The National Windshield Repair Association (NWRA) and the Auto Glass Safety Council™ (AGSC) recently announced that they will consolidate into one group, effective January 1, 2019. Though technically not a merger, NWRA will dissolve its membership, and its members, standards and work products and will be welcomed into the newly formed Windshield Repair Division of the Council.
We are excited about this development and believe it will allow us to do even more work for the windshield repair industry. We will continue to develop standards, maintain the ROLAGS standard and more. The board is optimistic about the future and you should be, too.
This announcement, first made at Auto Glass Week™ in San Antonio (see related story on page 18), has generated a lot of buzz and excitement, but undoubtedly there are also questions and even some concerns. I am here to dispel some of the concerns of NWRA members now and answer some of the most common questions we have heard so far.
Why Not Just Merge?
Though the two groups are joining together, the arrangement is technically not a merger. Instead, NWRA is dissolving and its members and resources will be designated as being part of the AGSC. Joining the groups together in this manner is actually easier legally.
Likewise, the next obvious question is: why do this at all?
We are doing this to make a stronger more unified voice when we represent the auto glass industry before audiences such as insurers, fleets, government entities and more. Further, this a good amount of duplication (certification, government affairs) between both groups.
It is hoped that both groups will be consolidated by January 1, 2019.
Repair-Only?
One of the top questions we have heard from members has to do with repair-only companies. Can they still be members of the new consolidated group? Yes, the new consolidated group includes a Windshield Repair Division for companies that solely repair auto glass (but do not do replacement). You still may be wondering what will happen to the voice of the NWRA and the windshield repair industry at large. A number of protections and program have been put in place to make sure that repair is well represented in the AGSC. A Windshield Repair Division has been formed. It will be made up of those who solely repair glass as well as Registered Members that also repair. The Division will have a Steering Committee of at least six people, and of those six, at least one hall be a member of the AGSC board of directors. The Windshield Repair division will appoint the chairpersons of all repair-related Standards as well as develop programs and services for repair.
Repair-only companies will not be subject to the AGSC’s audit program, but companies that replace auto glass, too, will be required to be Registered Members of the AGSC eventually. AGSC Registered Member companies are audited on a regular basis.
Contact Us
If you have more questions about the consolidation, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m an email away, and am excited to discuss this exciting development for the
NWRA with you.
Troy Mason is president of the National Windshield Repair Association and CEO of Technica Glass Inc. in South Jordan, Utah.
troy.mason@technicaglass.com
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