May 20, 2021—Greg Peeters spent 35 years in the collision repair world, working with dealership groups and MSOs. Several years ago, he realized something that others were beginning to catch onto.
“Every car we touch is going to need a calibration of some sort,” he says.
With advanced driver-assistance systems still relatively unknown, Peeters says he decided to dive headfirst into the technology, educating himself and sopping up every bit of information he could find on the topic. Once he did that, he saw an opportunity on the horizon.
The idea transformed into the company he owns and operates today — Car ADAS Solutions, which along with operating its own standalone ADAS calibration center in Salt Lake City, Utah, offers turnkey ADAS calibration centers through a licensing agreement with shops.
“Our ultimate goal was to perfect all the pieces of the puzzle and then enable others through a licensing program,” Peeters says.
Because the space needed is often such a hindering factor for shops looking to bring ADAS calibrations in-house, Peeters is a big believer in standalone calibration centers, completely separate entities from collision repair shops. He says he sees a big market in shop owners installing these centers on property alongside their shop, where they can complete all the calibrations their shop needs, while also taking in work from shops around them that don’t have the capabilities.
Peeters product offers assistance in every facet of center installation, which he says takes around 45 days. His company evaluates the site you have and then provides training, equipment, and management software. It will also stay on-site during the launch of the center to help work through any problems. Car ADAS Solutions is also available for technical support through the lifespan of the center.
Peeters says he sees now as a great time for shops to invest in a calibration center.
“At one point, you didn’t necessarily need a paint booth or a frame rack, or a mixing booth,” he says of current shop staples. “ADAS is next.”
In the immediate future, an increasing number of vehicles will need calibrations following collisions, and will require different calibrations with different systems. Being able to perform in-house calibrations will be vital for your own shop, but also valuable for other shops in your area.
And as technology in vehicles advances and collisions become less common, Peeters says he anticipates calibrations will become necessary during different times throughout a vehicle's lifespan, whether it was in a collision or not, such as during a vehicle's sale. Peeters expects a certificate of calibration could be necessary in those situations.
“It only makes sense to have this safety net,” he says.
To learn more about the potential future of ADAS and Car ADAS Solutions, listen to the latest edition of FenderBender's podcast, the CollisionCast, which features a conversation with Peeters.
