A Salute to Al Estorga – The 'Father' of CIC

On Friday, September 6, the collision repair industry lost a great man, one who played a key role in the evolution of the industry. If it were not for Al Estorga, there probably wouldn’t be a Collision Industry Conference. This was a revolutionary idea for its time, where people from various quarters of the industry could come together to exchange ideas. If not for Estorga and CIC, there would have been no impetus for these disparate entities to talk to each other, no opportunity to collaborate with each other.
Between the advent of collision industry magazines in the 1970s and the founding of CIC in the 1980s, the industry was able to move ahead farther and faster than ever before. The following is a salute to Mr. Estorga and the founding of CIC, as excerpted from my book, YesterWreck: The History of the Collision Repair Industry in America.

Note: This piece was written in 2013.

Providing Shop Owners with a Forum

In the summer of 1983, California shop owner Al Estorga was attending a collision industry event in Phoenix. At what he thought was an opportune time, Estorga stood up to address the group. He was told by the person leading the group that that was not the time or place to ask a question… and was told to take his seat. He was incensed. Jeff Hendler, Darrell Malott, and Jack Caldwell escorted Estorga from the room to discuss what could be done. Estorga realized there were changes coming in the industry, changes that no shop owner could handle on their own. There were questions that needed asking, answers that needed to be found. There was a need to bring shop owners together and give them a forum to exchange ideas.

Estorga, Hendler, Caldwell, and Malott decided that day that they would provide fellow shop owners with a forum – a place where it was always the right time to ask a question and the right atmosphere where answers could be found. That was the day they decided to form the Collision Industry Conference.

That fall, the first CIC conference was held in Vancouver, Canada, to coincide with another industry event. The second meeting was held in December to coincide with the NACE show, also in its infancy. At first it was a small group that attended, fewer than 15 people and all shop owners.

And the original name was not CIC; it was CRC – Collision Repair Conference. The name was changed during Jeff Hendler’s term as chairman on a motion from Chuck Sulkala. Both men realized that with a cadre of only shop owners, their voices would never be heard by those who needed to hear their problems and issues. It was time to broaden the scope of the conference and invite all other stake holders to the party including insurers, paint companies, equipment manufacturers, estimating companies, and OEMs. The name changed, and the stakeholders began showing up.

In the beginning, when 20 to 25 people would show up for a CIC meeting, to fund the meeting for refreshments and to pay for the administrative expenses, everyone would throw $15 to $20 in a hat at the end of the meeting. Jeff Hendler would manage the money, pay the necessary vendors, and take care of the administrative duties. That worked for a while.

By the time Chuck Sulkala became the conference chairman in 1989, over 100 people were showing up and administration of the events was becoming cumbersome and costly. And so Sulkala came up with the idea for “Silver Pin” and “Gold Pin” member. The Silver Pin membership was $100 and the Gold Pin was $250. Sulkala opined that they might “sell” one or two Gold Pins but most would go for the Silver Pin. The plan backfired – sort of. One Silver Pin was sold, and everyone wanted a Gold Pin. It became a sort of status symbol among attendees. Ironically, the one shop owner who bought the Silver Pin, upon seeing everyone else’s Gold Pin, paid the difference and had his own Gold Pin membership.

In a 2013 interview, Estorga was asked about the issues that CIC first dealt with. Estorga noted, “Vehicle repair methods were changing requiring new tools and equipment, all very expensive. That was also the time the electronic estimating systems were being introduced and all the insurance companies wanted us to use them. We had to learn about new cars, new tools, and new methods to estimate crashes and repair them.”

Asked about the early CIC participants, Estorga noted, “By the late 1970s, most every state had their own state-level body shop association, and they mostly dealt with their own local or state issues. We, meaning people like Jeff Hendler and myself, could see the need for wider-ranging organization. We started talking about it and some of the old, well established state associations felt threatened. Despite that, we knew we needed one voice for the country. Back then, we didn’t have the diversity that we see at a CIC meeting today. It was all collision shops. There were no insurance company representatives, no paint companies – just shop owners.”

Back in 1983, Al Estorga had a vision for the Collision Industry Conference, and “that vision has come true,” he says. “I’m not surprised with the way it’s grown with so many segments represented. I think its only common sense that we did what we did in forming CIC. You can’t get ahead by yourself. You need feedback and help from your peers. Other industries form organizations like this. It was needed in ours.”

By the late 1980s, the organization had “jelled,” and a core of attendees was always showing up. It was then that they started addressing other issues that were bothering shop owners. These included:

Use of aftermarket parts
Steering to what was then known as “preferred shop” – the DRP concept was not yet in full bloom
Suppressed labor rates
Getting paid properly for paint and materials

But it was not easy to get everyone to work together. At any given meeting, there were members present from various state associations who didn’t always get along together. It was then that it was decided that the meetings would be held in various cities around the country so no one group would always have “home court advantage.”

June 23, 1988, was a red-letter date for the still-growing organization. Prior to this date, the organization was still known by its original name, the Collision Repair Conference. On that date, by unanimous approval, the participants decided to change the name to the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) to better reflect the desired inclusion of all collision industry constituents. According to then-chairman, Jeff Hendler, the conference was open to all interested parties. In the meeting, the CIC outlined its purpose: in essence, the mission of the Conference is to provide a forum for discussion for all industry stake holders.

Establishing Recommended Requirements for Collision Repair Shops

In the summer of 1988, a meeting of the CIC resulted in the adoption of new “Minimum Recommended Requirements for Auto Body Collision Repair Shops.” The requirements consisted of 13 separate points, including:

Have an established business location
All applicable local, state, and federal permits secured
Proof of product liability insurance
Have a set of current crash manuals
Be able to raise a vehicle for inspection
Have a source of dimensions covering frame, upper body dimensions, etc.
Have a body-measuring device
Have a four-point anchoring system
Have electrical or hydraulic body pulling equipment
Have four-wheel alignment capacity
Have evidence of ongoing training (I-CAR or equivalent)
Have a MIG welder
Have the ability to refinish in a safe manner

"The Place to be for Industry Professionals"

“The CIC conference really opened the door for the industry, said Chuck Sulkala in a 2013 interview of the legacy of those early meetings. “Prior to CIC, if a shop owner wanted to talk to an insurance company executive or a paint company executive, they had to go find that person, travel to their home office, and hope they could get in to the see the guy. With the CIC meetings, a shop owner could easily access insurance company representative, paint company representatives and OEs. With the CIC meetings, things were much more open, and we were able to address issues much more effectively.”

“From the early '90s on,” said Al Estorga, “CIC became the place to be for industry professionals. If you were a leader in the industry, you wanted to attend a CIC meeting. It became a place where people networked with each other.” Jeff Hendler added, “It became the place where different companies announced new initiatives, new policies and so forth that affected shop owners and the industry.”

Looking at specific accomplishments of the CIC from the mid-'90s to present (2013) Jeff Hendler likes to point out the formation of CIECA, the Collision Industry Electronic Commerce Association, which started at a CIC committee headed by one-time CIC chair and current business owner, (Fix Auto) Erick Bickett. Another noted accomplishment was the establishment of the criteria for a “Class A” shop which has been adopted by various companies and different government agencies as the de facto criteria for a well-run and well-appointed shop.

What the early chairpeople are most proud of is the fact that the CIC conference still attracts people from all over the industry.

“There is an auto body association in every state,” said Past Chair Jeff Hendler. “And everyone struggles to get membership, they struggle to get attendance at their meetings, they struggle to get people to participate. This afternoon, there will be 350 people at the CIC conference, from every facet of the industry, and all ready to network and participate in some fashion. They’re all ready to share ideas and contribute. Show me some other place where you can find that in this industry!”

Technology Changes

Today, in 2013, CIC attendees are still discussing “new technology” used on today’s cars, but it’s no longer about unibody construction. “Today,” said former CIC chair Mike Quinn, “we have discussions about telematics, crash avoidance systems, cameras, and cars that talk to each other; all items that affect our industry.”

Technology is used in other ways at today’s CIC meetings. The latest CIC chairman, State Farm executive George Avery (2012-2014) introduced the concept of the wireless keypads allowing CIC participants to vote on various issues using the pad. A question is flashed on the screen in front of the room eliciting a yes/no answer or maybe a multiple-choice answer and the 350 people holding the keypads can vote. The results are immediately shown on the screen in the front of the room in graphic format. This makes expressing an opinion quick, easy, and more definitive.

When asked to describe what CIC was and is, Past Chair Dale Delmege described it this way, “It’s a very delicate garden that doesn’t necessarily get stronger with age. It has to constantly renew itself with discipline, and a certain amount of collegiality. Participants must understand that what is the most important thing to them at the moment, may not be the most important thing to people within the industry. So, you have to be able to operate in a voluntary environment to work on problems together. That can be a very fragile environment. CIC has to constantly enforce its culture as a cooperative, deliberative, collegial work on policy. It’s not a legislature, and it’s not a debating society.”