Membership benefits extend from communication to credit collection to insurance, but it's the pursuit of industry goals and objectives through an active, on-going campaign which affords the greatest benefit to ABPA member firms.

In the mid-'80s, the Speakers Bureau was formed because of the growing number of requests made on the Association by outside entitites such as insurance companies, consumer groups, body shops and the working press. Of necessity, members of the Speakers Bureau also became the first line of defense for the industry which found itself under consistent attack by several OEM manufacturers as well as other entities--the United Auto Workers, state insurance regulators, consumer advocates and legislators. Traditionalists felt financially threatened and openly questioned the safety, quality and guarantees of alternative aftermarket body parts.

Members of the Board and the Speakers Bureau carry the message of the Association and the industry to those meetings, hearings, panel discussions, conferences, conventions and seminars where the subject of "aftermarket body parts" is among the central issues. ABPA spends a lot of time, energy and effort to "tell and sell" the message of aftermarket body parts, especially as it pertains to the value of these products for the North American motoring public.

ABPA representatives have appeared and testified in such diverse places as Salem, Or., Topeka, KS., Albany, NY, Baton Rouge, LA., Columbia, SC, and Chicago, Il. In all, the Association has appeared in more than 20 states during the past several years to literally "defend the industry" against unwarranted and blatant attacks meant to deceive the public.

To help the member better disseminate the message, the Association has produced three separate audio-visual presentations. In 1986, a 22 minute slide show entitled "Telling Our Story" was produced with a multi-segmented audience in mind: the insurance industry, consumers and the body shops. In 1987, the slide show, "ABPA and the Body Shops-Partners in Progress," was produced. This is a 15 minute sound on slide presentation aimed specifically at the body shop repair trade. In 1988, ABPA tackled its most comprehensive project-a 15 minute VCR presentation entitled, "Solving the Collision Repair Puzzle." This $12,000 project was completed in a period of four months and is unique in that it has been produced to allow the ABPA members-if they desire-to customize the message by including individualized, specific film footage of a member's place of business, personnel and products. It still carries a timely message.

Besides the Speakers Bureau activity, ABPA has conducted and/or participated in meetings in Canada, Italy and Taiwan in order to heighten the understanding of the industry and to bring about greater acceptance of aftermarket body parts products. As a result of those meetings, important industry programs such as Certification, Identification and Warranty were started.

In 1985, the five year, limited warranty was formulated, designed to help allay the FUD-fear, uncertainty and doubt-about aftermarket products. Presently, 40 percent of the members use this written warranty program while many extend their own form of warranty--based on ABPA's--on an individualized, local basis. In 1988, the Association also established a Limited Lifetime Warranty (labor excluded) which many members currently use.

In early 1986, ABPA prevailed upon overseas manufacturers to begin identifying their products in specific areas with stamped corporate symbols and logos. Each symbol is filed with ABPA and presently, more than 45 manufacturers, both foreign and domestic, are on record with their identifying mark. An ID chart is printed periodically and circulated to the industry.

The Certification program, which was introduced to the ABPA membership in November, 1986, began in January, 1987, when 15 different manufacturers from three countries signed licensing agreements to participate. The program, which is administered and validated by a professional testing laboratory, is based on a manufacturer's meeting industry standards for both metal and plastic parts. A manufacturer's plant, quality control procedures and personnel are additionally evaluated along with the products produced. In January, 1988, ABPA assigned the rights to this program over to the Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) which was specifically founded to administer and finance this program. ABPA supports CAPA and has one position on that organizations board of directors. One ABPA member also sits on CAPA's Technical Committee. ABPA also assists CAPA in distributing the Directory of Certified Aftermarket Body Parts to the industry.

Presently, the Association is conducting several other programs which will directly benefit the members of ABPA.

In November, 1989, the Unified Legal Defense Fund was established. The Fund is used to strictly protect the industry and respective members from carmaker lawsuits, especially as they pertain to patent infringement and other legal challenges in which "survival of the industry" becomes the paramount issue. However, only participating contributors may appeal to the Fund in the event of a legal challenge.

The 800 Association Program was endorsed by the Board in December, 1989. This is a program which can save ABPA members hundreds--and even thousands--of dollars on their AT&T incoming WATS usage.

The Board continually evaluates a cooperative shipping program, with the intent of realizing savings for its members on containerized freight contracts. ABPA's activity in this area has been instrumental in helping members which directly import products to save thousands of dollars annually in shipping charges.

There are other money-saving benefits such as an Alamo reduced-rate rental program, overnight delivery savings through Fed Ex.