Collision Industry Insights: Q&A with Collision Industry Expert Jay Cassel
With more than 30 years in the collision repair industry, Jay Cassel brings a deep understanding of shop operations, dealership management, and process improvement to his role as an OEC Quality Coach. In this interview, Jay shares his insights on the biggest challenges facing today's collision shops, his approach to coaching, and how focusing on profitability and efficiency helps shops achieve long-term success.
How did you get started in the collision repair industry?
I started in the early '90s at a dealership detail center. The body shop manager was overwhelmed with work…It was during the big Ford F-150 paint recall, and they asked me to step in as a body technician. I worked my way up from there, spending over a decade as an A-tech before moving into estimating and management.
Eventually, I specialized in turning around struggling dealership-owned shops. I ran one Pennsylvania shop that earned Toyota's Collision Center of the Year three years in a row. My last management role was at a large Mercedes-Benz and Porsche-Certified collision center doing over $1 million a month in repairs with strong gross profits. After that, I transitioned into coaching with OEC, and I've been helping shops improve ever since.