Autobody News: Friendly Chevrolet Uses Mobile Environmental Solutions to Stay Chummy With Mother Nature

Carlsbad, CA, January 24, 2017 (Newswire.com) - ​​As EPA and OSHA regulations become increasingly stringent, it’s important for collision repair facilities to invest in greener equipment and processes in order to stay compliant. Friendly Chevrolet Collision Center in Dallas, TX took a large step in environmental conscientiousness in December 2015 when the shop decided to purchase a portable paint booth from Mobile Environmental Solutions.

Brent Pound, director at Friendly Chevrolet Collision Center, purchased a 23 by 15 foot inflatable work station because “I took our used vehicle recon in-house, and I realized that I needed to keep this business separate from my daily paint operation. Mobile Environmental Solutions’ portable paint booth has been really great and done the job, allowing us to open a whole new source of revenue."

Friendly Chevrolet Collision Center also generates revenue through their Quick Repair program, which allows them to sell fast turn repairs to service department customers. The facility employs 20 industry professionals who repair an average of 250 vehicles each month. The shop participates in three DRPs with DRP work encompassing about 40% of their repair volume. The GM certified collision repair facility is also certified for aluminum repair and welding, and in addition to being an I-CAR Gold Class facility, the shop’s technicians and estimators are I-CAR Platinum certified.

Boasting 30,000 square feet of production space, Friendly Chevrolet Collision Center uses the best equipment available, including a Car-O-Liner frame machine with electronic measuring and printing, Hunter wheel alignment and suspension equipment, and three Blowtherm paint booths. When it came to incorporating the use of the Mobile Environmental Solutions' portable workstation into the shop’s daily operations, Pound said, “This was my first venture with this type of set-up, but I really think we got it right the first time.”

“It was always going to be a learning experience, a work in progress, so it was no surprise that adjustments needed to be made along the way," Pound explained. "However, the evolution of our process has been relatively smooth, and the response from Mobile Environmental Solutions’ customer service department has been nearly immediate every time I’ve needed help. My crew is thrilled with the product. On average, they spray about 100 vehicles per month, and the booth does a great job!”

Friendly Chevrolet Collision Center definitely understands the need to maintain a healthy relationship with the environment, and the shop recycles materials in addition to spraying with PPG’s Envirobase paints. Mobile Environmental Solutions’ portable paint booth aids with environmental compliance as well; the booth’s exhaust filters exceed the 98% capture efficiency and uses advanced technology airflow with positive pressure cross flow filtration. The booths are EPA certified and OSHA airflow compliant, and they comply with NFPA’s 701 rule. Offered in a variety of sizes, Mobile Environmental Solutions’ products are designed to promote efficiency and profitability.

Friendly Chevrolet also maintains close ties to their local community, sponsoring baseball, softball and soccer teams as well as participating in toy and food drives to provide for the less fortunate.

The Friendly Chevrolet Dealership and Collision Center is owned by Mark Eddins and has garnered customer loyalty through a devotion to providing superior customer service. In the 1950s, Roy Eddins worked his way up to management position at a Dodge dealership in Memphis, TN, and in 1956, he relocated his family to Dallas to manage a failing Dodge dealership that he turned around in just two months. Becoming part owner in 1960, Eddins relocated Hutton-Eddins Dodge next to a new dealership, Friendly Chevrolet, and in 1965, his 14-year-old son Mark began working with him in the parts department at Hutton-Eddins.

When Friendly Chevrolet became troubled in 1970, Eddins and Hutton purchased the dealership that thrived under Eddins' leadership and commitment to customer service. Mark Eddins worked his way up to General Manager at Friendly Chevrolet by 1979, promoting growth through the 1980s before moving the facility to its current location in 1998, which helps ensure that Friendly Chevrolet continues to be one of the largest and most dynamic Chevrolet dealerships in the U.S.

Discussing the things that make Friendly Chevrolet Collision Center stand out from the competition, Pound pointed out, “We are family-owned, so we don’t have to contend with any corporate bureaucracy, plus we are a fairly young shop with the average age of our technicians being under 35. We also invest heavily in training and equipment, and over the last few years, we have completely retooled the shop. Friendly Chevrolet Collision Center also offers commercial and medium duty truck repair, deductible financing, and complete mechanical and diagnostic capabilities.

Noting that current collision repair industry trends center around vehicle complexity, Pound identified three key areas: new vehicle structural materials, new repair techniques, and vehicle integrated electronic systems. He also expressed concerns with the idea that “Unfortunately, far too many insurance representatives do not write comprehensive estimates for fear of being penalized by their supervisors. They write estimates that keep themselves out of trouble, rather than estimates that reflect the true scope of damage. Supplements are therefore obligatory and costly.”

Looking to the industry’s future, Pound predicted “Further advancements in repair methods as we see extensive vehicle complexity and technology.”

Company At A Glance​
​Friendly Chevrolet Collision Center
Dallas, TX
(214) 920-1908
www.friendlycollision.com

Type: Dealership Collision Center
Number of Employees: 20
In Business Since: 1956
Number of DRPs: 3
Number of Locations: 1
Combined Production Space: 30,000 square feet

Mobile Environmental Solutions
1150 McCaleb Road, Suite E-1
Montgomery, TX 77316
(281) 786-4584
(888) 321-1320
www.mobileenvironmentalsolutions.com

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Source: Autobody News