ASA Legislative Analyst Ben Sharp interviews ASA Chairman Scott Benavidez on latest developments in the industry on the sidelines of MSO Symposium.

In this ASA podcast episode, Scott Benavidez, AMAM, sits down with ASA Legislative Associate Ben Sharp on the sidelines of the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in Indianapolis to discuss ASA’s new policy position statement on compensation for time spend researching OEM repair procedures. Scott is the Chairman of ASA’s Board of Directors and owner of Mr. B’s Paint and Body Shop Inc. in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Dan Stander is the General Manager at Fix Auto Highlands Ranch in Littleton, Colorado. He also currently serves the Automotive Service Association as a General Director and serves ASA Colorado as the Collision President. This episode is sponsored by Mail Shark

I am so excited to be welcoming John Firm to the show today. John Firm is an ASA Member in Fort Worth, Texas and owns Firm Automotive. He also currently serves the Automotive Service Association as the Mechanical Division Operations Director. Firm Automotive has been in business for over 37 years and they're known as the go-to crew for diesel and gasoline fleet repair in North Texas. John shares a little more of his background, how Firm Automotive has withstood a few stock market crashes, an...

I am so excited to be welcoming Brandon to the show today. Brandon Mehdizadeh is the General Manager at LaMettry's Collision-in Minnetonka. He also currently serves the Automotive Service Association as the Collision Division Operations Director. Listen in as Brandon shares: His path to General Manager and the culture they're building,What the ASA Collision Division Operations Committee is working on, andHow he knew it was time to serve the industry in a greater capacity. This episode of the...

I am so excited to be welcoming Al Oramas, President Pro Auto Care, in Colorado to the show today. Since 1992, Pro Auto Care has been providing the highest quality auto repair services in the Denver metro area. At Pro Auto Care, they believe in serving the community and building a family culture at both their Denver and Littleton locations. Join us as Al shares: How both of his small businesses give back to their local communities and help make a difference for many of the local non-profit o...

Mark T. Allen joined Audi of America as the Collision Programs and Workshop Equipment Manager in August of 2011, responsible for the collision program, electric vehicle service strategy and workshop equipment for Audi. Mark’s 44-year career in the automotive industry has spanned various areas including collision, insurance, parts, machinist and equipment repair and sales. Mark holds and B.S. in Marketing/Management from Ramapo College of N.J. and is a long-term member of the Soc...

In this episode, we welcome Jeff Buckley, ASA Member from Midlothian, Texas. Jeff is the owner of My Father’s Shop and he is helping lead efforts to give back to high schools around the nation. Most recently, he has donated five vehicles to the automotive program at Vanguard High School in Mesquite, Texas to help automotive instructors train their students. But it isn't all about the vehicles. Jeff also shares how his work started with high schools and several ideas that other...

Episode 114 – What’s Now, What’s New and What’s Next at the ASA Podcast In this episode, we pass the microphone to the next generation as Kathryne Buckley-Tessem assumes her role as Director of Industry Relations and the new host of the ASA Podcast. This will be Tony Molla’s last episode as he moves into retirement and introduces Kathryne with an in-depth interview covering her new duties with the association and the plans for the future of the ASA Podcast, Wednesday Webinars and much more! L...

Episode 113 – Meet Mary Steele, Regional Executive Director of ASA Southeast Region The Automotive Service Association (ASA) recently announced a significant change to their business model, moving to a regional structure and a lower-cost, subscription-based dues model. As of one of the oldest National Associations representing independent mechanical and collision repair shops in the U.S. evolves to meet the challenges of our rapidly-changing industry, new Regional Executive Director positions...

The Automotive Service Association (ASA), in partnership with the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, presents the 8th annual Technology and Telematics Forum as a monthly podcast series. Listen to the first episode in this series, entitled “A Changing Fleet”, featuring industry experts Wayne Weikel and Bob Redding discussing the future of electric vehicles, the legislative and regulatory status of electric vehicle implementation, and the investments of auto manufacturers and independent repai...

Episode 111 – Meet Mike McManus, Regional Executive Director of ASA Great Lakes Region The Automotive Service Association (ASA) recently announced a significant change to their business model, moving to a regional structure and a lower-cost, subscription-based dues model. As of one of the oldest National Associations representing independent mechanical and collision repair shops in the U.S. evolves to meet the challenges of our rapidly-changing industry, new Regional Executive Director positi...

Episode 110 – Julie Massaro Named Regional Executive Director of ASA Mountain Region Julie Massaro is currently the Executive Director of the ASA Colorado Affiliate, but all that’s about to change. ASA recently announced a significant change to their business model, moving from a affiliate-based structure to a regional structure, as of one of the oldest National Associations representing independent mechanical and collision repair shops in the U.S. evolves to meet the challenges of our rapidl...

Episode 109 – The Joy of Hiring Maylan Newton of Educational Seminars Institute (ESi) is a well-known speaker and business coach with a lifetime of automotive industry experience. He’s also known for providing business tips and real-world experience to educate shop owners on best practices to enhance the success of their business. He’s also an author and his latest book, The Joy of Hiring takes the mystery and fear out of the most stressful and anxiety-inducing activity all business owners an...

Episode 108 – Remembering Bob Greenwood On Thursday, September 9th, the automotive service industry lost one of its most visionary business development trainers when Bob Greenwood passed away suddenly at the young age of 71. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bob’s family at this most difficult time, and we hope they find comfort in the outpouring of sympathy from the many in our industry who were mentored and had their lives touched by Bob’s wit and wisdom. We interviewed Bob on O...

Episode 107 - MSO Symposium Celebrates 10th Anniversary The MSO Symposium is an annual event hosted by the Automotive Service Association. It’s content is directed by many of the most experienced, high-growth executives from the leading Multi-Shop Operations, or MSOs in the automotive collision repair industry. Focal points of the event include opportunities to learn from industry peers, acquire knowledge from field experts on trends and topics that influence the collision repair business, an...

Episode 106 – HEV’s and BEV’s: You’re Probably More Ready Than You Think There are few individuals outside of the engineering community that know hybrid-electric vehicles as well as Craig Van Battenburg. As the founder and owner of Automotive Career Development Center (ACDC), Craig is acknowledged as one of the foremost experts on hybrid-electric (HEV) and battery-electric (BEV) diagnosis, service and repair. For the past 20 years, he’s been training shop owners and technicians on what they n...

Episode 105 – ASA Past Chairman Makes A Difference Bob Wills is the owner of Wills Auto Service in Battlecreek, Michigan. He’s also an Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM), past chairman of ASA and someone who has given much to the automotive service industry he loves. Bob recently ended his term as Chairman of the Automotive Service Association (ASA) and announced his retirement. As one of the cadre of baby boomers deciding that it’s time to pass the torch to the next generation, we thought i...

Episode 104 – Electrification: The Next Step With rising concerns of environmental change and the continuing advance of technology, there’s been a lot of talk lately about the impact of electrification and what it means to the average automotive repair business. This episode begins our exploration of what’s now and what’s next in electric powertrains as we talk with Tony Mossuto, owner of Everything Automotive in Jacksonville, Florida. Tony’s shop has been providing hybrid vehicle servi...

Episode 103 – Protect Your Business from the Growing Threat of Ransomware In response to a growing number of ransomware and other cybersecurity attacks, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), together with federal partners, have launched StopRansomware.gov, a website created to combat the threat of ransomware. In this episode, Steven Shipe, Business Development Manager for DELL Computers discusses the threat of malware and ransomware, why it’s...