You can’t have a dilapidat- ed car to be an Uber driver, many people do still drive and take pride in their cars.” “Our industry isn’t going

away, but how we do it may change and profit centers will be different,” noted Robert- son.

Other notable comments mentioned in the roundtable session were:

“The fastest growing seg- ment of salvage automobiles coming to auto recyclers is 16 years and older. Higher aver-

age auto ages will grow 30 percent in the next 3 years.” “Body shops and their processes are going to change, and we have to adapt.” “Back in the day, if you linked with insurance com- panies, you could not be successful. Now it seems its linked to OEMs, we have to create opportunity there or we will have issues.”

“With misguided OEM statements, it seems certifi- cation programs from CAR to ISO, etc., to certify the

parts is the possible future? This is no small task…” That comment triggered refer- ences to the Texas auto body shop that recently was held liable for not following “OEM prepared procedures” to the tune of a $40 million-dollar judgement. “It’s all about money and making money, closing down non-profitable areas in our businesses.”

At the end of the lengthy two-hour session, while the work still continues on these

issues and others, the general sense of pride and unity felt in the room lingered throughout the convention. Voicing common concerns and discussing possible proactive solutions invigorated attendees, and mod- erators Nordstrom and Robertson hope it also creates more opportunity for a unified, healthy, and growing membership.

Caryn Smith is the editor of the Automotive Recycling mag- azine.

ARA’s CEO Michael E. Wilson addresses

auto recyclers’ concerns during the Roundtable Discussion.

AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLING • March-April 2018

39