use the productseffectively and to their full potential. BulldogAbrasives, with their fully equipped trainingcentre, continuously offer customer trainingon Mirka products.

Bulldog Abrasives offers in-housetraining on surface preparation which isrecognised by Merseta as an accredited skill.

Another key factor in the growth of theMirka product range in Sub-Saharan Africa

has been the training and technical supportthat Bulldog Abrasives has provided on-the-job for end-users thereby upskilling the staffto increase output and minimise wastage.

In the past body shops have been mainlyworking with wet sanding products, butthere is a clear direction towards drysanding, and thanks to the professionalsupport provided by the sales team ofBulldog Abrasives, the sales of dust freesanding products are growing from year toyear.

Mirka has always offered end users acomplete surface preparation system withthe latest and highest level of technology.Mirka’s dedication to technology andenvironmental friendliness coupled withBulldog Abrasives’ dedication to training,technical support and job creation creates aformidable team that will continue to growfrom strength to strength.

For more information on the Mirkarange, contact Bulldog Abrasives sales teamon +27 (0)11 786 5991 [email protected]

LOCAL UPDATE

MIRKA AND BULLDOG ABRASIVES;20 YEARS OF SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP



MiLESTOnE

Taken at Mirka’s recent visit to South Africa at Bulldog Abrasives state-of-the-art trainingcentre. From left to right are: Ted Saari (Mirka Export manager, sales), Jason Baynes(Bulldog Abrasives WID director), John Maroun (Bulldog Abrasives CEO) and Simon Bloxham(Mirka vice president, sales).


MIRKA AD N-D 2015_Layout 1 2015/10/27 10:59 AM Page 1

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Over the last few years, the drSmash team have launched anumber of new modules thathave helped the system to

become more user-friendly, with a great dealmore information on hand to improve allareas of the body shop repair process. theyhave subsequently also introduced theirlatest version, which has been completelyredesigned, using a SQL database. this willoffer the dr Smash clients piece of mindwith regards to the safety of their data andincreased user-friendliness. dr Smash assuresus that they will continue to keep theirpackage at the forefront of the market andthat they have plans to continue to expandtheir package into a total organisationmanagement system.

John Banfield, the founder of dr Smash,gave details of a host of innovations at arecent user group evening held in durban.there are new options such as the ability toexport information to pastel or toautomatically complete manufacturer’sreports. It can facilitate the auto-generationof SMS’s and/or emails to clients to keepthem informed about the progress of theirvehicles. this comprehensive new systemeven includes a module for the booking in ofpotential work and management ofworkshop load capacity to preventoverbooking.

Overall, the upgrade has also introduceda number of tracking features that not onlyallow you to see where the vehicle is orwhen it may be ready but also the ability totrack spares and consumables allocated to ajob card and/or employee. this is alldisplayed and controlled in an easy-to-usesummary monitor know as the workshopcontrol monitor. Colour coded departments,schedules and admin requirements, allow foreasy detection of any workshop bottlenecksor issues that may need attention. the

addition of the new admin dashboard hasbeen designed around helping manager’simprove and monitor productivity ofemployees and workshop efficiency, whichagain is displayed using an easy-to-usecolour-coded system.

the information this system makesavailable on all aspects of business is

incredible, and will give any owner ormanager access to state-of-the art controland management of more than just thebottom line but also company productivityand workflow at all times.

For more information call+27 (0)31 700 6498 or visit the websitewww.drsmash.co.za

INDUSTRY update

dr smashsoftware packageNow wIthmajor upgrade


WHAT’S HOT?

Christine Boorman (right) maintains closerelationships with her system users.

Michael Boorman welcomed delegates to the KZNcustomer trade evening in Durban for Dr Smash.

John Banfield has spent years perfecting the Dr Smash software. The system now offers many newmanagement controls for body shops.

The new innovations from Dr Smash were wellreceived by collision repair delegates.


When Volkswagen (Vw) and other major car makershad begun reining in Chinese production along withwages and other costs, industry sources said asexecutives at the Frankfurt automotive show put a

brave face on a sharp slowdown in the world’s biggest vehiclemarket.

the German car giant’s Chinese joint venture, Faw-Vw wascancelling staff bonuses and cutting shifts at its plants nearChangchun, in north-eastern China, insiders said. the bonusestypically account for more than half of the assembly-line workers’ pay.

Volkswagen and General Motors (GM) are among the vehiclemanufacturers most exposed to the downturn in China. demand fornew vehicles has slowed abruptly as a stockmarket slumpcompounds the effects of a cooling economy. demand is also shiftingfrom foreign to domestic brands.

while China has accounted for more than half of Vw’s profit inrecent years, GM and its Chinese partners risk being wrong-footedpursuing a R189.6 bn expansion in China. Both have begun trimminglocal production, by about 5% in July, according to a consultant.

“the mood is very depressed at Vw, BMw, or GM,” said Clemenswasner of austrian automotive Consultancy, eFS, which advisesseveral German car makers in asia.

Hubert waltl the production chief of Vw’s high-end audi brand,said it had also reduced output at its Chinese plants, trimming thework week to five days from seven in response to lower demand.

the brand’s Chinese facilities were previously “overheated,” saidwaltl. audi chief Rupert Stadler said the company expected “furthergrowth in China, and we will not change our investment plans.”

a GM spokesman said the company’s business model in Chinawas ‘different’ from most of the other multi-nations, with largeinvestments in many brands where sales were still rising.

BMw, the largest luxury car maker, warned last month that itsforecasts for this year could be at risk from any further deteriorationin China’s market, where sales are falling for the first time in a decade.

In Frankfurt, where car makers have built their biggest showstands to display luxury cars with Chinese buyers in mind, carexecutives played down the extent of the slump and itsconsequences.

pSa peugeot Citroën boss Carlos tavares told BFM Radio thatpeugeot sees “very big growth” in China. He added, “as a result ofthis slowdown there are players who are panicking and cutting prices,which makes it harder to sell vehicles at a fair price and obviouslyhurts everyone’s business.”

GLOBAL newS

chINa slowdowN hurtINg motor makers

WHAT’S HOT?

International Business Report


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AEROCURE DPS J-A 2015_Layout 1 2015/07/13 12:25 PM Page 1

When it comes to gettingcontrol of costs on anindustrial spray paintingoperation it can often be

viewed as a trip into a giant black hole.truck and trailer makers see steel going inone side and trailers or parts coming outof the other end. Quite often no oneseems to understand how the colourchanges and downtime on refilling systemsaffects the paint shop and it is often notrecorded.

the all-new Binks Gems paint mixingsystem says deVilbiss automotiveRefinishing (Finishing Brands), can nowprovide the ability to prove what quantitiesof materials are consumed in the course ofthe day. “Operators can quickly be trainedin the use of the system and it is also veryeasy to maintain,” says adrian perry, exportsales manager for deVilbiss automotiveRefinishing.

On a recent trip to South africa fromthe deVilbiss team, the Binks Gemscomputer system was technicallydemonstrated by tunzi in KZn andGauteng to key industrial companies in the

bulk circulating of materials business. It isable to supply information for up to twospray painters with individual print outs ontotal paint and solvent usage. actualspraying times, number of colour changesand a host of other controls on thepainters performance right down to theactual cost of job run time can be seen.

during the development of GemsdeVilbiss research and development spenta considerable amount of timeunderstanding the process and fixingproblems to deliver a unit that works outof the box right away. there is a specialtraining presentation video for fast start-uptimes in various market sectors.

product manager from Finishing Brands,Steve Mannouch, provided a great technicaloverview of the Binks Gems 2K systempaint delivery machine and says that byintroducing touch screen technology theelectronic control unit interfaces betweenflow rates of material and pump activation.

By activating all the appropriate valvetimings along with measuring andcontrolling fluids, the key components aresplit into the top box where computer

controls are managed by a programmedSd computer card while fluid controls anddispensing is taken care of from thebottom box of the machine.

the Binks Gems unit has patentedtechnology on the 2K hardener mixingsystem and the computer screen uses easyto follow graphics.

“what sets the Binks Gems apart fromother mixing systems,” says Mannouch, “isthe data gathering and transfer ability ofthis package. It is able to provide spreadsheets on performance and material auditsto deliver actual running costs for anoperator using the excel data system.”

there are a number of optional extrasavailable like a solvent flow meter, gun flushmachine box and a gun add-on kit topersonalise any machine to the exactrequirements from a customer.

the units are planned to come into thelocal market early next year as productionis ramped up in europe. prospective clientscan call the local distribution agent liketunzi for more information on thegroundbreaking Binks Gems technology.

LOCAL update

deVIlBIss INtroduce gloBal electroNIc mIX solutIoNs


PRODUCT PROFILE

A recent customer training workshop held in Durban by Tunzi sawthe innovative Binks Gems mixing machine put through its paces.The unit can monitor up to four spray painters in every waypossible from material utlisation to costs. It is ideal for both truckand body builders and as well as industrial applications.


The Binks Gems machine offers amazingly lowcolour purge or clean-up volumes, says Steve.

From left to right; Bernie Davenport, Rene Roux and Mark Weatherill from Tunzihave already got sales for the Binks Gems unique mixing system.

Steve Mannouch from DeVilbiss shows how the Binks Gems touch screencomputer is set up.

Adrian Perry holds the theory sessions for trainees at the demonstration venuein the KZN Automotive Training Centre.

49


South african paint company Chemspec closed its doors aftera high court application for its liquidation saw more than 400people across the country lose their jobs. the winding-upapplication in the durban High Court was predicted after one

of its financial bankers called in a R74 million loan given to keep the58-year-old business going while under business rescue management.

But what appeared to be a good offer, one which wouldguarantee jobs and the company’s continued presence in Southafrica, was dashed at the last minute.

and its former chief executive Strath Wood, who left South africaunder a cloud of debt and whose estate is under threat ofrepossession, could have put the final nail in the coffin through his

Even before Honda’s all new flagship sports car, the NSXreaches its first customers in early 2016, ppG has alreadyreceived global repair approval from Honda Japan for thesleek supercar.

the NSX was first conceived in 1990 and was a technologicalmasterpiece in its time, the second generation followed suit with anadvanced lightweight multi-material construction. the latest NSXfeatures a sophisticated power unit including a twin turbo V6 engine,three electric motors and a nine-speed dual clutch transmissionwhich directs the total system power of more than 410kW to theroad via all four wheels.

exterior styling is another highpoint, with every element of the

involvement in entities which own the property where the companyis based.

according to an affidavit filed with the court, the offer from aninternational investor to buy the business as a going concern forR175 million was conditional on being able to lease the propertywhere the company operated from.

Strath Wood and his family trust have interests in the companythat owns the property and he sits as a director on its board.

the affidavit also states that despite several attempts by thepotential buyer to mediate an acceptable compromise regarding thelease, the parties were unable to reach an agreement.

low, wide and sleek aerodynamic body designed to reinforce the car’scredentials. attention to detail can be found everywhere, including atruly dynamic colour selection. Customers will be offered multiplethree-stage colour options, including ppG’s andaro tint dispersiontechnology, which provides the ability to achieve deep, pure andmore chromatic colours than is possible with traditional pigments.

ppG’s coatings technology will actually be applied at Honda’s newperformance Manufacturing Centre in Marysville, Ohio, where thesecond generation supercar will be produced. a team of ppG stafffrom Japan and the uS has been supporting Honda during thedevelopment phase and the step into production that will see thevehicle makes its transition from concept to the road.

InDUSTRY update

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DEVILBISS AD N-D 2015_Layout 1 2015/10/28 11:16 AM Page 1


In one of the most extensive representations of the issuesaffecting the collision repair industry ever committed to print,Crawford’s auto Centre of downingtown, pennsylvania filed anexhaustive 164-page lawsuit on april 30 against State Farm,

allstate, GeICO, progressive, Farmers, Liberty Mutual nationwide,alleging that the companies conspired to control the cost ofautomobile repairs. the suit argues that the defendant insurers alsoviolated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisation act(RICO) by creating artificial ‘prevailing’ rates based on their dRpshops’s use of products by the industry’s three leading informationproviders (audatex/audaexplor, CCC or Mitchell) who has beennamed as conspirators. the suit, which also names uSaa, travellersand american Family as conspirators but not as defendants, was filedin the uS district Court for the northern district of Illinois, easterndivision.

Crawford’s seeks to have the lawsuit granted class action status toallow for the inclusion of any non-dRp facilities that ‘performedautomotive collision repair work or services on or in connection witha vehicle insured by, or covered under insurance issued by’ any of theseven defendant insurers and used a CCC, Mitchel or audatexestimating programme for a repair estimate or supplement since 1January 2006.

according to the suit, the action seeks to remedy the defendantinsurers “long-running unlawful conduct to suppress compensationto repair facilities for automotive collision repairs covered byinsurance. defendant insurers State Farm, allstate, GeICO,progressive, Farmers, Liberty Mutual and nationwide, together withtheir three conspirator insurers, are the 10 largest private passengerauto insurers in the united States, collectively holding 70% of themarket, and control all aspects of collision repairs, includingestablishing the industry standards for compensation paid to repairfacilities.”

additionally, the suit argues that because the defendant andconspirator insurers all use the estimating programmes of at leastone Information provider (and because these companies sell the

same programmes to insurers and repair facilities) the Ip’s ‘serve twomasters’, the defendant insurers as well as ‘the repair facilities, whichmust use the estimating programmes to perform their work becausethe estimates are the only means by which insured repairs are paid.”the complaint states that “the programmes are marketed (to theinsurance industry) by the Information providers as controlling costsand purportedly improving accuracy, but with respect to the repairfacilities, the purported goal is preparing comprehensive estimates.”

“Based upon my discussions and investigation, we saw that thereappeared to be a real wrong that was occurring here, and it wassubjecting a significant portion of the collision repair industry to thatconduct (with) injury as a result,” the Information providers said. “Ithought that it required a remedy that would be material, significantand something that would hopefully change the structure and theframework of the relationship between the insurers and the portionof the collision repair industry that is represented in the case, andhow it is that they get compensated for repairs on behalf of insuredand other third parties who are covered under insurance.”

additionally, Bloch notes that automotive consumers stand to gaintremendously if their case reaches its desired conclusion.

“Once the repairers are treated more fairly and/or are notsubjected to the same type of interference and impact from theinsurers conduct, the insureds will benefit from the totality andquality of the repairs that can be made,” Bloch explains. “that’s notsay that the quality has been lacking on behalf of the constituencywho’s brought the class and the case, but the environment in whichthe repairs can take place at that point will inure to the benefit of theinsures and those covered by insurance.”

not surprisingly, Bloch says the case has received an ‘extremelyfavourable’ response from various members of the collision repairindustry.

“we’re fully confident in the case that we’ve set forth,” he says.“we intend to proceed with all due deliberate effort and speed inseeking remedy and relief on behalf of the class.”

INDUSTRY newS

rIco lawsuIttargets top autoINsurers

waVe Your haNd aNdthe BoNNet pops up

Auto suppliers are not only working to make for clean air. Some also want clean hands. at the recent Frankfurt auto Show, Germancomponents maker Brose showed off its latest innovations, among them, a rear door that can be opened automatically and a petroltank door that can be opened with a simple gesture. the rear door uses electronics similar to those found in automatic liftgates,something the company makes, along with mechanical and electrical components for seats and doors.

Brose sees a touch-free door as a comfort feature. when dropping off the kids at school, there’s no more running around to make sure thedoor is closed securely. the same idea inspired the petrol tank door, which slides open with just a wave of the hand. Brose sees it as a possiblefeature for future electrified vehicles and luxury cars. “a mere movement of the hands will suffice in the future to open the tank lid or enginehood touch-free,” the company said. “the advantage: your hands stay clean.”

USA NEWS

NEW TECHNOLOGY

This is the car developed byBrose for the Frankfurt Show.


VERMONT A4 AD S-O 2015_Layout 1 2015/10/28 11:18 AM Page 1

GOODWOODATTRACTS RECORDCROWDS

GOODWOODATTRACTS RECORDCROWDS

GOODWOOD REVIVAL 2015

54 R E F I N I S H E RUTOMOTIVEAAUTOMOTIVE




Arecord sell-out crowd of 149 000echoed a sensational 18thGoodwood Revival Meetingduring the weekend of September

11-13 at the iconic Goodwood MotorCircuit in the south of England.

The outstanding on-track moments ofthe weekend included the first gathering inhistory of all six original Shelby DaytonaCoupes, on the 50th anniversary of theorganisation’s World Sportcar title, and thehonouring of the career of legendary racer,team boss and constructor, Bruce McLaren.

Race highlights included the annual RACTT Celebration race for early 1960 GT cars,which was won by the JD Classics preparedJaguar E-type of former British Touring CarChampion Gordon Shedden and ChrisWard; and a back-to-front victory in the StMary’s Trophy for 1960s saloons for themighty Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt of ‘LeMans’ expert drivers Tom Kristensen andHenry Mann.

Seventeen-year-old Peter de la Roche,on his first visit to Goodwood, securedvictory in the Earl of March Trophy for postwar 500cc single-seaters, taking the lead atthe final corner of a scintillating race; whilesuccess in the Lavant Cup, held exclusivelyfor 1950s Ferrari sports prototypes, wentthe way of James Cottingham’s Ferrari 500TRC.

The 75th anniversary of the ‘Battle ofBritain’ was commemorated with a poignanton-track moment on Sunday afternoon thatfeatured 94-year-old Wing CommanderTom Neil, a Royal Air Force veteran whosaw active service during the battle, and withan evocative 12 Spitfire flypast.

Track displays included a collection ofover 50 ‘Series I’ Land Rovers and more than25 US ‘Gassers’ that lit up their tyres with aseries of spectacular burn-outs eachmorning, while the Earls Court Motor Showcentral concours celebrated Ferrari throughthe ages.

Off-track, the 60th anniversary of the FishFinger was marked with an authentic trawlerwhile 50 years of Youthquake was markedwith a 3D billboard featuring live models inMiniskirts.

Bonhams’ Saturday sale of historic carsand automobilia resulted in £763 000 beingachieved for Keith Richards’ Bentley ‘Blue

Lena’ while the Revival High Street featuredperiod stores from Tesco, Kenwood,Bendicks and more, and the March MotorWorks presented by BMW Group took theform of a trendy London Mews garage andcelebrated coachbuilt specials from BMW,Rollys-Royce and Mini.

Lord March said: “The 18th GoodwoodRevival drew a record sell-out crowd, whonot only witnessed some of the most iconicracing cars every built dicing wheel-to-wheel,but also celebrated the career of motorracing legend Bruce McLaren, saw, for thefirst time in history, all six original ShelbyDaytona Coupes together on track andjoined an incredibly poignant and fittingtribute to the bravery of all those who

fought in the ‘Battle of Britain’. My sincerethanks to everyone who came for theirsupport and enthusaism for the event, whichcontinues to be cherished by enthusiasts ofmotor racing and vintage culture across theworld.”

Tom Kristensen blasted the record bookswith an absolutely amazing drive in the hugeV8 Ford Galaxy when he came from lastplace on the grid line-up in the St Mary’sTrophy to take a hard fought win after 16laps.

On the second day it showed the bestcut and thrust racing of the weekend as hedispensed with superquick Alfa’s andCosworth machinery to take the chequeredflag.

Tom Kristensen came from the back of thefield to win the St Mary’s Trophy in ascintillating race.

Sir Stirling Moss

Winner in the FordFair lane Thunderbolt,Tom Kr istensencelebrates wi th FrankStippler and GordonShedden.


GOODWOOD REVIVAL 2015

56 R E F I N I S H E R R EF I N I S H E R


The Barry Sheene two part race was an absolutestunner and at the finish

line it was the Irishchampion Jeremy

McWilliams and DuncanFitchett on a 1961 ManxNorton who took theoverall win for the twoleg race by just half a

wheel in the closest finishto the chequered flag all

weekend. The crowdwent absolutely wild and

watched on intensely.


Dealer enquiries welcome

PYRMO SOUTH AFRICA

+27 (0) 11 244 4978s o l e i m p o r t e r

Top Brands in Body Shop Repair

Pyrmo SA

PYRMO_Layout 1 2015/10/28 11:14 AM Page 1


Insurers continue to call the shots in the australian repair market,with the two dominant insurance groups, who cover around 80%of motorists, exerting the most sway. during 2013 and 2014major insurers IaG and Suncorp restructured and radically

reduced their approved repairer networks which led to a huge cullof shops that had previously depended on vehicles from these workproviders.

Other insurers such as Queensland’s RaCQ have followed suit.this has led to a large number of anecdotal collison repair shopclosures, possibly as much as 15% of the market (these reports arefrom industry suppliers as these figures aren’t monitored nationally).It is an increasingly hostile and difficult landscape for single site familyrepair businesses to navigate successfully.

while some shops are undoubtedly thriving under the newcontracts, there are reports that many of those who won thecontracts had not fully understood their business costs and arestruggling to make any profit out of the increase volume they arereceiving.

Consolidation is speeding up with an increasing number ofbusiness owners choosing to sell or shut their doors in the face offast-paced technology changes, capital investment costs to keep upwith technology, slimmer profit margins, falling accident rates andskilled staff recruitment issues.

the Suncorp joint venture Capital SMaRt rapid repair chain has24 shops in high population, urban areas, the SMaRt team recentlytook over another Suncorp joint venture, a supershop in Sydneyformed called Q-plus, specialising in heavy hit repairs. now calledSMaRt plus there is industry expectation that further heavy hitfacilities will follow in other cities.

the Gemini Group has been following an aggressive growthstrategy with owner andy Hopkins making no secret he plans toreach at least 50 shops. there are currently 32 shops in the networkwith the finishing touches to a ‘game changing’ shop in Queenslandtaking place at the time of writing.

a merger has resulted in a publicly listed company called aMawhich currently has 12 shops in two states and is planning a nationalfootprint and fast growth. Latest acquisitions have been prestigeshops which may suggest a strategy of aiming for strong nationalprestige offering to bridge the gap with Gemini which soaks up asubstantial part of the volume model market.

In response to this consolidation, affiliation groups consisting ofindependent repairers such as the australian accident Repairnetwork and Car Craft are stepping up recruitment activity to offerindependents some of the bulk buying and other advantages thatmulti-site operators enjoy.

Car manufacturers in australia are experiencing growingcompetition from ‘parallel parts’ or grey imports. this, combined witha preference by insurance companies to use alternative OeM parts,repaired or recycled parts to reduce repair costs. Suncorp Insurancehas set up its own parts company aCM parts which has begun sellingparts with nSF-a Certified mark, indicating the product is tested andapproved by nSF International for the australian market. In responseto these conditions vehicle manufacturers have been puttingincreased emphasis on their approved repairer network withpeugeot and Volkswagen setting up theirs recently and luxury brandslike Mercedes-Benz and BMw encouraging dealer-owned repairfacilities.

while skills shortages continue, these are less severe than inprevious years given that there are less shops and that many shopsare running lean operations using less tradesman than they havetraditionally. anecdotal evidence suggests that many tradespeople areleaving the industry because the shop owners can’t afford to paywages that are attractive enough to retain staff.

Meanwhile the numbers of young people enrolling in vocationaltraining in the motor industry is in decline which also means that the

number of courses and institutions offering vocational training isshrinking. a large number of body shop owners are using the 457skilled migrant visa to bring in qualified staff predominantly from theuK or the phillipines.

a national shop grading programme created by the australianMotorbody Repairers’ association for the industry has been slowlyrolling out over the course of the year. this divides jobs carried outby shops into three categories from light to structural repair andassesses on training, equipment levels and environmental compliance.Suncorp Insurance has its own published standards for the repairersin its repair network.

an historic Heads of agreement between participants in theautomotive supply and service industry was announced at the end of2014. the agreement is primarily about technical data sharing so thatconsumers can choose who maintains or repair their vehicle.

the agreement states that technicians must be able to accesstechnical data at a fair and reasonable rate. Meanwhile repairers alsohave access to thatcham’s escribe and eZi-methods repair.

the cessation of motor vehicle manufacturing in australia in 2017announced by Ford, Holden and toyota last year has prompted agovernment inquiry into the future of the motor industry in australia.this is a generational chance for all sections of the motor industry,including body repair, to tell the government about the challengesbusinesses face in terms of regulatory and taxation burdens andfuture skills shortages. there is concern that unless something is donenow to attract young people into the industry and to understandwhat skills they will need, that there won’t be enough technicianswith the skills necessary to keep cars on the road in a country thatis more dependent on motoring than most.

On a more positive note there are some smart, second or thirdgeneration shop owners coming through with a positive ‘can do’attitude bringing fresh thinking and keen to adapt to a changingmarket place. there is still optimism for the future of the industryfrom those who are investing in the business strategies which willmean they will be part of the elite guard which survives and thrivesthrough current and future market consolidation.

while accident rates are falling in australia and the headlines aredominated by accident avoidance technology and driverless cars, thiscontinent has some local conditions as individual as its native animals.Firstly ‘biblical’ weather such as hail and cyclones drum up plenty ofrepair work for the areas that experience these conditions. australia’scurrent 10-year vehicle parc age means that repairers have plenty ofolder technology vehicles to work on that don’t need up-to-the-minute training on repairs which will enable them to hang in foranother couple of years before there are a larger number of newervehicles in the car parc. Finally, the vast geographical distances inaustralia mean that the infrastructure for driverless cars will be along time coming outside of urban areas. So, while accident rates willcontinue to fall it’s unlikely they will fall as sharply as they will in moredensely populated areas in europe, for instance.

INDUSTRY newS

BodY shop gloBal marketreVIew - australIa

GLOBAL FOCUS

FaCtS and FIGuReS aBOut auStRaLIa

population - 23.1 millionGdp - $1.560 trillion uStotal Vehicle parc - 17 633 493number of passenger vehicles 13 297 260

average age of vehicle fleet 10 years number of motor insurance brands around 50

number of vehicle brands on sale 67number of body shops - vigorously debated,average of estimates yields about 3200 nationally.



Arace track can no longer be just a race track, as was the

case when the Kyalami circuit opened for business in openveld north of Johannesburg in 1961. nowadays circuitowners worldwide have to find ways of making their pieces

of real estate earn their keep as venues for a host of other activities,some not even motor-related.

this will certainly be the case at the rebirth of the motorsporticon that is Kyalami. toby Venter, the CeO of porsche Sa and a truemotor sport enthusiast, said when he bought the track through theVenter Family trust in July last year for R205-million on auction thathe was going to be the owner of a ‘venue for hire’ and not a motorracing promoter. “Motor racing costs money and we now need tomake money,” he quipped.

the scope of rejuvenation at the Kyalami Grand prix Circuit isgrowing apace as the re-development team, headed up byentrepreneurial Venter, and his right hand man, affable andrewBaldwin, the group property manager, who is the person driving theamazing rebirth project on site.

I was fortunate to be invited to go on a conducted tour of theconstruction site last month with Baldwin and porsche Sa’s veryefficient and friendly public relations manager, Christo Kruger. It was areal eye-opener. progress is amazing and everything is being done tothe highest quality standards.

a great deal of focus is now on providing world class conferenceand exhibition facilities as well as a top class “non-denominationaldriving experience” in the area previously occupied by the go-karttrack and the hive of small buildings that previously housed a numberof small businesses, mostly motor sport related..

a significant new development is the making of big changes tothe main pit building and conference centre. apart from its functionfor motor sport this building caters for conferencing, brandactivation and exhibition requirements, which will be an importantsource of revenue for the company. a decision has now been takento spend R50-million on upgrading and increasing the appeal ofthese facilities.

these new facilities need to be serious money earners to makethe whole project viable. the initial budget for redeveloping the sitewas R100-million and all of us with long links to this hallowed 73hectare property in Midrand were delighted. However, that numbercontinues to grow and is probably getting close to exceedingR200-million by now.

the project team is taking the view that it will be better andultimately more cost-effective to extend the scope of the upgradingand rebuilding now, while the major construction is under way,rather than tackling these additional projects piecemeal at a laterstage.

this means that the opening of the new Kyalami will now takeplace in the first quarter of 2016 rather than in the fourth quarterof this year as was envisaged at a function in May where a group ofmotoring journalists was given the unique opportunity of drivingaround the Old Kyalami in porsche panameras on the day beforethe ripping up of the old track began.

For me it was a wonderful experience to go to Kyalami to seefirst-hand the way dreams are being made into reality. I can assureyou we will have a new Kyalami that will be right up there at thetop in terms of international standards.

NEWS FROM THE ZOO - by Roger Houghton

kYalamI Now Needs to Be much

more thaN just a race track

kYalamI Now Needs to Be much

more thaN just a race track


Kapci Coatings; Tel: +27 (0)11 834 1252

Phone: (011) 334 1875 Fax: (011) 334 0965

www.celette.co.za [email protected]

ADD A PROFIT CENTRE TO YOUR

PANEL SHOP.

INVEST IN PDR TECHNOLOGY.

BOOK YOUR PDR TRAINING TODAY.

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BETAG AD J-A 2015_Layout 1 2015/10/30 1:53 PM Page 1

61REFINISHER


Tired of wasting unnecessary company profits? Aimed atsaving body panels by repairing instead of replacing them,small repair is fast becoming a body shop’s means ofefficiency, thanks to more turnover being left after the

repair. Ralph Meichtry, CEO and founder of the Swiss-based company

Betag Innovation, noticed there was a shortage of body panel repairtools within the trade. He then over the next 15 years, with the helpfrom OEM’s, insurance agencies and body shops, developed theFlatliner system aimed at helping shops be more profitable andproductive due to lower costs and time taken to repair.

Automotive Refinisher magazine spoke to Meichtry at a PaintlessDent Removal (PDR) training session held recently at Celette SA attheir training centre in Johannesburg. Meichtry reckons: “The coreintention is making the modern body shop technician’s work moreefficiently as time is money. So everything we do is focused onhelping the technician get his or her job done faster, better and morecost effectively.

The two-day seminar predominantly focused on Betag’s PDRofferings and what the best techniques are on removing small dentsalmost anywhere.

Day one of training focused on the tricks of the trade in PDR.Customers were taught fast effective methods of massaging small tomedium dings out of body panels using specialised PDR rod sets, gluesystems and lamps. Clients learned which tools were best for thetype dent.

The theory was followed by practical sessions. Dent removal ona variety of body parts was a good way of showing customers justhow valuable a system like this is, because of its part savings ability.

It’s astounding when you consider just how much time you aresaving without taking paint costs into consideration and just what thelong term benefits of such a system is to a panel and paint shop.

Day two of the training schedule concentrated on repair insteadof replacement once again. Clients got to use the Flatliner PanelRepair Systems. These systems are for fixing larger damaged areas ofthe vehicle. Hard to shape places such as a boot lid with levels andedges is no problem. Whether it is a steel or aluminium repair, theFlatliner has the system for the application.

Body shops make more money by repairing body panels ratherthan replacing them. With the core system being the Flatliner smallto medium it’s evident just how necessary the tools are for costeffective fast repair. The company is so dedicated to customertraining because they want the equipment to be used to its fullpotential.

Contact Celette SA for any future Betag Innovation traininginformation or more on the Flatliner system in action. Call them on+27 (0)11 334 1875 for more product information.

TRAINING

BETAG INNOVATION’S

SMALL REPAIR

TOOL SEMINARS

BETAG INNOVATION’S

SMALL REPAIR

TOOL SEMINARS

story & pics by Jay Groat

BETAG INNOVATION TRAINING:Day 1 module PDR:Lighting the dent, types of dents, first steps, knocking down,repairing elastic and plastic dents, repairing complicateddents,types of tools, access on the car, access behind thebraces,glue systems.Day 2 module Flatliner:Tools and systems, spot welding units, analysing damages, properpreparation, repairing, cost comparison.


The egyptian paint maker KapciCoatings has posted incredibleexpansion despite a number ofinternal political problems. the

Group from port Said, through their localagent nizam ally, have taken a sizeable sliceof the local market. with close to 60% of theGroup’s paint making capacity going to theautomotive side – Kapci and Latico brands –the South african operation have pioneeredKapci Coatings global advance whileremaining one of their biggest exportmarkets.

“the overseas group had a turnover ofsome 195 million uS dollars,” said amr-elSayed on a recent visit to South africa. thisfrom a privately owned, two-family memberteam of management is no mean feat. theyhave also established a leading position in theMiddle eastern market and along with thatunbridled success comes a new factorybased in India, plus huge advances into theultra competitive market in europe.

the company is powered by significantexpenditure into research and developmentand colouristics that play a vital role in

system ease of use. development of bothsolvent and waterborne ranges now see a9000 Series colour box with 35 000 actualspray out shade cards with derivativecolours becoming available internationally.this works in tandem with the 15 000colour box shades for fast and accuratevisual colour checking on Kapci Coatingsformulas.

Because they are a diversified paintmaker, India will also make polyester bodyfillers and compete in the wood finishbusiness. It is a self-funded 150 million dollarinvestment – but they feel asia needs itgoing forwards.

On colour again, Kapci Coatings are nowusing the latest ultra-accurate three- andfive-angle colour matching spectrometerswhich employ easy-to-use user-friendlysoftware.

to keep up with the demand in KapciCoating’s own home market is an all-newfacility, now in building progress. It is a huge,130 000 square metre, planned paint factoryand will take up to three years to complete.this capacity, coupled to the one in India of

some 67 000 square metres, means they arevery serious about the Kapci Coatingsgrowth plan for international sales to keepramping upwards.

the commercial success of the brandreally zoomed forwards after the companyexhibited at automechanika shows acrossthe world, as well as at the Sema Show in LasVegas. From this input new anti-scratchclearcoats, high solid clear coats and fasterhigh build primer fillers, new putty fillers anda new formula lightweight filler will beintroduced early next year to make theirrefinish line as good as anything on themarket.

as always it will be with a great valueprice to performance levels and will also bebolstered with 5200 new formula putty,5900 basecoat lines and a reformulated5870 clear matt finishing line.

So they are confident that with all thisconstant improvement plus huge investment,their spray painting end users will continuewith bolstered confidence when purchasingthe Kapci Coatings refinish brands.

INDUSTRY update

kapcI coatINgs celeBrate 10 Years IN south afrIca


LOCAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Amr-El Sayed says that SouthAfrica remains a top Kapci refinishdestination in terms of success.

Nizam Ally (left) and commercial management representative and member of board of directors, Amr-El Sayed, have built up one of the group’s most important export markets in the world for their winningrefinish with Kapci Coatings SA.

The Kapci Coatings SA national distributionteam are based in Westgate, Johannesburg.

story and pics by Ian Groat


Kapci Coatings; Tel: +27 (0)11 834 1252

KAPCI AD J-A 2015_Layout 1 2015/10/27 11:07 AM Page 1

SATA is a name synonymous withinnovation and quality. It is no smallwonder then that they have a websiteassistant at hand to answer any

questions a client may have. Here are theanswers to some of the more frequentlyasked questions which offer some excellentguidance.

Material consumptionAs a spray gun manufacturer, SATA are

often asked about the correct meaning andinterpretation of the terms “materialconsumption” or “transfer efficiency”. Whatis the actual difference betweenmaterial/fluid delivery rate, transfer efficiencyand material consumption? These terms areoften misunderstood and misinterpreted –so let’s take a closer look.

Material delivery rateThe material delivery rate describes the

amount of material (paint) which in adefined period of time is released from thematerial passage – in actual fact from thefluid tip of the spray gun – at a defineddynamic gun inlet pressure. The inletpressure on the spray gun should always becorrectly adjusted.

This is particularly easy with the DIGITALtechnology of the SATAjet 5000 DIGITALor with the retrofit SATA adam 2. It is alsopossible, however, to connect a standard airmicrometer with manometer to the gun.Since pressure in combination with the

supply of compressed air (air consumption)has a great influence on optimum results,you should always ensure to set the inletpressure as recommended.

You will find information on the correctpressure to be used in the paint applicationsheet of the paint manufacturers or on theweb pages reserved for each individualSATA spray gun and with the gun triggerbeing fully pulled. This rate is measured ingrams per minute (g/min).

The actual material delivery rate iseffectively dependent on the size of thenozzle system (i.e. fluid tip size), the dynamicgun inlet pressure as well as the viscosity ofthe material. Viscosity is the time (inseconds) it takes the material to completelyflow out of a standardised container.

This means: The higher the dynamic guninlet pressure the larger the nozzle size andthe higher the specific weight of the material,the higher the material delivery rate.

However, it does not say anything aboutTransfer Efficiency rate or indeed materialconsumption.

Transfer Efficiency Rate The Transfer Efficiency rate defines the

amount of paint material released from aspray gun which actually reaches andremains on a flat surface of a defined size(e.g. 1 m²-panel) under a defined set ofparameters comprising of dynamic gun inletpressure, spray distance and spray angle, andwith a fully pulled gun trigger. Modern-day

spray guns, like the HVLP (High VolumeLow Pressure) and RP (RP is an acronym forReduced Pressure) guns from SATA, reachtransfer rate efficiencies well above 65%, asmandated for the collision repair industry bylegislation in many countries.

Material consumptionIn practical terms, the effective material

consumption varies depending on thegeometry of the object to be painted, thework speed of the painter, the spraydistance and the existing dynamic gun inletpressure, as well as the required filmthickness.

If we paint, for example, a bike framewith a surface of approx. 1m² and incomparison a 1m²-panel with the samespray gun used with identical applicationparameters, everyone will expect a muchhigher material consumption in the case ofthe bike frame, despite the fact that we areoperating with the same Transfer Efficiencyrate and the same material delivery rate.

Conclusion:The above explanations clearly prove

that mere considerations of individualparameters, as for instance the often citedTransfer Efficiency rate do not provide anypractical guidelines for the daily work of thepainter. With this in mind, therecommendations of the paintmanufacturers should always be strictlyobserved.

REpAiR TIPS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FROM SATA



HELpFUL HinTS


SATA AD N-D 2015_Layout 1 2015/10/27 10:56 AM Page 1


South Africa has a truly international flavour, which is fortuitousas it deals with many points I have been discussing over thelast couple of years. I see markets and countries around theworld dealing with collision repair at different places in time,

going through similar challenges, but all at different phases.More than ever, we are repairing the same, or very similar

vehicles. As manufacturers build more “global” vehicles, thetechniques to return them safely back to their pre-damagedcondition technically should be the same. It’s everything thatsurrounds the vehicle repair that is the fascinating bit, and the partthat will define how an industry, its insurers and its customers behave.This, in turn, has an impact on how cars are repaired, and theprofitability of collision shops.

To predict what’s going to happen in our market here in NorthAmerica, we need to look at countries that are the most progressive.If we want to see trends before they occur, or what are likelychallenges coming down the pike, surely we can learn from othercountries. So where is the best place to look inside the crystal ball?

Take the UK, for example. It’s an island with the same population(64 million) as the combined populations of California (38 million)and Texas (26 million), but only has 3 500 primary shops chasing allof that work. That compares to a total of about 18 000 shops in1990. Due to a variety of circumstances, the number of repairs isdropping by about 15% per year. The questions are, “Why?,” and also,“Why has the US not seen the same reductions?”

The answers lie within a few numbers. Gasoline costs about $9 agallon in the UK, significantly impacting driver behaviour.Approximately 80% of vehicles are diesel, helping some achieve 80MPG. People make fewer trips and buy smaller cars across the pond,

especially with a sales tax around 20%. Over here, motoring is veryexpensive, meaning less driving and smaller cars. The knock-on effectis a greater percentage of write-offs (some districts are at more than30% of claims), less hours available per repair (now at an average of13) and, of course, a reduction in claims frequency in a staticpopulation.

Will the US follow this trend ? Fuel prices will rise, Americans willbuy smaller cars, and there will be more write-offs. This will result infewer shops chasing fewer claims.

UK shops also face a high cost burden because of the over-capacity of shops versus the supply of damaged vehicles. Insurershave taken advantage of this competitive market. Most shops supplycomplimentary loaner cars that are owned by the shops, not rentalcompanies or paid by insurance. Vehicles are self-authorised by theshop, and steering by some insurers is now at about 90%. Typically,we see a ratio of front-end to productive technicians at about 2:1,again, a very high cost to the business.

In the US, insurers cannot steer work like they can in the UK, butthis trend will change as commercial pressure increases andlegislation shifts.

As paint becomes more of a commodity, and paint companiesseek new ways to sell their products beyond technical prowess orservice levels, prices will be driven down with some discounts in theUK approaching 80% (of a price that increases about 9% every year).Paint company deals with insurers in effect mandate the use of paintwith an insurance contract, so if you work for the UK’s biggest insurer,you will be installing a certain brand of paint in your mixing room andusing it on every one of their vehicles. Work with four insurers? Youwill need a larger mixing room to store the four mixing machines. Justthink about the cost of training, inventory and increased possibility ofmistakes!

Will all of this come to North America? Probably not, but Icertainly see trends showing, behaviours changing and the marketbecoming more competitive and challenging, with shops becomingmore costly to run. My crystal ball is already here, but it’s a littlemurky.

INTERNATIONAL TRENDS

GloBal trendsMatter

cars with crashavoidance steerclear of rePair shoPs

Steve Abrantes knows first-hand that vehicles capable ofavoiding collisions without driver assistance will have an impacton the collision repair industry. The manager of San DiegoVolvo’s collision centre has already seen a reduction in Volvo

XC60 crossovers since a crash prevention system became standardon the vehicle in 2010.

“We’re not seeing that car in here,” he says of the vehicle,equipped with a system called City Safety. “The avoidance system iscosting us money because we’re not seeing those cars with the samefrequency as the previous models.”

Though he suspects any repairs involving the avoidance systemcould earn his business a bit more than a traditional fix because ofthe expensive and intricate components, he has yet to find out.Abrantes says he plans to start tracking repairs on the model to seejust what he’s earning, or missing because of the system.

It’s a predicament many repairers could find themselves in ascrash avoidance technology becomes more widespread. If recentstudies are an indication, the systems could prevent huge numbers ofcrashes each year if they become standard in every vehicle.

An October report from the Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) estimated that crash avoidance technology couldeliminate all accidents caused by driver error. That’s a whopping 90%of crashes.

An earlier study by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), which

Vo lvo XC60

WHAT’S HOT?

US NEWS

evaluated the Volvo XC60 with City Safety technology, found thatclaims under property damage liability coverage were filed 27% lessoften for the vehicle compared to other midsize luxury SUVs. Claimsunder bodily injury liability were filed 51% less often. And overallclaim frequency for the XC60 was lower than for all other midsizeluxury SUVs combined, as well as other Volvos, under every type ofinsurance coverage.

The XC60’s system detects the distance and speed of othervehicles within 18 feet of its front bumper when travelling betweentwo and 20 km/h day or night, and automatically brakes if a crash isimminent.

Shops should be ready to learn about new crash avoidancesystems as they are released, since repairs to those systems, whichcan include cameras, sensors, microprocessors and othercomponents, will probably become commonplace. They could alsomake for more expensive repairs, she says, but costs will inevitablycome down as production ramps up.

Arantes says, “We’re seeing the systems in the premium brandsnow, but they will certainly impact our bottom line as they becomemore common.”

by Jon Parker



Visiting neighbouring countries used to be very popular formany South africans in the days when gambling, legal stripshows and girlie magazines were taboo in the RSa. poppingacross the border to Swaziland or Lesotho for the weekend

or sometimes journeying to LM (Lourenco Marques, now Maputo) inMozambique or even Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) were very ”in”.

the laws in South west africa (now namibia) were similar to Saat the time so this was not such an attractive destination other thanfor 4x4 adventurers, nature lovers and big game hunters.

However, with the liberalisation of Sa following the arrival of theera of the Rainbow nation in 1994 there is no longer the need tocross borders, which have become an increasing hassle andfrustration over the years.

I have had the occasional trips to Swaziland, Lesotho, namibia andeven one journey to Maputo but these visits have always been linkedto new vehicle launches or motor sport events.

Recently my wife, Meg, and I were invited to join three othercouples on a 10-day road trip in namibia and we acceptedenthusiastically. the main aim was to visit the etosha nature Reserveand other game lodges as we travelled from windhoek to etosha andthen down to Swakopmund before returning to windhoek and flyingback to Gauteng.

It was not only enjoyable but also very informative andeducational and opened our eyes to the progress being made in ourneighbouring country.

Immigration and customs formalities at the airport were prettyquick and painless.

However, the biggest surprise for us coming from Sa was thegeneral cleanliness not only in the cities but also in the smaller towns.namibians obviously take pride in keeping their living areas clean;there were no heaps of trash and curtains of plastic bags hanging onbarbed wire fences which we have to accept as the norm in ourcountry. the informal housing also seems of a better standard thangenerally found in Sa.

another big plus was the very good condition of most of theroads. admittedly we kept to the major tar roads – usually long andstraight! – as we heard that some of the gravel roads are in poorcondition, with potholes. there are also road works for new roadconstruction, which is encouraging. there were no beggars, but thereare quite a few street vendors in parking areas trying to sell youtrinkets such as key rings. On the negative side we encountered

unfriendly and officious law enforcement officers. we saw very fewof them outside built-up areas and there are a few permanent roadblocks with no optional roads in these areas. Our group travelled intwo vehicles, a local Chevrolet trailblazer and a toyota Fortunerdriven to and from namibia by Sarel and Jenny nienaber of Knysnaand the latter couple were given some stick by the authorities.

the first “offence” was pointed out at a roadblock outsidewindhoek. this was the failure to display a Za national sticker onthe rear of the Fortuner. Sarel pointed out to the officers thatnobody at the border post or at previous roadblocks hadmentioned that this was a legal requirement, but to no avail and theresult was a R500 fine. we found a shop selling a Za sticker closeby and this was then OK.

the next “offence” came at a roadblock between Swakopmundand walvis Bay and this was a severe reprimand for not having thethird party insurance paper (bought at the border) in the car (it wasin the hotel room). these two instances left something of a bad tasteas we were tourists spending money in the traffic officers’ country!

Otherwise generally the people were friendly and service levelsgood and costs of accommodation, food and beverages was prettygood value for money. (Sa notes and even coins can be used innamibia and there are atMs to draw more money, although this didinclude a fee).

Besides seeing plenty of game in the etosha reserve – severalwater holes were teeming with wide varieties of animals – we alsostayed in several first class lodges and B&Bs. the three nationalresorts in the etosha – namutoni (originally a fort), Halali andOkaukuejo – were disappointing to those who had seen them acouple of decades ago.

we did not stay in any of them but called in for pit stops and aquick look around. the fact that these are evidently no longerpopular resorts for tourists has resulted in a host of excellentaccommodation options being built in the vicinity of the reserve. westayed at Onguma Lodge and etosha Safari Lodge. (One can buy aGondwana Card for R100 each which gives substantial discounts ona host of resorts in namibia, with the etosha Safari Lodge being oneof them). Other places we stayed were Omaruru Game Lodge,Vingerklip Lodge (a gem in the mountains) and at B&Bs inwindhoek and Swakopmund.

In the end it was a number of long roads travelled, but it was avery pleasant break and a real eye-opener.

NEWS FROM THE ZOO - by Roger Houghton

NamIBIaN

NeIghBours

set reallY good

eXamples

Sare l and JennyNienaber seen wi ththeir Toyo ta For tunerin f ront of the famousVinger k l ip sandstonecolumn.


Programmes for success is a suite ofbusiness analysis tools that havebeen developed by R-M, whichenable you to implement

recommendations to improve theefficiency and profitability of your bodyshop.

This suite of business tools has beendeveloped so that any body shop,regardless of size, can work together withthe R-M team to produce a comprehensiveanalysis of the business.

Each module within the programme willprovide practical recommendations forevery aspect of the business from skilllevels and staffing, right through to bodyshop equipment specifications.

Programmes For Success may be asophisticated programme, but you don'tneed a business degree to use it. Theumbrella of programmes starts with the“Management Seminars” and is roundedoff with Topscan, Design and “BodyshopOptimisation Consultations” for a wellbalanced look at training for success.

Knowledge is power. That’s why R-Mhas called upon the industry’s leadingexperts to pass on the benefits of theirknowledge and experience to help youmanage your business more efficiently andmore profitably.

The R-M Management Seminars havebeen developed to suit the specificrequirements of body shop owners,managers and sales staff.

All seminars have been developed tomeet the very highest educational

standards, with both practical andtheoretical content to ensure easy learning.

Recently these Management Seminarswere held in Cape Town and Gauteng tohelp empower R-M customers to make themost of their bottom line in their business.The work covered was from the firstmodule focused on accomplishing the bestin day-to-day business.

Module 1: Improving operationalperformance

In order for your body shop to remainprofitable in this increasingly competitivemarket, continuous improvements inoperational performance are essential.

R-M with the support of consultantsfrom different countries has developed adedicated two day management seminarthat is guaranteed to help your body shopbenefit from significant improvements inbody shop operations.

ContentManagement Seminar Module 1 is

based on body shop operation theoryincluding body and paint shop areaoptimisation, basic indicators, break-evenanalysis and charge out rates.

In addition to the management of basicindicators, module 1 looks at staffmotivation as well as the roles of thereceptionists, the technicians and the bodyshop manager.

ObjectivesDelegates should have a full

understanding of the entire running of thebody shop from the efficient use of theequipment and processes, workflows andspace optimisation as well as labour,motivation and profitability.

TargetDelegates from many areas of the

industry can benefit from this seminar,including body shop proprietors, managers,foremen, technicians and sales staff.

All you need is a basic knowledge ofautomotive refinish and repair.

BenefitsDelegates should have a full

understanding of the entire running of thebody shop from the efficient use of theequipment and processes, workflows andspace optimisation as well as labour,motivation and profitability.

The R-M Management Seminars havebeen developed to meet the very highesteducational standards to ensure thatdelegates understand theinterdependencies of the repair processand its organisation. Delegates can worktogether and exchange experience in theimprovement of body and paint shopprocesses.

An efficient team in your body shop iswhat you will achieve after attending thiscourse.

Contact R-M directly for this course andother Programmes for Success on+27 (0)11 872 1217 as well as theirtraining schedule for 2016.

LOCAL NEWS

MANAGEMENT SEMINARS FROM R-M



TRAininG

This hard working contingentrecently attended the R-MManagement Seminar trainingcourse in Cape Town.


Tel: 011 872 1217 RSB AutoGroup, Joshua Doore Building, 4 Andries Street South, Wynberg, JHB

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The girls have spoken. after thousands of votes were cast bywomen on wheels (South africa) readers and combinedwith the judges’ votes, the new XC90 designed and built inSweden (with Geely money), Volvo walked away the winner

in the Large Sports utility Vehicle category as well as the overallwomen on wheels Car of the Year.

they focused on the elegance, space and wellbeing of the designof the new Volvo XC90 plus digital craftsmanship that delivers aunique and calming experience. all that did it for them.

a South african Cross Country co-driver, Sandra Labuschagne,has been chosen to join a prestigious cross-country rally initiative runby the FIa women in Motorsport Commission and the Qatar Motorand Motorcycling Federation. nine drivers and co-drivers are goingto take part in a five-day training and assessment programme in dohain Qatar. One team will be chosen to compete courtesy of the QatarMotor and Motorcycling Federation in the 2016 Sealion Cross-Country Rally in the uaR.

Highly experienced, Sandra has been competing in donaldsonCross-Country Championship racing in South africa for a number ofyears and was one of 85 applicants from 39 countries. She navigatesfor her father, Coetzee.

More women power. Bev Schellings is organising a project in aidof charity to get the most Suzuki cars and motorcycles together at‘the wedge’ in Beyers naude drive in Muldersdrift. all the cars andmotorcycles will be parked in the shape of the Suzuki “eSS” and ifenough owners pitch up they could go for the Guinness Book ofworld Records. they are talking 1780 participants. If you own aSuzuki, get there!

toyota in South africa and their plant have received an awardfrom the un Industrial development Organisation as a globalindustry leader in their energy management programme.

the same thing has happened at Volkswagen in uitenhage whichhas saved unbelievable amounts of energy in manufacture andpainting.

General Motors put on an annual Best technician competitionevery year here in South africa.

winner of the top technician Skills awards in 2015 was Govenderdharmalingun (52) of South Coast Motors in KZn. Steven de wet(28) of Reids enron City in Cape town was second with QuintonVermeulen (33) of williams Hunt in pretoria in third spot.

So now you know where to take your GM vehicle for a service.we all know a cleaner engine delivers more power. a

motorsports company in Canada put LiquiMoly’s Oil additive serviceto the test. Results were astounding, using a porsche Cayenne GtS.

Just before an oil change they added LiquiMoly engine plus motor

oil which loosens all the floating deposits and other dirt and thendrained it together with the oil. they then filled it with fresh oil – aLiquiMoly low viscosity high tech 5w40 plus LiquiMoly motor oilsaver to make seals soft and flexible and then Cerra tec, a frictionmodifier with tiny ceramic particles to give it less friction.

the result? 20Hp more performance from the engine. this testwas also done on a C230 Merc and a porsche 993 with similarresults.

the Germans are manufacturing and blending great oils for cars,motorbikes, trucks, agriculture and earth moving equipment as wellas marine. and it’s all available right here in RSa.

porsche, after pulling off a great win at the 2015 24-hour race atLe Mans, have announced they are going to keep racing their 919Hybrid until the end of 2018. a bit disappointing for the opposition,also for their company cousins, audi, because they all have to beracing against this 1000 Hp machine.

Honda in South africa has just launched a new executive flagshipin their Honda Ballade range which now consists of six models withthree spec levels. Highly reliable, the Ballade offers space, practicality,safety and comfort linked with performance and economy.

the first half of 2015 saw peugeot finish up with 886 000 unitssold. there was a 3.9% increase in worldwide sales. europe sales areup 6.7%, asia 9.6%, africa and the Middle east 10.9% and India pacific50.2%.

they wouldn’t do these great figures without a lot of hard workand great models.

takata, who make those troublesome airbags for the Japanesemanufacturers, have announced that 2 354 Lancia 1.6 litre and evoderivatives sold between 2003 and 2007 will be recalled for safetyinspections and replacements. take it to a dealer who will do it foryou. It takes about an hour.

Mitsubishi is one of 11 vehicle manufacturers affected by apotentially defective airbag inflator.

the Gautrain gets an annual subsidy of R1.5bn says Gauteng’stransport MeC, Ismail Vadi. R1.5bn a year would be enough to fundthe entire Gauteng Freeway project. the Gautrain subsidy nowconsumes a quarter of Gauteng’s department of transport budget.60 000 people a day use the Gautrain between pretoria and Jo'burgand OR tambo airport. the aa says it shows that the transportmode is for higher earners. It is unjust for tax payers’ money to bediverted from the transport budget to subsidise these commuters.“the arteries of Gauteng are the roads, which keep commercegoing.”

Fuel was set to drop in September but no go as the drop in theRand value took care of that.

72

The Volvo XC90 designed and built in Sweden walked away the winner in the Large Sports UtilityVehicle category as well as the overall Women on Wheels Car of the Year. The girls have spoken.

DID YOUHEAR?by Roger McCleery


43

The compact Korek HD floor frame features adouble layer ground frame for robustperformance and easy set-up. The flexibletower assemblies are highly mobile. It offersextended cab tower pulls with traction pulls of20 tons per basic tower.

The towers are simple to fix as they operateon rollers and are fixed to the HD Korekframe by four wedges with three main standson offer. This is coupled to 30 ton compositionhydraulic sets. The options for a perfectchassis cab and frame straightening job areendless as well as painless.

As far as speed of output and profitability areconcerned, the HD Korek offers majorprofitability at a reasonable entry level cost. Itis ideal for both CV repairers and large fleetoperators as an investment in Truck repair.

If you are ever renting a car around the country there is a realbargain going at R145 per day. It is a Chery 323 available throughtempest Car Hire.

alwyn Jordaan and Melanie Barnard are the 2015 Spirit of africatrophy champions using an amarok. these girls certainly do well. In2014 they were third overall. 2015 saw them take home theR50 000 prize money on offer for their achievement of winning fivedays of demanding 4x4 challenges in the Qwalata Game Reservein Botswana.

20 teams competed in the finals. nearly 500 teams started inthe competition.

nissan deployed two 4x4 navara pick-ups – a double cab anda King cab to agri Gauteng so they could visit and help develop120 emerging farmers in the Rust de winter Reserve.

the 2015 pirelli Bike of the Year went to Kawasaki H2. Co-sponsors were LiquiMoly, tom-tom and total. two of these havebeen sold in the country at R300 000 a pop.

alcohol and traffic crashes are clearly linked says the aa. Manydrivers still claim they are safe to drive after drinking, but this isclearly not the case. even if you are a cautious driver and have hadonly a few drinks, research shows that you could be a statistic of abig accident or imprisoned.

the Beetle still lives. the current Volkswagen Beetle has beenrefreshed with a whole lot of extras such as 17” alloy wheels, andlots of goodies to enhance the looks all over the car. Called theClub Beetle, it retails for R294 800.

they have got a cheaper one at R153 200 called the Club upwith a 1 litre 55 kw motor, and also boasts a host of goodies.

watch out for fraudsters pretending to work for motordealerships who, to avoid negative publicity, come to fetch your carat home and take it into the dealer for repairs. that could be thelast time you see it. 29 cases have been reported since October lastyear.

a car in Gauteng could find its way to Botswana or Zambia inno time at all.

news from the Indian manufacturer Mahindra, is that they havejust rolled out their five millionth vehicle.

also they aim to be among the top 50 most admired brandsworldwide, says their Chairman and president of the Group, SpShukla. Mahindra this year was named the 10th most trusted brandin India. It is now established in more than 100 countries, includingSouth africa.

Sanjoy Gupta has taken over the helm at Mahindra in thiscountry. Current Md, ashok thakur, will be heading up Mahindra’snewly established african Business unit aimed at increasing thecompany’s business in africa.

Honda’s tops again when it comes to reliability according to aBritish after Market warranty company. this info is used by the uKmotoring magazine, “what Car” to find the most – or the leastreliable brands – in the uK. Honda has topped the reliability ratingfor the ninth year running. You can’t beat that.

toyota has now sold over eight million hybrid vehicles. the lastmillion being built in the last 10 months.

the girls are at it again. pretoria resident, Viane van dyk won the2015 Ranger Odyssey Competition run over 12 days and 2000 kmthrough damaraland and Kaokoland in namibia. She beat 19 othercontestants to the title. Some of the contestants came fromnigeria, Ivory Coast, angola and Mozambique.

Some Germans have created an electrical car powered by saltwater. It has only full electric engines and consumes only salty fuelas the propellant.


Listen to Roger McCleery

every Tuesday on Radio

Today (1485 AM) at17h30

for everything about SA

motoring.

73


The SC clear series is anabbreviation of STARCLEAR, aclear brand for KAROCLE. Itsproducts are basically set up by

mixing ratio between paint, hardener andthinner and also by solid content.

The variation of products is to providethe best options to each individual painteraccording to their skill and environment.

Here below is a brief productexplanation.

1:1 CLEARSC-112UH is an ultra-high solid clear

and can cover solvent and waterbornebase coats, maintaining superior qualityand gloss. This product meets VOCregulations in Europe and the US.

2:1 CLEARConsists of seven products: SC-2110,

SC-2152, SC2130, SC-2122, SC-2100 are

medium solid types. SC-2100HS is a highsolid type and SC-212VH is a very highsolid type.

Medium solid types of products arealready seen in Africa and the Middle EastAsia market.

The SC-2100HS and SC-212VH alsomeet VOC regulations in Europe and theUS.

3:1 CLEARSC-3100HS clear has been developed

to improve workability for body shops forquicker throughput, fast drying andshortened flash off times.

This is all achieved while with excellentquality and durability at the same time.

4:1 CLEARSC-4101Q, is a medium solid type of

clear that is quick-drying. It minimises dustproblems and you are able to do light

polishing within a shorter time after theclear process.

Matte CLEARSC-211FT, is a 2:1 type that basically

gives “low gloss” quality. It is suitable forthe latest trends and can mix with other2:1 clears such as SC-2122, SC-2152, SC-2110, SC-2113 to give various gloss levelslike eggshell, satin, and semi-gloss.

In the same way, SC-411FT, which is4:1 type, can also give various gloss levelsby mixing other 4:1 types clears.

Special CLEARSC-8212 is a 2:1 type. It is an anti-

scratch clear that delivers excellent qualityand gloss and boasts good workability.

SC-9210, is also a 2:1 type that is for aheadlamp refinishing clear. It is veryenvironmentally friendly.

COATinGS NEWS

THE KAROCLECLEAR RANGE AT A GLANCE



pROdUCT pROFiLE


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VOLKSWAGEN GROUP MELTDOWN, OR IS IT HYPE?



The global media can’t believe its luck. A famously cash richvehicle manufacturer pushing to become the biggest in theworld nearly three years ahead of their own plan, caughtred handed by the US Environmental Protection Agency

bending the rules. Forget the facts, rush in and join the feeding frenzy.

Lets take a look at vehicle emissionsNo, they are not perfect. The test is performed to a drive cycle

that has a series of accelerations, steady cruises and decelerations –and looks nothing like a real driver on a real road. However, thissystem has brought tail pipe emissions down in huge steps since thedays of looking at emissions from the tail pipe with no equipmentbeyond a nose and a pair of eyes. Most of the global emission testsare either based on the European system or the US system, or ahybrid of both.

If we imagine the whole possible load and speed conditions thatan engine can operate at, the emission test (EU or US) looks atabout 20% of the total area, and all of it at lower speeds as well aslighter loads. Once the vehicle is above these speed/load conditionsit can emit anything.

But, the emission control system has to work all the time, and ithas to survive use at higher speeds and loads in order to emitcorrectly under test conditions. Excess fuelling for example willaccelerate erosion of the catalytic converter wash coat or even causethe ceramic substrate to collapse, both of which require repair.

A vehicle is tested according to it’s kerb weight and theaerodynamic drag, which can be calculated or measured. All of thesefactors are carefully considered right at the conception of a newvehicle, because if a vehicle is but one kg over the target weigh theon-cost in meeting the next level of ‘inertia class’ can be significant.

This also applies to the aerodynamic drag factor as well – we cansee that aerodynamics and weight are key points in powertrainemission control strategy.

During the emission test special tyres are used on the rolling roadbecause even though the drums are two metre in diameter they stillload the tyres abnormally. So the tyres are usually well worn toreduce tread deflection and pressurised to the maximum permittedto reduce side wall deflection – all to ensure no blow outs during thetest.

From the time the vehicle starts the tail pipe emissions arecollected – typically 90% of the measured result is collected in thefirst 10% of the test.

Crucially CO2 is not a measured type approval (‘legal’) test. Ituses the same drive cycle, the same emission measurementequipment, but is not limited. Many European governments basedvehicle taxation policy on tail pipe CO2 emissions with the resultingchaos.

The push to reduce CO2 and hydrocarbon emissions forcesdiesel fuel injection pressure upwards, which can lead to increasedparticulate formation but will cause more NOx to form. There areexhaust treatment systems for particulates, for hydrocarbons andCO2. However there is no easy fix for NOx – it requires theaddition of urea to help form the much healthier NO2, which is anentire additional system.

What did VWG do?Some years ago diesel engines were seen as a demonstrably more

efficient solution for internal combustion engines in that they used abase fuel that could be found more readily than gasoline and so hadbetter long term security. In addition diesel engines back in the 1990shas 10% to 20% fuel economy advantage, so it was a policy win-win.There were two key developments for passenger cars whichfollowed the commercial vehicle engine technology – higher directinjection pressures and variable turbine geometry turbochargers.

The market was transformed. Old passenger car diesel engineswere given a new lease of life and customers like the immense –insane – flat torque curves.

Volkswagen Group (VWG) chose to not go with the FiatAuto/Bosch common rail diesel fuel injection system, insteadinvesting with Bosch in camshaft operated high pressure unit injector‘Pumpe Duse’ or PD system. Volkswagen Group used thetechnology widely, but not one other vehicle manufacturer followed.The crowning glory was raking the in-line 2.5l five-cylinder engine,removing one cylinder and producing the 2l PD twin cam EA188diesel engine as the first successor to the 1.9l single cam engine.

In 2005 VWG did a U-turn. The then new 16v twin overheadcam diesel engine – EA189 – featured a common rail diesel injectionsystem, timed to meet the impending European Euro V emissionregulations. It was a huge admission. The investment in PD waswritten off, and from that point on all VWG diesel engine upgradesand new diesel engines featured common rail injection. Crucially thenext highest volume engine was 1.6l, based on EA189. Even moreimportantly, the engine family had to cope with Euro VI which wasstill under discussion as well as the massive tightening of rules in theUS – again at that point still under discussion.

Given a new engine family takes around two years to develop afeature strategy to enable it to survive in the market for at least 10years, and takes a further five years to go from first ideas to adeveloped validated production engine, this U-turn was done in midprogramme. The question now: was the combustion chamber designnot quite right from the beginning? Was the U-turn done too quickly?

The get out of jail cardMost vehicles are only driven by one pair of wheels. Anti-lock

brake systems (ABS) and electronic stability control systems (ESC)rely on measuring the speeds of all four wheels – so when the vehiclesenses two wheels are not moving and two are, it needs to decideto enable or disable ABS/ESC. Failure to do this can result in theengine power being reduced – not exactly what’s needed during anemission test.

It seems VWG used this routine set up in the softwarearchitecture by the engine fuel system and engine managementcontrol module manufacturer, in this case Bosch, to access andemission test a specific calibration map. This, an engine with a flawedcombustion process was able to meet Euro V, Euro VI and USemission tests and yet give customers all the performance theywanted. Crucially in the last week of September 2015, the GermanFederal government stated neither Daimler (Mercedes-Benz, Smart)nor BMW Group (BMW, Mini) had used such a technique.

FUTURE TECH - by Andrew Marsh


What next?Governments around the world are deeply annoyed about this.

The implication is that a commercial company can get around legallybinding tests with intellect, whilst leaving their customers somewhatbewildered. There are several things that will happen:

• Share trading in VWG will make the usual suspects fabulouslywealthy.

• VWG will survive, but it won’t achieve the largest vehiclemanufacturer in the world status by 2018 – perhaps more like 2025.

• The push of a single emission test standard which has been indevelopment for a decade already, will increase.

• The idea of doing a test and submitting one’s own results onthe understanding that if caught there are severe penalties – the USsystem – will be revised.

• The European network of government agencies who inspectlegally binding performance parameters as part of the whole vehicletype approval process, will be tightened.

• The push for Euro VII and even tougher US standards will getoffset, and all of the above settles down.

• Euro V EA189 engines will be fixed by a software update, andonly for the heavier vehicle applications (ie, those with marginalemission results).

• Euro VI EA189 engines are likely to gain a retro fit urea injectionsystem along with a software update.

• US EA189 engines…. who knows? VWG executive board debated the situation for seven hours on

30th September 2015. They undertook to roll out notification toowners affected by the issue throughout October 2015, whichwould then detail how they will deal with the immediate issue. TheUK government have already stated that no owner of an existingVWG diesel engine powered vehicle will have the CO2 tax banding

altered, which affects vehicle excise duty (tax) as well as company caruser tax.

Auto Industry Consulting is an independent provider of technicalinformation to the global collision repair industry. Products includeEziMethods, our online collision repair methods system and AutoIndustry Insider, our collision repair industry technical informationwebsite. For more information please visit the websites:www.ezimethods.com and www.autoindustryinsider.com or [email protected]



www.autoindustryinsider.com

Passenger car d iese l engine emiss ions p rogress f rom 1993 to 2014.© Johnson Mat they PLC


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Industry long-term specialists in collisionrepair management, Sue Moore and Ingovon Boetticher, have moved to organisean all-new cost effective Gt Motive

system. the system is currently beingemployed in a number of key europeanmarkets such as Spain, France, portugal,Germany, Italy, uK, Greece, turkey andaustria.

they have teamed up to offer this cloudcomputing collaborative which is based onthe latest developments in dealing withclaims, maintenance and breakdownmanagement. Von Boetticher says that theSpanish family-owned concern is present inmore than 12 500 repair shops and interfacewith over 76 insurance companies. “theydeal with approximately 26 000 preferredend users in this area of the market wherecar damage assessment forms a vital part ofthe overall speed of the work at hand. thissees the Gt Motive Cloud internet basedpackage hold some key advantages overtraditional competitors in the businessacross the board.

“Our quotes will ultimately cost bodyshops between 30%, and up to 50% less togenerate than current systems in commonusage. the company became live andoperational in august and we are very busyramping up demand in the areas ofcomputer estimates,” says Von Boetticher.

the giant american company Mitchell area partner company to Gt Motive and it alladds up to around 46 years of experienceand expertise. together Moore and von

What types of things cancollision repairers upsell tocustomers when theirvehicle is already at the

shop?upselling additional services can benefit

collision repair shops. dupont performanceCoatings conducted an informal survey ofcollision shop customers, which revealedthat 65% of customers are willing toconsider purchasing an additional service.

as always, start by analysing the damageon customer vehicles, and give them solidadvice on the issue they initially came in for.after that, you have earned the right to askcustomers if they would like you to assess

Boetticher add close to another 30 years inthe management of accident quotations inthe local market.

“Our key operational statistics are alsovery impressive with 36 car manufacturersand more than 850 models available, andmore than 4 500 references per model. Sowith around 1 000 graphics per model forfast analysis at the body shop computerscreen, we are able to define specificworkflows using a combination ofsmartphones, mobility and social media.

“Gt Motive offers a fast connect onclaims for clerks, customers with cloudtechnology. with these innovative ideas GtMotive has gained the trust of differentcustomers in the automotive repair marketin fleet management and body repaircentres,” said Von Boetticher.

About GT MotiveGt Motive solutions provide the

their vehicle for any additional damage or todiscuss other services. If the customeragrees, then proceed with putting together apackage of potential upsells that wouldbenefit them.

every customer will be in a differentsituation regarding extra services they mightneed. It’s important for shop employees tolisten to the customer’s needs, look overtheir vehicle closely and put together apackage that fits those needs.

there are many things that collisionrepair shops can upsell. the following are justa few ideas, which are ranked by theirfrequency of success:

1. paintless dent removal

technology to achieve the best results andrestore normality after a vehicle accident orbreakdown.

Gt Motive can simplify and improve theexchange of information using cloudcomputing collaborative platforms thatconnect all players in the process, generatingefficiency, quality and savings.

the company was born from a strategicalliance between Gt Motive in europe andMitchell International, market leader innorth america. the new organisationresulting from this alliance aims torevolutionise the european market, as theleading communication platform thatMitchell has established in the uS is nowavailable in europe.

to get in touch with Gt Motive call thesenumbers: +27 (0)79 921 1187 or+27 (0)82 381 2083 or visit their website:www.gtmotive.co.za

2. detail3. Glass repair or replacement4. Cosmetic ding and dent removal5. Headlight restoration6. tyres and wheel alignmentthere are training options available for

shops that want to improve their upsellingskills.

In general, the key to getting customersto accept the upsell is to offer it in the formof advice. use an advisory tone of voice, andexplain to the customer how the additionalrepair or service will add value to theirvehicle, or allow them to feel safer whiledriving.

INDUSTRY newS


WHAT’S HOT?

PROFIT FOCUS

Sue Moore (left) and Ingo von Boetticher have many successful years in the business of collisionassessment management behind them. They recently launched GT Motive to the SA business market.

gt motIVeserVIces INsouth afrIca

what caN collIsIoN repaIrers upsell to customers?


FESTOOL NEW A4 AD S-O 2015_Layout 1 2015/09/04 11:20 AM Page 1

Not only is the new Tata Bolt rightup-to-date in terms of design,space utilisation and relevant,advanced technology, but it

features well in its infotainment system oftenonly found on more upmarket cars.

“The Bolt hatch and sedan will extend thecurrent product offering from Tata in thelocal market. Each of the Bolt derivatives willbe offered with two trim levels – XMS andXT – and with a choice of five body colours,”sais a company spokesman.

The attractively-styled Bolt range iscompetitively priced and offers buyers theoption of a five-door hatch or a compactfour-door sedan. A well-appointed, spaciouscabin with an impressive list of standardequipment, particularly in terms ofinfotainment – make these newcomers fromIndia strong contenders in a category whichis dominated by entries from Europe, Koreaand Japan.

The spacious Java Black interior of theBolt can seat five adults, with claimed class-leading legroom for the rear seat occupants.The instrument panel is boldly styled witheasy-to-read instrumentation, while discreettouches of chrome are used to highlightcertain aspects in a tasteful style.

There is a full complement of comfort

features including air-conditioning (climatecontrol on the XT derivatives), electricwindows front and rear, electrically-adjustable exterior rear view mirrors andremote openers for the fuel flap and luggagecompartment.

A 5” infotainment screen dominates thepiano black centre section of the instrumentpanel, leading to the gearbox consoleheralding the connectivity of the Bolt range.A multi-information display incorporatesreadings for a digital clock, outsidetemperature, dual tripmeters, instantaneousfuel consumption, average fuel consumptionand distance-to-empty fuel tank.

The engine was developed by the TataR&D team in conjunction with global powerunit consultancies and leading globalsuppliers. Power output is 66kW@5 000r/min with an impressive 140Nm of torquebeing available between 1 500-4 000 r/min.There are three different settings for engineresponse: Sport, Eco and City modes, withSport as the default setting for the Bolt inSouth Africa.

The engine drives the front wheelsthrough a five-speed manual transmissionwith the top two ratios being overdriven toassist in lowering fuel consumption.

Steering is electronically controlled with

electric assistance and is speed sensitive.Safety features rate high on Tata Motors’

priority list and the Bolt is well equippedwith ninth generation Bosch ABS for thedisc/drum braking system with electronicbrake distribution (EBD), including a corner-braking feature. There are airbags for thedriver and front passenger, speed-sensitive,automatic door locking and daytime runninglights. In terms of vehicle security there is analarm-immobiliser and remote centrallocking. There are steering wheel-mountedcontrols for the audio and phone facilities,while a centrally-located 5” screen(touchscreen for XT variants) supports themultimedia experience with Bluetoothtechnology for smartphone integration.

“The Bolt hatch and sedan have certainlymoved on significantly from theirpredecessors, and we believe we now havetwo models well placed to grow Tata’s shareof the important B-segment,” commentedCEO Kyri Michael. “We are happy with thecompetitive pricing position despite theweak rand at present and the Bolt iscertainly a value-for-money offering in thediscerning South African car market.”

The Bolt hatchback’s starting retail priceis R132 995 plus VAT. The sedan retails forR143 995 plus VAT.

DRIVEN tata BOLt



We thank you for providing us with the opportunity to introduce ourdynamic service offerings and present to you a vision for simplicity,success and sustainability.

The CRA has evolved as an organisation with passion, understandingand the will to provide results to our esteemed members from the basisof being a voice to the auto body collision industry. We employconsultants and are associated with people suitably qualified in all aspectsof collision repair and related business management skills with highintegrity and willing to offer their support to ensuring the success of yourfacilities.

Our objectives are issues the proactive body shop owner does notreally have the time to concentrate on to ensure the optimisation of theirbusiness. The constant changes in the law, support in compliance withstatutory requirements, relationship mentoring with government andinsurers on selection criteria with regards to financial allowances onmark-up and labour rates as well as aiding consumer choice on serviceexpectation. Further hereto our aim is to provide technical support andtraining on advancements in collision repair techniques and newequipment investment advice.

To date the CRA has achieved significant change with benefits and areon the road to create market awareness which in the short term willemulate consumer appreciation not previously evident in our local market.Our mission will ensure via procedural compliance that our forum willenforce a code of conduct that covers consumer protection, work forcemotivation and job security and ultimately peace of mind to businessowners on secure, and beneficial return on investment. We have alsoconcluded annual inflationary labour rate increases with a major insurer

Enjoy the recognitionyou deserve.

T h e b e n c h m a r k o f q u a l i t yC a l l u s o n 0 8 6 1 7 2 6 2 7 2 o r V i s i t w w w . c r a s a . o r g . z a

including labour rate allowances above the rate which individualrepairers would normally be able to achieve independently and thusextended as a financial benefit to approved members. This will beprotracted via further meetings to almost all the other major insurersin the short term.

As with any Association annual membership fees are payable tocover administration costs and our membership is based on gradingstatus. Further hereto our membership is extended to equipment andservice related suppliers whom have a similar vision of business ethic.These include at present paint suppliers, a BEEE accreditation agency,an authorised health and safety compliance consultant, quoting andbusiness management software suppliers and high end workshopequipment suppliers. This will also result in better service, supportand preferential rates on association.

We provide an on-line E Procure business data profile of membersto support recognition for independent role players in every area ofactivity in the collision repair industry. The platform will provideassistance to work providers and consumers with accident damagedvehicles to make educated decisions in allowing the most professionalrepairer the opportunity of refurbishment within acceptable timeframes and in line with warranty reinstatement protocols.

In conclusion we trust you can see the benefit of belonging to ourAssociation and look forward to the synergy we can create by ourproviding valued service and more importantly ensuring yourenthusiasm and input is shared with other members at organisedevents of our approved panel.

JOIN THE CRA AND GET THE RECOGNITION YOU DESERVE!

COLLISION REPAIR ASSOCIATION 2_Layout 1 2015/05/15 11:49 AM Page 1


Autorobot EzCalipre is the new member of their measuring system line. EzCalipre is anadvanced 2/3D measuring device for exact verification of vehicle chassis and body conditionand for damage documentation. The new tram gauge is easily portable and movable. It can beused for 2/3D measuring in all kinds of surroundings, and therefore it opens up whole newscopes for vehicle estimation.

EzCalipre's technique is supported by Autorobot's own, very comprehensive vehicle datafiles (approximately 60 reference points per vehicle). Autorobot EzCalipre tram gauge useswireless WLAN technique and it has a unique capability to register height differences in vehiclemeasures (patented feature).

Silver Falcon have the EzCalipre Electronic Measuring System (300EL+3) at a value price ofR92 200 excl. VAT. For more information call Silver Falcon on +27 (0)83 628 2288 or seewww.hurricaneauto.co.za

SILVER FALCON

EZCALIPRE ELECTRONIC MEASURING SYSTEM

The perfect size MicroLithium saw allows users to work in confinedareas and create more intricate cuts. It is small and lightweight. It produces3 100 strokes per minute and has a variable speed switch. The depth guidecan be adjusted without the use of tools. It has an integrated LED work lightand the battery gauge is LED too.

Kit components are the tool, the charger, two lithium batteries, a six-inchsaw blade and a handy carry bag to keep everything together.

You can find out more about this product by contacting their Snap-ondealers or account manager, or by contacting customer service on0861 762 766, emailing: [email protected] or visit www.snapon.co.za

SNAP-ON 14.4V MICROLITHIUM

CORDLESS RECIPROCATING SAW KIT

The Carsystem Paint Planer removes dry paint-tears without harming or scratchingthe surrounded areas. It can be used to smoothly scrape off the hardened paint-tearsand embedded dust nips from the surface, in order to prepare this areas for furthersteps such as sanding or polishing.

The Paint Planer has a special, very sharp blade, made of chrome/vanadium steel.The blade of the Paint Planer is made with a special hollow-ground form and neverneeds to be re-sharpened. It has an embedded magnet, on which the blade can be

CARSYSTEM PAINT PLANER

A MUST FOR EVERY PAINT SHOP

NEW PRODUCTS

86

fixed. The upper side of the holder is fitted with velcroso that you can fix the blades to the mini sanding discsgrip. It may be used with either the velcro or magneticside of the hand tool.

For more information on this product as well as therest of the Carsystem range, please contact BulldogAbrasives sales team on +27 (0)11 786 5991.

GM

APPROVED




The AZ 40 HTE (High Transfer Efficiency) gravity or pressure spray gun fromAnest Iwata is now more manoeuvrable due to a 20% loss in weight. The cup sizeavailable is 600cc or 200cc and made of polyethylene which helps should they bedropped to prevent less damage.

The gun boasts a new air valve too. The fluid needle and nozzle are stainlesssteel and the fluid needle packaging is in PTFE. The body is also coated in PTFE foreasy cleaning. It has a new atomisation air cap set and is extremely low in airconsumption.

You can get more information by calling Anest Iwata on +27 (0)11 463 2169for details on this high performance spray gun range.

ANEST IWATA

AZ 40 HTE GRAVITY OR PRESSURE SPRAY GUN

Zandmesh, a new line of “Dust Free Velcro”Discs and Rolls are now available from Q-Brands andtheir distributors. The discs are 150mm in diameter– grits available from P80-P400. The Zandmesh rollsare 25m in length ranging from P80-P320, giving theoptions of cutting a 198mm or a 420mm strip.

For more information on Q-Brands call Val orGeoff +27 (0)11 440 2714 or visitwww.qbrandssa.com

Q-BRANDS

MESH VELCRO DISCS

Puris products offer a permanentscratch removal, unmatched depth anda brilliant finish. Reviving and restoringthe surface to like-new showroomcondition.

Their refinishing formulas weredesigned specifically for body shops and21st century paint systems (HS, MS,SRC) allowing professionals to providethe service that their customers expectand deserve. Puris products offer thepurest quality, eco-friendly andbiodegradable ingredients andpackaging.

For more information call LuxorPaints on +27 (0)11 397 6622 or visitwww.luxorpaints.co.za

LUXOR PAINTS

PURIS PERFECT FINISH

The PDR Trolley Set is an innovative and handyworkstation combining the most important PDRsystems in one handy trolley. It is an absolutenecessity for every ambitious body shop wishing toincrease efficiency.

The 3 most important tool kits:• 25 pce Pro Set – Ideal for parking/hail damage.• SPS Full Set – Ideal for larger areas.• Glue Puller GP2 – Ideal for hard to reach areas.Includes a practical storage trolley, so you have all

tools in one place. With the four electrical plugconnection cable you can plug in all tools needed,making it compact and neat.

Call Celette SA on +27 (0)11 334 1875 for moreinformation.

CELETTE SA

BETAG INNOVATION

PDR TROLLEY SET


88

We are a company with expertise in Air Filtration and Dust Collectorunits. We offer broad and versatile products and services for the mostcost effective filtration solutions you need. Let us help you obtain thebest air quality in your body shop. Distributor opportunities available.

Contact Lydia on 082 549 4017 or [email protected]


TYRE FIX 4X4 AND 340ml

tel: +27 (0)860 772 652 l email: [email protected] l www.spanjaard.biz

Special Lubricants and Allied Chemical Products

Repairs and inflates tubed and tubeless tyres without a wheel change.

Security you cannot afford to be without.

Virgin Plastics has high quality double-sided tapes. Guaranteedprofessional finish with no comebacks. There are 30 metre rolls in thepopular sizes of 0.8mm width. Included in the range is the mirror white formtape 10m or 30m easy application onto number plates. The trim mask tapeis a dream product saving you time and money.

For more information or to order please call +27 (0)83 251 9442 or+27 (0)72 380 3020 or the office on +27 (0)11 616 2870, or email themon [email protected]

NEW PRODUCTS

VIRGIN PLASTICS

DOUBLE-SIDED TAPES

New Rodcraft low vibration hammers are built to last and easy to operate. The combination of itspower (up to 12 joules), its compactness and the fact that it is lightweight enables the job to be donemore efficiently. The back part of the tool is designed for greater handling by the operator and superiorcomfort comes with a new reduction damped valve system with air cushion that mitigates anyvibrations.

With a long or short barrel, the new Rodcraft low vibration hammers will match your materialremoval needs in many applications such as metal working or stone/concrete jobs. Also available in kitswith a selection of chisels, you can order the Rodcraft hammers in a kit version in order to protect andstore your tool and accessories together in a handy high quality case. For more information on thisproduct as well as the rest of the Rodcraft range, please contact Bulldog Abrasives sales team on+27 (0)11 786 5991 or [email protected].

NEW RODCRAFT LOW VIBRATION HAMMERS

FOR EFFICIENT MATERIAL REMOVAL

Filtacape have recently added masking paper, film andtape to their wide range of filtration products. The maskingpaper and film can be used in any body shop to covervehicles being repaired. The masking tape is for generalpurpose and comes in 50mm x 50m.

Call Filtacape for more information on these productson 082 549 4017 or email [email protected]

FILTACAPE NOW OFFER

MASKING TAPE, PAPER AND FILM


WHAT’S HOT? JOBS, EQUIPMENT, SERVICES AND MUCH MORE

89

DENT PRO-PORTABLE DENT PULLER

Call us on

076 142 7263082 452 6631

www.panelprotech.co.za

Teknikloth®- high-tech lint free surface cleaners are an

absolute must for all paint shops. They provide less wastage

and linting than other systems of preparation. Suitable for

use on both water based and solvent based systems.

Unique properties include:n Lint Free n Strong wet strengthn No scratched or damaged paintwork n Excellent absorptionn Does not break up in any known solvent

We have been supplying the industry for the past 18 years.

NEW DISTRIBUTORS WELCOME.

Call 031 579 3688 for your nearest distributor.Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Photo supplied by Primo Panel and Paint Pinetown

TEKNIKLOTH®

A Tekniklean Product

WIPES AWAY SURFACE CONTAMINATION

TEKNIKLOTH®

A Tekniklean Product

WIPES AWAY SURFACE CONTAMINATION




AFRICAN panORaMa - LIFe at 70

How does the publisher feel about reaching this milestone?“Surprised mostly,” but pleased to roll back the years onemigration, travel and friendships in his life. I share abirthday with the luckless millions who were wiped out on

the day the a-bomb fell on nagasaki in 1945. these days I am mostlysurrounded by people of accumulating years like myself where talk isall about doctors bills, or are you going on a cruise to wind out thefew days that lie ahead and that’s because many of the people I dealwith are invariably considerably younger than I am and are alwaystelling me what to do.

My generation of post world war 2 baby boomers were borninto a different world, one of pea soup fogs, sweet rationing andwhere winston Churchill was yet to become prime Minister and theQueen hadn’t made it to westminster abbey for her Coronation.

the uK can best be described as a large lump of coal stuck out inthe north Sea, but despite the often miserable weather we becamethe first generation that would grow up with minute black and whitetv screens, pop music and both central heating and the national healthservice.

as a child many old men and relations knew people who hadfought all over the world in the war and who had also fought in theFirst world war. the grim nostalgia of all the years of deprivationsfrom it all hung around like a damp memory as we played on moth-eaten school playgrounds and everything was black with coal smoke,but sometimes the summers were blissful.

My mother was an Irish nurse and a devout Catholic set against anopposite Royal airforce Officer who was a Scotsman from wick inCaithness and who was an agnostic with three sons. It wasn’t amarriage that was made in heaven. His job was one of moving houseall the time as the american airforces were relocated home, andtransport command (air logistics) got the job of taking on the manyairbases that were left deserted by the Yanks.

On the subject of schooling I do feel short-changed a bit for with13 schools starting when I was six years old and leaving at just 14years old, it took me seven years in the ‘dunce’ class to learn how toslowly read and by the time it was all over the Catholics hadn’t evenshown me one academical piece of arithmetic to contend with. So assome comedians will comment I had an education the size of apostage stamp where you could still write your name and address onthe back of it. It’s a poor start that leaves you playing catch up for therest of your life.

through all this I was already working delivering papers in themorning before school started, and once again in the evening. It wasin the day of a form of child slavery at seven shillings a week – in everykind of weather. not wanting to stay on for more religious educationin the autumn of 1959 I parked my push bike outside the local labourexchange and squeakily asked the man behind the desk for a job. Hesaid “I don’t think your balls have descended yet have they?” no wasthe reply. “well I think you should be in paint looking at you, go and

get this job.” that first offer of employment saw me to this daybecome involved in the paint trade. So after 55 years I think he wasright.

I write my articles in long hand still and they get sorted out by aclever set of well educated collegues, but to be truthful, the wordsurgery needed on tenses and punctuation remains a throwback frommy formative years.

working as an apprentice for two pound a week wasn’t exactlybeing well paid for 46 hours of hard graft, but in my five years ofcommerical non-reward I did manage to get some qualification inpaint technology to become a barely employable individual.

Joining a local coffee bar motorbike gang who were motorcyclemad drew a comment that I wouldn’t make Christmas from the localdoctor, but what’s long forgotten about this time was the musicrevolution of the Beatles and elvis in the swinging 60’s. It was anotherworld of live entertainment with four local dances to attend eachweek and the prospect of girls on the horizon. You were year’s awayfrom worrying about the first grey hairs to see arise on your chest.

My future father-in-law ran a large motorcycle repair concern, socheap spares were the order of the day with visits to the Isle of Mantt races and a very insular British outlook installed. things were allwell and good until I was cast outside into the cold world ofunemployment and was placed on the human scrap heap at thetender age of 21. It left a black mark on my progress for a while.

I don’t want to play the gypsy violin to life but it took over sixmonths to get gainful employment as yet another trainee positionwith the Rover car group, straightening bonnets, domes and beingsurrounded in a pall of grinding blue smoke while becomingdehumanised at pillar 67 in a production building in the Swindon plantin the south of england. this put me fairly and squarely in theemigration corner where, along with my girlfriend Valerie, we took theSouth african perceived good offer of a life of sunshine in a countrydevoid of class distinction.

So after another three years of finding out that manual labour didnot play inside left for Real Madrid’s soccer team, the deal was set tojump on a 737 jet and try to forge another life without any family orfriends. But it did start one of the abiding pleasures that I have enjoyedin the form of the opportunity to travel. It’s the single greatest gift ofmy affluent generation to get around the globe relatively easily,cheaply and safely. to become part of a post war generation thatbecame the most travelled ever when the world varied and wasmostly welcoming.

In the second part of this narrative, I’ll tell you about falling off alarge jet plane with 24 pounds of luggage and a brand new wife of lessthan two weeks into a strangely hostile Jan Smuts airport and theroller coaster 46 years that that has delivered. emigration isn’t forsissies. It’s a brave new world to encounter, and their ain’t no lookingback once the wild ride starts.

by Ian Groat


Contact Suleman Tel (031) 902 7666

Introducing a new and improved formulation system withlocal and international formulas.

[email protected] www.automotivepaint.co.za

LIFETIME WARRANTYLIFETIME WARRANTY

YATU NEW AD M-J 2013_Layout 1 2013/07/15 12:50 PM Page 1

AEROCURE OBC N-D 2015_Layout 1 2015/10/27 11:11 AM Page 1

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Automotive Refinisher November-December 2015