SCRS Leaders Stand Strong in Advocating and Educating for Safe Repairs
by Alana Quartuccio
“True leadership means using one’s voice to position and elevate the rights of others.”
Those words, spoken by Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg, summed up the message the newly reformed Board set out to convey as they held their Open Board meeting in Philadelphia this past July.
During his opening remarks, Schulenburg spoke of how inspiring it was to hold this meeting in a city where the country’s independence was born. “If you go to Independence Hall, you’ll feel goosebumps. It’s special; it’s not a touristy thing. If you care about the landscape of what this country looks like, that’s where it all started.”
His inspiring words were meant to drive home the point that SCRS is the voice of collision repairers all across the nation and its Board members are committed to listening and advocating on their behalf. Michael Bradshaw, who served his first meeting as Chair, stated that the Board’s focus is to listen in a way that serves the needs of those they represent. “We are here to serve. That’s a big focus for me. Also, we continue to look for ways to innovate.”
Schulenburg welcomed the newest Board members, Justin Lewis (Accurate Auto Body; WA), Ben Bowman (Cliff’s Body Repair; NY) and Kena Dacus (Dacus Auto Body & Collision Repair; KS) and reminded the room full of repair professionals and affiliates that the men and women serving on the SCRS Board are committed to listen in ways that serve the needs of the industry.
On behalf of the education committee, Andrew Batenhorst (Pacific BMW Collision Center; CA) set out to dispel some common misconceptions about ceramic coatings which have been making their way into the collision repair space. An early adopter of these coatings, Batenhorst said, “There’s a lot of misinformation out there that can confuse people, especially shops that are considering bringing this into their operation.
“Coatings can get a bad rap sometimes,” he continued. “Some think they are a cure-all to make your paint look nice, but they are still prone to problems, mainly with mineral deposits. That’s probably the number one thing that I see happening when people wash their car. Because there’s hydrophobic properties to the coating, they think it will eliminate the risk of getting mineral deposits, but mineral deposits are still going to occur as the water evaporates off the panel, and those things will remain. They’ll actually damage the coating to the point where if it sits on the surface for too long, you’ll no longer be able to extract them chemically. And now you have to abrade them in order to remove them, which will take the coating off at the same time.”
Coatings will not stop rock chips from forming. “A lot of customers believe it can, but unfortunately, it cannot.”
When it comes to determining the strength and hardness of a coating, Batenhorst recommended personally researching coatings, as “there’s only a select few ceramic coating manufacturers that actually do the proper testing,” according to the Mohs mineral hardness scale. “A lot of them just like to throw in the descriptor to tell the consumer it’s a very durable, very strong product that will last for a long time. But when you really look at the type of materials and compounds that are on this scale, that may not line up very well.”
He went over types of coatings, including graphene, silicon dioxide (SiO2) and silicon carbide (SiC). “SIO2 coatings are probably the most popular that are on the market right now. They’re very affordable. They’re easy to apply.”
During the check-in process at this shop, Batenhorst will work with the customer to get all the details about the coatings brand used, when it was applied and if they have a receipt which is “really important, especially when you’re going towards the insurance company for some type of reimbursement for that.”
Shops will also have to consider if they can do the work in-house or sublet it. Ceramic coatings can be an opportunity for shops to explore with new customers. “If this car doesn’t have a ceramic coating, this is a great opportunity to have that conversation with the customer to tell them you’re putting fresh paint on their vehicle, and you can do a paint correction on the rest of the car at the same time and get their vehicle looking even better than it did when it came in.”
When asked if ceramic coatings interfere with sensors, Batenhorst explained, “In my experience, they are so thin that they have not affected the functionality of parking sensors, radar or anything like that.”
Michael Giarrizzo (DCR Systems) gave the SCRS audience an update on behalf of the Media Committee, reviewing the weekly video content and the stats they have achieved via the SCRS Quick Tip videos on via YouTube (available at youtube.com/@SCRSCollision). From customer service training to destructive weld testing, organizing clips and fasteners, booth maintenance and more, the valuable content is meant to be shared and be circulated, Giarrizzo stressed. He pointed out that SCRS gained 122 subscribers since the last meeting. “I think we can do a lot better than that. We’ve had almost 16,500 views since the last meeting, but I want to challenge myself and my own organization to do a better job of really sharing the content within our own networks and with our own teams, because that will help it grow.”
The videos are filmed at the I-CAR training facility in Appleton, WI and also feature some of their subject matter experts. Giarrizzo reported the most watched videos released were a result of the collaboration featuring Barry Dorn (Dorn’s Body and Paint; VA) and Randy Kabble (I-CAR) on rivet installation (bit.ly/SCRSrivetinstallation), which got over 1,000 views within just a few days of its release.
Schulenburg reiterated the benefit of the great content. “These collaborative videos where we showcase the best of the perspectives from the shop side and the trainer side, just really shine through. If you haven’t had a chance to watch, please check them out.”
On behalf of the Affiliate Engagement Committee, Tony Adams (AkzoNobel) and Andy Tylka (TAG Group) planted seeds for the discussion and presentations set to take place at the annual Affiliate Conference which was held later that week. The affiliates meet virtually several times a year and conduct one in-person event annually which, according to Tylka, was expected to have “over 30 people from state associations attending, and that translates to over three-fourths of the country being represented at this annual event.” Jill Tuggle (Auto Body Association of Texas) and Jeff Butler (Washington Independent Collision Repair Association) planned to make presentations on their recent legislative wins.
Both spoke of their appreciation for the affiliate group via SCRS. Tuggle relayed, “The affiliate group and our conference is a huge tool in my toolbox. There’s no playbook on how to be a collision repair director.” Butler indicated that he too got “a lot of value from the affiliates conference meetings and the ability to share thoughts and brainstorm” with others.
Schulenburg devoted time to updating the audience on the success of the member benefits SCRS has been able to bring to body shops all across the country, which evolved from listening to those who came forward about their struggles trying to compete with other businesses in the marketplace for top talent. He spoke of successes with the healthcare program through Decisely, bringing to light a story from a New Jersey body shop whose office manager told him, “Your benefits program saved our technician’s life.” Prior to the shop joining the SCRS healthcare program, the employee didn’t have the means of going to the doctor. As a result, he saw the doctor who discovered something that saved his life.
“This is impactful for us because our goal is to try to make lives better for the people who choose to be in the collision repair industry,” shared Schulenburg, who added his excitement for the growth of the program and the ability to add resources and different types of programs. He spoke about Decisely’s ICHRA (Individualized Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement), which offers “affordable and flexible healthcare models that are designed to allow employees to purchase ACA compliant plans.” The plan allows employers to give employees tax deducted dollars to spend in the ACA marketplace rather than a specific employer-chosen plan.
SCRS’ 401(k) retirement program also continues to grow. He encouraged participation as the more people who join, the more savings are achieved due to its declining fee structures. “The more who participate benefits everyone and everyone wins,” he reported.
Danny Gredinberg led a discussion about the latest success with the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG), which has received 1,141 inquiries between January and June of this year with a 43.4 percent correction rate. Gredinberg relayed updates from some of the information providers (IPs) based on the inquiries. For example, MOTOR made updates to vehicle chapters utilizing R1234yf refrigerant with labor time to evacuate and recharge has been updated to 1.7 from 1.4 hrs.
Schulenburg also updated attendees on efforts in support of SCRS’ proposed federal legislation of the SAFE Repairs Act that puts safety first as opposed to other legislation that appears to have a focus solely on accessing data. “If safety is governed at a federal level, then we should be making sure that consumers’ right to safety is also championed and protected at a federal level. SCRS believes in the idea of Right to Repair and supporting independent repairers. And we believe this is the way that we can help support our customers through those businesses.
Schulenburg announced registration is open for the 2025 Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series to be held at SEMA in Las Vegas and off to a great start with a 10 percent increase in registration from this time last year. “I think that’s just a strong indication of what the market’s looking for out of the education program and their SEMA show experience.“ A lot of first-time speakers are on deck, and the IDEAS Collide Showcase will feature an array of newcomers as well. Although he wasn’t ready to give details away just yet, Schulenburg encouraged all to visit the SCRS booth on the SEMA show floor which will have some exciting features this year. Visit bit.ly/2025SEMAShow to register for SCRS’ RDE series.
Want more? Check out the September 2025 issue of Hammer & Dolly!