Volume 11, Issue 3 - May/June 2009
Volume 11, Issue 3 - May/June 2009
| Blast Off Many New Products to Launch at the Spring Auto Glass Show™ This year’s Spring Auto Glass Show™ will feature many new products—from glass, to software, to tools and more. Following is a sneak preview of the products that will be on display and the companies exhibiting them. The Spring Auto Glass Show is held in conjunction with the Independents’ Days Conference May 12-14 in Fort Myers, Fla. It is sponsored by the Independent Glass Association. (For more information, visit www.iga.org.) TOOLS The system was developed so that the technician can maintain complete physical and visual contact with the repair area. It also provides the technician with control as to when to cure the repair without removing the injector and exposing the repair to air. Since the Blue Wave is integrated with the injector and bridge, removal is not required during the curing process. The injector can be used during the curing process to produce pressure to hold the resin into the repair while it is being cured, the company notes. The Blue Wave curing system requires no external
power source and is completely portable. According to Glass Technology, it
will cure up to 15,000 repairs before UV light maintenance is needed. Speed Up with QuikSilver Take Along a Lilbuddy In addition, the system is designed so that it can be
lowered into the urethane without the need for removal of either suction
cup from the glass. ADHESIVES “Our new POWR Bond one-hour urethane windshield adhesive is a high-viscosity, non-conductive, super-fast-curing adhesive that meets or exceeds U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards,” says Gary Byrum, product manager. Byrum says the urethane is tack-free and offers a safe drive away time of one hour after only 10 minutes at temperatures as low as zero degrees Fahrenheit. The adhesive must be used with the company’s CRL One-Step Primer and is packaged in metal cartridges with wide-mouth nozzles. Take Advantage The adhesive requires heat of 15 minutes in a
standard cartridge oven, and provides a safe drive-away time of 60 minutes
in any temperature above 0 degrees Fahrenheit, and in any humidity
(including jobs involving cars with dual air bags). GLASS “We have a couple of main objectives,” says sales director Dennis Warlick. “Our first is to make sure the installer community knows there is a company whose primary focus is quality still offering glass to the market, and then secondly to acquaint everyone with some of the technology and innovations Saint-Gobain has developed over the years.” The company has warehouses and distribution
facilities around the world. Get Industrial
Quest to Focus on Software, Claims Handling The new system is designed to allow glass shop owners and operators to receive instant glass pricing and ordering capabilities automatically. Likewise, it’s designed to prevent technicians from having to call a service center, or visit multiple websites, to price glass parts. The system includes the ability to retrieve quotes and order parts from Pilkington North America, Mygrant, Pittsburgh Glass Works and all suppliers working on a Glaxis platform. “The software will query as many or as few suppliers as you set up and trade with,” says Rob Rust, national sales manager for the company. “It will also grab your lowest cost supplier and mark your product up from cost, saving you from calling a service center or opening multiple web browsers and searching for the correct parts and costs. It will order the correct glass, generate purchase orders and also schedule the job.” While Quest will be displaying its software, officials also will be talking with attendees about one of its lesser known offerings—its third-party administration arm. Rust notes that the company has something in common with attendees at the conference. “Quest Software Inc. truly is an independent third-party administrator,” he says. The company provides glass claims administration for several insurance companies, but does not operate its own network. “We do not own a network for glass,” says Terry Miller, president of the St. Johns, Mich.-based company. “When we take on a client, we actually create a network for that client that is specific to their needs.” Miller also stresses that the company, aside from its software solutions, also is independent of the auto glass industry—making the possibility of steering a non-issue. “Steering is not an issue at all with Quest,” he
says. “We don’t care who gets the work.”
SIKA also will showcase its new “No Shortcuts to
Safety” website, www.noshortcutstosafety.com, which features two
brothers, brothers, Mike and David, and their journey to replace Mike’s
broken windshield—and the lesson they learn about safety along the way. Mainstreet Promotes News Software Package,
Web Hosting In addition, the company has a web development arm,
which designs, hosts and optimizes websites. Mainstreet also can include
an online quoting feature in the sites it develops. If you’re looking for more information on the Independents’ Days Conference and Spring Auto Glass Show™, visit www.iga.org/independentsdays.php for a full schedule and exhibitor list.
AGRR |