WGRReports_RepairNews, AGRR, January-February 2011

Volume 13, Issue 1 - January-February 2011

WGR Reports
repair news

Association News
Wanstrath Elected President of National Windshield Repair Association
Glass Technology president Kerry Wanstrath was elected president of the National Windshield Repair Association (NWRA) during a meeting of the association’s board of directors in October.

“I believe the NWRA is going to focus on promoting the successes of the association and lobbying on behalf of the small independent glass shops to allow them to utilize repair to their benefit and the consumer’s benefit,” Wanstrath told AGRR magazine in a recent interview.

He also hopes to work more directly with the association’s membership.

“I would like to see us re-establish a credible line of communication with our root base of customers—small shops and small independents in the repair and replacement business,” he says. “[I want to] try to lobby on their behalf.”

Wanstrath succeeds Mike Boyle of Glass Mechanix.

In addition to Wanstrath’s election as president, the NWRA held elections for its board of directors during its annual meeting on November 30. Keith Beveridge, senior vice president of NOVUS Inc., and Wes Walker, who owns a Glass Doctor franchise in Opelousas, La., both were re-elected to their seats on the board. Rich Campfield, president of Ultra Bond in Grand Junction, Colo., also was elected to the board.

All were elected by unanimous vote.

See Wanstrath’s first column as NWRA president in AGRR™ on page 36.

COMPANY NEWS
Delta Kits Inc. Launches Windshield Repair and Replacement Referral Website
Delta Kits Inc. has launched a referral website at www.windshieldreferral.com. The site focuses on independent windshield repair businesses.

“Windshield repair technicians, specifically independents, have not had a good place to advertise. Our goal is to provide Internet visibility for windshield repair technicians while giving their customers a resource for finding technicians in their local area,” says company president Brent Deines.

WindshieldReferral.com provides free listings for windshield repair and replacement businesses; tools to solicit customer feedback; customized listings to accurately describe a business; and a preferential listing for certified technicians and shops, all in a user-friendly site design.

KUDOS
Novus, SuperGlass and Glass Doctor Named to 2011 Franchise 500 List
Several industry companies have again ranked on the annual Franchise 500 list for 2011. These include Novus Glass, Glass Doctor and SuperGlass.

Novus Glass was ranked No. 65 on the list, up from No. 89 on the 2010 list. The company also was listed as No. 68 for fastest-growing franchises, No. 15 for low-cost franchises, No. 17 for top home-based franchises and No. 56 for top global franchises. Novus was founded in 1972 and has been franchising since 1985. The company currently has 223 U.S. franchisees, 120 Canadian, 1,272 foreign and ten company-owned.

Orlando, Fla.-based SuperGlass Windshield Repair also was on the rise—ranked No. 161, up from its No. 191 ranking in 2010. SuperGlass also ranked No. 33 for low-cost franchises, No. 44 for top home-based franchises and No. 127 for America’s top global franchises. Founded in 1992, the company has been franchising since 1993 and has franchisees throughout the world—including 244 in the United States, two in Canada and 18 foreign, including locations such as South Africa, Spain, France and Germany.

Glass Doctor® moved up to No. 167. The company was ranked No. 240 in 2010, No. 277 in 2009 and No. 312 in 2008. The company also ranked No. 97 among fastest-growing franchises, and No. 132 among America’s top global franchises. The Waco, Texas-based company was founded in 1962 and has been franchising since 1981. It currently has 178 U.S. franchisees and 10 Canadian.

The Franchise 500 list is created based on a number of factors, including financial strength and stability, growth rate and size of the company’s franchising system, according to Entrepreneur. The publication also considers the number of years a company has been in business, the amount of time that has passed since it began franchising, start-up costs, litigation, termination percentages and whether the company offers financing to its franchisees.