A Real Eye-Opener

By Tara Taffera

If there is one issue of AGRR magazine that really opens your eyes to what is happening in the auto glass and transportation industries, this one is it.

I hope you all will take the time to read the ten page special report beginning on page 22. AGRR magazine publisher Debra Levy outlines how technological and generation-al shifts are changing the scope of transportation. Auto glass companies will find out how the landscape is changing and what they can do now to adapt for the future.

She tells stories of real people who are ditching their car ownerships for everything from ride-sharing services to bikes and scooters. It’s packed with stats and figures. Some of them will amaze you and hopefully will cause you to take a serious look at how this will affect your business. What will you, or the family that you pass your company to, do when there is less auto glass to replace?

When you are retired and looking back on your life, you may find yourself saying, “Remember when people owned cars?”

It’s interesting when these major shifts take place. I wrote an article for this issue (see page 32)about how installers handle the aches, pains and injuries that come along with choosing auto glass as a career. I loved talking to auto glass technicians and hearing about the macho story swapping of years gone by before the days of setting tools. People don’t boast about lifting the heaviest windshields anymore. Luckily for today’s technicians, the glass is getting light-er which helps a little. In fact, I’m told that if someone posts a photo in one of the auto glass Facebook groups, a member will call out an-other for not lifting the windshield properly, etc.

This article is definitely not about buying expensive setting tools. It talks about realistic things technicians can do, the way they lift the windshield for instance, to create the least amount of stress on their bodies. When they learn how to do it right, both newbie and veterans are shocked at the difference.

I imagine you too will be shocked at a few things you read this month, but hopefully it spurs you to take action and make some positive changes for the future.

I look forward to seeing you at Auto Glass WeekTM in Indianapolis. Feel free to come find me and tell me your stories. I can’t wait to hear them.

Tara Taffera is the editorial director of AGRR magazine/glassBYTEs.com.
ttaffera@glass.com

To view the laid-in version of this article in our digital edition, CLICK HERE.