AAR's premises in Chesterfield

Advance Accident Repairs’ 26 employees are celebrating being awarded the BSK Kitemark certification just 18 months after opening for business.

To gain the Kitemark, bodyshops must prove they conform to standards covering skills, repair methods, equipment and materials.

The Chesterfield-based independent car body repairer, which is part of the GK Group, boasts a 23,000 sq ft workshop and can undertake category A structural aluminium repair work.

Grenville Taylor, bodyshop manager, said: “We found the BSI Kitemark standards to be a very good template for establishing a repair process for a new business.

“We have continued to grow a business through the recession in a declining industry, which we take as an indication that even in a recession core values of quality repair and customer service are just as important and probably regarded as more valuable.”

(L to R) JMC’s Barrie Robinson and Stephen Lyons, Cassie, JMC owner John Cavill and Denso’s Alan Povey

J Motor Components enjoyed a visit from Denso girl Cassie as the winners of the supplier’s first monthly Win a Workout prize.

Cassie and Denso Aftermarket Sales UK training manager Alan Povey spent a morning at the Poole-based motor factor before visiting six of JMC’s garage customers to deliver product training.

JMC owner John Cavill said: “We’ve done many workouts over the years but this was by far the best.

“We had such a lot of positive feedback from the garages. They hit Alan with a barrage of questions and problems, and he solved every one!

“We’ve already put a date in the diary to do some more.”

The Win a workout prize is part of Denso’s recently launched Millionaire’s Club promotion.

Motor factors have until the end of March to register and build their order books, with the prospect of winning prizes ranging from a case of bubbly to F1 Grand Prix tickets.

More than 19k vehicles worth a total of £423m have been recovered using Tracker devices

South Yorkshire police hit gold when a homing device in a stolen Land Rover led them to a clutch of hot vehicles in the process of being stripped down by thieves.

Police on the trail of a stolen Land Rover tracked the vehicle using the TRACKER signal emitting from the stolen vehicle using the South Yorkshire police helicopter.

Officers on the ground then tracked the vehicle to the driveway of a private house under renovation.

Further searches of the property uncovered two more Land Rovers and a partially stripped Suzuki 650 motorcyle, all stolen.

PC Wood of the South Yorkshire police said: “If it hadn’t been for the TRACKER device fitted to the Land Rover we may well have not found that vehicle or the other stolen vehicles.

“One man has been arrested and our enquiries are on going.”

Daniel Cain, senior panel technician at Just Car Clinic, won the bronze medal in the 2009 WorldSkills championship

The competition that gives technicians the chance to show off their abilities in the world’s largest skills contest has received a funding boost after Castrol Professional and IMI Awards agreed to sponsor it.

The 2010 Skillauto competitions are conducted regionally in the UK and successful finalists have the opportunity to compete at an international level at WorldSkills.

Lesley Woolley, head of professional development at the IMI, said: “Having this valuable industry support is vital for ensuring the ongoing success of skill competitions in our sector.

“The achievements of the automotive competitors at the recent WorldSkills event in Canada last year demonstrated the successes Skillauto technicians can achieve on a world stage.”

The Skillauto competitions are run over three disciplines: autobody repair, car painting and light vehicle (service and maintenance).

The finals of all categories will take place in June.

80 new Halfords Autocentres will open in 3 years

Halfords has ramped up its share of the £9 billion car aftermarket by buying the UK’s largest independent service, repair and MOT chain.

The retail empire announced its £72.3 million purchase of Nationwide Autocentres from Phoenix Equity Partners to the city this morning.

Phoenix acquired Nationwide in February 2006 alongside the senior management team: Duncan Wilkes, CEO, Bull Duffy, COO, Andy Stevens, CFO and Mark Taylor, commercial director.

Since then, the chain’s turnover has increased by 30 percent to some £97 million and profitability is up by 75 percent.

Duncan Wilkes and Bill Duffy will now join Halfords with Nationwide.

Halfords already operates a bulbs, blades and batteries fitting service as well as a Scratch, Chip & Dent body repair service at its 446 retail outlets in the UK.

Its existing car maintenance portfolio together with cycling contributes some 60 percent of the company’s total revenues.

Halfords now takes ownership of Nationwide’s 224 workshops across the UK and will rebrand them Halfords Autocentres.

The company also plans to double the size of the network, with 80 new sites expected to open within the next three years.

It says the additional autocentres will create around 1000 new jobs.

David Wild, Halfords CEO, said the expansion into the car servicing and repair market is a logical move:

“Car maintenance is a large and highly attractive sector where there is increasing demand from motorists for reliable service at affordable prices.

“We have grown strongly in this market through the provision of expert advice and our “wefit” services, and Halfords Autocentres will complement our retail business closely.”

Team Klarius: David Cheetham, Tony Wilson, Andrew Jones and Paul Hannah

Exhaust and catalytic converter supplier Klarius has acquired Quinton Hazell for an undisclosed sum, the company announced this afternoon.

The company bought the £260 million turnover parts manufacturing firm outright, a spokesman told CAT magazine.

In addition to its existing brands, Klarius Group now controls:

• Quinton Hazell
• Lip (Lipmesa)
• Wix
• Commercial Ignition
• Krooklok
• Moprod

as well as the distribution of Wix (Big X in Germany) filter products and FTE Automotive products in Europe

Quinton Hazell is headquartered in Leicester, England, with manufacturing and distribution assets in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The purchase boosts the Klarius Group’s annual turnover to over £350million.

Further planned and as yet unnamed acquisitions could soon see its turnover accelerate to over half a billion Euros.

With the QH portfolio on board, Klarius says it now offers over 100,000 parts and has the ability to supply over 40,000 parts every day, to more than 5000 delivery points in 136 countries.

“This acquisition is ideal for both companies as Quinton Hazell products are largely complementary to the existing Klarius range – with very little crossover,” said Klarius chairman Tony Wilson.

Andrew Jones, Klarius Group MD, added: “We plan to optimise Quinton Hazell’s production and logistics facilities with the same lean manufacturing techniques that have proved so successful at Klarius.”

Chicane's Gary Barak and former launch editor John Stanton at the CAT Awards

The CAT Awards, held on January 22 at the Lensbury Hotel and Conference Centre, were not just a success for those companies and individuals lucky enough to win a prized trophy.

Industry charity BEN also benefited hugely.

In total, the 100 or so invited Awards attendees donated a very creditable £842.

CAT publisher Jim Foster commented: “We were delighted with this figure: especially seeing as we didn’t actually tell anyone in advance that they would be able to donate to BEN during the lunch!

“CAT will continue to support BEN in any way it can, including at the 2011 Awards where we will think up some kind of genius way to make more cash for them.

“I think our aim next year will be to smash the £1000 barrier.

“Maybe we could have a charity auction too, where people could bid for the services of key aftermarket individuals for a day… I wonder how much I would get for my services?!”

Foz & Butch in action... Foz: 'I once caught a carp that was THIS big!'

And so another CAT Awards event has ended.

Biased though I am, I have to say that it was a brilliant CAT Awards – the first time our Awards had been held as an event in its own right.

This marked a huge step up in significance from handing out a few prizes on the back of our stand at the Aftermarket Show, as had happened in previous years.

We now have an extension to the CAT brand platform that we can be justly proud of: and one that in my opinion will keep on growing.

Awards: The Benefits

There were many plusses to come from the luncheon ceremony. They included the following facts:

• Over 100 aftermarket personnel attended – we had great support from the trade
• They included decision makers from some of the industry’s biggest suppliers, buying groups and factors
• Eight Awards were presented, including six that were decided in their entirety by votes from CAT readers
• It marked the first time we included the ‘Lifetime Achievement’ and ‘Green Innovation’ categories
• We raised a total of £842 for BEN thanks to some most generous donations

The downside was that CAT had to feed everyone!

In my naivety, I had budgeted for about a 50-60% take-up on all the invitations I had sent out.

I sent out 120, expecting 60 or so people to say yes. As it happened, 100 people said yes! Which kind of blew my budget out of the water a little.

And created a few nervous moments in the days leading up to the Awards, as the maxmimum number the venue could cater for in our chosen room was 100.

But thanks to some late sponsorship support from Klarius, I managed to get together the extra cash I needed to pay for the whole thing, and generally speaking it all went off without a hitch.

Foz & Butch: The New Ant & Dec

Even the double act that was me and editor Emma Butcher (we did a joint compering job) went well – we seemed to bounce off each other pretty effectively.

So Ant and Dec had best watch out. Foz & Butch are the new double act in town. With Pinewood Studios next door, I wouldn’t be surprised if some TV producers come calling soon.

Seriously, what’s great about the CAT Awards is that they are so organic. What I mean by that is that they are the Aftermarket’s Awards – or your Awards.

CAT is the Aftermarket’s no.1, most established trade title. We’ve been going for over 30 years. Therefore when its 17,000 readers nominate their finalists and vote, people sit up and pay attention.

And this year our readers selected some awesome winners. You’ve probably all read about them by now anyway, but who can argue with Motaquip for Supplier of the Year? Or GMF as our top factor? Or the excellent ABP Motorsport as our top garage?

Or indeed the hard-working Jim Mazza, who as part of the Right to Repair Campaign has done so much for our industry.

UK Aftermarket: Pride

I think what the Awards also show is how innovative, strong, creative and friendly our industry is.

That there are some brilliant independent garages, businesses, suppliers and distributors out there that collectively are a credit to the IAM.

I for one am proud to be a part of it.

And I am proud to be a servant of it through CAT: the aftermarket’s longest-standing trade magazine, now with the aftermarket’s most prestigious Awards.

Make sure you nominate and vote for the 2011 Awards!

 Finally, a big thank you to the following people without whom none of the above would have been possible: 

• Sarah Hossack – Haymarket Events
• The CAT team
• John Stanton for a walk into Aftermarket history in his speech (which involved lots of booze stories!)
• All our sponsors – Haynes, Nulon, Klarius, ECP, Corteco, Denso, Motaquip and Castrol
• The Lensbury for its excellent service
• Everyone who contributed towards the goody bags – Nulon, UK Batteries, Saxon etc
• The Nulon girls – including Sun page 3 girl Katie Leigh - in their tight CAT suits!
• To the Aftermarket for its support. With your help, we can make these Awards something really special

We even had some page 3 girls... Courtesy of Start Ya Bastard!