Automotive Repair News Today

Braxton Critcher [00:00:05]:
This is automotive repair news today. I'm Braxton Critcher. Thanks for listening. And we've been doing this podcast for a little over a month, and once a week, we'll release the top headlines around the industry to let you know what's going on and keep you informed. And I've been doing interviews with industry leaders to let you know about news that's happening, but I've not been releasing those interviews. And I got to thinking the other day, you know what? We need to release these interviews because there's so much more content that we're able to release that way than just in a five or six minute episode of the news show. So that's what we're going to do. When I release or when I record an interview, I'm going to release it.

Braxton Critcher [00:00:50]:
Today's episode is with equipment and tools Institute and Brian plot from etiquette as they got some really big news. They just announced at their annual tool tech event in California, and we're going to let Brian tell you what's up. So here's Brian plot in our conversation about the exciting news with ETI. All right, so ETI is going global. What does that mean and what's happening?

Brian Plott [00:01:20]:
After years of growth and so forth, the ETI has been one that's catered very, very well in our business model to the tool manufacturers and to the oems maintaining a very neutral balance in terms of the relationships to keep business moving in the aftermarket space. We've gotten to a point where a lot of the members were having to deal with issues internationally and as part of a long range plan that we were developing when I came started doing when I came in, we've gotten some traction and it was clear that the forward going direction was going to need to be Europe. So we released the big word at our Tooltech event last week, and we're basically carrying the exact same model that we do here in the States. We're going to carry it over there, open a branch office, looks like it's going to be in the UK, and then we'll be doing the same thing of trying to bring on new members, which are aftermarket tool and equipment manufacturers, and start working the relationships with the oems, leveraging our relationships with the oems here in the states. So we do, like I said earlier, we maintain a neutral position between the two, between the aftermarket and OEM, and just basically look to work with those relationships, get them bigger and make it easy for everybody involved, because at the end of the day, it's the technicians and the shop owners and the end user consumer who need to be aware of what's going on.

Braxton Critcher [00:03:01]:
How long has this been going on, Brian? The works of going global, how long has that been in the plants?

Brian Plott [00:03:10]:
We've been. Had a number of things going on in the background to both evaluate the feasibility of doing it and then actually putting the pieces in place that we would need to have in place prior to pulling the trigger. So I would say we probably going back into last October, November timeframe when we started working in the background and kept it very, very quiet and kind of got directional input from our board of directors in terms of what we were doing and making sure we're going the right way, the way the aftermarket tool manufacturers wanted us to go. So it's been interesting and covered a lot of things that you wouldn't have otherwise seen unless you were digging for them and kind of felt by surprise. But there's a lot of different. There's a tremendous amount of difference between doing what we do here and then being able to take that up and do it over. In Europe, business isn't done the same. The legal infrastructure is not the same.

Brian Plott [00:04:08]:
In certain cases, it's, you know, even the potential members aren't the same. So there's going to be a lot of work in terms of changing minds. But we also, at Tooltech last week, we spoke, we had, I think, eight or nine different oems that were there and talking with a few of them. They were very candid. It's about time you did that. I'm going to go back to my office on Monday and I'll start sending you some contacts that you can reach out to. I'll warm the way and we'll see if we can get something going, because you're right, they do need help and support that way.

Braxton Critcher [00:04:42]:
Yeah, I was going to ask, you know, you've been working on this for about a half year at this point, a little longer. But how long has it been something that's been a need that, like you said, people are saying it's about time.

Brian Plott [00:04:57]:
This is. Unfortunately, that's probably the case. That's a great question to catch on to that. Yeah, it's probably been something that we should have, could have focused on earlier.

Braxton Critcher [00:05:09]:
Were you aware of it?

Brian Plott [00:05:10]:
Pardon?

Braxton Critcher [00:05:11]:
Were you aware of it?

Brian Plott [00:05:13]:
We suspected it. And again, any organization, especially like EtI, we need to have some direction. So thus one of the key things, what it did in first coming on was develop a new LRP long range plan and we've been working to the plan. This was part of it. We hit a couple of junctures where we took it to the board and said, we can go this way or we can go that way. And which way would you like us to go? And we finally got to a point where it was, let's investigate this. The timing is good in the market, things have pretty much recovered from COVID and we dove in and started getting to work on it, theoretically at first. And then let's put some serious mechanics.

Brian Plott [00:05:53]:
We got one of our tool company members to sponsor it with the board for us. We've been pursuing that since.

Braxton Critcher [00:06:02]:
So this is obviously some exciting news for ETI. And you've mentioned it yourself. You're going to learn a lot. There's a lot of things you don't know about doing something like this in Europe. It's exciting. There's new things happening. And I'm sure there's going to be things that happen with ETI in the future because of this decision that are going to be good. But what does this mean for the automotive industry and, and owners listening, maybe a member of ETI here in the states, what does this mean for them?

Brian Plott [00:06:34]:
We've had challenges with getting information and some other things from the european oems that have. It creates a complicated structure and process to be able to get the information. So what we're hoping this will do, and like I said, we've interviewed quite a few people in different aspects, but we're hoping that this will open up everyone's eyes and keep the information flowing and allow us to get in and show the oems in the european space what we've done with the oems in the United States space and let them talk and help us out, especially within. There seems to be a willingness there to do that. So in the meantime, we have identified a person that will have feet on the ground over in Europe and develop, start developing. We've targeted quite a number of different companies in the tool manufacturing space. So we will be establishing relationships with them, leveraging relationships we've already developed with some of our international friends like Ajia, and start getting to work on getting everybody moving in the same direction.

Braxton Critcher [00:07:51]:
You know, a lot of shops these days are connecting with each other through things like Tooltech, other training events around the country. And it's been exciting to see the growth in the industry because shops are more connected with each other and working together now more than ever. And like EtI, Tooltech, other training events, some shops from around the world do come to those too. It's not just stateside. And so, so shops are being connected around the globe, but this step is even furthering that. And like you said, things in Europe are ran a whole lot differently, but in some ways maybe better. How do you think this might change and accelerate the growth of the industry in the states because of something like this happening in Europe?

Brian Plott [00:08:44]:
Could be something. In the last two years, post COVID, a lot of the industry, a lot of the oes in the industry went to licensing models where they had provided the data before they moved to licensing their data first for a function of security, but also from the standpoint of good business practice. So there's a likelihood that we will glean a lot from this, because we do know several of the european based auto manufacturers that they license their data, but they do it at unaffordable levels. And, you know, we want to propose to them certain things we've learned and say, look at this, we could do it this way, it'd be more beneficial for you. And that has a trickle down effect down to your end user customers who buy your cars. So, yeah, we're hoping that as we dig into it more and more, that it does open our eyes to some new things, and we hope to bring a lot to that party as well.

Braxton Critcher [00:09:53]:
Well, this is big news, obviously, for ETI and the automotive industry. What else do you think is connected to this story that might be worth sharing?

Brian Plott [00:10:04]:
I think looking at the technology that's had to come to pass here over the last year or two, three, whatever adas. I mean, if you look at how fast and rapidly we've had to progress as an industry just to be able to get the Adas piece in place, make sure that people, shop owners, technicians and user customers, understand what that system is and the safety features of it, and the potential bad side for not getting that kind of work done. It's always been funny. I relate it to in the automotive space. When I started in the industry, I was selling big engine analyzers and alignment systems and things like that, and the four wheel alignment, thrust angle alignment had just come out, or vehicles that required that. And, you know, the consumer was used to going into a shop, paying $29.95 for front end alignment and going home. Now they were coming to the shop and be 79.99 or 89.99 for a thrust angle alignment. And the Oes didn't, didn't educate the end user consumer.

Brian Plott [00:11:14]:
They talked about all the good things when you buy the car, but not the potential for bad. So that was a big, expensive chunk. Here you go. With adAs, it's the same thing all over again. People go in and buy a new car, they don't get. They don't get an education on what adas is and what it does and how it's there to benefit them. As an industry, we're having to do that too, much less learn to do the work that is required in training our technicians and everything so that they can do that work as well. And Ev is another one.

Brian Plott [00:11:43]:
I mean, we just. We're back in Michigan now. But last week we were in. We were out in California, obviously, and it was okay. Thank you. Sorry. Thank you. Sorry about that.

Braxton Critcher [00:12:01]:
Hey, duty calls.

Brian Plott [00:12:05]:
Where was I?

Braxton Critcher [00:12:06]:
You're out in California last week.

Brian Plott [00:12:07]:
Oh, yeah, yeah. And driving around out there, it was becoming the joke of the day. Would be riding, going somewhere. Oh, look, a Tesla. Oh, look, a Tesla. Tesla's done a great job in California on their market penetration, but there was a lot of other electric vehicles and that type of thing out there. So, you know, it's. It's.

Brian Plott [00:12:30]:
And I guess if they weren't ev, they still had adas, you know, so it's. Those are those technologies that are driving significant change within, you know, within our industry. We want to be a part of that and help help form that and give avenues to the entities within the industry that can help come up with the best decisions to keep the motoring public safe all the way around.

Braxton Critcher [00:12:57]:
Well, he's Brian plot with Eti. Thanks, Brian.

Brian Plott [00:13:00]:
Thank you very much, Braxton. Appreciate your time.