False Creek Collision in the News
|
"False Creek Collision is among the best body shops in British Columbia."
Special Promotion:
|
Our appreciation for our loyal customers: For a limited time, we offer a $65 EARLS Gift Card that can be used at any EARLS location in Canada or United States. Please call 604-731-4154 for further details in regards to our promotion.
High Scores for False Creek Collision Plus ICBC uses a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) system to evaluate Express Valet Body Shops ICBC continously evaluates Express Valet Body Shops with a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) system. Criteria such as productivity, customer satisfaction and repair costs- just to name a few - are being used to measure the performance of a shop. As a result of our efforts, False Creek Collision Plus has been among the top scorers in British Columbia since the implementation of the program in 2008. But, we are not leaning back. We are committed to excellence in collision repair work according to the highest standards in the industry and therefore, we will continue to take any efforts to satisfy the needs of our mutual customers now and in the future.
Body Shop Magazine recognizes False Creek Collision as a 2010 Body Shop of the Year Honourable Mentions 2010 Body Shop of the Year Honourable Mentions
New Services Detail Packages False Creek Collision Plus offers various professional detail services while your car is in for repair. So, we combine your convenience with our professionalism. Please ask us for details or click on "Services".
Reader's Choice Award 2008: False Creek Collision Plus best independently owned body shop Publish Date Thursday, September 18, 2008 Poll in Georgia Straight 2008
Auto shop paints the town green Publish Date Friday, March 21, 2008 Names: Bernhard Rubbert. Business: False Creek Collision Plus, Vancouver. Contact: 604-731-4154; www.falsecreekcollision.com. Number of employees: 10. Time in business: Almost two years. What do you do? I own an automotive collision repair and refinishing shop that uses an environmentally friendly paint system for vehicles. It's a classic body shop, but it's special because we use water-based paint rather than the solvent-based products that contribute to smog and global warming. How did you get into this business? I worked for the German chemical company BASF for more than 27 years. For three of those years, I was in Michigan, working as a marketing manager for the firm to introduce environmentally friendly paint systems to North America. We visited Vancouver on vacation, but we had no intention of leaving Germany. But we came here again in 2003 for a vacation on the Sunshine Coast and fell in love with the city. I started looking for an opportunity and saw this business for sale. We started the immigration process and in April 2006 my wife and I moved here and a month later I took over the business. At the time it was a stinky shop with all those nasty solvents being blown into the air. We became the first shop in Western Canada to introduce water-based paint. What do you like about owning your own business? I like being my own boss, even though I am working much harder. I build my own team -- it's much more fun than doing it for someone else. I could never go back to working for a corporation. Future plans? I would like to make a difference in the collision-repair industry. It is not the greenest industry and I would like to take the challenge to turn that image around. I would also like to work with other autobody shops on environmental and health-and-safety programs. © The Vancouver Province 2008
Letter from Mr. Penner, Environment Minister B.C. Publish Date Thursday, March 08, 2007 Dear Mr. Rubbert: Thank you for your email of January 8, 2007 informing me of the use of water-based solvents in your automotive collision repair and refinishing facility. I congratulate you for taking action to reduce the impact of your operations on the environment. The federal government is currently developing new product standards for solvents and paints that will lead to the types of emission reductions that you have already made voluntarily. I expect that this approach would also be of interest to the Greater Vancouver Regional District, since it would assist them in meeting goals in air quality and liquid waste management planning. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, and keep up the good work. Sincerely, Barry Penner Minister.
Water Works Publish Date Saturday, February 10, 2007 Change is in the air. Actually it might be more appropriate to say that it is in the water. With Europe curtailing all solvent based auto paint sales by January 1, 2007, not to mention Canada gearing up for a similar action over the next three years, converting to waterborne paint systems is fast becoming a top priority for progressive shops. A number of collision repair facilities have already made this transition. One such facility is False Creek Collision Plus. A 6,000 square foot shop located in busy downtown Vancouver, BC, False Creek Collision Plus is owned and operated by Bernhard Rubbert.Those who know Bernhard wouldn’t be surprised to learn that his facility has already made the jump to using water based paint, in this case BASF’s Glasurit 90 Line. Employed with BASF Coatings for 27 years, Bernhard spent more than 15 of those years in the automotive refinish division.In fact, Bernhard was a key player in bringing Glasurit 90 Line to the North American marketplace from Europe. I worked with BASF in the United States for almost three years in the 1990s. I was responsible for marketing Glasurit,” says Bernhard. “At that time we really needed to introduce the waterborne technology, specifi cally to California, which had the most stringent guidelines. Would False Creek Collision Plus be using waterborne coatings today if Bernhard hadn’t already been intimately involved with it? It’s not at all unlikely. One thing you can say for sure about Bernhard is that he is not afraid to try new and different things. After all, he left a career at BASF spanning nearly three decades to own and operate a collision repair facility. When I made the decision to try something new, I was immediately thinking that I would stick with the collision repair business,” says Bernhard. "Those who know Bernhard wouldn’t be surprised to learn that his facility has already made the jump to using water based paint." It certainly isn’t unheard of for someone who works in one sector of the automotive industry to move to another sector. But how many of those people made the jump so wholeheartedly that they were willing to move their whole family from BASF Coatings headquarters in Munster, Germany to a new life in Vancouver? NEW EXPERIENCE Originally we were going to move to the United States,” says Bernhard. “We had already lived in Michigan and we liked it.” That plan was revised somewhat after a family vacation to Vancouver in 2004. Bernhard had been to the city before on business and knew it very well, but British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast was a new experience for his wife, Luise, and their sons, Th omas and Christian. They fell in love with the area,” says Bernhard. “The decision to move here was one that my family and I took together. Bernhard and his son Christian emigrated in April, and Thomas followed in November. Luise will hop the pond after the sale of the family’s property in Germany is completed. After deciding on an area in which to live, Bernhard conducted exhaustive research in order to find the right kind of shop. He eventually found False Creek Collision by searching the Internet. Bernhard says he chose this facility in particular both for where it is situated and for its capacity for future growth. False Creek Collision Ltd. was already a well established business, and been going for about 45 years when I purchased it,” says Bernhard. “It’s definitely a good location, right in downtown Vancouver. It’s not a gigantic facility, but it has immense potential. Bernhard said that from the beginning he knew that his shop would be using a waterborne paint system. What he didn’t know was that making this transition would make False Creek Collision Plus the fi rst shop in all of British Columbia to use water based coatings. Not only was False Creek Collision Plus the very fi rst, at the time of publication they are still the only facility operating in the province that uses waterborne paint. This came as a bit of a surprise to Bernhard. His years in marketing and developing paint systems, specifically Glasurit 90 Line gives him the perspective to know that water based paint solutions do work in the collision repair setting. Glasurit 90 Line was first introduced in Europe about 12 years ago,” says Bernhard. “By this point it can be considered a well proven technology. BASF’s waterborne off ering isn’t exactly a newcomer to the Canadian scene either, having already been available here for several years. Michael Kukura is a BASF Technical Representative based out of Vancouver, BC. He believes that waterborne coatings will become more dominant over the next three years. Bernhard is going down the right avenues to move his business forward,” says Michael. “As far as I know, his was the first collision facility in the province to work with waterborne paint as a stand alone system, and it remains the only one at the present time. Michael also notes that Glasurit 90 Line is a technology with a proven track record, pointing out that what works in Europe will work in Canada. This is totally different from the old water based lacquers,” says Michael. “Many of the OEMs are now using low VOC coatings in their factories. Right now, clearcoats are still a catalyzed product, but low VOC clearcoats are being developed.” HIGHEST STANDARDS Bernhard is never slow in assessing opportunities and making a decision. Very soon after Bernhard purchased the facility, False Creek Collision became part of the Collision Plus network. Collision Plus is composed of independently owned and operated collision repair facilities located throughout British Columbia. I like very much their approach to the network concept,” says Bernhard. “They insist on adhering to the highest standards in performance, and they off er the best technology exchange. All of the shops have their own territories, so we don’t compete with each other. That means we can make sure that we go out of our way to help one another. Shawn Nelson is the Managing Partner for the Collision Plus network. He says that Bernhard’s management style fits in very well with the organization’s focus and mission.Bernhard may be new to managing a facility, but feedback I’ve received from the industry can be summed up in two words: honesty and integrity,” says Shawn. “After talking to him for a few minutes you can tell that he cares about the industry and he cares about the safety of his workforce.” Life holds many decisions for each of us. Sometimes these choices are not so easy to make. But for Bernhard Rubbert, the decision to use waterborne paints was clear. As we head towards 2010, it is shops like False Creek Collision Plus that will be leading the way.
Local car repair shop using environment-friendly paints Publish Date Thursday, November 23, 2006 Bernhard Rubbert wants car repair customers to help to save the environment when their vehicle needs a paint job. The recent arrival from Germany is believed to be the first body shop owner in British Columbia to use only waterborne refinishing paints to minimize harmful emissions associated with solvent-based paints. "No, they wonít wash off the first time it rains," Rubbert laughs in an interview. "They have been thoroughly tested and widely used in Europe for 12 years." The new owner of Kitsilano's False Creek Collision Plus said waterborne paints are just as effective as traditional coatings and need not cost more. Painters like them because they donít smell and are less hazardous than solvent-based paints. A few other body shops offer waterborne systems in conjunction with conventional systems but the technology has yet to become mainstream in North America because it is not widely known and clean air regulations, outside of California, are less strict. That will change if Ottawa follows through with promised legislation to cut back on emissions of volatile organic compounds believed to contribute to global warming and ozone depletion. © Vancouver Sun 2006 |
|---|
