Survey says: Shops loyal to their paint brands

Tuesday, 18 October 2011 14:23

Toronto, Ontario -- October 18, 2011 -- Canadian collision repair facilities are certainly loyal to their paint companies. According to Collision Repair magazine's recently-conducted "Refinish and Coatings Survey" more than half the respondents have been with the same paint company for at least a decade and nearly 80 percent for five years.

The Collision Repair magazine Refinish and Coatings Survey queried respondents from across Canada to determine how professionals view and use coatings. Nearly 200 responses were received from across the country (see comments below.) Complete details and results will appear in the next issue of Collision Repair magazine, and include information on paint brands used and other pertinent data. In the meantime, we thought we would share some of the preliminary results with you.

As can be seen in the below graph, nearly half of all the responding facilities paint fewer than 50 cars per month. Unsurprisingly, the number of facilities decrease fairly steadily as the number of cars are increased.

More than half of all respondents have been with the same paint company for at least a decade. However, this does not mean Canada's repairers are unwilling to switch paint companies. Of those surveyed, 66.7 percent have switched paint companies at some point in their history. Watch for information on why the switch was made in the next issue.

Finally, we come to how important repairers feel certain items actually are. Respondents were asked to rate the relative importance of the following items on a scale from one to five, with five being the most important. The numbers shown are an aggregate of all responses. In other words, if one person answered "5" and another answered "1," then the total would be 3.5.

Comments from respondents about their paint concerns:

· Colour matching is of the highest importance. Look around and see the mismatched vehicles. Paint manufacturers cannot match vehicles colours closely enough, there is always tinting and blending involved. It would be nice to just mix the paint and do the work.

· Colour matching.

· We never have problems that can't be solved immediately.

· Economical and ecological profitability is crucial as well!

· We would like to see more training in central Alberta instead of going to Vancouver.

· Need access to actual colour chips and variants, I have not found a painter in the last 20 years capable of actual colour matching without blending. Having 10 variants with only a few chips usually means mixing and spraying cards. More wasted time.

· Not as interested in performance groups and conferences as we are in issue solving if one
should occur and the one-on-one knowledge sharing on new products and procedures.

· The question not asked is the coverage. We are finding with water-based products some colours are extremely low hiding where more coats have to be applied to achieve proper colour match & hiding

· These answers reflect the apparent preference of the body shops I have seen. Training for example is seen as a requirement but few seem to want to take full advantage. Personal contact and colour matching remain the priority. Paint companies struggle to convey the technology they offer in a way that their customers understand. Part of the problem is a general approach (but by no means everyone) that all questions and answers should be provided by the supplier.

Comments re: price increases

cheaper products are not cheaper in the long run.
cost of materials continue to increase and shops in Manitoba are still charging pricing from four years ago as per the insurance company allowance
either the pricing needs to decrease or the material allowance on claims needs to increase
Every year as long as i have been in the industry
I prefer not to focus on the price of the can of paint, but rather my GP on product used. I'm certain that the cost of paint has gone up, but my GP on paint material has as well, so it isn't really an issue for me.
In 32 years in this business I don't remember if there was a year without price increase in any brand of paint
INSURERS NOT KEEPING PACE WITH THE RISING COSTS OF MATERIAL.
We haven't had a commissurate increase from the insurance companies in years.
new painter - better controls
STEADY RISE BUT DO YOU THINK THE INSURANCE COMPANY GIVES US THE SAME AMOUNT OF RAISE.
The compensation we receive for paint & materials have not kept pace with the cost of these materials.
water base paint is very expensive, with a lot of container waste , not what you would call GREEN. more garbage goes to the land fill since we have gone to this "enviromently friendly paint."
what else is new?
When haven't they?

Please feel free to carry on the discussion in our forums. Click here to connect directly http://collisionrepairmag.com/forums?func=view&catid=9&id=738#738

Last Updated on Monday, 24 October 2011 17:32

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