Sam Street, Australasian Paint & Panel Magazine Journalist Profile

Articles

InfoAgent: Taking advantage of ‘real-time’ data

6 days ago | paintandpanel.com.au | Sam Street

The automotive industry is driven by precision and efficiency. Whether it’s insurance providers assessing claims, mechanics sourcing the correct replacement parts or fleet managers optimising maintenance, access to accurate data is essential. One of the most significant game-changers in this space is real-time vehicle data, which enables businesses to make informed, data-driven decisions confidently.
ACRS: Time to align vehicle safety standards with Europe

6 days ago | paintandpanel.com.au | Sam Street

While Europe has embraced world-leading safety technologies, Australians are being left behind – driving cars that would not be allowed on European roads – the Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) says. Despite evidence that advanced vehicle safety features save lives, Australia has yet to adopt the European General Safety Regulation (EU GSR II, Regulation (EU) 2019/2144), which mandates a comprehensive suite of life-saving technologies.
PPG joins ‘Make it Zero’ initiative

6 days ago | paintandpanel.com.au | Sam Street

To underscore its commitment to sustainability and its 2030 sustainability targets, PPG has joined ‘Make it Zero’, a global initiative aimed at reducing scope three greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) home improvement sector. As part of this commitment, PPG’s Architectural Coatings business in Europe, Australia and New Zealand has become a signatory to the initiative’s decarbonisation targets.
BASF Coatings sets new standard

6 days ago | paintandpanel.com.au | Sam Street

BASF Coatings says its cloud-based platform, Refinity – a comprehensive suite of digital business solutions for the automotive refinish industry – provides a new standard for body shops worldwide, ensuring they can embrace sustainable digitalisation with confidence. With the latest launch of a new colour innovation and additional features, automotive refinish customers get seamless access to the most advanced digital colour experience, as well as business and training solutions.
GM recognises BASF Coatings

6 days ago | paintandpanel.com.au | Sam Street

General Motors presented BASF Coatings with a 2024 Supplier of the Year Award at GM’s 33rd annual Supplier of the Year event in Phoenix, Arizona, USA recently. “Our long-standing partnership with General Motors has been built over years of collaboration, shared values and a steadfast commitment to creating innovative solutions for our valued customer,” BASF Coatings president, Uta Holzenkamp, said.
New Snake Skin grabs and protects

1 week ago | paintandpanel.com.au | Sam Street

Introducing Snake Skin a great solution for protecting vehicles in the paint shop. This extra-wide HDPE plastic sheeting is build for durability and toughness. It has a generous six-metre width and 100-metre length. It is 10.5 microns thick and provides superior strength and excellent grip on a vehicle surface. It's available from SAPE.
Does the 2025 Manager of the Year work in your business?

1 week ago | paintandpanel.com.au | Sam Street

Do you have a manager that you simply couldn't do without? Who goes above and beyond for the business, is a great team leader and is constantly tinkering with processes to see what can be improved? Well don't you think you should nominate them for the 2025 Bodyshop Awards Manager of the Year? Click here and choose the 'shops self nominate option now. This is the fourth year of this award.
MTAQ holds vibrant draft Code of Conduct event

1 week ago | paintandpanel.com.au | Sam Street

Paint & Panel has had report that the MTAQ in person Code of Conduct draft review was a highly engaging and productive session last Saturday 12 April. What they did well was highlighting the key differences between the current and proposed Code. The forum was structured to encourage open discussion and genuine engagement. Participants were divided into small working groups and, over the course of three hours, collaboratively explored the proposed changes using the comparison slides.
Having problems sourcing parts and repair methods for Chinese imports?

1 week ago | paintandpanel.com.au | Sam Street

Paint & Panel is being informed that some of the new Chinese entrants into the market have little to no repair methods and that parts sourcing can be lengthy. There are now 16 Chinese brands in the marketplace. We hear that BYD have asked Thatcham to assist with repair methods which is commendable. It seems unbelievable that vehicles are being allowed into Australia with no clear methods to repair them - surely it should be part of the Australian Design Rules?
Tech tip: How to adjust booth air

1 week ago | paintandpanel.com.au | Sam Street

PPG national training manager Trevor Duke says achieving the best results when adjusting booth air is actually quite straight forward when you us the correct technics. “A good booth compressed air system doesn’t just give you technically clean air and plenty of volume, it also gives you different points of adjustment,” he said.