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Fix Network Canada: Staying Resilient

Autosphere » Collision » Fix Network Canada: Staying Resilient
Sylvain seguin
Sylvain Seguin, Executive Vice President, Fix Network Canada, believes that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the automotive aftermarket and collision repair sectors have demonstrated resiliency and an innovative spirit in striving towards a better and brighter future. PHOTO Fix Network Canada

As the aftermarket industry gets back to business, Sylvain Seguin, Executive Vice President for Fix Network Canada, takes a closer look at the hits and misses of 2021 and shares his optimism for 2022.

If 2021 had been anything close to a normal year, the aftermarket industry would’ve been examining its learnings from the SEMA Show that took place in warmer Las Vegas last month, most likely reassured that the industry has a secure future.

This is a critical annual event where many look forward to during the important business interactions and the bonhomie of catching up with old colleagues from the industry.

Taking stock

Instead, this is far from a normal year, and increased health restrictions around COVID-19 meant that many Canadian body shop owners had no choice but to attend SEMA virtually.

Nevertheless, the four-day event did manage to provide a platform for the industry to take stock of how the pandemic has affected us and examine how we can survive the “new normal” in the months to come.

As a regular attendee, SEMA has always been an important opportunity for me to learn some of the new trends that could impact our business as well as share the new and exciting developments taking place at Fix Network with a larger, more global, audience.

As an organization, we have grown tremendously over the past four years and entered markets that we never imagined we could enter into before.

While the aftermarket industry demonstrated tremendous resilience and adaptability, I must admit that the unpredictability surrounding the pandemic did affect many of our best- laid plans, but it didn’t crush our spirit.

During this critical time when the aftermarket business was deemed as an essential service, we learned to be more agile, think smartly and collaborate closely, to ensure that our franchise partners and customers are never impacted negatively.

Higher demand for training

There are many more reasons to be cheerful about 2021.

Since the pandemic struck two years back, our franchisees have invested their time and effort to enrich the learnings of their technicians. Our training centres in Canada witnessed a higher demand for training from our franchise partners to teach their technicians how to repair the most modern vehicles.

Through a mix of virtual and in-person training, we have successfully ensured that our technicians are on top of their game.

At the same time, we have been working even more closely with the Automotive Industries Association (AIA) and I-CAR to ensure that our franchise partners are accredited, while maintaining and growing our relationship with OEMs to better understand and better position ourselves with OEM training and certification.

Innovating Ahead

Looking back on 2021 in retrospect, I believe that the aftermarket industry, in general, did a tremendous job of keeping up with the rapid technological innovations taking place in the automotive sector.

We adapted quickly as newer technologies such as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and electric vehicles became more popular with consumers around Canada. Scanning and calibration were some of our focus areas in 2021.

On top of educating ourselves about the newest technologies and techniques, we shared our knowledge and provided training with owners-operators as well as with the majority of the Canadian assurance partners.

One of the challenges facing the Canadian aftermarket industry—and it will continue to remain a challenge, regardless of the pandemic—is the shortage of talented people to take the industry forward.

Many younger people are not convinced about a rewarding future in the body shop business. That is not true—the aftermarket industry can offer many opportunities for individuals looking for a career—as manufacturers, technicians, insurers and suppliers.

The Aftermarket Calling

I would like to reassure them by citing my own start in the aftermarket industry—I started off as a paint shop technician in a Quebec-based body shop when still in my teens and was determined to learn the business inside out.

I was then recruited by a paint manufacturer where I spent 15 years learning all aspects of the business from sales, procurement/demand planning, distribution, leadership and management.

Now, I am heading the Canadian operations of one of the fastest growing aftermarket leaders in the world and I believe that with determination, you too can build a solid career in the industry.

Nurturing Talent

This past year, as a personal objective, I have interacted with business leaders, government bodies, vocational schools and community organizations to explore ways of encouraging the next generations to pursue careers in the aftermarket industry.

We work closely with several initiatives of organizations such as Skills Ontario and others that are involved in addressing the labour shortages in the country. I am confident that our efforts will slowly bear fruit.

As the country slowly returns to normal and more vehicles return to the roads, I am optimistic that the aftermarket industry will continue to innovate in the new year, adopting the lessons learned from the pandemic and remaining agile to new developments.

The key is to keep doing what we do best.

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