Ever been inside a courtroom while in session? Even though each case is different, there’s commonality. Each case has an assigned a court stenographer. When a court stenographer captures what’s said in the court room, there’s no way he or she can report on the way things were said, because they are only authorized to recount what WAS said. I, too, can only report on details of the ARNE meeting because I cannot adequately share the feelings and momentum that others had if you weren’t there. However, if you were there, you know what I’m going to say. This year’s ARNE convention was comprised of greatly informed speakers who knew their stuff and were willing to share, and some new and veteran exhibitors along with lots of wonderful recyclers who were willing to offer effective best practices.
I must report that the top two speakers were Ryan Falco from Midway Auto Parts who has two full service yards located in Kansas City, MO and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Midway processes over 400 vehicles monthly. With three self-service locations, and a new RV park, Midway is staffed by 168 employees. Ryan offered great input using down-to-earth lessons from his “hands-on” skills. Sitting next to me was Rob Rainwater of Cornell’s Used Auto Parts. “He really gets better every time he speaks.” I agreed. For your information, whenever Ryan Falco is doing a class at URG or any state meeting, if you don’t get there early, you won’t have a seat.
If you missed him, then the next speaker you need to hear is Thomas Andrade from Everett’s Auto Parts. Everett’s is one of New England’s largest, hybrid automotive salvage yards with their full service and self-service yards and a scrap metal facility which processes approximately 35,000 vehicles annually. Yes, 35,000! As one very, gifted speaker, Thomas takes his know how from his finance degrees and brought it down to our level, showing everyone in the audience just how they do it. David Gold, the past president of ARA, was in the front row taking dubious notes. Anyone who wants to be a millionaire in this business needs to sit and listen to Tom. He is a guy I would love to hang out with to learn how he works with people and processes. Great guy.
ARNE assembled the best speakers. There was Mike Lambert with his high school picture in the brochure, Dan Fernandez from APU Solutions and Mike Kunkel and Lee Worman from Profit Team Consulting. I’m happy to report that their classes were packed. Paul D’Adamo and Mike James also had full classes along with my sponsor, Car-part.com. Mendi Evans facilitated a class on recent enhancements with Checkmate and Roger Schroder did a class on “Carpart Interchange” plus for all YMS and Collision Repair Opportunities. Great turn out!
Let me quickly recall some exhibitors that you need to learn more about only if you want to improve your bottom line. The first one is really a no brainer. It is called CarBrain. If you need inventory, they have plenty of inventory. Just go to www.Carbrain.com. Another company that attended was Axe Payments. Axe is not for everyone, but it is the future. A recognized leader in the credit card processing industry, AXE is a ZERO-processing fee, cash discount program. That’s not a misprint! To learn more, go to www.getaxepay.com.
All of us have known Jim Morrison for years because he’s called on recyclers. I am proud to report that Jim and his wife now own their own business. It’s Western Maine Machines from Rumford, ME. They have all kinds of industrial cleaning machines and supplies. They offer toilet paper holders and paper towel dispensers and would be happy to ship across the country. Jim and his wife are fabulous people and help make our Country great. They’re a great family owning a piece of a dream. Go to www.memachines.com or call Jim at 207.418.0464. You will be glad you did.
Oh yes, my friend, Mike James at E-comply is bigger and better than ever. With Adriana Lee as VP of Operations for both E-comply and James Environmental Management, they are doing great. They’re in demand now. So, if a recycler isn’t using E-comply, they are missing the boat. Remember when Mike said that E-comply would eventually be your all-in-one compliance management tool with specific topics for your state and industry, including training inspections and records management? Well guess what, Mike was right. Now, E-comply is the “go-to” place. Persue Mike’s website at www.ecomply.com and learn more. You’ll get the picture.
Ok, people. I can only report what I heard at this meeting. ARNE which was held in Albany, New York had a huge turnout. Here’s a small group of PRP-NE people that showed up at Casey Cornell’s place in Greenfield Center, New York. Someone has said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Lots of sharing and learning going on. To learn specifics of Cornell’s success, go online to www.cornellsusedautoparts.com.
And one last thing…I wish we had recorded or transcribed our keynote speaker, Mark Brown from Brown Auto Salvage at Saturday’s lunch. The business success of Mark and his wife has made me so proud to be a small part of this wonderful industry. To ARA and URG, Mark should be speaking at your next convention. Since I’m not a court stenographer, thank you for allowing me to recall the events as I heard them at the recent ARNE meeting.
See you next time.
Correspondence regarding this article should go to:
D.J. Says, 2820 Andover Way, Woodstock, GA 30189
D. J. Harrington is an author, journalist, seminar leader, international trainer, and marketing consultant. He works primarily with customer service personnel, and his clients include such world-class companies as General Motors, DuPont, Caterpillar, and Damon Corporation. He may be reached at 800-352-5252. E-mail: dj@djsays.com. 52 weeks a year, we are as close as your telephone.