AkzoNobel Podcast Discusses Vehicle Refinishing, Its Future, and Its Challenges
AkzoNobel released the fifth episode of its Automotive Insights: Refinish podcast, which covers the vehicle refinishing industry’s challenges and its future. With demand for driver-assisted and electric vehicles (EVs) increasing and repairs becoming increasingly complex, AkzoNobel says collision body repair shops are having to re-tool with capital-intensive equipment to compete. A similar challenge is talent and the need to rapidly upskill the existing workforce, while coping with labor shortages fueled by the recent pandemic and the imminent retirement from the industry of more than 100,000 baby boomers. According to AkzoNobel, people will be key to future success.
Michael Giarrizzo, president and CEO of DCR Systems, said that greater innovation and closer partnerships between manufacturers, vehicle refinishers, and the supply chain are critical, but so too are his people.