Lexus College Announces Partnership with SWAFC

July 2009

SHERWIN-WILLIAMS SELECTED BY LEXUS COLLEGE TO OFFER ESTIMATOR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

“Estimating Solutions for Profit” Program

Will Be Offered to All Lexus Vehicle Damage Estimators

Warrensville Heights, OH – Lexus recently announced its continued partnership with Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Corp. (SWAFC) to offer the Estimating Solutions for Profit class as part of its Lexus College estimator certification program.

Estimating Solutions for Profit, a seven-hour, hands-on workshop, provides estimators with the techniques, skills, and information necessary to write more profitable estimates. The class comprises real world estimating scenarios and industry-specific issues pertaining to Lexus body shop operations and insurance company relations.

The damage estimators participating in Lexus College’s new estimator certification program will be challenged to move away from the traditional method of estimating and embrace a more comprehensive approach—“blueprinting” the repair plan.

“Sherwin-Williams’ Estimating Solutions for Profit class is a great fit for our Lexus estimators, because it integrates the Lexus ‘Customer First’ philosophy and raises the customer’s experience level in the Lexus Collision Center,” said Matt Monahan, Lexus Senior Dealer Operations Consultant.

“Our partnership with Toyota Motor Sales USA has provided an effective training program for their dealership collision center estimators for the past eight years, and we are excited to extend the Estimating Solutions for Profit program to Lexus College,” said Steve Feltovich, SWAFC Business Consulting Services Manager.

SWAFC’s Estimating Solutions for Profit class is one of the industry’s most recognized training courses; it is also approved and accredited by the Automotive Management Institute (AMI) and offers 12 credits toward AMI’s diploma program.

SWAFC’s Estimating Solutions for Profit course will be available to all of Lexus’s 200 dealership partners nationwide, which represent approximately 55 collision centers within its dealer network. Non-Lexus dealerships or independent body shops’ estimators interested in attending a SWAFC’s Estimating Solutions for Profit class can visit http://www.sherwin-automotive.com/Training/TrainingCourses.aspx for more information and a class schedule.

The Sherwin-Williams Company, founded in 1866, is one of the world's leading companies in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of coatings and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers. Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Corporation, a subsidiary of The Sherwin-Williams Company, manufactures and distributes a complete line of advanced-technology paint and coating systems for automotive and fleet refinishing industries