The Gates Corp. hosted the Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper Service Center Advisory Council (SCAC) meeting last week in Denver.
In attendance were 10 SCAC members from the United States and Canada, along with key Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance headquarters staff and shareholder personnel. The annual three-day collaborative meeting provides the alliance with direction on its Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper Certified Service Center (CSC) program.
The Service Center Advisory Council spent a full day at the Gates Corp. Customer Solution Center in Englewood, Colorado. They were greeted by the Gates senior management team before touring the center. The group attended an immersive product fair and was brought up to speed on many Gates’ products innovations. Gates’ then hosted a comprehensive focus group with the council members.
“The Gates Corporation was honored to host 10 top shop owners from Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper,” stated Ken Bridges, program group sales director U.S. Aftermarket Sales at Gates Corp. “We were able to conduct a strong focus group to leverage the expertise of these shops. Any chance we have to listen to our professional customers is an opportunity for us to improve.”
The SCAC members are top Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper CSC shop owners, appointed to the council due to their expert perspective. Each member serves a two-year term with an annual rotation replacing five members.
“I got so much out of this meeting and am leaving completely energized and ready to go back to work,” said Joe Miles, owner of Kaiser Tire in Louisville, Kentucky, and customer of Moog Louisville Warehouse. “The camaraderie has been amazing and beneficial, both personally and professionally. Gates was awesome and an incredible host and true partners.”
This year’s meeting focused on an evaluation of the current CSC programs, technician promotions and training, as well as technology updates for the Alliance’s e-commerce solution MyPlace4Parts, SEO, locator services and reputation management.
The current SCAC members are:
| SCAC Member Name | Shop Name | Shop Location |
| Ross Colket | Colket Automotive Technical Services | Landsdale, Pennsylvania |
| William Nalu | Interstate Auto Care | Madison Heights, Michigan |
| Alain Robert | Ste Agathe Service Centre | Ste-Agathe, Manitoba |
| Justin Barrett | Barrett Automotive | Cornelia, Georgia |
| Brett Bohlman | Highway 7 Service Center | Newell, Iowa |
| Thom Young | Lake Erie Automotive | Conneaut, Ohio |
| Dave Jackson | 60 Minute Tune | Grand Hills, California |
| Joe Miles | Kaiser Tire and Auto | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Joe Sharp | Joe’s Garage | North Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Kevin Robertson | Robertson Automotive | Tyler, Texas |
| VJ Sabanaygam | VJ’s Auto Service | Arcadia, California |
