Your Source for Up-To-Date News and Research on the Collision Repair Industry
click here to subscribe to the FREE INSIGHT Editor's Desk News Alert Email
SUBSCRIBERS-ONLY
Today's News
Industry Stocks
INSIGHT This Month
INSIGHT Archives
Survey Center
Letter to the Editor
Business Tools
Subscription Information
CSI Reporting
Financial Analysis
IRS Audit Guide
Management/
Technical Info
Market Watch Rates
INSIGHT Inside this month's issue...
Feedback
Letter to the Editor
This article originally appeared in the October 2003 Issue of INSIGHT
©2003 Collision Repair Industry INSIGHT All Rights Reserved
FinishMaster Acquires Ten of BASF’s ART Facilities
NABC Questions Skewed Auto Body Fraud Statistics from California BAR
Genuine Parts Company Announces Proposed Acquisition of NAPA Distributor
Illinois County Court Certifies Class Action Against GEICO
PPG Introduces Cycle Time Management Training Course
Travelers Buys Renewal Rights to Royal & SunAlliance Commercial and Personal Lines
CCAR Surpasses 100,000 Tests Taken in S/P2 Training
DuPont Performance Coatings HR Seminar Accredited by AMI
Penske Automotive Group Names Houfley Executive Vice President and CFO
Massachusetts Auto Body Association Affiliates with SCRS
Munce Named ADESA Impact President
Sherwin-Williams Opens New Branch in Dallas
CCAR-GreenLink Begins Online User Survey
Insurance Auto Auctions Q3 Results Slightly Below Expectations
AMI Announces 2003 Emil Stanley Merit Award Recipient
INDUSTRY UPDATE
Allstate Insurance Co. and Sterling Collision Centers have filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Dallas County, Texas. The suit filed against the Texas Attorney General challenges Texas's new insurer-owned repair shop law.
Texas House Bill 1131 is the focus of the suit. The Auto-motive Service Association (ASA), working with a coalition of organizations and repairers in Texas, were advocates for the legislation.
A copy of the Allstate filings can be found in the Legislation section of the ASA Web site.
o
FinishMaster, Inc., a national independent distributor of automotive paints and related accessories, has entered ten new markets via the acquisition of branch locations formerly owned by BASF Corporation and operated under the name Automotive Refinish Technologies. The branch locations are in Atlanta, GA; Augusta, GA; Austin, TX; Buffalo, NY; Huntsville, AL; Las Vegas, NV; Memphis, TN; Oklahoma City, OK; St. Louis, MO; and Springfield, IL.
Additionally, as part of the transaction FinishMaster has become a national distributor for paint and material sales generated through BASF's BodyShopMall.com internet ordering site, which continues to be a key strategic initiative of BASF.
"We are pleased to have entered into this agreement with FinishMaster, which has an outstanding history of growth and success," said Al Winterman, Group Vice President, BASF Automotive Refinish. "The transaction strengthens our business relationship with FinishMaster, one of BASF's largest refinish distributors."
"This acquisition is a big step toward fulfilling FinishMaster's growth and value proposition plans. We're excited about the opportunities it presents," stated J. A. Lacy, President and Chief Operating Officer. "Our focus is on local relationships supported by superior distribution basics and providing value added information to our customers enabling them to increase productivity, manage material costs and increase profits."
Lacy continued, "FinishMaster's growth expectation has always embraced establishing a low cost, national platform from which to deliver our value proposition. This acquisition allows FinishMaster to better serve national accounts and support the strategies of our vendor partners while simultaneously reducing costs by spreading overhead across a larger national platform."
ART continues to operate two jobber stores in the U.S. (Hawaii and Minneapolis) and seven in Canada. No ART stores in Canada are involved in this transaction.
According to BASF, the acquisition is not expected to affect current BASF jobbers in any way.
FinishMaster is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, and operates three major distribution centers and 167 branches in 27 of the 35 largest metropolitan areas in the country.
The use of selective rather than random sampling by the California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) has been misinterpreted as representative of auto body fraud in the entire collision repair industry according to the National Auto Body Council (NABC).
By investigating vehicles with auto body complaints, the BAR concluded a 43 percent incident of fraud, far greater than any random sample would show, according to Chuck Sulkala, Executive Director of the NABC.
“While accurate,” Sulkala said referring to the statistics made public (Sept 10), “there is a distinct difference between accuracy and validity, as well as a very questionable predisposition to finding fraud.”
The BAR study did not consist of a random sample of repaired vehicles. The individual repairs were investigated by the BAR after being contacted by the vehicle owner, Sulkala said.
“Is it surprising that BAR found problems with 43 percent of the vehicles they examined? Hardly, considering the way the sample was skewed by the BAR’s methodology. It is more surprising that 57 percent of the repaired vehicles showed no problems at all.”
Sulkala said the California BAR has done this before. Last year, BAR inspectors were quoted as saying that as high as 90 percent of the repairs they inspected contained some level of fraud.
“These statements, and coverage of the BAR study have been presented as a representative sample of the work of our entire industry. That is clearly not a fact supported by the BAR’s research methodology,” Sulkala said.
Sulkala said a greater concern is that other groups, particularly insurers, have started using what he called pseudo-statistics as part of advertising and public relations campaigns.
“In essence, they are trying to improve the image of their segment of the industry at the expense of another segment, and are doing so by misusing BAR information they should know lacks any statistical validity. The National Auto Body Council finds this behavior unacceptable.”
Sulkala called auto repair fraud a serious problem facing consumers and the collision repair industry.
“The National Auto Body Council has supported numerous efforts to inform both the public and repairers on both the issue and methods necessary to prevent repair fraud. The misrepresentation of results from the BAR’s report on auto body fraud only serves to confuse consumers further,” he said.
The National Auto Body Council is a not-for-profit association whose sole purpose is to improve the image of the collision repair industry in the eyes of the general public and to recognize the pride and professionalism of its members. Members and sponsors are all employed in some aspect of the collision repair industry.
For additional information about the National Auto Body Council, call 888-667-7433, or visit the NABC website.
Larry Prince, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Genuine Parts Company has announced a definitive agreement has been signed relating to the acquisition of the NAPA Hawaii business owned by Schuman Carriage Company, Ltd., a long-standing NAPA distributor with annual sales of approximately $35 million.
Genuine Parts Company will purchase for cash substantially all of the assets of NAPA Hawaii. Consummation of the transaction is contingent upon compliance with the terms of the agreement and any applicable regulatory requirements.
NAPA Hawaii is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, and serves approximately 32 independently-owned NAPA AUTO PARTS stores and 4 company-owned stores located throughout the Hawaiian Islands and Samoa."
Prince stated, "We believe the acquisition of NAPA Hawaii offers us excellent growth opportunities in their markets. We are pleased that we were able to reach this agreement with such a quality organization and look forward to the contributions they will make to our company."
A.M. Best has reported that an Illinois court has certified class action for a lawsuit against GEICO Insurance, accusing the company of inappropriate action in the use of aftermarket automobile parts.
The original case was against seven auto insurance companies that used aftermarket parts, said Sheila Carmody, an attorney with Snell & Wilmer who represented GEICO in the class-action certification hearing in Madison County, Ill. The case as originally filed was called the Hobbs case, but it is severed and proceeding separately against Allstate, State Farm and GEICO, she told A.M. Best’s BestWire. The other defendants had no Illinois class representatives, although Liberty Mutual--which was part of the original suit--did make a payment to settle the case.
The class-action suit contends that GEICO is using non-original equipment manufacturer parts, which result in lower quality for the customers while saving money for the insurance company, Carmody said.
The basic facts of the certification case are that a GEICO insured named Pisko received a non-OEM headlamp. The customer didn't complain about the repair, its cost or that it did not function properly.
Customers have choice, commented Carmody. If they don't like the company's performance, they can go to many different insurance carriers, she said. In Pisko's case, he chose to stay with GEICO for years after the filing of this case.
"It is GEICO's policy that it will deliver high-quality service at the best possible price, and as part of its strategy to keep expenses down and benefit consumers, it uses high quality non-OEM parts in repairing customers cars," Carmody said. "Reducing expenses results in lower premiums, a fact that has been lost in this discussion. It results in savings for consumers and lower premiums."
In January, the Illinois Supreme Court changed its rules on appealing class certification, Laura Kotelman, counsel for the National Association of Independent Insurers, told BestWire. Previously, the defendant would have to wait for the entire case to be ruled on on its merits before appealing certification of the class, she said. Now, as soon as a judge certifies the suit as a class action, the defendant, in this case GEICO, can appeal that certification, she said.
"GEICO may be the first defendants able to use this option to appeal a class action under the new rule," Kotelman said. "The association isn't happy for GEICO that it is being sued, but it is good the company can take advantage of this new court rule. In terms of the substance of the case, the association doesn't think the claims in the class are similar enough to justify a class action. This is a case of the judge in one county in Illinois making law for the entire country."
Non-OEM parts were not a concept that insurance companies invented, Carmody said. The practice came into the market because the cost to produce the part was substantially less than the sales price by the manufacturer, she said. In the early 1990s, the Illinois Department of Insurance held public hearings to discuss aftermarket parts and decided they were appropriate for Illinois constituents, she said. The department put out regulations specifically outlining how these parts would be used for consumers, which GEICO has been following, she said.
All parties have benefited from generic auto parts, Kirk Hansen, director of claims for the Alliance of American Insurers, told BestWire. Generic parts help lower the cost of claims, which in turn helps keep down premiums for the coverage, he said. At State Farm, for example, the owners of the insurance company are the policyholders, since it's a mutual insurance company, so anything done to lower costs is a direct benefit for the policyholders/owners, he said. But there are more than 70 similar lawsuits filed across the country on aftermarket auto parts, he said.
Last October, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed to hear State Farm's appeal of a lower court's 1999 decision in the class-action lawsuit Avery vs. State Farm, which awarded the plaintiffs $1.2 billion in damages regarding the use of aftermarket parts. An appellate court lowered the award to $1 billion but let the decision stand.
Many of these generic parts are certified by the Certified Automotive Parts Association, which confirms that the replacement parts are as good or better than the parts used during the original manufacturing, Hansen said.
GEICO has defended three other cases on non-OEM parts, and in each case the suits were not certified as class actions, in Maryland, Florida, and in Arizona. The Arizona case never got to the class certification discussion because the judge issued a summary judgement denying the class action and also awarded the company attorneys' fees.
Many such cases were filed in Louisiana, and the insurance companies have continued to win every one of them, Kotelman said. Plaintiffs' attorneys continue to forum shop, and now they're in Madison County, she said. The problem isn't going to go away, but the industry is spending a lot of money to prove its innocence all across the country, she said. The cost of defense is escalating, and in the long run, it's going to cost consumers as well, she said.
"The only winners in these cases are the plaintiffs' lawyers, because all the parties to the suit may get nothing, or may get coupons, or may get pennies on the dollar," Hansen said. "The lawyers get a substantial fee out of the settlement, so this is a golden goose for them."
Most of the activity on aftermarket parts is on hold to await the outcome of the Avery vs. State Farm case in the Illinois Supreme Court, Hansen said. The court should issue a ruling before the end of the year, since the hearing was held May 14 and the court now is considering the matter, he said. Depending on how this case plays out, many of these other cases might disappear, especially if the ruling favors State Farm, Hansen concluded.
PPG Automotive Refinish has introduced the Cycle Time Management course. This course teaches a host of valuable techniques aimed at speeding up the “cycle time”of a shop’s repair process from the time the order is placed to final delivery.
“A technician can achieve high productivity, but cycle time and production are two different things. If the process surrounding production is not efficient, then the turnover time is greatly affected,” said Dave Mitchum, PPG development manager who created the process and tested it in the field. “The principles of the class, if applied, can reduce cycle time significantly. The faster you can move vehicles through the shop increases cash flow, reduces inventory and allows a shop to have more capacity and get more business.”
Mark Quiroz, general manager of Colorado Coach Autobody in Boulder, Colorado, who participated in the initial class and field test commented, “The insurance companies with direct repair programs were concerned about our cycle time. Now we’ve moved from their worst shop to their best shop. Jobs that used to take us 6 or 7 days can now be completed in 3 to 4 days. We’ve been able to work through our backlog and can now increase our business.”
The class is designed for shop owners, managers and key personnel, with the overall aim of improving throughput, leading to increased profitability and customer satisfaction. Special focus is devoted to how to best implement a “quick repair” process by modifying existing administrative and production processes.
“A number of favorable outcomes occur when the time to repair a vehicle decreases. Costs decline, quality improves, and sales opportunities increase – all as a result of improvements in cycle time management,” said Bill Troyer, PPG director of operations. “The advantage we have with this process is the concept will work in almost any shop configuration.”
The one-day course covers streamlining administrative time, scheduling to maximize repair capacity, segmenting jobs by type and size of repair, and organization of vehicle disassembly. The course also covers how to blueprint jobs for error free repairs and how to develop work teams to speed repair time.
The class is available at PPG’s 18 state-of-the-art training centers across North America and is taught by industry experts in the MVP program from PPG.
o
Travelers Property Casualty Corp. has purchased the renewal rights to Royal & SunAlliance USA's commercial lines national accounts, middle market and marine businesses, and standard and preferred personal lines businesses.
Effective immediately, Travelers will begin the preparation for offering renewal policies to Royal & SunAlliance's customers, agents and brokers for these targeted lines of business, subject to Travelers underwriting guidelines.
According to a press release, the benefits of this transaction include:
- An attractive purchase price.
- An ability to acquire up to approximately $1.5 billion in new net written premiums.
- Accretive to earnings in 2004 and provides incremental net income of approximately $50 to $60 million in 2005.
- Expanded distribution network in Personal Lines of a potential 500 new agents, to complement the 6,500 personal lines agents offering standard and preferred products.
- Expanded presence in Commercial Lines.
"This transaction is consistent with our strategy of supplementing internal growth through selected acquisitions that complement our core businesses," said Robert I. Lipp, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Royal & SunAlliance's accounts are a great fit with ours, and we believe that their customers, agents and brokers will consider this an excellent opportunity to align themselves with Travelers....
"Over the years, we have been very successful in acquiring and integrating books of business through renewal rights transactions. Our success is based on our ability to only write business that meets our underwriting standards and to achieve economies of scale by leveraging our claims handling, policy support centers, technology and infrastructure platforms," said Lipp.
The purchase price will consist of a minimum payment of $25 million, with a potential additional payment estimated to be in the range of $35 million to $40 million.
Travelers Property Casualty is the second largest writer of homeowners and auto insurance through independent agents.
The Coordinating Committee for Automotive Repair (CCAR) has announced that its S/P2 online training in Safety and Pollution Prevention, introduced in January 2002, has surpassed 100,000 tests completed.
CCAR established S/P2 as an online training program to address the key safety and pollution prevention issues for professionals working in automotive service and collision repair. CCAR also offers S/P2 free of charge to automotive training programs at career/ vocational schools and community colleges, and more than 850 school programs and 62,000 students across the country now have access to the S/P2 curriculum.
CCAR developed S/P2 training over a two-year period in concurrence with U.S. EPA and OSHA standards, which require that shop personnel (and automotive students) be trained before starting work and at least annually on safety and environmental regulations. CCAR operates the National Environmental Compliance Assistance Center for Auto Repair, “CCAR-GreenLink,” in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“Safety and Pollution Prevention education are crucial to efficiencies and costs in shops, in addition to the legal requirements,” said Robert G. Stewart, CCAR President. “Managers, front-line technicians and students must be safe and aware of the environmental issues before they enter the workplace, and S/P2 represents a standardized means to provide this important training.”
CCAR, a 501(c)(3) organization, provides S/P2 free of charge to any not-for-profit school. The program tracks students, grades tests and is constantly updated with federal and state laws. The business version of S/P2 is available for a $299 annual subscription per facility.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Western District of Texas upheld, Case # 02-50721, a district court ruling denying a motion by Allstate to prevent a suit by six non-Caucasian Allstate policyholders alleging racially discriminatory pricing practices on the part of Allstate. The suit is expected to be a class action based on federal civil rights statutes.
Allstate attorneys had hoped, under provisions of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, to obtain a ruling precluding application of federal anti-discriminatory laws to the case. The McCarran-Ferguson Act in general leaves insurance regulation to the state.
The appeals court found that "(1) When federal law does not directly conflict with state regulation, and (2) when application of the federal law would not frustrate any declared state policy or interfere with a State's administrative regime, the McCarran-Ferguson Act does not preclude its application."
Appellees are six non-Caucasian Allstate policyholders. They allege that "Allstate uses a 'credit-scoring system' to target non-Caucasian customers for the sale of more expensive insurance policies than those directed at Caucasian customers."
SMART Human Resource Management, a seminar offered by DuPont Performance Coating, has been accredited by the Automotive Management Institute (AMI). Those completing the course will receive 16 credits toward the Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) designation, which requires a total of 120 credits.
AMI is sponsored by the Automotive Service Association.
SMART HR, completely revised for 2003, examines the underlying motivation of people and the variables that drive productivity. It also examines the keys to putting a system in place that defines company expectations, responsibilities, standards and guiding principles.
The one-day seminar teaches employers how to attract and retain superior employees, how to gain trust and improve staff morale, and how to improve communications with customers and employees.
Other SMART seminars are SMART Estimating, SMART Cycle Time, and SMART Money-Millennium Edition. All SMART seminars are aimed at collision center owners, general managers, assistant managers, production managers and human resource managers, and jobber owners and managers.
Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (PAG) has appointed Gregory J. Houfley, CPA, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer effective September 15, 2003.
Houfley joined Penske Corporation in September 1994 as Corporate Tax Director and was promoted to Vice President, Finance in October 2000. Prior to joining Penske Corporation, he was Senior Manager, Tax Services at Deloitte & Touche in Detroit.
PAG, based in El Monte, California is a subsidiary of Penske Corporation. The Group sells more than 44,000 vehicles annually and includes Longo Toyota in El Monte, CA, its flagship store and the #1 retail automotive dealership in the world; Longo Lexus in El Monte, CA; Penske Motorcars (Mercedes-Benz) and Penske Jaguar and Aston Martin, both in West Covina, CA; Penske Honda in Ontario, CA; and Lexus Stevens Creek in San Jose, CA. The Group will open its seventh store, Toyota of Rancho Santa Margarita, in the spring of 2004.
The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has announced the affiliation of the Massachusetts Auto Body Association (MABA), known throughout the industry for its dedication to legislative change on behalf of collision repairers and their customers.
Founded in 1950, MABA is a statewide association with four regional chapters. Out of its 250 members, approximately 80 percent are collision repair professionals. The primary focus of MABA is to provide members with the information, advocacy and benefits they need to compete successfully in the collision repair industry. This includes having a presence at legislative and regulatory meetings and solid relationships with regulators, the legislature and the media.
“We were searching for a conduit that would help us function more effectively on a national level,” said MABA President Rob DelGallo. “One of our members, Chad Sulkala, is a SCRS National Director, and he pointed out the similarities SCRS and MABA shared in their approach to problem solving.”
From SCRS’ perspective, MABA’s reputation as a group providing leadership, courage and a willingness to resolve industry conflicts made them a natural fit.
“MABA stands out as an organization because they’re an assertive group doing what it takes to raise the standards of our industry,” stated Lou DiLisio, SCRS Chairman. “They’ve earned respect on a national level and for good reason: they’re progressive and not afraid to take a stand. We welcome them as a valued addition to SCRS.”
ALLETE, Inc. has announced that Cheryl Munce has been named president of ADESA Impact, ALLETE’s total loss vehicle remarketing company based in Indianapolis. Munce is currently president of ADESA Impact’s sister company in Canada, Impact Canada. She succeeds Warren Byrd, who will assist during the management transition.
“With over 20 years of experience in the automotive industry, Cheryl is uniquely qualified to help us grow the total loss vehicle business,” said Dave Gartzke, ALLETE President, Chairman and CEO.
Munce joined Impact Canada in 1996 as Director of Business Development. During that time, operations in Canada expanded into 12 locations in six provinces and Impact Canada’s sales volume increased by approximately 250 percent.
ADESA Impact operates 29 total loss recovery auctions in North America specializing in the sale of salvage vehicles.
ALLETE’s corporate headquarters are located in Duluth, Minnesota. ALLETE’s holdings include ADESA, the second largest wholesale vehicle auction network in North America.
Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Corp. (SWAFC) has opened a new branch in Dallas, Texas.
According to a company press release, the new location will allow SWAFC to expand its presence by servicing customers in the North Dallas area.
Joshua Stauffer will be the Branch Operations Manager for this location. Rob Gerd will serve as Area Operations Manager, and Scott Pritt, Area Sales Manager, will be responsible for the sales and market share growth of this market.
“Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes’ Branch Operations team strategically placed this location to provide the best possible service to collision repair facilities in the Northern Dallas region,” said Stauffer. “I am honored to have been chosen to manage this location, and I am pleased to serve our customers in this area.”
Other locations opened earlier this year include Mobile, Ala.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Albany, N.Y.; and Florence, Ky.
CCAR-GreenLink, the National Environmental Compliance Assistance Center for Auto Repair, is currently conducting an online user survey at the CCAR-GreenLink website.
Operated by the Coordinating Committee for Automotive Repair [CCAR] in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CCAR-GreenLink is recognized as a leading source of environmental compliance and pollution prevention information for the automotive industry.
The online survey takes only a few minutes to complete and asks users to rate CCAR-GreenLink’s current features and suggest ways to improve its usefulness in providing compliance assistance and information to the auto repair sector. As an added incentive, individuals completing the CCAR-GreenLink survey may register to win a drawing for a $150 gift certificate from Amazon.com.
“We encourage everyone from frequent visitors to first-time users to complete the survey,” said Sean Ochester, CCAR-GreenLink Environmental Specialist. “We’re always looking for ideas and suggestions on how to improve and expand our services.”
Established in 1994, CCAR’s more than 200 affiliates represent all segments of the automotive service and collision repair industry, including vehicle manufacturers and dealers, national automotive chains and local repair shops, and colleges and universities that offer training in automotive service and collision repair.
Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc., a provider of automotive salvage and claims processing services in the United States, has announced preliminary financial results for the third quarter of 2003. The company will report a small loss for the quarter and expects similar results for the fourth quarter.
"Our third quarter volumes were lower than expected on a same store basis, consistent with the trend we saw in the second quarter," said Tom O'Brien, CEO.
He noted that the overall decline in volume and the higher than projected costs of implementing a new IT operating system were the primary causes for the decline in year-over-year earnings results.
Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc., founded in 1982, currently has 74 sites across the United States.
The Automotive Management Institute (AMI) and the Automotive Service Association (ASA) have jointly announced that Kris Story is the recipient of this year's Emil Stanley Merit Award. The award honors Emil Stanley, publisher of Automotive Body Repair News (ABRN) until his death in 1989. Stanley was committed to strengthening the professionalism of the collision repair industry through education.
Story is the vice president of operations for Story Bros., Inc., in New Britain, Conn. Her grandfather started the business more than 50 years ago and she has been involved for the past nine years. She is currently working on the requirements to earn the Institute's Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM) designation and ASE's service writer certification in the spring.
Story will receive complimentary registration, air transportation and hotel accommodations to attend NACE 2003, Dec. 4-7, in Orlando.
"I am very honored to have been chosen as the recipient of this year's Emil Stanley Merit Award. I know how important education is, not only for me, but also for the improvement of my shop. This is a tremendous opportunity to learn not only from the classes, but from my peers," said Story.
The Emil Stanley award is made possible by a grant from ASA to EXCEL, AMI's resource development program.
CCC Information Services Inc., a supplier of information and technology software and services to the auto claims and collision repair industries, has been named to Deloitte & Touche's prestigious Technology Fast 50 Program for Chicagoland, a ranking of the 50 fastest growing technology companies in the area by Deloitte & Touche LLP, one of the nation's leading professional services firms. Rankings are based on the percentage of growth in fiscal year revenues over five years, from 1998-2002.
CCC's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Githesh Ramamurthy, credited an increased concentration on areas of core competency and a new wave of advanced products for the company's continuous growth from 1998-2002. CCC's profit growth continues to accelerate. Between 1998 and 2002, earnings per share increased from breakeven to $0.84 cents per share.
"To succeed during prosperous times is one thing; to succeed in adversity is much more challenging, and that's exactly what the Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 50 winners have done," said Gerald P. Sullivan, lead industry partner, technology, media & telecommunications. "We applaud CCC for its tremendous accomplishments during economically challenging times and for being one of the elite Fast 50 companies in Chicagoland."
To qualify for the Technology Fast 50, companies must have had revenues of at least $50,000 in 1998 and $1 million in 2002; must be public or private companies headquartered in North America; and be a "technology company" defined as owning proprietary technology that contributes to a significant portion of the company's operating revenues; and/or devoting a significant proportion of revenues to research and development of technology.
Winners of the 20 regional Technology Fast 50 programs in the United States and Canada are automatically entered in the Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 500 program, which ranks North America's top 500 fastest growing technology companies.
CCC Information Services Inc., headquartered in Chicago, serves more than 20,000 collision repair facilities, 350 insurance companies, and a range of industry participants.
Feedback
Have a comment about this article? Send Email to Editor, INSIGHT's Editor
©2003 Collision Repair Industry INSIGHT
All Rights Reserved
FEATURED
LINKS:
INSIGHT Supports the NABC!
Do You?