by Ed Attanasio

Capturing an award in the SpecialtyEquipment Market Association’s (SE-MA) New Products Showcase can bea life changing experience for manu-facturers that are looking for a fasttrack to success. Years of research anddevelopment coupled with hard workand buoyed by the spirit of entrepre-neurship, these awards are given tothe most innovative and cutting-edgenew automotive aftermarket productsin the industry today, judged by someof the biggest names in the automo-tive world.

On Nov. 3 at SEMA’s openingbreakfast, a handful of companies fromall over the world received these highlycoveted awards announced at a cere-mony rivaling the Academy Awards. Byjust being associated with the SEMAbrand, companies can gain instant cred-

ibility and fast track their journey to suc-cess.

Nearly 2,000 products were en-tered into 16 different Showcase cate-gories to be considered for SEMA New

by Stacey Phillips,Assistant Editor

Jay Leno, legendary come-dian and host of Jay’s Leno’sGarage, received a specialtoken of appreciation fromBASF during SEMA 2015.Fans gathered at the BASF bo-oth on November 4 while DanBihlmeyer, BASF’s North A-merican marketing manager,presented a signature leather jacket toLeno, who has a collection of 140 carsof his own.

Autobody News asked Leno about

his preference for BASF products.“I’ve been using their products foryears and years,” said Leno. “It’s funto have this kind of relationship. It’s

by John Yoswick

Whether the 2013 version of the Colli-sion Industry Conference (CIC) defini-tion of the “Minimum RecommendedRequirements for a ‘Class A’ Collision

Repair Facility” isup-to-date givenchanges in vehicleand repair technol-ogy was not up fordebate at the latestCIC in Las Vegasin November.

“We have awholly inadequate Class A shop defini-tion today,” CIC Chairman Randy Sta-

bler said. “Things are moving a lotfaster than we are. So we need to keepup.”

But a number of representativesof the Society of Collision RepairSpecialists (SCRS) argued at themeeting that there is no longer muchof a need for the document at all.

“The real-world situation is thisClass A definition is irrelevant intoday’s market,” SCRS board memberDusty Womble of Roger Beasley Col-lision Center in Austin, Texas, said.“The cars have changed. The [au-tomaker shop certification] programshave changed. There’s really not a

CIC Debates How to Define a ‘Class A’ Shop—And IfSuch a Definition is Even Needed

Jay Leno Receives Token of Appreciation from BASFDuring SEMA 2015

See SEMA New Product Awards, Page 26

See CIC debates, Page 16

Winning SEMA New Product Awards Can Be Life Changers

by Ed Attanasio

If you were at SEMA this year, youprobably visited a few bars, but the

BAR many bodyshop owners andmanagers weretalking about doesnot sell $15 spe-cialty cocktails orplays loud music.This BAR is theBureau of Automo-tive Repair and ifyou don’t complywith their rules andregulations, youcould get a hang-over that can lastfor many years.

Jack Molodanof,a California attor-ney and lobbyist

who has distinguished himself in areasof automotive legislative and regulatory

law over the past 30 years gave a 2-hour presentation on Nov. 6 at theSEMA Show as part of the educationalseries offered by SCRS. “Protect YourBusiness from Fines and DisciplinaryActions by the CA Bureau of Automo-tive Repair” was the title of Molo-danof’s comprehensive class.

Molodanof is the go-to lawyer/lobbyist in California for the automo-tive repair industry and representsseveral statewide automotive associa-tions, including the California Auto-body Association (CAA) and Auto-motive Service Councils of California(ASCCA). Molodanof also serves onthe California Bureau of AutomotiveRepair (BAR) Advisory Group, whichprovides input on BAR programs.

Here are five important thingsthat we gleaned from this highly-in-formative presentation:

1) The BAR is a 100% complaint-

Five Things to Know about CA’s Bureau of AutomotiveRepair (BAR)

See Five Things to Know, Page 18

See Jay Leno, Page 12

Jack Molodanof,aCalifornia attorneyand lobbyist toldbody shop ownersand managers howto “Protect YourBusiness fromFines and

Disciplinary Actionsby the CA Bureauof AutomotiveRepair” at SEMAlast month

Jay Leno and the BASF Refinish team at SEMA 2015

Randy Stabler

The Collision Repair & Refinish Product Firstplace winner went to Innovative Tools andTechnologies, Inc. for the Scangrip SunmatchColor Match LED. From left, General ManagerJason Cox and Scangrip’s Marketing Man-ager Hanne Nadolny.

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VOL. 33 ISSUE 12DECEMBER 2015

Product Awards this year. Winnerswere selected based on a variety of fac-tors that included quality, marketabil-ity, innovation, technology, consumerappeal and more.

First place in the Tools & Equip-ment Product category went to NelsonGlass Tools for its Automated BondedGlass Removal System, made by GlassBot, a company that was founded byRick Nelson, a former glass technician.

The Glass Bot™ has a top speedthat exceeds the fastest of any tool ortechnique available, according to Nel-son. The smooth trigger pull appliespower when needed and then slows to acrawl for the technical difficulties of thecorners. The compact footprint of the7” suction cup featured in the system al-lows access to many locations on aglass part for faster removal. The strong

holding power of the cup provides ananchor for the powerful automotivegrade DC motor. A state-of-the-art re-mote controller provides excellentspeed control for precision cutting andwith the six-foot cord you can visuallywatch the cutting action and ensuresafety measures are in place, accordingto Nelson.

As the inventor of several devicesthat can help automotive window techs,

Nelson is happy to finally win a SEMAproduct award. “I’ve been inventing so-lutions for many years and the GlassBot is the continuation of that,” he said.“This system is taking the glass indus-try into the 22nd century, because now

techs don’t need to use knives and thisproduct has removed the physical as-pects of the work from the process.”

The winner in the Collision Re-pair & Refinish Product category wasInnovative Tools & Technology for itsScangrip Sunmatch Color Match LED,the only color match work light rangein the world for any paint, polish,cleaning or prep-zone operation, ac-cording to the company. Supplied witha replaceable glass lens resistant to allkind of solvents and tolerating dailycleaning, the long operating time ofthe Scangrip Sunmatch Color MatchLED makes it possible to complete ajob without interruption by time-con-suming recharging.

One of the runners up in the Col-lision Repair & Refinish Product cate-gory went to AsTech, the manufacturerof the asTech2 device, a remote diag-nostic tool that allows collision shopsand repair technicians to have a vehi-cle scanned before or after repair workis done. This ensures that all of the ve-hicle’s issues have been fully addressedand all systems are working properly.

To use it, the technician connectsthe asTech2 unit to the vehicle, puts thekey in the car, turns the ignition on andconnects a battery support so that thecar battery won’t die during the scan.The technician goes to the asTech web-site to submit a service request and thenan OEM master technician sends a

message to the asTech2 unit informingthe shop that the scan is about to begin.Once the scan is completed, the asTechmaster technician transmits a full reportto the shop. By using this device, techscan find out what issue is causing the

dashboard warning lights tostay lit; ensure that all sensorsystems are functioning prop-erly; identifying any hiddendamage due to collision andother problems that do notcause a warning light, accord-ing to a company’s spokesper-son.

Another runners-up in theCollision Repair & RefinishProduct category was Uni-Dolly for its patented cardolly system is a portable jackstand that will free up your

work bay, overhead hydraulic lifts, andfloor jacks. An affordable and cost-ef-fective piece of automotive equipmentthat will increase productivity and ismuch safer to use than floor jacks. Its6” swivel casters with sealed precisionbearings allow a disassembled drivetrain, chassis, sub frame, or car bodyto be placed anywhere in the shopwhile waiting for parts.

The Uni-Dolly is a car dolly that

adjusts both horizontally and verticallyinstantly to fit under any vehicle, with-out tools or adaptors. You can have itunder a Volkswagen one minute and aschool bus the next. The 4,800 lb. ca-pacity can be turned into a 9,600 lb.capacity in just a few seconds, accord-ing to the company’s web site.

Uni-Dolly’s President Rick Davieknows the value of this recognition.“SEMA is a huge name and to be asso-ciated with it is a big deal. We designand manufacture products to make thecollision industry better and when peo-ple recognize that—well, that’s satisfy-ing.”

26 DECEMBER 2015 AUTOBODY NEWS | www.autobodynews.com

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Continued from Cover

SEMA New Product Awards

The winner in the Tools & Equipment Productcategory is Glass Bot for its Glass Bot BondedGlass Removal System. Pictured: CompanyOwner/Founder Rick Nelson

(l to r) Sales Rep Alexandra Kelly, Sales Rep Lisa DeLongand Director of Business Development Lisa Brown fromAsTech, who won a runners up award for its web-baseddiagnostic tool Uni-Dolly rolled into SEMA and captured a

runners up spot in the Collision & RefinishProduct category. From left, President RickDavie and National Sales & Marketing DirectorKeith Cooksey proudly display their award

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