MAACO Upgrades to Audatex Estimating

SAN DIEGO, CA. Oct, 7, 2008 - Audatex North America, Inc., announced Tuesday that MAACO Collision Repair & Auto Painting has signed a new multi-year agreement to use Audatex Estimating and other complementary Audatex software in its U.S. auto collision repair and paint centers.

The agreement covers all 475 MAACO franchised centers and marks the five-year anniversary of partnership between MAACO and Audatex, a global provider of software and services for the auto collision repair industry.

Thomas F. Monaghan, Vice President of Operations for MAACO Enterprises, Inc., said the new agreement is the next logical step in continuing to facilitate accuracy, efficiency, and customer satisfaction for MAACO centers. MAACO repairs and paints almost 700,000 vehicles every year. Since 1972, the franchise chain has provided bodywork and auto painting for more than 17 million vehicles. Standardized quality and production systems enable MAACO franchises to work quickly and charge less. Besides retail customers, about one-fourth of MAACO’s business comes from fleet managers and accident management companies.

“One of our biggest assets in day-to-day operations is the ability to use a program like Audatex Estimating,” Monaghan said. “Our business procedures call for writing a complete estimate that will be seen by the consumer, and also loaded into our proprietary systems. Audatex Estimating provides both our repair professionals and our customers with a clear understanding of the repair work required, and it integrates smoothly with our national network.”

Monaghan said that prior to 2003, MAACO’s U.S. centers managed auto collision work and prepared job estimates using printed books of repair times and parts. With the aid of Audatex Estimating, Monaghan estimates that MAACO has grown its auto collision repair business by approximately 40 percent in the past five years. The software has also been instrumental in MAACO’s unique customer-driven, retail type of experience.

“We sit down and write the estimate side-by-side with the customer,” Monaghan said. “Audatex Estimating adds a lot of credibility, provides our teams with additional technical knowledge, and enables us to build value. That’s especially true because most of our customers have had non-structural accident damage to their vehicles, and choose to pay for repairs without filing an insurance claim.”

John Kotsopoulos, Managing Director of Audatex for North America, said the MAACO partnership illustrates Audatex’s commitment to providing products and services that help collision repairers, insurers and automotive recyclers better manage their businesses and improve customer satisfaction.

Kotsopoulos said, “The volume of repairs MAACO processes nationally, and their focus on customer satisfaction, has demanded our solutions stand up to the job. For the past five years, we have worked with MAACO to ensure their needs are met and we look forward to continuing our partnership.”