Car-O-Liner, a leading global manufacturer of collision repair equipment to the automotive aftermarket, today announced that it has joined I-CAR’s Sustaining Partner™ program. As an I-CAR® Sustaining Partner, Car-O-Liner is further demonstrating its commitment to the collision repair industry and supporting quality repairs.
I-CAR Sustaining Partners provide financial support to help contain the cost of vital training for collision repair businesses. Funding also helps to ensure new entrants to the industry through career and technical schools, are not prevented that entry, because of the cost of training. Companies that join I-CAR as a Sustaining Partner, support the belief that trained and informed technicians and repairers keep the motoring public safer.
Car-O-Liner is one of the first companies to join the Sustaining Partner program. As such, I-CAR allows collision repair technicians to receive I-CAR credit for Car-O-Liner Academy courses, at no additional cost to them. That credit can be applied immediately and put towards their shop’s Gold Class and their individual Platinum designations.
“We joined the Sustaining Partners program because we understand the importance of proper training. Today’s vehicles are increasingly sophisticated, featuring an ever-growing number of components, parts and advanced lightweight materials,” noted Michael Hoeneise, Car-O-Liner Training Manager. “This constant introduction of new vehicle technologies has resulted in repair procedures changing significantly from year to year, making current repair knowledge critical for complete, safe and quality repairs.”
However, according to I-CAR, “the cost to train may be impeding training for some shops and technicians. For I-CAR to reach the entire industry, especially smaller shops, the cost of technical education must be contained” (Source: Emphasis I-CAR’s). I-CAR reports that 83% of its funding comes from the collision repair segment, thus the emphasis on the Sustaining Partner program. Car-O-Liner’s support of the Sustaining Partner program, along with other corporate sponsors, will allow I-CAR to hold the cost of training steady for repairers, or possibly even lower the expense, per I-CAR. The program is open to OEMs, suppliers, estimating services and insurers.
In an earlier statement, I-CAR CEO John Van Alstyne said, “As an industry, we must all adopt new approaches to closing the knowledge and skills gap. It falls on us right now to do the right thing for all involved in the collision repair industry: to ensure every person has the information knowledge and skills required to perform complete, safe and quality repairs for the ultimate benefit of the consumer. The Sustaining Partner program is a new approach that will yield benefits for each participating organization and for our industry.”
For more information, visit www.car-o-liner.com or contact us at [email protected].
