Events - URG and Pinnacle Training Conference 2007

Under the wide-open Colorado skies at the foot of the majestic Rocky Mountains, automotive recycling industry leaders and decision makers from across North America, Europe and Australia gathered together on March 23-24, 2007 for the 12th annual United Recyclers Group (URG) and Pinnacle Training Conference. Over 250 URG members and other Pinnacle users came to the spectacular Inverness Hotel and Conference Center in Englewood, Colorado to learn from each other and the experts. They gathered to learn about the latest developments in their fast paced industry, meet with vendors to see the latest products, and renew old acquaintances and make new ones.

"Our conference attendance this year broke the previous record by over 30%," says Michelle Alexander, URG executive director. She added that "we offered 36 extensive training sessions to attendees. This included a keynote panel with industry leaders from the estimating products and insurance providers. In addition, we announced new partnerships with Dahmer Powertrain Inc. and PROFormance Powertrain Products; Frontier Logistic Program, a member rating page on the URG website, and a UPS shipping discount coming soon."

"URG has added some great business opportunities for members with these new partnerships," says URG manager John Fischl, president of Riteway Auto Parts (Phoenix, AZ). "The keynote panel session featuring estimating system providers and State Farm Insurance really drove home the need for good clean and accurate data going out to the insurance industry. Because this data is used in their automatic part searches this message is very important." He also noted the growing importance of global business for the automotive recycling industry was addressed in a session on shipping parts in and out of the country.

URG partners with Actual Systems, creators of the Pinnacle, to plan and host the annual URG/pinnacle Training Conference each year. "This year's event went very well," says Peter Bishop, general manager of Actual Systems. "We had the biggest turnout ever for this annual conference, both in terms of domestic and international participation." Acknowledging the high interest among attendees in Pinnacle/Pinnacle Pro enhancements, including remanufactured engines and Hollander ID numbers, Bishop expressed excitement about the future. "We've got more Pinnacle and Pinnacle pro functionality coming down the line, and we're pleased to be working with URG to make this happen."

"This was the first URG Conference that I have ever attended and I loved it," said Greg Peck, general manager of Knox Auto Parts, a URG partner in Knoxville, Tennessee. "It was a good conference, very well put together. I enjoyed the camaraderie among attendees, and their openness and enthusiasm about the issues and trends in the automotive recycling industry." A Pinnacle user for over five years, Peck taught a 'Tips and Tricks of the Pinnacle Computer System" class.

A different perspective was provided by URG member Ken Hardison, general manager of Arizona Auto Parts, who has been to every URG Training Conference from year one. He says "Of all the new things I saw and heard about it was the reman engines addition to Pinnacle that most impressed me. It seems to me that the leadership of URG has stepped forward this year and brought of lot of new thinking to the table." In particular, he noted that "the things that Michelle Alexander is doing to get these relationships going are making a big difference."

During the conference URG announced a new partnership with Dahmer Powertrain Inc. (Lees Summit, MO) and PROFormance Powertrain Products (Springfield, MO). This creates a strategic affiliation between two foremost American providers of remanufactured and new automobile engines and URG. "This new alliance provides a great new benefit to URG members," says Michelle Alexander. "We are excited about the potential this alliance will give URG members to expand their businesses and increase their profits. We think it is going to help our independent automotive recyclers stay competitive in an increasingly sophisticated marketplace that has become national in scope. "

John Fischl adds that "This new affiliation with PROFormance and Dahmer represents an excellent opportunity for URG members to expand their product line and enhance their market presence. URG is going to integrate this product data into the Pinnacle System, so the opportunity to sell more will become automatic. Using Pinnacle, salespeople will view these new and remanufactured engines from the vendors alongside their own inventory in URGNet. This provides an additional competitive advantage over what we have today."

Keynoting the conference was a session called 'Electronic Locating of Parts by the Insurance And Collision Industry...'featuring an industry panel with Don Porter (State Farm), Mary Lu Lubrano (CCC), Greg McDowell (Mitchell), Scott Westbrook (APU Solutions), and Avi Pelc (Audetex). A number of presentations provided expert tips on Pinnacle and Pinnacle Pro. Other sessions ranged from 'Dealing with Difficult Employees' to 'What You Must Know and do to Make Advertising Work,' to 'Getting Your Employees to Become Part of the Company Goal and Vision' and 'eBay Made Simple With Pinnacle.' Other speakers included Robert Counts, president of Counts Consulting; Mike French, president of Mike French & Company; Mike "Bubba" Lambert, consultant; Kent Rothwell, sales manager of Weaver Automotive, and Kristi Suchy, eBay project coordinator at Actual Systems.

Michelle Alexander offered thanks to everyone who attended, spoke, or exhibited or otherwise helped make this years URG training conference so successful. "I want to thank my co-worker Julie Pythian and my board of directors. They make it all possible."

"Attending this year's conference was worthwhile," says Greg Peck. "I enjoyed the sessions, got to meet the vendors, and I'm coming again next year!"

Author: Richard Filley | Date: April 9, 2007

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