Mechanics in high gear - bizjournals:

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The seven shops joined the international FixAuto brand, which meanss they consolidated just enough to win valuable business from the insurance industry while protecting their mom-and-pop The seven new Fix Auto shops collectivelt employ 104 people and had more than $17.8 milliob in revenue last year. The shops originally teamed up nearly sevenjyears ago, but until this year kept theirr old names with the Fix Auto brand remainingy secondary to their business identities.
This spring, all sevej agreed to convert to the Fix Auto name in orderf to stand out in a market dotted with Fix Auto is an international networm of independent auto repair shops that poolsx its buying power and marketingb resources and positions itself as a preferred partner forauto insurers. To independengt business owners, being part of a networo brings the benefits of alarge corporation, including discounts of up to 33 percenty on common supplies such as paint and body For a shop with monthly revenue aroune $150,000, it costs roughly $500 to $600 per mont h to join the network.
Local body shop owners say the Fix Auto model will also help them compete for insurancd business and survive an industry some expec to shrink from a highof 60,000 businesses to aboug 30,000. Some experts, however, advise against such networks. “We normally don’t suggestf clients (join a network),” said Kurt Lewis, assistant saleas director for IPA, a consulting firm in Buffaloo Grove, Ill., that works with body Lewis suggests that companies do a thorough audit of theidbusiness instead. Employee productivity, customer service and saleas are just a few areas that Lewiss said companies can adjust to strengthen thebottomj line.
Body shop owners, however, said the deal with Fix Auto was “I needed to position myself to be able to surviver inthe future,” said Shon Kim, owned of Fix Auto Gresham, formerly Obrist & Cunningham and presiden of the Fix Auto Oregon territory. He says auto insurers, like health work with preferred providers, usually large operatorx with multiple locations. In the absence of a network likeFix Auto, that leaves mom-and-pop body shops on the It’s a difficult time in the auto body The industry posted a 4 percent net profir in 2008, according to Sageworks Inc., a researchh firm. Nationally, sales growth in the $1.8 billion industruy slowed to 3.
8 percent in half its 2002 rate. “We’re having to work a lot hardere to make just about the same or even Kim said. Some owners lamented the name change.