A mobile distributor may visit a plethora of types of shops and spots along their route – from general automotive repair shops and dealerships to marinas, factories, or agricultural businesses. Each of these varying business and locations utilize different tools and equipment from one another. Collision repair facilities are one of those businesses that require a unique set of tools and equipment. While they stock the usual tools found in the mom-and-pop shops or the dealerships, they also have some unique equipment and a range of specialty tools regularly required for bodywork. As a distributor, understanding the nuanced differences in the tool and equipment needs of a body shop compared to other stops along your route will allow you to successfully provide your customers with the products they need to do their job.
Evaluate the body shop
Steve Johnston, independent tool dealer and owner of SJ Enterprises, runs his business in rural Alabama. Although he acknowledges that body shops are not his most common shop-type that he visits, he still does a fair amount of business at such locations – particularly at a stretch of road known locally as Bondo Alley.
“[Bondo Alley] amounts to a subdivision-type setup of commercial buildings all in a row that’s about a quarter of a mile from one end to the other,” Johnston says. “Every business on that road is automotive oriented. There’s a mix of body shops, frame shops, cleanup shops, mechanic shops, and wholesalers that do minor repair and preparation of cars.”
Johnston says that the high number of automotive repair shops act as a support system for the equally high number of dealerships in the area.
“I've never seen another area like it, and I came from the Metro Birmingham area, which obviously has a lot of shops, but they’re not lined next to each other like it is in this small area,” Johnston continues, speaking of Bondo Alley. “I’m happy with it. I’m happy that it’s compact and I can park the truck and walk to three or four different places at one time. It’s convenient.”
Johnston has a game plan when approaching a body shop, particularly for a first-time visit. “Initially, you've got to categorize the body shop,” Johnston says. “There are [varying] levels and qualities of bodywork and skill levels, just like there are with mechanic shops. You have to be able to make a judgment call and decipher that when you go in.”
Not only should a tool dealer be aware of the quality of work the body shop is doing, but furthermore, the tools, equipment, and materials being used for such work.
“You’ve got to judge the body shop when you get there. You also better pay attention when you go in as to what kind of equipment they are using and what kind of materials they are using, and tailor your approach to them,” Johnston says.
After the initial assessment of the shop, a tool dealer then needs to understand what they can offer that shop. Not only can a dealer offer the shop the tools that they need to continue the work that they are currently doing, but a dealer should also understand the tools and equipment to offer the shop in order for the shop to take their services to the next level and complete more body work than they are currently outfitted for.
“I am not so much asking [technicians what they need, but rather] observing what is going on in the shop,” Johnston says, speaking to his approach to selling to body shop technicians. “Current vehicles have collision avoidance systems and cameras and require scan tools to calibrate systems after, say, the shop replaces a windshield; they have to recalibrate cameras and sensors on the bumpers, too. And honestly, from what I’m seeing, very few shops are doing service at that level. Late model cars are requiring that kind of capability, so you can make a lot of decisions on a body shop through the simple observation of how current the cars are that are inside and being worked on. As a dealer, you have to be up-to-speed and knowledgeable on what the next level [can be] for that shop.”
Observing the environment of the shop is going to help frame your sales approach as a tool dealer. Understand what services are being completed, understand what equipment the shop does and does not have, understand what materials are being worked on; from there, take your own knowledge of what you can offer the shop to fulfil their tooling and equipment needs.
“If a body shop feels like they’re missing out on an opportunity to make money, you need to be able to sell them the equipment they need to move up to the next level, and you need to be aware of what that equipment is,” Johnston says.
Body shop tools and equipment
All tools are not created equal; when it comes to body and collision tools and equipment, particularly welders, the equipment is only compatible with select materials. Using a welder on material it is not designed to work on can result in damage and incomplete repairs. After evaluating the shop and determining the vehicles that frequent the bays, and in turn the materials being worked on, you can better prepare to offer the correct, compatible equipment to that shop.
“In the past, everything was close to 100 percent steel,” says Eric Sponhaltz, national sales and marketing manager at H&S Autoshot, speaking to vehicle construction. “Steel car equals steel repair procedure. Now, in the present and the future, vehicles [are comprised of] mixed metals. [For example,] aluminum, made popular by the [Ford] F-150, high strength steel is entering the mix of cars, and you also have a lot of plastics on vehicles today.”
Sponhaltz continues by saying that different tools and procedures need to be utilized when dealing with certain materials because the materials behave differently than traditional steel does.
Developments in the tools and equipment available today have progressed with the notion of a multi-material environment for the body shop.
“When we started with our traditional steel stud gun … the longer the trigger was depressed, the hotter the metal got or the hotter the weld got. Well, that’s fine on your old school ’69 Charger. For these higher strength steel cars and thinner metals, a traditional stud gun may not be the right answer, because as the user holds the trigger down too long, they will burn a hole through the panel,” Sponhaltz explains. Today, H&S Autoshot uses a technology called capacitive discharge. Capacitive discharge provides high power in low amounts of time, preventing users from applying too much heat to surfaces and subsequently causing damage.
H&S Autoshot furthers their ability to provide body shops the capacity to survive in a multi-material reality through their combination aluminum and steel dent pulling solutions, the Dual Spotter, No. UNI-9700, and the Dual Pro, No. UNI-9802. These tools have interchangeable noses to accommodate for the material at hand. Products like the Dual Spotter and Dual Pro provide the flexibility to work with steel and aluminum and can be solutions to offer a body shop that may handle steel work currently but does not yet incorporate aluminum work. Sponhaltz suggests asking how the shop handles aluminum work, and if it is being turned away, a dealer can offer a solution with a product that can do what the shop currently does, and more.
Developments in technology have furthered the ability to repair not just various metals, but to better repair plastics as well. The dawn of the nitrogen plastic welder has disrupted the replace versus repair dilemma faced by many body shops on a daily basis.
Kurt Lammon, president of Polyvance, explains the ability to repair the plastics on today’s vehicles through nitrogen welders, such as Polyvance’s 8000 series of nitrogen welders.
“There has been a transition to polypropylene materials for bumper covers … airless plastic welders don’t work as well on polypropylene. The invention of our nitrogen plastic welder, back in 2006, allows the technician to make a stronger, faster repair on polypropylene,” Lammon says. “I think you could probably say that nitrogen plastic welding is the established way to repair plastic now.”
As a tool dealer, offering a body shop the equipment to complete plastic repairs can be a catalyst for that shop’s ability to offer more services, turn less work away, and ultimately make more money.
“Unfortunately for the shops, the profit margin on replacement parts is not as high as their labor profit margins,” says Lammon. “They need to look for opportunities to sell labor, and plastic is a great place to look for that because plastics almost always are not structural items. There’s a lot of opportunity for plastic repair in collision damage. The shops just need to be able to have the right equipment and training to take advantage of that so they can increase their gross profit margin overall by doing more labor, or, billing for more labor hours.”
Although a nitrogen plastic welder may be too large to consistently stock on the truck, there are other plastic body work tools and equipment that are worthwhile finding room for if your route entails body shops.
Polyvance recently released the Sensor Hole Cutting Kit, No. 6149. The Sensor Hole Cutting Kit is designed to cut into replacement bumpers to establish areas for proximity sensors that are equipped on many late-model vehicles today.
“Some replacement bumpers are provided without those holes cut, so the technician would have to cut the hole themselves. The Sensor Hole Cutting Kit makes that a very easy job,” Lammon says.
Polyvance also offers the Bumper Bag Plus, No. 6450. “The Bumper Bag Plus has a lot of different uses for getting small dents out of the face of a bumper, adjusting panel gaps, or cushioning a jack saddle. That’s a nice tool for a mobile distributor to carry around,” Lammon continues.
“The bottom line is, plastics aren’t going away and if anything, they’re going to become more prominent. The body shop that cannot repair plastics is going to miss out on some repair and gross profits,” Lammon concludes.
Providing solutions
Johnston says that it is a delicate balance to decide which body tools to stock versus which to leave to the wholesalers.
“I limit my body tool inventory to physical tools, [such as] sanders, blow guns, impact guns, screw guns, drill bits, and hand tools,” Johnston says. “I keep a limited selection of paint guns because every painter has their own preference [of brand]. I usually keep a basic HVLP paint gun on the truck, [but otherwise] I’ll let them pick when it comes to the digital, thousand-dollar-plus guns.”
However, Johnston continues by saying that having the tools stocked may not always be the most important aspect of providing for body shop technicians.
“The thing I would say is most important is that you’ve got to know what your product options are and where you can acquire them, and the best way to do that is to go to a tool show,” Johnston says. “Whether it’s your flag company’s show or an independent show, focus on going to every one of those.”
Many tool shows have been recently canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are tool shows that have transitioned to a virtual platform to be hosted online. Companies are also featuring more video content and webinar sessions to keep dealers and technicians informed while maintaining social distancing practices. Stay up to date on these changes in the industry by visiting VehicleServicePros.com/COVID-19.
Johnston says the knowledge you acquire at tools shows from vendors is invaluable to both you and your potential customers.
“The more armed you are with information and knowledge when you go into a shop, the more you’re going to have the ability to sell tools to the end-users,” Johnston continues. “Pay attention when you go into a shop, see what they complain about not having, and then provide them with whatever that is. Get knowledgeable about your customers and what they need. If they need something, you’ve got to know what it is that can solve that problem. And show up every week.”
“The distributor that understands the needs of a body shop and provides a solution will win the business,” Sponhaltz says.
The body shop has its own unique needs when it comes to tools and equipment. As a tool distributor, recognizing these needs for body shops, in general, is one thing, but analyzing each individual body shop will reveal the gaps in their tool and equipment outfitting. The dealer that is able to not only recognize this gap but also offer the solutions to fulfil the shop’s needs, will grow their own business and the businesses of their customers, alike.
