NEW WHMIS TRAINING AVAILABLE

May 28, 2001

After a number of shops were served notices of non-compliance by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, and to meet the requirements of the proposed CISCO program, a new Health and Safety Training program has been introduced in response.

This Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) training program is mandatory for collision repair and auto refinish shops.

A Video, Student workbook, and Post test package was produced by the Ontario Service Safety Alliance and designed especially for Ontario's Auto Collision Repair and paint shops.

Featuring five video sections and matching workbooks, the video highlights all the areas needed to meet the legislative requirements for automotive repair shops.

This training package also includes:

• A pocket-sized WHMIS Hazards symbols card for employees
• A poster for the shop with the WHMIS symbols
• A profile on how to set up a joint health and safety committee
• An Isocyanate warning bulletin
• How to easily set up a health and safety policy statement
• How to conduct a health and safety inspection tour of a collision repair shop.
• Guide for a paint shop Isocyanate control program
• WHMIS Training and Information Checklist
• Written emergency plan Action planner

This 3.5 hour training course offered to any shop in Ontario can be completed in one evening, or afternoon. Please contact the office at 1-800-318-DENT or ciag@icom.ca or www.ciia.com under "Contact Us/Questions" to book your training.

AADCO Signs Automobile Recycling Contract With Meloche Monnex

Thursday, May 24, 2001

AADCO industries.com inc. has signed a comprehensive automobile insurance salvage contract with Meloche Monnex, the second largest direct response insurer in Canada.

The contract is expected to increase the company's annual flow of vehicles to 10,500 from 4,000.

AADCO will purchase and recycle automobile salvage from Meloche Monnex and its affiliates TD Insurance Home and Auto and Primmum Insurance Company (formerly Canada Life Casualty Insurance Company), in Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

On average, each recycled vehicle creates 500 pounds of Automotive Shredder Residue (ASR) that generally ends up in landfills. With the North American market exceeding 12 million vehicles per year, six million new pounds of ASR are produced annually and AADCO's unique process strives to dismantle, reuse and recycle up to 96 percent of a vehicle.

``This announcement is in line with our growth strategy,'' said Ron Ledbrook, Vice President Sales for AADCO. ``It will significantly increase our volume of business and, in turn, market position.''

``We are excited about this new relationship,'' said Henry Blumenthal, Vice President, Claims Services, Ontario and Atlantic Canada, at Meloche Monnex. ``The focus of AADCO on recovering quality used parts allows us to be aligned with best industry practices and contribute to the overall improvement of the environment.''

AADCO is an indoor auto dismantler and recycler with facilities in Brampton and Richmond Hill, aggregating 105,000 square feet. AADCO's dismantling process recovers used parts for resale. AADCO industries.com inc. (AA: CDNX)

SCRS Extends Thanks to Information Providers For Commitment to Open Data Standards

Tri-Cities, WA May 12, 2001

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) has extended an official thank you to information providers Mitchell, CCC, ADP and Comp-Est. The sign of appreciation is in direct response to the providers' decision to allow open access to their collision repair data

The move on the part of the information technology companies is seen as a significant step forward in the creation of uniform standards for computing and data transmission, a move that should lead to considerable savings and process efficiencies for collision repair businesses everywhere. Improved customer satisfaction, the ultimate goal of today's body shop professional, would also result.

"SCRS is devoted to the improvement of the collision repairer's business environment, and open standards for e-commerce can only lead to industry progress," states Dan Risley, SCRS Executive Director. "We want to thank Mitchell, CCC, ADP and Comp-Est for their courageous decision. Without it the industry and its partners would have remained fragmented and doing business would have remained more difficult than it needed to be. With this new scenario in place we expect everyone to win, including the consumer."

Originally, a number of information providers had decided to encrypt their data, citing the need for security over a publicly accessed network and a number of proprietary issues. But after a united industry effort, which included much hard work and lobbying by members of SCRS, ASA, CIC and CIECA, all involved came to the same decision because the benefits of open standards became too strong to ignore.

"The role of the collision repair industry in this process shouldn't be overlooked," says Don Keenan, SCRS Chairman. "Everybody set aside their differences and worked together to realize a common goal. It just goes to show you the power that can come from a unified collision repair industry."

SCRS believes the next few years will be watershed years for the collision repair industry, as the information providers begin to introduce new products and services that help body shops do what they do best: repair vehicles.

"SCRS realizes the incredible difficulty of this choice for the companies involved," adds Risley, "which is why we believe they are deserving of applause. They are doing what's right for their customers - and their customers' customers, too.

"Through its direct members and 34 affiliate associations, SCRS is comprised of 8,300 collision repair businesses and 58,500 specialized professionals who work with consumers and insurance companies to repair collision-damaged vehicles. Additional information about SCRS including news releases is available at the SCRS web site (www.scrs.com). You can e-mail SCRS at the following address: scrs1@aol.com

ONTARIO ANNOUNCES NEW APPRENTICESHIP FUNDING

Money to double number of entrants

May 9, 2001

On February 9th last year, Tony Nigro, the President of the Hamilton District Autobody Repair Association (HARA) spent two hours with Ontario Premier Mike Harris over a lunch meeting and informed the Premier that more apprentices were needed to keep the collision repair industry healthy.

Today, Ontario's budget delivered. The following announcements were made at Queen's Park this afternoon:

• $33 million will be invested by 2004-2005 to double the number of entrants to apprenticeship programs in the skilled trades
• $50 million over five years will be spent for up-to-date equipment and facilities in colleges for apprenticeship programs.
• $12 million over three years will be spent to help foreign trained professionals employ their skills more quickly in Ontario
• $60 million will be spent to start up an innovative post-secondary institution, the Ontario Institute of Technology
• $1 billion will be spent with partners to provide an additional 73,000 new spaces for students in post-secondary facilities
• The government also has advised HARA that they will fund a new collision repair day-release apprenticeship class for the Hamilton area starting in August 2001.

For further information on the budget please call the Ministry of Finance at 1-800-263-7965 or to register for the new collision repair apprenticeship class, please call the collision repair association at 1-800-318-DENT

ALLSTATE AQUIRES COLLISION REPAIR CHAIN

U.S. purchase changes industry relationships

May 8, 2001

In a major shift in the working relationships between insurers and a separate collision repair sector, Allstate Corporation has acquired the 39 store network of Sterling Collision Centers Inc. The Sterling network operates in seven states and nine metropolitan locations. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

According to George Ruebenson, Allstate vice president for claims and new chairman of the Sterling board of directors, the Sterling brand and their leadership team will remain in place and no changes are planned. In the near term, the operation of the Sterling stores will change very little. They will continue to serve their current customer base. Longer term, as new Sterling stores are created, they will be designed to maximize the service benefits to Allstate customers.

"This acquisition is part of Allstate's effort to create a differentiated customer experience coupled with increased efficiencies and delivery of value to the policyholder,'' said Ruebenson.

"Sterling stores are very different than the typical auto collision repair shop,'' continued Ruebenson. ``On average, they are three times larger and repair four to five times more cars every month. Consistent service and repair quality are the hallmarks of Sterling.''

"We are very excited about this new relationship,'' said Sterling CEO Jonathan McNeill. ``Allstate will be a terrific partner. They share our vision of expanding our model to other markets and are equally committed to customer satisfaction. Like Sterling, they understand that it is good business to reduce repair times and improve the facilities' efficiencies while delivering superior customer service.''

Allstate recently made news in Canada , asking their preferred vendor shops to cut their prices charged to Allstate for repair parts.

"The greatest benefit Allstate and its customers get in this transaction is the improved processes. Together, Allstate and Sterling will eliminate the redundancies that exist in today's auto collision repair process. Customers will now find themselves the beneficiaries of a coordinated repair process with a dual focus on their requirements,'' added Ruebenson.

"For example, Allstate's inspection and estimating processes help to create efficiencies in the repair process while improving the policyholder's overall experience. This acquisition enables us to better serve the interests of the policyholder while realizing efficiencies in making estimates and repairing automobiles.''

"While the choice of repairer is ultimately up to the customer, the process of finding a high quality repairer does not have to rest solely on the shoulders of the customer.''

Sterling will operate as a separate subsidiary of Allstate Non-insurance Holdings, Inc. and will not be owned by the Allstate Insurance Company.