My last article as President of NAPDRT. I guess I would be remiss if I thank each and every board member that has served NAPDRT not just while I have been president but also since this organization was formed. I feel we have accomplished many things and have helped the PDR industry as a whole. I also feel there are many more things to do. I think in the life any organization new people can bring new ideas and processes to help the organization advance and achieve more. Realizing when it is time to step aside can be a very stressful decision to make. Every single Board member that has served has put heart and soul into this organization unselfishly. Many of us feel like this is our baby and as any parent, we want it to succeed. The PDR industry is our livelihood and all of us push dents to support our families. Our passion to organize, start, and run this organization has been fueled by our desire to make this industry better. I’m sure the next few years will see much change in our industry just as we have seen much change over the last several years. I see this organization continuing its place at the forefront of out industry. Leonard Cicchiello has been nominated and with no challengers will assume the role of President of the NAPDRT. Billy Chipps has also been nominated and with n
o challengers will serve as a Board member. Two nominations were received for treasurer. One of those nominations was declined. The other nomination was for Ricky Bayne. Ricky like myself was one of the founding Board members of the NAPDRT. Ricky has expressed his desire to take a lessor role on the Board. He has agreed to continue as Treasurer until the Board finds a suitable replacement. We would like to thank out going
Board member Ray Stalnaker for his service.
The NAPDRT is looking for comments and questions about vehicle metals, (aluminum, steel, hss,etc.) Any questions or experiences with any manufacturers are wanted , but especially VW, Audi and any in their group. We are working with several manufacturers to help us, the manufacturers, insurance companies and the collision industry to help understand how the differences in panel metallurgy relates to the PDR industry. In our preliminary work and fact finding we have found that our industry and the collision industry as a whole are completely in the dark as to what the differences in metal used on body panels. We have focused so much on Steel versus Aluminum and lately HSS. These certainly serve as a start but no where at all cover the different types of metals used in vehicles. Our first part of this study will take Place at the VW/ Audi training center. By some of the indications we will receive previously unreleased information about the metals we work with. We hope to have some preliminary results available at MTE. We believe this information will change our industry.
Please stop by our booth at the Mobile Tech Expo. We will be signing up new members along with renewing current ones. Of course we will have gifts for members. Please stop by and feel free to discuss our industry. We are also hosting several seminars for the 10th consecutive year. Be sure to check those out.
By Tommy Clayton
