Arslan Automotive offers cross-Canada clinics on new aluminum repair techniques

One of the big shifts in the auto industry of late has been an increased use of aluminum. To help clients keep up with the shift, Arslan Automotive Canada is offering free clinics on aluminum repair techniques.

Arslan recently sent several employees to Italy for a week to learn advanced welding techniques. Now the knowledge is being passed on to clients who are taking advantage of the equipment packages the company is offering for sale. The president of Arslan, Arman Gurarslan, expects the sale of aluminum repair equipment to be big business. “Eighty to eighty five percent of body shops don’t have the tools. So we think this is going to be big for us over the next two years,” he says.

To help clients get up to speed on the new equipment the company has dispatched two of its key reps on a cross-country tour. The pair, Sean Slaven and Jason Grey, put on a four-hour presentation. “Nobody is doing clinics like this. We hold the client's hand through this,” says Gurarslan.

Slaven explains that the first 20 minute is a Power Point presentation on the history of autobody repair. “We take them through the history. We show them, ‘This is where we started, this is where we are today,’” says Slavens. “The technicians love it.” Slaven mentions a recent conversation with an insurance executive. “The insurance companies are soon going to be telling the body shops to repair aluminum instead of replacing it. The shift is coming. It’s going to be huge. It’s not just Ford. It’s Toyota, Nissan and GM,” he says.

But working with aluminum dust can be difficult. A recent fatal explosion at a Chinese aluminum wheel plant is a perfect example. “Mining companies will use aluminum powder in explosives for extra oomph,” says Slaven. “Proper education is important.”

The tour will continue to other places as well. Next week it’s on to Pembroke in Quebec and then Moncton. “We’re trying to set up a presentation at Centennial College in Toronto so that all the body shop technicians can come to one presentation. We used to do those at one body shop. But now the competition is so cutthroat you have to pick a natural location,” he says.