Retrenchment

Our feature article this month reminds me of a word my father loved to use that he had discovered in a Reader’s Digest vocabulary quiz: retrenchment, meaning a cutting back of expenses. With three teen-agers in the house, he may well have been feeling closer to the old meaning of retrenchment: the inner barricade in Medieval France behind which soldiers retreated if the enemy broke through the outer fortification.

At any rate, in a shrinking Collision Repair Industry marketplace, the wise collision repair facility manager must study every shop expense and each cost and look for sensible and reasonable ways to cut back.

Care, of course, must be taken when cutting back. Ruthless paring of employees’ compensation and benefits can result in a mass exodus of competent, hard-to-replace people. It also goes without saying that quality of repair should never be sacrificed to save a few dollars.

Anyone who grew up in the Great Depression can remind us all to get on a sensible budget by examining every business expense and asking: Do I need this? Can I negotiate a better deal? How will I pay for this?

On a larger scale of retrenchment, our industry paint manufacturers and suppliers are seeing financial improvement in 2005 after implementing, and consistently sticking to, cost containment plans over the past few years.

BASF’s North American restructuring, as of year-end, has achieved annual cost savings of $175 million. (See the full story on page 3.)

The generosity of our Collision Repair Industry, despite difficult economic conditions in many markets, is, as always, remarkable. TeamUSA will have Bodie Smith and Nicolaus Ranker competing in Collision Repair contests at the World Skills Competition in May because this industry cares. (See story on page 11.) The Collision Industry Foundation (CIF) is confident that individuals in the industry will add to its support of an I-CAR triathlete’s worthy cause. (See page 17 for details.)

We all know people in our industry whose generosity is amazing. Let the NABC know about them. The NABC is calling for PRIDE Award nominations. (See page 13.)