From interesting looking shops, to the rise of women in the collision repair industry, there's no shortage of news tidbits this week.
It's been a very trying couple of weeks though between the severe flooding in Calgary and the heavy rainfall recently in Toronto, but it's great to see the amazing and dramatic recovery efforts in both cities. You can read more about the great work CSN and CARSTAR have been doing to help Calgarians during this especially trying time below.
You might also notice that the digital issue of Collision Repair magazine is now available online, as well as our latest poll on "curb appeal" which we encourage you to take part in.
Nothing is more important than the outside of a repair shop. It's the very first thing a customer sees, often even before they've become a customer. Below you will find a short survey on what is sometimes called "curb appeal." Please take a moment to anonymously answer these quick and easy questions. Keep an eye open for the results in a future issue of Collision Repair magazine.
New initiative aims to encourage CSN employees to help out
The recent flooding Calgary has been catastrophic for many homes and business. Local CSN shops have been reaching out to their employees, fellow CSN members and staff to help alleviate some of the suffering.
CSN shop owners and their employees are volunteering their time and making monetary contributions to the Red Cross to help those who have been directly impacted.
CSN Corporate will match the first $5,000 overall that is collected by all CSN shops around Canada to help the CSN network in Alberta.
The Greater Toronto Area is still recovering and dealing with tricky traffic less than a day after a torrential downpour ravished the area Monday evening. Entire roads, railways, and subway stations were flash flooded, leaving vehicles submerged and hundreds of drivers and commuters stranded and in need of rescue.
The record-setting rains measured in at 126 millimetres for the day, surpassing the nearly six decades long record measured at Toronto Pearson Airport when Hurricane Hazel brought 121.4 millimetres of rain on October 15, 1954. This deluge of precipitation is considered unprecedented for Toronto, the previous record was set over 22 hours of rainfall. The new record was set within seven hours and was greater than the amount of rain the City expected for the entire month of July.
BASF has announced the launch of a new, low volatile organic compound (VOC), fast-dry solvent-borne basecoat system, the ONYX HD Low VOC Productive System, in the Canadian and U.S. markets.
This new system produces low VOC basecoats that are either waterborne or solvent-borne. BASF says this is the only system currently on the market that provides these options. BASF also says that the system offers similar benefits and performance to national rule solvent-borne basecoat systems, and meets all VOC regulations across North America.
A family of tourists got a little more than they expected on a recent trip to Kruger National Park in South Africa. Two cheetahs were giving chase to a herd of Impala Antelope across a road, when one of the cheetah managed to cut off a stray Impala and began to chase it back to the road from the nearby bushes. As the Impala neared the road, to avoid its two pursuers it leapt into the open back window of a Toyota Prado. The passengers of the SUV quickly opened the door on the opposite side to allow the antelope to escape safely. The entire event was captured by 20-year-old Samantha Pittenburgh who was visiting the park with her family and was positioned directly behind the Prado.