Finding an equipment strategy that works means assessing the market, your goals, and the future of your business.
Recent and forecasted changes in vehicle structure and design could affect repairers to an even greater extent than the “unibody revolution” of years past. What should you buy and why? If you don’t know, now’s the time to find out.
Thirty years ago there weren’t many surprises in vehicle design. For a few thousand dollars and with a reasonable effort, you could set up a metal department. A rented stall, a hammer, a dolly, some floor chains, and you were well on your way to handling most any full-frame vehicle that came your way.
The shift to unibody design that began in the late 1970s ended those kinder, gentler days. A new generation of vehicles made of light, high-strength steel—their parts engineered to function as a single structural unit—transformed collision repair into a precise science, demanding increasingly sophisticated (and expensive) tools and instruction.
Well, the “unibody revolution” may be over, but vehicle evolution is not. “It has become impossible to underestimate the complexity and variety of vehicle structure,” says Steve Marks, research coordinator for the I-CAR Tech Centre. “On today’s cars you’ll find high-strength steels of different thicknesses and strengths, mild steels, boron steels, aluminum and non-metallic bonding agents, to name a few. Full-frame design has even made a comeback, with the increased presence of heavier trucks and SUVs.”
To address structural diversity, repairers have been forced to consider investing in a variety of tools and equipment—some brand new, some with a high price tag. It’s a cause of concern, intensified by the certification prerequisites of high-end vehicle manufacturers that often include sophisticated equipment requirements.
As a result, many repairers have begun to look at equipment purchases as being driven by the market they are pursuing. “Identifying your market has always been a key to body shop success,” says Kelley Lowery, collision repair manager of the Universal Technical Institute. “But the stakes are higher now. Can a collision repair business afford to invest in potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars to attract a niche market? Does the niche market have potential to expand?”
For Gary Wano, Jr., owner of GW & Son Auto Body in Oklahoma City, the decision to become a certified Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz collision repair facility made sense. “I’ve always entered into partnerships, whether they were dealer referrals or DRPs,” he says. “My relationship with the manufacturer grows out of that tradition, but it has an unprecedented upside—there’s no concessions in the relationship; the vehicle gets repaired the way it is meant to be repaired.”
The key additions Wano made to help him earn certification included the following:
Dedicated fixture bench. Mercedes and Jaguar favor a dedicated system because they say it allows unmatched precision in returning a vehicle to pre-crash dimensions—even in case of heavy hits—thanks to the incorporation of model-specific fixtures set to factory designated points.
“The dedicated fixture bench isn’t a classic pull-and-align setup,” notes Marks. “You line the vehicle up to spec, and basically cut away what doesn’t align correctly. A replacement assembly is then installed. It’s ideal for working with steels that aren’t particularly amenable to being pulled and shaped. There’s an ease to the procedure of replacement, too. It’s exact without being labor intensive.”
Programmable, self-calibrating welder. This battery-powered unit is capable of handling rivets and bonding. It is computerized and the user enters settings that relate to the specific job and model type, data typically accessed from a manufacturer’s Web site. Wire speed and amperage are automatically regulated for the particular welding application. “It’s as good as immune from power surges,” says Wano, “so weld consistency is unmatched.” Some programmable welders display a warning when weld integrity is questionable.
Regarding welding, there has been an increase in the use of resistance welders, which produce spot welds that approach duplication of the kind of metal bonding achieved at the factory. This methodology contrasts with the plug welds produced by gas metal arc (GMAW/MIG) welders, where filler material is being added to the welding joint.
Capability to handle aluminum repair. As a certified Jaguar dealer, Wano had to prepare his operation to handle the aluminum-bodied XJ series. This meant subscribing to a number of special considerations:
- Self-piercing riveting tool. Unlike traditional sheet metal, aluminum panels are not supplied from the factory with rivet holes, which gives the aluminum panels a more pleasing appearance. The self-piercing riveting tool used by GW & Son is capable of delivering a maximum of 11,000 pounds of pressure, enough to rivet several aluminum pieces together.
- Central vacuum system. Aluminum dust is highly flammable and must be removed from the air immediately. Traditional circulation systems—no matter how efficient they are at turning over air—cannot remove aluminum particles quickly enough. So Wano’s shop enlists a system with a large vacuum pump with piping to each workstation.
- Fume extraction system. Because the fumes given off during the course of aluminum repair are noxious, aluminum workstations were fit with a special fan and plenum. The unit is positioned directly above the repair area and extracts fumes into the outside air. Wano’s technicians also wear fresh air welding helmets during aluminum repair.
- Separate set of tools. Because residual steel particles can easily embed into aluminum, contaminating it, separate sets of tools for use with aluminum are a must. This includes such things as metalworking hand tools, pulling clamps, anchoring points and more.
Equipment requirements can be presented in different formats. Volvo, for example—which began certifying repair facilities in the past year—makes no specific recommendations for equipment brand or type, but provides an exacting set of standards for what they expect body alignment equipment to accomplish: pulling force of 4 tons minimum from a minimum height of 28 in. above the rocker panel; attachment points that are at least 45 degrees higher than the pulling point and 60 in. above the rocker panel; the capability to pull from three different points at the same time and one from the rear; the capability to affix one pulling point at the front, side and rear at the same time; and the ability to accomplish “high measurement”—that is, measurement points up to 60 in. above the rocker panel.
“There are many fine pieces of equipment on the market today that are capable of meeting these standards,” says David Weir, body and paint manager, Volvo Cars North America. “By presenting requirements in this way, we allow the shop to select what works best for them within those parameters.”
While equipment requirements can seem daunting, it is important to keep them in perspective. Many car manufacturers remain open in their position on what it takes to achieve a safe, quality repair.
“At this time Toyota makes only one specification in regard to repair equipment,” states Roger Foss, national dealer development manager for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. “We require any shop working on Toyota motor vehicles to use resistance spot welders that can duplicate the original factory design.”
General Motors Corp. (GM) is likewise flexible in its approach. “The industry does a good job of setting best practices for collision repair,” states Jack Aho, manager, GM Collision Repair Technology Center. “Entities like I-CAR and ASE establish high repair and training standards to which we believe collision repair facilities working on GM vehicles should subscribe. Equipment baselines are included in these standards.”
That being said, for a shop that wishes to achieve consistent, quality repairs in the mainstream of the market, what constitutes being well-equipped? There’s plenty of opinion on that.
Russ Verona, former I-CAR chairman and owner of East Rockford Collision Center in Rockford, Ill., believes there is at least one purchase a shop can’t afford to do without. “I think a computerized measuring system is absolutely invaluable, whether you use it with a dedicated fixtures bench or a more traditional pull and align system,” he states.
Verona also advocates another addition to the shop’s frame straightening/measurement setup—a four-wheel alignment system.
Dedicated fixture systems and computerized or laser measuring systems may get the lion’s share of attention, but the shop owners we interviewed for this article assured ABRN that a universal mechanical measuring system was more than capable of handling the restoration of a heavily damaged vehicle. These systems use pointers or “targets” referenced against a centerline (for width measurements) and datum plane (for height measurement) to provide accurate dimensioning.
“The majority of straightening and measuring systems in shops are drive-on racks with mechanical measuring systems,” says Marks. “They’re solid tools that get the job done, and in cases where pulling and alignment is a necessity they actually can be preferable.”
It should also be noted that, in certain cases, a measuring system can be matched up to a frame rack from a different manufacturer. For example, a computerized measuring system perceived as having exceptional capabilities for upper body measurement can be used with a dedicated fixtures bench.
Darrell Amberson, owner of the six-location Lehman’s Garage, in Bloomington, Minn., typifies an owner who takes an inclusive market approach. His business focuses on late model vehicles that don’t fall into any particular niche, yet provide profitable repairs.
“What you find in our buildings provides a good snapshot of what most quality repair facilities need,” he states. “It’s not leading edge necessarily, but it allows us to meet and exceed the quality expectations of customers.”
Case in point: The fresh air make-up system used in the organization’s flagship location is not a vacuum system, but it’s more than adequate at turning over the air in the 33,000-sq.-ft. building and keeping it particle-free. In fact, Amberson finds it holds certain advantages over a centralized vacuum system. “For us, it’s an adaptability issue,” he says. “Getting the technicians to hook up their tools to the vacuum line has sometimes proved problematic. That’s the thing about equipment; as a business you have to determine what works best for you.”
That philosophy likewise describes Amberson’s attitude toward resistance welding. Though the equipment is in consistent use at his facility, his technicians have found it less than ideal for some repair situations. “The model we use incorporates some rather large reinforcements into the gun design,” he explains. “As a result, you really need some space to maneuver the gun around. It’s okay if you are working in relatively open spaces, as you might when repairing quarter and rear body panels, but it becomes a bit of a problem when the area in need of repair isn’t so readily accessible. It’s not an issue, as our MIG welders do a fine job in most situations.”
Depending on the market you are pursuing, quantity may be as important a factor as the type of equipment you are considering. “If your market target is a high production, DRP-type scenario and flow-through is an issue, the solution may not be what kind of equipment, but how much of it,” says Lowery. “Maybe the solution is buying another drive-on bench or resistance welder to avoid bottlenecks. You have to set your goal and let it dictate your needs.”
“Easier said than done,” you may think, and indeed determining the appropriate equipment can seem overwhelming, especially given the prospects of long-term, ongoing change. Fortunately, there are a number of different ways to help you map out the rapidly shifting landscape.
For Verona, it starts with seeking out reputable vendors that you know will be around to support new and unfamiliar products. “It’s easy to be dazzled by salesmanship,” he says, “especially when you’re walking the aisles at a trade show. You need to sift through that hype and do the research before you are bombarded.”
Wano agrees. “Relationships are definitely a key,” he says, “and if you are trying to hone in on capturing the business of a local dealership, it’s doubly important. They’re an open window to the requirements of the manufacturer. Courting my local Mercedes/Jaguar dealer took time, but because I was patient, when the time came to spend, I knew what I had to buy and felt confident there would be a return.”
Amberson cites the usual sources for equipment and procedural information—such as I-CAR, ASE and national collision repair associations—but is quick to note a newer development. “Most manufacturers offer Web sites with information on repair procedures and associated equipment guidelines,” he explains. “Most are pay-as-you go sites, and some limit access to certified repairers, but they perform a valuable service. In this day and age, the chances of confronting unexpected structural designs are high. If an unfamiliar job is in your building, it’s nice to be able to get on-demand information.”
In addition to the sidebar on page 80, the following useful benchmarks can be found online:
- The Collision Industry Conference’s “Minimum Recommended Requirements for a Class A Collision Repair Facility” is accessible at www.ciclink.com/definitions/2004-11-Definitions.pdf.
- The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence’s (ASE) Program Certification Standards for Collision Repair and Refinish Technician Training Programs contains a chapter dedicated to equipment requirements. Go to www.natef.org/program_stan dards/pdf/collision_standards_2003.pdf
In addition, one can always rely on the repairer’s most trusted resource: other repairers. “Part of the advantage of networking is getting a real life snapshot of how well the stuff actually works,” Amberson says, “but lately I find I’ve been focusing on how their equipment strategy supports their goals in capturing market share.”
