Barbados, July 14th – 17th 2014

Automotive Art opened its training room doors in Wildey, Barbados to facilitate Technical Vehicle Refinishing Training for some of its distribution partners in the US. The class included students from six different North American states, as well as St. Lucia and Barbados.
This training covered the vast range of paint products Automotive Art offers, specific to the North American market. The Automotive Art Technical Training Team spent the 4 days covering in-depth details of all products, theory and practical, from pre-treatment to colour matching. There was a specific focus on Automotive Art’s new Base Coat System - Motobase LV.

Motobase LV is a Low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Solvent Base Coat System, which is compliant with the strict environmental laws being implemented in some of the US states. Automotive Art’s recent and rapid expansion into the US can be attributed to the company’s commitment to stay on the cutting edge of Automotive Paint Technology. President of US Operations, Glenn Camacho, expressed his excitement for the company’s expansion in the US.

“The paint system we provide gives our partners a tremendous advantage. It saves time and money using 30% less toners than most other systems. It will also accurately match over 150,000 colours with our state-of the-art colour matching software. This, along with our Low VOC compliance, has given Automotive Art a very competitive edge in the US market, and we’re taking full advantage!”
Doug Armstrong, CEO of Automotive Art, echoed the excitement of his US counterpart, stating that the company is leveraging training in Barbados as a competitive differentiator in courting customers in Barbados.

“There’s no doubt that Barbados is considered paradise in the US, so what better way to train our partners than at a top class facility, right in the middle of paradise!”

“We have now penetrated over seven US states, with the most recent being New Jersey in March, and as a consequence of recent negotiations in Barbados, we are now poised to close a deal that will cover an additional six states in the coming months. The feedback on our product and our positioning in the market has been fantastic, and now it’s just full steam ahead!”

The week of training concluded with a colour matching exam when the attendees put what they learnt to the test. The partners-turned-students all deemed the colour matching “perfect” and raved about the week’s sessions.

The week finished with a cultural excursion to Oistins where attendees enjoyed traditional Bajan cuisine, and had fun singing karaoke and dancing with some of the Oistins regulars; a great time was had by all!

Automotive Art is a Barbadian owned and managed Automotive Aftermarket franchise chain and Distribution Company that operates in over 65 countries including the Caribbean, the United States, Latin America and Europe.

Photo: The Trainers and Trainees inside the Automotive Art Training Centre
First Row from Left to Right – Doug Armstrong, Barbados; Mario Hernandez, Florida; Erick Lam, Florida; Brian Toppin, Barbados; Mike, Belke, Wisconsin; Larry Wagreich, New Jersey; Winston Anatole, St. Lucia; Karrim Mohammed, New York
Second Row from Left to Right – Paul Kindt, Kentucky; Glenn Camacho, US; Ron Logan, Minnesota; Orville Clarke, Barbados; Lyndell Halliday, St. Lucia