Volume 68 Number 1

WITH PENSKE | PG 9

RACING GREEN WITH PENSKE | PG 9

PPG Repaint Reporter Volume 68, Number 1 Spring 2009

executive editor Cristina Fronzaglia

Creative Director T. Jon Worden

Design Director Dave Buffington

Design Staff John Janiec Kevin Nowak Mark Francisco Bob Santoro

managing editor Meredith Simpson

Writers T. Jon Worden Eli Greenbaum Cathy Nelson

Production manager Shellie Hill

Contributing Photographers Chris Clor Steve Elphick Larry Hanna

PPG Repaint Reporter is published by the Advertising Department of PPG Automotive Refinish. Send comments and questions regarding this publication to:

PPG Industries Repaint Reporter Editor 19699 Progress Drive Strongsville, Ohio 44149 refincommdpt@ppg.com Or, fax to: (440) 572-6880

looking for additional copies of this PPG repaint reporter issue?

Limited copies are available via two easy ways of ordering:

1) Connect to ppgCentral via www.ppgcentral.biz

OR

2) Fax a completed advertising order form to 1-800-982-9518

Please reference part number on back cover

As Europe’s first waterborne basecoat, Aquabase® started the industry’s green revolution in 1992. And it continues to lead the way today. This compact system has the latest in high-opacity toners for precise color alignment to the original finish, the first spray-applied color chip tools, and such industry-leading process innovations as the world’s first waterborne engine bay repair system.

Aquabase Plus. Innovation in waterborne technology.

©2009 PPG Industries www.ppgrefinish.com

Aquabase® Plus

The leading edge in waterborne technology.

D e p a r t m e n t s

4 Inside Line John Outcalt discusses PPG’s relentless focus on performance.

5 Team PPG Up-to-date news and announcements from the world of PPG.

16 Tech Talk Accurate color-matching with PPG’s waterborne-painted variant decks.

25 PPG Spotlight Platinum Distributor of the Year

26 Taking Care of Business MVP Senior Business Manager Rich Altieri explains MVP’s XRay Repair Planning™ process.

28 In Living Color PPG’s Mike Henry explains the basics of color geometry and selecting the right color formula.

31 Gallery A showcase of eye-catching finishes created by PPG customers.

32 What’s New P190-6659 Express Clear with One-Visit™ application technology.

6THE

GROWING WATERBORNE

MOVEMENTShops across the nation are making the switch

sooner than later

10PINNACLE

AT PEBBLE BEACH Rare Alpha Romeo

takes top awards at car collectors show 20

WATTMAN TRAINS AND TRAMS

A unique and colorful business

12SUPREME

COLLISIONGROUP

Continuous improvement is a family mission at theseToronto-area body shops

C o n t e n t s

18TOUGH AS A BULL

New DuraBull™ heavy-duty

protective coating

22ExOTICAR

PAINTWORkS Las Vegas high rollers

depend on Exoticar Paintworks

4 5

I N S I D e l I N e T e A m P P G

Famed painter Charley Hutton teams up with PPG

Renowned street rod painter Charley Hutton has teamed with PPG Automotive Refinish for a number of automotive projects including the recent custom painting of the Kurt Busch Foundation Dodge Challenger.

“I’m very excited about partnering with PPG,” said Hutton when reached at his newly expanded facility, Charley Hutton’s Color Studio in Nampa, ID. “I started painting cars with PPG and it’s good to be working with them again. I’ve always liked their products, support and service. While building our new facility, we’ve worked hard to be more environmentally conscious.

PPG paints Dodge Challenger for the Kurt Busch Foundation

PPG recently supported the charity efforts of the Kurt Busch Foundation by creating a one-of-

a-kind paint scheme for a Dodge Challenger SRT8 to be raffled as a fundraiser for the Kurt Busch Superdome, an athletic facility built for kids attending the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, NC.

The new silver Dodge Challenger’s paint scheme was designed by PPG master painter and instructor Paul Stoll and was painted by renowned street rod painter Charley Hutton of Charley Hutton’s Color Studio.

“I’m delighted with what PPG has done to help the foundation,” said Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger for Penske Racing. “They’ve done a stand-out job on this car. Someone is going to be very happy driving this amazing Dodge around town.”

The Dodge Challenger fundraising raffle is being conducted online. For a chance to participate in the raffle, go to www.kurtbusch.com/foundation. The winner will be announced on September 30, 2009. The Kurt Busch Foundation is a charitable organization founded by Kurt Busch in an effort to actively make a difference for people and programs in need.

PPG increases role with wind turbine industry OEMs

PPG’s Commercial Coatings group has increased its involvement in the global wind turbine industry. With the growing international demand for alternative energy forms, PPG is assisting original equipment manufacturers with the development and application of advanced coatings and materials for wind turbine blades.

Experts from the Commercial Coatings group work with PPG’s Protective and Marine Coatings and Fiber Glass businesses to address OEM needs for strong, durable and

element-resistant wind energy components. These groups supply advanced protective coatings for turbine blades and towers as well as fiber glass for composite blades.

PPG is continuing to develop coatings to protect tower and turbine components for longer periods of time in the most extreme conditions. “Our coatings help protect the entire investment,” said Dave Chapman, PPG global marketing director, commercial coatings. “We’re committed to helping OEMs do exactly that.”

F Y IEPA’s New Refinish Area Source Rule

On January 9, 2008, a new rule impacting refinish and industrial facilities that apply coatings on plastic and metal substrates and use strippers containing methylene chloride was posted on the Code of Federal Regulations.

Informally identified as the Refinish Area Source Rule, the rule is officially named 40 CFR Part 63, Subpart HHHHHH National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Paint Stripping and Miscellaneous Surface Coatings Operations at Area Sources.

PPG Refinish has posted a number of support documents regarding the rule at its website, ppgrefinish.com. You can locate them by clicking on “Safety & Health” at the top of the main menu. A listing of PPG Refinish and Commercial Performance Coatings products containing the target heavy metal HAPs can be found selecting “Products Containing Metals,” then viewing the document for “products containing Pb, Cd, Cr, Mn, Ni.” Frequently asked questions can be reviewed by clicking “FAQ.” A brief summary of the rule’s main points as well as the entire rule can be viewed by selecting “Rules & Regulations.”

Get in touch with the EPA with any questions. EPA addresses are available at www.epa.gov/epahome/regions.htm. When contacting the EPA it is best to identify the rule by its formal name.

PPG’s new waterborne paint lines, Aquabase® Plus and Envirobase® High Performance fit perfectly into our plan. I am really impressed with the ease, sprayability and fast coverage of both of these products. The clarity of color is amazing and allows us to really be creative.

Well-known in the custom car world for his work on high-end street rods, Hutton has won national recognition including two prestigious Ridler Awards, several Street Rod of the Year and Custom Rod of the Year Awards as well as an America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award. He made his mark in television on the Discovery Channel’s American Hot Rod show working with

Performance is the Bottom LineBy John Outcalt

Vice President Americas, PPG Automotive Refinish

In this fast-changing marketplace where “going green” is increasingly getting top-of-mind attention, we, at PPG, haven’t taken our attention away from the fact that performance will continue to be the ultimate criteria for whether or not a product, or service,

competes successfully. This truism generally applies everywhere, whether the product is a new energy-saving light bulb or a new environmentally-friendly paint finish for a winning Penske Racing machine like Kurt Busch’s No. 2 car.

Just as performance is the bottom line in racing, it’s the major reason why we’re seeing such tremendous, growing acceptance of PPG’s waterborne basecoat technology around the world. Granted, the desire to be green by lowering a collision center’s VOC emissions into the atmosphere is one driving force. But ultimately how the technology out-performs in color match, ease of use and speed is the real testament to why hundreds of collision centers have made the switch from solvent to our waterborne basecoat technology—even though they were under no mandate to do so.

The same applies to the world of custom cars. In Idaho, where the talented painter Charley Hutton applies his craft, there is no immediate need to switch to a compliant system. Yet Charley was impressed enough with the performance of Envirobase® High Performance that he’s now made it an essential part of his paint repertoire. Add to that our new Vibrance Collection® Midcoat and there is no limit to what Charley and his creative imagination can achieve with waterborne custom finishes.

In the months and years ahead, PPG Refinish will continue to introduce a host of compliant products for use in the collision repair industry as well as the custom, fleet, heavy equipment and industrial marketplace. You can be sure that the overriding goal in bringing these new technologies to market will be to out-perform the products they replace and whatever the competition offers.

One such example of these offerings is our DuraBull™ heavy-duty protective coating. First introduced as an OEM bedliner factory application, DuraBull handily beats out the competition in durability and resistance against all kinds of abuse. Our PPG refinish customers can now tap this outstanding performance and put it to good use in all sorts of beneficial ways for their customers.

These are just a few of the ways we at PPG Refinish are taking a performance-first approach to providing you with the technologies needed to compete successfully in today’s green-minded environment.

Charley Hutton, left, teamed with

PPG’s Paul Stoll to create a special paint

finish for this Dodge Challenger, to be

raffled off for charity on behalf of the

Kurt Busch Foundation.

legendary custom car builder, the late Boyd Coddington. Hutton has also been featured on The Learning Channel’s Overhaulin’ and on Hot Rod TV.

Hutton started painting cars at 13, working in a body shop owned by a family friend and painted his first custom car when he was 15. He established his own business in 1993 at the age of 20. Hutton will be using PPG products exclusively at his shop.

76 7

Conversions to PPG's waterborne technology are spreading quickly all across North America and the globe.

Waterborne

Worldwide, more than 24,000 collision centers are now using one of PPG’s waterborne basecoat systems, Envirobase® High Performance or Nexa Autocolor™ Aquabase® Plus.

“It’s becoming very clear that ‘compliance’ is only one reason why the momentum for waterborne basecoat is growing exponentially,” says Doug Beuke, compliant segment manager for PPG Refinish. “Yes, compliance is a catalyst—but there are a host of reasons convincing owners and managers to make the switch sooner than later.”

Staying Ahead of the Curve

One of the reasons most cited by collision centers for why they’ve made the switch to waterborne from solvent was a desire to get a jump on the technology early so the shop is well-prepared and running smoothly well before

Not too long ago, North American interest in converting to waterborne basecoat was for the most part confined to California and Canada, areas where collision shops must soon meet stricter air quality regulations. Today, that's all changed. As the word spreads of the success that shops are experiencing with this new technology, a growing number of collision shops across the country are making the switch—even in regions where it’s not mandated.

In just under two years after the technology was made available in North America, more than 2,000 shops have already made the conversion, with an increasing number located outside of mandated regions. Taking the global perspective, the waterborne trend becomes even clearer.

their local regulations call for the change to take effect.

In California, the southern part of the state, known as the South Coast California Air Quality District, is currently regulated, and other air districts will transition in 2009 or 2010. In Canada, regulations will take effect nationwide January 1, 2010. On the horizon out east, the Northeast Ozone Transportation Commission (OTC), comprised of 12 eastern states and the District of Columbia, has proposed adopting California’s CARB control measures as early January, 2011.

“Many shop owners are eager to make the conversion early,” says Debbie Nucciarone, product manager for PPG Canada. “They know regulations make the change inevitable, and

Momentum

WE’VE

GONE

GREENTM

NOW UsiNG ENViRONMENTally-FRiENdly

WaTERbORNE PaiNT FROM PPG.

Part No. EHPIN1, 9/08

8

(far right) A multimedia

display in the showroom

of LaFontaine Automotive

Group's GM dealership in

Highland, MI, promotes

the dealership's green

practices including use of

PPG's Envirobase HP.

they want to adapt quickly knowing we can provide them with the training and support they need.”

In an article appearing in Cleveland, Ohio’s Plain Dealer, Tom Deacon, president of Deacon's Collision Center, quoted his reasons for converting to waterborne. “We're jumping out in front well before there are any federal mandates in the Midwest. PPG has a fantastic waterborne product. It offers my shop great production efficiency and excellent color matches, and we believe that, environmentally, it's the right thing to do for our employees."

In Michigan, a wealth of shops have already made the conversion, even though the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium, comprised of four Great Lakes states, has not announced any formal plans to adopt VOC rules such as those in California.

“We don’t want to be the last one to make the switch, we like to be number one,” said Larry Griswold of the Graff Automotive Group, a Michigan-based company comprised of ten dealerships and seven collision

centers. Their Davison location was their first to switch to Envirobase® HP last August. “We talked a lot with shops in other states that were using waterborne and everything we heard about the product was outstanding,” Griswold explained. “So we decided to make the change sooner than later.”

Healthier Work Environment

“For the health of our community and our employees it makes sense,” says Rob Jackson, owner and president of Autobody USA, which operates five collision centers in western Michigan. They are converting all their shops to Envirobase HP. Jackson explained that Autobody USA has long

practiced recycling, hazardous waste management and other green business practices, but the move to waterborne basecoat he believes has the biggest impact.

“Until it was explained to me, I didn’t understand the full impact of the VOCs released into the atmosphere and the air we breathe,” Jackson explains. “By changing over to waterborne, we’re taking the equivalent of 12,000 new vehicles off the road each year, based on the volume we do. So our decision was the right thing to do, for our employees and our community. We wanted to be the first on our block to make the change.”

Green Marketing Opportunities

There is no doubt that the green movement is one of today’s hottest trends. So as part of their commitment to create a healthier environment, a great number of collision center owners see the

change to waterborne as the timely opportunity to promote their shops as environmentally-friendly.

Many shops have conducted open houses for the press and community

to announce that they’ve gone green. To promote their green initiative to customers and prospects, shops are taking advantage of PPG’s green marketing kits available for Envirobase HP and Aquabase® Plus. The kits include such promotional items as brochures, banners, mirror hangers, and press releases.

Many PPG shops, such as Nu Look Collision Centers in upstate New York and the Graff Automotive Group have produced their own green TV commercials.

Color Alignment to OE Finishes

Ask just about any shop that’s recently converted to a PPG waterborne basecoat and they’ll likely tout the exceptional color match capability of their new system when compared to solvent-based.

“The difference is like comparing night to day,” Griswold pointed out. “Once you’ve picked your waterborne formula you can be really confident that the color’s going to match once it’s sprayed. Even if you have a difficult color—and you have to blend—it’s so much better and easier to do.”

Griswold says they promote the color match advantage to their customers in all their literature—even their estimates state that “we’ve gone green to duplicate the factory finish.”

“Aquabase Plus gives us a smoother finish than our previous paint,” says Elvis Cervone, EnviroCar Paint & Collision Services, Aurora, Ontario, Canada. “We don’t miss solvent basecoat at all.”

Jackson echoed the praise for waterborne’s color match. He likes the fact that PPG’s waterborne basecoat mirrors the technology used for original finishes on 80% of vehicles manufactured today.

“We’re getting better matches and there’s less blending. This is saving claims dollars for insurance companies and our customers.”

Productivity

While increasing productivity may not be the initial reason why a collision center may choose to convert to waterborne basecoat, reports from the field indicate that many shops are pleased to see an actual decrease in paint cycle times after making the switch from solvent. Dry times can vary for waterborne—depending on the amount of air movement and the equipment used—but f lash times for PPG’s waterborne basecoats can be

as little as 1-5 minutes.

Tony Faria, production manager of Brooks Motor Cars, Oakland, CA, attests to the speed of using Aquabase

Plus. “We did a spray out, side-by-side comparison between solvent and the waterborne, and the faster f lash times with waterborne actually made it so we’re able to clear a job—get a job done—before the solvent was even ready to clear.” Add in the time savings afforded by precise chip-to-color matching and easier blending and it’s understandable how shops are getting vehicles out the door faster using PPG waterborne.

In summary, there are plenty of reasons why waterborne momentum continues to build across North America. Larry Griswold sums it all up by saying, “no matter how you look at it, there’s no downside to using PPG’s waterborne.”

PENSKE GOES GREEN WITH PPG

A s part of its ongoing initiative to “green” business practices, Penske Racing has converted their state-of-the-art, racecar facility to PPG’s environmentally-friendly Envirobase High Performance waterborne basecoat system.

The conversion began with the painting of the Penske Racing Dodge Chargers. The newly-painted No. 2 car debuted at NASCAR’s Kobalt Tools 500 race this March at Atlanta Motor Speedway—and in its first race, Kurt Busch drove it to victory lane.

"Going green with a company that has a history of product leadership and innovation is the difference when making such a change," said Roger Penske, chairman of Penske Corporation. “We are proud to have such a great working relationship with the entire PPG organization throughout our racing disciplines and with our automotive and truck leasing businesses.”

PPG has shared a business relationship with Penske Racing for over 25 years. The partnership dates back to PPG’s involvement in automobile racing and sponsorship of the PPG Cup from 1979 to 1999. PPG has become Penske Corporation’s largest supplier of refinish coatings for its racing, truck leasing and collision repair divisions.

Penske Racing’s teams compete in the Indy Racing League’s IndyCar Series, Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and NASCAR Nationwide and Cup Series. The cars competing in these series are built, prepared and painted at the Mooresville, NC facility.

TOP 5 REASONSWHY SHOPS SWITCH

TOWATERBORNE

1Stay Ahead of the Compliant Curve

2Healthier Work Environment

3Green Marketing Opportunities

4Color Alignment to OE Finishes

5Productivity

(below) Items available

from PPG's green

marketing kits.

Preserving Our Future!

NOW USING ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY

WATERBORNE FINISHES

Innovating Repair Solutions

1010 11

A PPG fINISH HELPS RARE ALfA ROMEO WIN “TRIPLE CROWN” AT 58TH PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE.

WINNING ONE AWARD AT THE 58TH PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE IS CONSIDERED A COUP. WINNING THREE IS INCREDIBLE. YET, A STUNNING 1938 ALFA ROMEO 8C 2900B TOURING BERLINETTA, SPORTING A LUSTROUS PPG FINISH, DID JUST THAT, TAkING THE EVENT’S COVETED “TRIPLE CROWN”—THE BEST OF SHOW, BEST OF CLASS AND MOST ELEGANT AWARDS.

E p i t o m e o f

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, held on the 18th fairway of California’s Pebble Beach Golf Links,® attracts the world’s most prized and rarest collector cars. The automobiles entered must be well-preserved or accurately restored. They must also be genuinely drivable. The Alfa is all that. And more.

The 2900B was Alfa’s most prestigious grand touring car of

the '30s. Only 33 were built. This particular car, owned by Jon and Mary Shirley of Medina, WA, regularly took part in the Mille Miglia, the famous 1,000-mile road rally through Italy and other rallies around the world. It was brought to the United States in 1948 and ran at Watkins Glen, NY, where it won the first race held at the legendary track.

The Shirleys bought the car in 2005. “I first saw the Alfa about 10 years ago,” said Jon. “Its beauty was obvious. I expressed interest to the

the screws, Dennison repaired, rebuilt, replaced or fabricated parts as needed.

Then the crowning touch: the finish. Dennison turned to specialist Jon Byers of Byers Custom & Restoration, Auburn, WA. With more than 25 years of painting experience, Byers was a smart choice. He’d done six other cars for the Shirleys and has had at least one winner at Pebble Beach every year since 1996.

Byers wanted to replicate the car’s original blue-black color. There was never a question as to which products he would apply. “You don’t see lines like this on a car very often, he said. “A car like this deserves PPG.”

Byers used PPG’s Deltron® paint system to create the Alfa’s deep royal blue finish. The system was comprised of DP90 epoxy sealer, k38 primer, k36 tinted sealer, DBC basecoat and DCU 2002 clear. “I loved applying those coats and turning this into a thing of superior beauty. I knew it would be a winner,” he said.

As a beautiful piece of rolling sculpture, this award-winning 1938 Alfa Romeo certainly is proof positive that the world’s best cars look great wearing a PPG finish.

Dennison International

performed the thorough,

ground-up restoration of

the 1938 Alfa Romeo,

from the body panels to

engine and chassis parts,

even down to the screws.

Owners Jon and Mary Shirley

serious damage. It was a joy to restore.”

The car is a study in advanced styling and engineering. Its aerodynamic body is all aluminum. The engine, a 2900-cc, dual-supercharged, straight 8, churns out 180 horses that are channeled through a 4-speed gearbox. Independent front and rear suspension provides taut road handling capability.

Restoration took about a year. From the body panels to engine and chassis parts, even down to

First conducted in

1950, the Pebble Beach

Concours d’Elegance®

has grown to become

the world’s premier

celebration of the

automobile, with only

the most beautiful

and rare cars invited

to appear.

Copyright © 2008 by Ron Kimball Studios. Photo used by permission of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. All rights reserved.

owner who said it would never be for sale. Years later, the car became available, and I bought it.”

Jon took the car to Italy for the 2006 Mille Miglia. After coming back, he turned it over to Dennison International Motorsports of Puyallup, WA for restoration. “This is a remarkable machine,” says Darren Buell, spokesman for Dennison International. “Even with its competitive history, it’s never had

1212

Supreme Collision Group

TORONTO-BASED COlliSiON CENTERS MAKiNG THE RiGHT MOvES TO MAiNTAiN COMPETiTivE EDGE

WHEN BERNIE REDDICk BOUGHT A STAkE IN SUPREME COLLISION CENTRE IN TORONTO 46 YEARS AGO, HE BELIEVED HE kNEW WHAT IT TOOk TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE COLLISION REPAIR INDUSTRY.

L e a n

Turned out, he was right. Within three months he owned the company outright. By providing customers with quality service and work, he was building a profitable business with a great reputation and a loyal following.

Today, Bernie’s sons, Marty and Chris, are applying their 38 years of combined industry experience to run the company’s four locations, including a new facility in Bolton, Ontario. Marty, president, and Chris, vice president, operations,

recognized changes were needed to remain viable as an organization in today’s demanding business environment. There is more competition, economic uncertainty, insurance requirements and new technology to deal with. There is also heightened concern regarding the environment and Canada’s proposed VOC regulations requiring all collision shops to be waterborne compliant by January 2010. “We needed to address these challenges and make sure that all of our locations would conform and be positioned to move forward and be successful in the future,” says Marty.

A green belt in lean

How would Supreme face these challenges and what steps would they take? That’s when PPG extended a timely invitation to Marty and Chris to attend MVP Green Belt Training in September 2006. The intensive week-long program introduced Supreme Collision management to the Lean Six Sigma principles of continuous improvement that were soon to become Supreme’s everyday reality.

“We have a strong relationship with PPG which was built on respect and trust over many years,” says Marty. “We knew that if we wanted to be a leader within our respective markets, we had to embrace technology and change our repair methods to ref lect new realities."

“With Green Belt Training, we learned how positive change combined with leadership and the right repair methods would create change quickly,” says Chris.

MVP Green Belt Training focuses on reducing process waste and improving workf low in all aspects of facility operations to achieve quality,

13

&Green

14 15

speed and lower operating costs simultaneously. The intended result is greater efficiency, productivity and a positive impact on the bottom line.

Marty and Chris realized that Lean Six Sigma wasn’t just for large facilities (their biggest is 7500 sq. ft.), nor did it require them to have MBAs to understand the process. All that was required was an open mind and a commitment to the concept. They concluded that Green Belt Training was the solution they were looking for.

Upon completion of the training, Marty and Chris moved to immediately get their employees’ buy-in. Team meetings were held (and still are). Enthusiasm rose as employees understood the reasoning behind the changes and the positive effect it would have on everyone within the organization.

“Green Belt Training changed our focus and core beliefs regarding how we conduct business,” says Marty. “It’s changed our systems and processes for the better and created a culture based on respect for each other, teamwork and continuous improvement. We could never go back to being a traditional collision center again.”

To date, Supreme Collision has sent five employees for Green Belt Training and is making it mandatory for all key employees to attend. Ron Doering, general manager of the new Bolton facility, is one of the

recipients of Green Belt Training. “You come out of it pumped and want to do everything right away. You cannot do it all at once, but you have the confidence you can address anything successfully,” he says.

By applying Green Belt Training principles, Supreme has seen increased efficiency and productivity. According to Chris, “Our cycle time and touch time has improved significantly. With the repair planning and disassembly process, we’re able to reduce waste in the entire repair process which creates higher throughput. We have

reduced our cycle time by 40% and we know we can improve on that further.”

When asked how Green Belt Training has affected him personally, Marty answers, “It’s made my life easier. There’s less stress and more harmony amongst all of us. Our entire organization works together as a team and really takes pride in our work and accomplishments. This translates into a higher overall experience for our customers and business partners."

“The most important attribute we look for when we hire new employees is attitude,” says Chris. “It is critical they fit into the culture we created and develop into productive team members. We firmly believe that if you have the right attitude and want to learn we can teach our processes to anyone.”

Going green

Supreme is also committed to implementing a “green” initiative throughout their operations. Their new location in Bolton, a community with a proud reputation for environmental conservation, provides an excellent platform to develop the “green” initiatives and policies for the entire organization.

According to Marty, the Bolton facility was created to fully implement the Green Belt Training and Lean processes, with the goal of creating continuous f low. “Our father Bernie acted as the general contractor and made sure that the building was completed on time and according to our design layout. He is also our chief custom fabricator and handles all property maintenance and construction needs. He is an incredible resource and you cannot replace 46 years of experience. We would be lost without him.”

To ensure the “greenness” of the facility, the Reddicks focused on proper waste stream management (down to the garbage bags and soaps they use), paper and cardboard recycling, reduced energy usage, and the adoption of PPG’s Aquabase® Plus waterborne basecoat system from Nexa Autocolor™ brand.

“We are the only collision facility in the Bolton community that has converted to waterborne paint,” Ron points out. “The Aquabase waterborne paint system is easy to use and provides superior color matching over solvent paint. Our painters love it.”

A green initiative is now under way in the other three facilities.

“Going green was the right thing to do,” says Marty. “We wanted the smallest environmental footprint

possible. PPG helped us and their Aquabase waterborne system is a big part of it.”

“PPG has provided us with a phenomenal product backed by exceptional training and support,” adds Chris. “It is comforting to know that we have clearly aligned ourselves with the industry leader."

At Supreme, the “lean and green” approach has produced a more profitable operation. Perhaps more importantly, it has given Marty and Chris a proven template for future expansion. “With continued support and training from PPG, combined with their advanced programs, including MVP Green Belt Training and Parakaizen Workgroup Training, we have aligned ourselves with a partner that understands our vision and has the ability to help us attain it,” says Marty.

Meticulous disassembly

during the repair planning

stage is a key step in the

lean process at Supreme.

Use of Aquabase Plus

waterborne basecoat is an

integral part of Supreme's

"lean and green" approach

to collision repair.

16 17

T e C H T A l K

You CAN DePeND oN PPG WATerborNe Color VArIANT SYSTemS for ACCurATe Color mATCHeS.

IF YOU ASk AROUND, PAINTERS AND MIxING TECHNICIANS WHO ARE USING ONE OF PPG’S WATERBORNE

BASECOAT SYSTEMS WILL LIkELY TELL YOU ABOUT THE GREAT COLOR MATCH THEY’RE GETTING USING THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY.

PPG Chromatic Color Deck

Arranged by color

family, each deck

includes OE primes

and variant chips in

chromatic sequence.

As one of our jobbers commented in a recent survey of our color tools, “the painters that are using waterborne products today would not switch back to solvent if they had the option. This gives my sales team the confidence to promote the product with no hesitation.”

There’s no doubt that PPG’s waterborne color match represents a great leap forward in refinish technology. But color matching with waterborne can be a little different than you may be used to, especially if you’re one who has relied on “stick matching” or spray-outs using a solvent-based system.

You see, waterborne color can look slightly different when wet than when it’s dry. So you can’t depend on a stick match for accuracy. That’s where PPG’s waterborne color decks come into play.

PPG’s Color Variant Deck systems, available for both Envirobase® High Performance and Aquabase® Plus basecoats, each contain over 4,000

OE prime and hand-matched variant colors, dating as far back as 1998.

The real beauty of these color chips is that they’ve been sprayed with the same waterborne technology, using the same spray application one would use at a collision shop. The result is the best possible alignment between the chip and color formulas when sprayed out on the customer’s vehicle. In other words, “what you see, is what you get.” You can feel truly confident that what you spray will accurately match the chip you selected.

The Chromatic Color variant Deck system

PPG is pleased to offer a new format with the waterborne color decks. The Chromatic Color Variant Deck system is a unique color matching option, exclusive to PPG waterborne customers.

The Chromatic Color Deck takes

an innovative approach to color matching and it’s fast becoming the preferred choice of shops making the switch to waterborne basecoat. It organizes the OE prime and variant chips by color family—or in “chromatic sequence” as our color alignment team likes to say. All the reds are grouped together, the blues, the silvers and so on.

Our manager of color print tools, Mike Henry, likes to portray the Chromatic Deck as a hybrid system or “two systems in one.” One, the system offers a complete color mapping of the entire OE spectrum. Secondly, the Chromatic Deck offers its usefulness as OEM color decks as well.

The best way to show the unique benefits of the Chromatic Color Deck is to illustrate by example. Let’s say you’re seeking to match a silver Ford and you want to select a color chip that offers the closest match.

After locating the OE paint code on the vehicle, you enter that code into your PPG color retrieval software system (in this case YN). Select the paint system you’re using, and on the corresponding formula screen there will be a Color Box field that will direct you to

the specific Chromatic Deck and reference number for the color chip you’re looking for.

Pull out the selected Chromatic Deck from the system cabinet. Inside you will find all the Silver chips in that chromatic range, with all OE primes and variants grouped together. OE codes are printed on each.

Logically, the next step would be to compare the Ford chips to the vehicle and find the one that best matches.

But what if none of the Ford chips match the customer’s vehicle as accurately as you would like? Situations like this underscore the usefulness of this chromatic-sequenced system.

Since the Chromatic Deck contains all the primes and variants for all the manufacturers in the color

range, you can easily check and see if another manufacturer’s prime or variant chip better matches the vehicle. It may be in this situation that a Toyota variant chip is the better choice.

Once you find the chip that accurately matches, you can proceed with confidence that the paint you spray will accurately match the chip.

In fact, the color-alignment accuracy of the waterborne-applied chips is so good it nearly eliminates the need for “spray-outs.” And that saves a lot of time and effort.

“What you see, is what you get.” And what you get is a great color match.

What you see, is what you get.

19

HEAVY-DUTY VEHICLES AND EqUIPMENT CAN NOW BE EqUIPPED WITH THE ULTIMATE IN PROTECTION AND NON-SkID SAFETY THANkS TO PPG’S DURABULL HEAVY-DUTY PROTECTIVE COATING.

DuraBull incorporates the innovative PPG technology that was first introduced to the automotive OEM market as a factory-applied truck bedliner. Now PPG has refined the technology and equipment for other aftermarket and heavy-duty truck OEM applications. DuraBull is particularly suitable for protecting high-use work areas like trailer floors, running boards, steps, deck lids, cab interiors and storage cabinets.

Using advanced aliphatic polyurea technology, factory-proven DuraBull sets the standard in durability and resistance to the corrosion and damage caused by

tools and equipment, road debris, abrasives and chemicals.

“DuraBull offers the same product benefits that enabled this zero-VOC technology to be quickly adopted as the bedliner coating of choice at auto assembly plants,” explains John Lewis, commercial brand manager. “It offers superior exterior durability and exceptional fade resistance when compared to competitive offerings. For example, in weatherometer testing, DuraBull outlasted the competition, retaining more than twice the gloss of its nearest competitor at the 586-hour mark. Yet it is lighter in weight and requires less material and labor to apply.”

The color capability and wide variety of finish textures available for DuraBull add to the near endless range of potential applications.

PPG-optimized equipment & training

DuraBull is a 2-component aliphatic polyurea that requires a special hydraulic pump and spray gun to apply. To make it easy to get started, the equipment can be ordered directly from PPG. PPG will custom calibrate and test the equipment to meet the stringent temperature, pressure and mix ratio requirements critical to successful application. A PPG expert accompanies delivery of the equipment and provides on-site training on DuraBull application.

“Taking advantage of the many potential uses for DuraBull offers body builders and OEM heavy equipment manufacturers new ways to add value to their products, while creating an increased revenue stream,” said Lewis.

For more information on DuraBull, contact the PPG Customer Service Center at 1-800-647-6050.

A Graco Reactor H-XP2 Hydraulic Pump

This top-of-the-line system and a Graco GX-7 D1 spray gun are custom calibrated by PPG to ensure DuraBull is applied at the right temperatures and pressures necessary for superior results.• Superior exterior durability

• Ideal non-skid surface to keep cargo in place and avoid slips

• Excellent impact and crack resistance

• Superior performance at 1/3 the aftermarket film build

• Dries to the touch in minutes

• Available in safety gray and black, with tinted color capability

I N T r o D u C I N G

DuraBull Features

™

UltimateThe ultimate spray-on coating protection from PPG

18

20

DURING HIS DAYS IN CANADA’S DEFENSE AND AEROSPACE INDUSTRY, RENAUD LAROUCHE WOULD NOT LIkELY HAVE PREDICTED A FUTURE IN TRAINS—ESPECIALLY NOT THE CUTE LITTLE ONES THAT CARRY kIDS AROUND IN zOOS AND AMUSEMENT PARkS.

But after selling his successful business and spending just six months in retirement, he decided he wanted to use his experience in manufacturing and management. He discovered an opportunity to invest in a fledgling company that he felt had big potential: Wattman Trains and Trams.

Wattman itself had auspicious beginnings. In 1995, the producer of

a children’s show, Gilles Richard, was asked to produce a show featuring a small train. The train was built, and soon thereafter, Mr. Richard was receiving requests to produce more of these “mini express” trains to operate during special events. Mr. Larouche acquired the company and as CEO, contributed both the capital and the business acumen to take the company to the next level.

Today, the novel concept of a trackless train or tram is spreading throughout the world, as more developers and event planners recognize its appeal. The company sells between 75 to 100 units per year, and has units in operation in 30 countries throughout the world.

Environmentally-friendly and quiet, these trackless electric vehicles are designed to operate indoors

and outdoors, making them ideal for malls, zoos, and festivals. The design is colorful and realistic, which makes the train a magnet for families with young children. They require very little maintenance and last for many years. There’s even a “smoke” machine, a sound system to simulate the train whistle, and wheels that look like they’re moving.

Although Larouche knew about PPG from his days in defense and aerospace, the Wattman requirements were far different. He was not surprised to learn, though, that PPG had products that suited Wattman’s needs perfectly.

The bright, bold colors of the trains are supplied by AUE 360 High Solids Polyurethane topcoat from PPG’s Commercial Performance Coatings line.

Since switching to PPG coatings, the company has enjoyed reduced VOC emissions and lower overall paint use. “The product is very easy to use, performs very well, and has the high gloss that our customers love,” says Larouche. “In addition, we chose PPG for their worldwide service and support, and their ability to provide training and troubleshooting whenever and wherever we might need it.”

What’s the next stop for Wattman? That’s the beauty of these trackless trains. With an endless array of PPG colors and finishes to choose from and Larouche’s knack for maximizing opportunities, there’s literally no limit to how far this company can go.

PPG Finishes Make Mini Train Maker’s Creations Colorful

Beaten TrackOffthe

Wattman Trains and Trams, inc.

ZOOS

WHERE TO SEE ‘EM

• The Apple Works (Indiana)

• Buttonwood Park Zoo (Massachusetts)

• Calgary Zoo (Alberta)

• Emerald Acres (Ontario)

• Edmonton Valley Zoo (Alberta)

• Lake Superior Zoo (Minnesota)

• Philadelphia Zoo (Pennsylvania)

• Royal Oak Farm Orchard (Illinois)

• Sacramento Zoo (California)

• Xochitla, A.C (Mexico)

• Fjölskyldu–og

húsdýragarðurinn (Iceland)

MALLS

• Destin Commons (Florida)

• Dulles Town Center (Virginia)

• Short Pump Town Center (Virginia)

• Station Square (Pennsylvania)

• Victoria Gardens (California)

• White Flint Mall (Maryland)

• Intersect (Japan)

• Boobaloo (Europe)

• Val d’Europe (France)

21

22

Las Vegas—one of the most self-indulgent, opulent and showy cities in North America—is a playground for the wealthy and those who dream of becoming so. for every affluent person, there is at least one “look at me” car, or in some cases, maybe two, three or four!

for the past 22 years, Mike Iannuccilli has built a business catering to the needs of those customers.

Exoticar Paintworks Inc. specializes in Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Maybach, Aston Martin, Bentley, ferrari, Porsche, Rolls Royce, Lamborghini, Maserati, Lotus, Lexus, Jaguar, Saleen, Spyker and Audi. The company is also certified to perform work on many of these premium brands exclusively. The sprawling 85,000 sq. ft. facility has a dedicated 2,500 sq. ft. clean room for aluminum repair. The 60-

employee roster includes three full-time mechanics and four full-time painters, with six CMC downdraft booths and two heated, 4-car downdraft prep booths. It’s like a world’s fair exhibit on collision center technology.

But like most things in Vegas, there’s more to the story.

Mike never intended to be a collision center owner. In fact, he doubts he even knew that the collision center industry existed. A native of Rhode Island, he left the East Coast in pursuit of the common young man’s dream: young women. But after working in construction for a short time, he felt certain that he could do better. He had heard there was money to be made in buying cars in Europe and bringing them home to the United States for sale. He saved up some money,

bought and sold his first car, and used that money to finance a foreign car import business. He never worked in construction again.

23

Exoticar Paintworks

A new coat of paint gets

applied to an Aston Martin

using PPG's Envirobase® High

Performance waterborne

basecoat.

WORkING ON THE WORLD’S MOST ExOTIC CARS IS THE NORM AT THIS PREMIERE LAS VEGAS COLLISION REPAIR CENTER.

“By going into the top-end of the market, I am catering to an owner who wants to take good care of his or her investment.”Mike Iannuccilli

25

P P G S P o T l I G H T

25

BEING HONORED AS PPG PLATINUM DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR IS AN ExCEPTIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT. BUT ACHIEVING THIS HONOR JUST TWO YEARS AFTER

BECOMING A PLATINUM DISTRIBUTOR IS OUTSTANDING. YET, THAT’S ExACTLY WHAT ACS OF GEORGIA DID.ACS of Georgia was presented with the PPG Platinum Distributor of the Year award at this year’s Platinum Distributor Conference, held in Las Vegas. The award came as a surprise to the company’s co-owners, Dave Marlow and J. P. Uren, but not to PPG.

“ACS of Georgia has done a remarkable job,” says John Leavy, director of the PPG Platinum Distributor program. “Dave, J. P. and their employees have consistently exemplified the attributes of a successful Platinum Distributor—industry knowledge, technical expertise, commitment to customer service and a concerted effort to grow their business.”

Though Marlow and Uren are relatively new to the Platinum program, they are no strangers to the automotive refinish paint industry or PPG. Marlow has been in the business since he graduated from college and went to work as a factory sales representative for DuPont. After five years of moving around the country, he opted for a position at ACS in 1997. “I’m an entrepreneur at heart,” says Marlow. “I got tired of the corporate life and wanted my own business. ACS was an opportunity that came at the right time.”

J. P. Uren joined ACS in 1999. He, too, had been a rep with DuPont, but after seven years in that position, Uren also saw ACS of Georgia as a timely opportunity.

Energetic and committed, the two rose through the company. Marlow became general manager; Uren sales manager. In 2006 they bought the company and joined

the PPG Platinum Distributor Network.“We partnered with PPG because of their superior product quality and

incredible support. We saw where we could go with them,” says Marlow. “They provided training for us and our employees, business forums, webinars, everything directed to helping us succeed. Their support was, and is, vital.” ACS of Georgia is assisted by the PPG Atlanta team of territory managers including Brad Parker, Ed Smith, George McGrath, Rex Lindsey, Sam Thompson and James Neal.

The relationship with PPG has paid off. When Marlow and Uren took over ACS, they had five locations in Georgia. A little more than two

years later, they have grown to 44 employees, including eight sales reps, and seven locations in metropolitan Atlanta, as well as a sister company with locations in southern Georgia and Alabama. They also own a paint booth

maintenance company. The sales reps are extremely knowledgeable, having gone through PPG technical training and even body shop financial training.

Marlow attributes ACS’ success to great PPG products and a comprehensive customer service focus. “We give our customers complete attention and service by assisting them in every way we can regarding products, technical information and more,” he says. “We even help them find the right people for their open employee positions.”

“We’re committed to providing customers with the best service,” adds Uren. “We know our customers are our best salespeople. We also know none of this could have happened without PPG and the Platinum Program. PPG makes us better.” And as PPG Platinum Distributor of the Year, ACS of Georgia makes PPG better. It’s a partnership that benefits everyone.

PPG Platinum Distributor of the YearACS of Georgia Rises Quickly to the Top

J. P. Uren (left) and Dave

Marlow (right), of ACS

of Georgia, accept the

Platinum Distributor of

the Year Award from Rich

Alexander, senior vice

president, coatings, PPG

Industries.

2424

Inevitably, though, those cars needed minor repairs. He had trouble finding someone who would perform the work to his standards. So he decided to hire someone to mend cars for him, and he approached a friend who had a luxury car dealership and asked him to send him some referrals.

Within a short time, Mike Iannuccilli was hiring more people and many of those who had worked for other collision centers were applying for jobs with Exoticar.

“I’ve never fixed a car in my life,” says Mike. “But I do know the correct procedure, and I do know when something is done right—and so do my customers. That’s the most important thing.”

Today, Mike receives a large percentage of his business through word-of-mouth and dealership referrals. Vehicle owners make the pilgrimage from Arizona, California, New Mexico and Utah (and even as far as New York),

because of Exoticar’s foreign car expertise and reputation for first-rate quality. And, although he frequently encounters celebrities, Mike prides himself on treating everyone the same, whether it’s Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Wayne Newton, Celine Dion, Steve Wynn (all of whom are past customers), or the guy driving an entry-level Lexus.

Unlike many collision centers today, productivity is less of a concern for Exoticar. “We still want to be efficient,” says Mike, “but it’s far more important that we do it right the first time. I’ve learned to trust my first impression. If something doesn’t look right, it’s not and you might as well go about fixing it regardless of the time or cost.”

Exoticar had been using PPG’s Nexa Autocolor™ solvent-based products almost exclusively until recently. It was a tough-to-match Ferrari that brought them to consider using PPG’s Envirobase® High Performance waterborne basecoat. “Walter Rapp, our PPG rep, worked to get the code from California for the OEM finish, which was water-based,” says Mike. “We mixed it, sprayed it and had an instant match. Since then, we have enjoyed using Envirobase HP on many other makes and models.”

When it comes to equipment, Mike insists on the best. “You can buy equipment at any quality level,” he says, “But if you invest in the best, my experience has been that you will get that back ten times over.”

Another area in which he believes strongly is training. Exoticar employees frequently attend highly-specialized training programs at Mercedes-Benz or other OEM training facilities. In fact, during the recent NACE show, Exoticar played

host to a couple of hundred other collision center representatives who wanted to see what is possible in the realm of high-line auto certification and standards. Much of this training (and equipment investment) is required for certification by the OEM, and only after obtaining certification can a collision center purchase OEM structural parts. Although PPG often provides training on-site, Mike also has employees take advantage of off-site PPG training such as seminars on waterborne coatings.

Vegas has been very good to Mike, and he is the first to admit his good fortune. “I came to this town just as it was exploding with growth,” he says. “By going into the top-end of the market, I am catering to an owner who wants to take good care of his or her investment.”

And what kind of car does Mike drive? Depends on the day, he says. He has a Lamborghini Murciélago LP 640, an 800-hp Ford GT, a Porsche Twin Turbo, custom Infinity qx56 and a white GMC pick-up. His favorite car is whichever one he is driving at the time, although his two sons—ages 8 and 10—are partial to being dropped off at school in the Lamborghini.

Headed to Vegas to try your fortune? Step off the strip just a block or so, and you can see how one man made his own good fortune by treating everyone the same, and treating every car like one of his own.

Exoticar's 85,000 sq. ft.

facility resembles a

showcase of the world's

most-desired automobiles.

T A K I N G C A r e o f b u S I N e S S

26 27

The Pareto Principle, also known as the “80-20 Rule,” states that for many events, roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of the causes.

The XRAY Repair Planning™ Process

For example, Microsoft has learned that by fixing the top 20% of the most-reported computer bugs, 80% of the errors and crashes would be eliminated. Let’s look at how this principle applies to collision repair.

There are an estimated 350 insurance companies selling automotive policies in the U.S. The top ten companies (roughly 2%) sell 64% of all policies, leaving the remaining 98% of insurance companies selling only 26%.

When working closely with collision centers, we often find that 25% of repair jobs make up 50% of total billed hours and the other 50% of billed hours come from the remaining 75% of repair orders.

So how does this apply to XRAY Repair Planning? Well think about this… 80% of the reasons why repair jobs sit idle during the door-to-door repair process can be attributed to 20% of the total labor hours required to process the repair. Let’s examine the math underlying this statement using the following case study.

ABC Collision Repair applies an average of five hours of administrative labor for each repair

order. Add those hours to the average repair time of 20 hours and administrative labor amounts to 20% of all hours spent processing and repairing a vehicle.

PPG’s MVP XRAY Repair Planning focuses on that 20% factor and provides best practices focused on 80% of the controllable factors that impact on quality, speed and cost.

Developed by our MVP Business Solutions experts, XRAY Repair Planning is a key component of the 4-day MVP Green Belt Training program that offers owners and key personnel intensive instruction on the practical application of Lean Six Sigma tailored for collision repair.

Implementing XRAY Repair Planning into the repair process offers a huge opportunity for a progressive shop to improve its business model and its bottom line performance.

KEY STEPS OF XRAY REPAIR PLANNINGXRAY Repair Planning encompasses a set of pre-production processes focused on eliminating delays and roadblocks in areas where you have the greatest control and inf luence over the performance of your repair processes. Here is a short overview of the key steps.

Meticulous Disassembly & Discovery

The concept is quite simple: once you have the keys in hand and

authorization to repair, meticulous disassembly of the vehicle allows for a more thorough assessment of the repair requirements and any necessary supplement authorizations.

Meticulous disassembly down to the clip allows you to break early and recover early. The process is highly organized and detailed. Parts, hardware and materials are clearly labeled and stored for ordering, check-in, mirror matching and delivery during production and re-assembly. These best practices enable any technician to perform the metal work and reassembly regardless of who performed the disassembly tasks.

visual Mapping

Visual mapping provides an identification system for authorized repairs, repairs requiring supplement authorization and prior unrelated damage, and puts in place a standardized coding system that promotes efficient discovery and enhances communication of the repair’s requirements to the downstream production and paint departments.

Discovery

Following disassembly, the discovery process is conducted by a team typically comprised of the estimator, parts manager and xRAY technician. Together they thoroughly define requirements of the repair, any supplement authorizations and parts verification.

Parts Procurement

XRAY Repair Planning ensures that the process of delivering the right parts of the right quality to technicians at the right time. To do so, the parts manager verifies parts received from the preliminary parts order, making sure they are the right parts and their quality meets requirements. Additional parts identified during discovery are ordered as needed, and price and estimated date of arrival is determined during the order process. The repair job is then scheduled for production based on the anticipated arrival of missing parts. The repair goes no further until all critical parts have been received.

Quality verification

This critical step measures performance of the XRAY Repair Planning process. Two critical factors

are tracked: the upstream supplier performance (sales and estimating), and the effectiveness of the XRAY Repair Planning on the downstream process (production). Identifying and score-boarding these key measures provides the feedback needed for continuous improvement of the process.

The overriding goal of XRAY Repair Planning is to perform that perfect job at optimal quality, speed and cost—a scenario where all the parts were correct, damage free and available when delivered to the technician. The estimate and supplement were prepared and authorized prior to the vehicle being scheduled into production, and the job was assigned to the technician at the precise moment the previous job was completed.

Of course, the above scenario cannot be played out on every repair. A “train wreck” like a $12,000 Lexus job, for example, is highly

complex. It may be the case where the vehicle cannot be disassembled, repaired and reassembled by multiple technicians as efficiently as desired. However, consider this—poor cycle time performance is not typically due to the “train wrecks.” That’s because this type of job makes up a small percentage of repair orders.

But what about the majority of jobs which are not train wrecks, and typically run south of 40 billable hours? What would be the impact if you could shave 3 days off the typical RO? For sure, it’ll pay off with a significant reduction in your overall cycle time—and a level of performance sure to make your shop a more attractive choice for consumers and insurers alike. XRAY Repair Planning will help you get there.

We cannot possibly cover all the details of how XRAY Repair Planning works to improve quality, speed and cost in a short article like this one. But we hope this has stimulated your thinking around the possible performance improvements you can achieve by combining the Pareto Principle with a stable XRAY Repair Planning process. If you are interested in attending the MVP Green Belt Training program where XRAY Repair Planning is taught in detail, contact your PPG territory manager, or call MVP Business Solutions at (440) 572-6149.

METICULOUS DISASSEMBLY

VISUAL MAPPING

DISCOVERY

PARTS PROCUREMENT

QUALITY VERIFICATION

R E P A I R P L A N N I N G

Rich Altieri, Senior

Business Manager, MVP

Business Solutions

Rich is a black belt

Lean Six Sigma expert

with over 35 years

collision management

experience. Contact Rich

at altieri@ppg.com.

mAxImIzING CoNTrol of fACTorS THAT CAN ImPACT moST SIGNIfICANTlY oN THe SPeeD, quAlITY AND CoST of Your CollISIoN rePAIr ProCeSS

29

Repair Orders Made Easy with

NEW INTERFACE SOLUTION INTEGRATES PPG’S TOUCHMIx PAINT MANAGER WITH BODY SHOP MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS TO STREAMLINE PROCESSES AND IMPROVE SHOP WORkFLOW.

PPG’s TouchMix® Paint Manager™—the best tool to manage your paint operations effectively—is now able to work in seamless concert with a number of popular Shop Management Systems, thanks to ROCO, a Windows-based, proprietary software integration tool.

ROCO Repair Order Costing provides the shop manager with access to key financial and operational performance indicators required to access the efficiency of staff and better manage materials usage. Taking advantage of the interface solution, a collision shop can track and report on all paint and materials product consumed against the correct Repair Order (RO), while making the painter’s job as easy as possible.

Using the ROCO interface, detailed repair order information and the key estimate data is automatically transferred to the PPG color software system. This eliminates the need for shop personnel to re-key data from one system to another—and the reports generated will provide a more complete picture of the shop’s performance.

With the Repair Order interface, all RO’s will be presented to the painter through the Paint Manager Production Management screen.

The painter will have the ability to select the desired RO to begin the repair, knowing all information has already been entered into the color software system.

The frequency of communication is hourly—but configurable—so scheduling work and closing jobs are communicated efficiently from the front office to the paint booth. The solution automatically closes the Repair Order after vehicle delivery and accommodates re-do’s and warranty activity.

Currently, the following Body Shop Management Systems are available for the ROCO interface: CCT, ICM, Mitchell ABS Enterprise™, NewEra (AutoFocus), Summit, and Rome. PPG continues to work with other management system vendors to provide a broad integration offer.

A collision shop can continue to enter the RO information manually from other management systems—the minimum information required per Repair Order is the RO number, Refinish Labor Hours, Paint & Materials Revenue and Paint & Materials Rate.

The integration is simple. PPG Paint Manager color software must be connected to a network—and, the shop must use the approved Body Shop Management System with the Repair Order Interface implemented.

Collision shops actively using PPG’s Report Viewer reports—such as Repair Order Invoice and Paint & Materials Gross Profit—have seen tremendous success using the ROCO interface.

This system solution tool will provide that edge shop managers are looking for to meet the demands of the collision repair industry.

I N l I V I N G C o l o r

b Y m I K e H e N rY, P P G m A N A G e r , C o l o r P r I N T T o o l S

Do you see what I see? UNDERSTANDING BASIC “COLOR GEOMETRY” CAN HELP YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT VARIANT FORMULAS.

Is it possible for two people, standing side by side in front of the same vehicle, to see a completely different color? Indeed it is! Here’s why:

Automotive colors—especially metallics and pearls—are angle dependent. Viewed from different heights, these colors will change in appearance, even when using the same pair of eyes. What does this mean to refinish technicians and painters? It means that variant selection must take into account

something called “color geometry.”Color geometry is a fancy term

for a simple concept: what you see depends upon the position from which you see it relative to the direction of the light source. Successful painters and technicians use their knowledge of color geometry to choose the best variant formula.

In color geometry, the various angles or perspectives for viewing color are described with specific

terms: Flash, Face and Flop.Flash is the viewing angle that is

just off the ref lection of the light source or gloss angle.

Face is the viewing angle that is roughly 45 degrees back from the ref lection of the light source or gloss angle.

Flop is the viewing angle far away from the ref lection of the light source or gloss angle roughly between 75 to 105 degrees off gloss.

The easiest way to know what angle you are seeing is to locate the gloss ref lection and then shift your viewing angle backwards.

To help refinishers select from available options, PPG designates variant formulas with the symbol “//” which means that the variant is best determined from the “f lop perspective.” A variant description of //D means that the formula has a darker f lop than prime; a designation of //L means lighter f lop.

In order to choose the most accurate variant chip or formula, you need to view the panel and variant chip using proper comparison techniques. In most cases, this means using a strong light source, like a 3M™ PPS™ Sun Gun™ or

other natural light simulator, and comparing the variant chip(s) at the right angle. If you are a particularly tall person, you may need to move closer to the vehicle to view the color from the right perspective (reference Figure A).

It’s even possible to have differences in color depending upon where the vehicle repair is located. When the sun strikes the hood of the car, it will look differently than when it strikes a side panel. Imagine it’s late morning, the sun is at your back and you are facing the side of a new Transition Blue Malibu with a damaged rear quarter panel. You have aligned yourself perfectly to our viewing geometry (see Figure A). What you will see are three different “colors”—a blue-gray cast on the f lop, a gray-silver cast on the face, and a bronze cast on the f lash.

PPG’s variant descriptors provide the ability to “visualize” the color: (R//D) would indicate a redder face and darker f lop; (Y//L) indicates a more yellow face and a lighter f lop, etc. You’ll find these indicators on the chips themselves.

Once you understand the basics of color geometry, you will be able to make informed selections based on the direction of the light source, the angle at which the color is being viewed, and the color itself. The more accurate the color selection, the less time and money you will spend blending. And that makes geometry a course that’s definitely worth pursuing.

SUNLIGHT

GLOSS

FLOP

FLASH

FACEA B

To view the flop from

the same angle as

painter A, painter B

(who is taller) will

have to move closer

to the vehicle.

28

R O C O

FIGURE A

31

PPG Dream Car Award Winners

Some people dream, others take action. That’s what Dennis and Barbara McClendon and Clinton Stratton did—they built their dream cars and entered them in the 11th Annual Goodguys PPG Nationals in Columbus, OH. And they did an outstanding job because

both cars won the 2008 PPG Dream Car awards. The recognition is given annually at the Goodguys PPG Nationals to the two vehicles that best demonstrate outstanding use of color, design, gloss and execution in a paint job.

Stratton hails from Louisville, KY, and is a relative newcomer to custom car shows. The Dream Car award was his first national

win. But the paint scheme on Stratton’s 1964 Chevy Nova shows he’s got some dream car savvy as it was a big hit with the judges. Stratton used

PPG’s Deltron® DBC basecoat along with DC4000 premium clear to create a dazzling two-tone finish of Ford Infra Red and Chrysler Inferno Red. Stratton and B&K Customs, also in Louisville, designed the car’s dramatic look.

The McClendons, of Mesa, AZ, started with a chopped top 1962 Chevy, named “Showlow.” They gave it a wealth of custom-fabricated components and modified almost everything on the car leaving only the trunk lid, grill and headlight buckets pure stock. When the bodywork was completed, they painted Showlow in stunning Maserati Red and Mustang GT White. The paint design was created by RJ Customs of Chicago, using Deltron DBC basecoat and DCU2082 StratoClear to obtain its eye-catching look.

PPG isn’t alone in awarding these two cars. Stratton’s Nova was named a Carl Casper 2008 Top 20 pick, and Showlow’s been a Boyd Coddington Pro Pick and won the

SEMA Best Engineered Vehicle award. These winners of the

PPG Outstanding Use

of Color Awards at the

2008 NSRA Nationals

exemplify the eye-

catching, street smart

finishes that can be

created when you

choose the Vibrance

Collection® from PPG.

With its fantastic

selection of custom

colors and the latest

special effects it's

no wonder why the

Vibrance Collection

is the preferred choice

of custom builders

and professional

painters.

1937 Ford Sedan, Bob & Joyce Feinman, Akron, OH

1933 Willys Coupe, Erroll Palmer, Louisville, KY

1941 Willys Coupe, Brian & Linda Carder, Stow, OH

1933 Ford Cabriolet, Paul Evans, Midway, TN

1933 Speedstar Coupe, Adrian Jackson, Prairieville, LA

© 2009 PPG Industries. All rights reserved. www.ppgrefinish.com

Absolutely the hottest colors for the coolest rides

Autumn SplendorName a motorcycle “Samahain” and you’ll generate curiosity. Apply a wild imagination and finish it with Envirobase® High Performance and special effects dyes from the Vibrance Collection® and you’re bound to attract attention—the good kind.

That’s what custom painter Alain Panneton, owner of Air Design, Inc. of Mascouche, Quebec, did. The attention received included the special “Best Use of Color” trophy as well as second place in the Pro Builders class at the North American International Motorcycle Supershow 2009 in Toronto, Canada.

Panneton’s been painting motorcycles since 1992, with more than 1,000 bikes to his credit. The inspiration for this one came as he was raking leaves in his yard last fall. He found himself taken by the leaves’ vibrant red, orange, and gold colors and decided to apply the images to a motorcycle. Panneton named the bike Samahain, Gaelic for Halloween, and succeeded in bringing the autumn theme through in spectacular fashion.

Panneton was one of the first custom painters to take advantage of PPG’s new VWM5555 Midcoat, designed for use with PPG waterborne basecoats. This special midcoat color layer provides a VOC-compliant solution and enabled Panneton to create his candied effects using Radiance® II dyes from the Vibrance Collection. Samahain is dark candy red at the bottom and incorporates red, gold and orange candy-toned leaves. The effect is complemented by gleaming chrome pipes. The bike also features a custom-built body, and a Harley-Davidson engine and transmission.

Samahain will be making appearances at North American motorcycle shows

throughout 2009.

G A l l e r Y

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W H A T ’ S N e W

P190-6659 Express Clearwith One-Visit™ Application Technology

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