The Auto Glass Safety Council Recently Elected Jacques Navant President. Navant sat down with AGRR to discuss his new role.
By Abby Bowman
One summer, a young man started a part-time job at an auto glass warehouse. He didn’t mean for the job to become a career, but at some point, summer turned into fall, fall led to winter, and before he knew it, auto glass had become his life.
The industry never stopped being his life, and his years in it brought him more and more opportunities. He was recently elected president of the Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC).
AGRR magazine sat down with Jacques Navant to discuss his new role at the AGSC, his career, and his excitement for the future in the “summer job that never ended.”
You became president of the AGSC in May. What was your initial reaction when you learned you’d been elected?
I felt shock and a healthy sense of fear. I couldn’t believe it was happening. For all intents and purposes, this is one of the highest positions in our industry, so it’s just a huge honor. It seems surreal. Now, after the fact, it is definitely soaking in. I got a lot of great calls from a lot of great people and a lot of great comments. I feel proud and lucky, and we look forward to getting a lot of work done.
How did you first get involved in the auto glass industry?
It was essentially a summer job that never ended. I started part-time in a glass warehouse, and it just mutated into a lifelong career.
I was working for one of the larger companies. I started in the summertime, the busy season, and I was just a warehouse driver. They had a bunch of automotive technicians quit, so my manager at the time was like, “Hey, you’re installing tomorrow,” and I’d never done that before.
So I kind of just jumped right in and started making good money. I liked it, and I liked to train people after I learned what I was doing. I enjoyed being a mobile technician because every day was a different challenge, and it was fun.
How did you get involved with the AGSC?
I did 22 years with that larger glass company that wasn’t an AGSC member. After I left them, I went to work for Don’s Mobile Glass in Modesto, California, with Dave Leach and Stephen Mort. Stephen told me to get involved [with AGSC], and I had my first meeting. I’d never heard of the organization at my first meeting, and I fell in love as I sat with a bunch of passionate people and talked about what I’ve built my adult life around—auto glass. So, it was cool to meet like-minded people.
When you started in the industry and/or with AGSC, did you ever foresee where you would be now?
(Chuckling) No!
Why is the AGSC important to you?
Maturing into the industry at a larger company, you might look at groups like AGSC and say, “Oh, geez, they’re just throwing more rules at me, trying to make my job harder.”
But when you’re involved in the AGSC, you take part in the committee meetings—especially the Automotive Glass Replacement Safety Standard (AGRSS) Committee—and you get to help shape all those best practices. You help keep customers safe. It’s a big deal. It’s a heavy responsibility for everybody that gets involved. I wouldn’t take a single day back; it’s really fun.
Why is the AGSC important to the auto glass industry?
The most important part is to help keep [the industry] current and up-to-date. It’s easy to get lost and complacent, whether you’re that one lone guy in a truck, a company of 40–50, or even larger than that.
It is especially easy to get lost nowadays because technology is changing rapidly. Almost every day, I’m surprised by a new car that rolls into the shop with all its accoutrements and attachments. It blows my mind.
So I think it’s important for everybody in this industry to get involved in the AGSC because that way, you’re “future-proofing” your business. You have one eye on the task in front of you and the other eye on what could be happening a few years down the line.
What’s the biggest misconception about the AGSC?
It’s a morbid habit of mine, perusing social media and seeing what people say not just about the AGSC but about our industry in general. The major misconception I see is that the certification AGSC gives you is just a piece of paper.
It’s not. It’s verification of knowledge. It’s something you can hang on your wall for customers to see. It shows that you care enough to engage in your industry—that you get your team, or just yourself, certified to ensure your knowledge base is up to date.
AGSC Initiatives and ADAS Leadership
What AGSC initiatives are you excited about?
I’m extremely excited about the Repair of Laminated Automotive Glass Standard 2 (ROLAGS 2), the updated repair standard. We’re cutting away a lot of the gray on Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) features.
Rock chip repair is more important now than ever because of all the advanced safety features attached to windshields. You run into problems with part availability and calibration software. ROLAGS 2 will be one of the biggest achievements the AGSC has made in a while.
We’re also working hard on a Customer Service Representative (CSR) certification program. We have a ton of questions for the exam that we’re going through. Hopefully, we’ll have a basic certification done by the committee meeting in September.
We also have the ADAS certification program in development. We’re tightening up a large bank of questions. That’ll give us two great products to help broaden industry knowledge.
You also chair the ADAS Committee. How important is ADAS to the auto glass industry?
It is mission-critical for our industry. For a lot of people, it’s still something very new. Not everyone is comfortable with the technology or even using a scan tool.
So, I think it is a key opportunity for up-and-coming companies to future-proof their business and understand the “what” and the “why” behind calibrations. There’s a huge opportunity to do calibrations properly and, most importantly, to keep customers safe.
How is ADAS important to the AGSC?
When ADAS started appearing regularly, it scared a lot of people. But the AGSC dove deep into it. That led to some uncomfortable committee meetings, but it helped us build the current AGRSS standard to address ADAS and calibrations thoroughly.
ADAS is mission-critical—because you can’t be the Auto Glass Safety Council without understanding vehicle safety systems.
Looking Ahead
You’re one of the youngest presidents AGSC has ever had, yet you’ve had a long career. Any thoughts?
Well, I started young. I’m sure anyone who reads this understands that the auto glass industry is weird—it gets into your blood.
Toward the beginning of my career, when I was a mobile tech, I was practically creepy. I carried little notebooks (which I still have) where I took notes on every job I worked on. So it’s almost addictive.
You’re heavily involved with Auto Glass Week™. What are you most excited about?
I’m extremely excited about Auto Glass Week. We’ve put together some great seminars.
This year, we’ve really improved the member meeting. It will be at ICEBAR Orlando on Thursday evening during Auto Glass Week™, and we’re raffling off a full calibration system—target stands, tablet, training and certification. It’s about a $19,000 value.
That should inspire our members to show up, network in person, and not just through a screen. Get out there, be active, and maybe win some equipment.
Abby Bowman is the associate editor of AGRR magazine. Email her at abowman@glass.com and connect with her on LinkedIn.
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