New Instructors Bring Diverse Specialties to Chief University

MADISON, Ind., June 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The collision repair industry is evolving, and so is Chief University. In addition to introducing the Aluminum Damage Analysis and Repair Technology course and updating its flagship Design Based Repair course this year, Chief Automotive Technologies has also bolstered its Chief University instructional staff. Three instructors with diverse collision repair backgrounds have been added to the in-house Chief University team, and they will share their expertise at courses held across the country.

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"We are continuously enhancing the Chief University curriculum to include advanced techniques for today's technicians, but even the best content needs the right instructors to make an impact," says Ken Boylan, global training manager for Chief. "That's why we brought three instructors onboard who have practical knowledge ranging from collision dynamics and estimating to advanced equipment and vehicle specifications. These instructors will lead Chief University courses throughout the year, and course participants will benefit greatly from their insights."

The new Chief University instructors include Ruben Castorena, Len Gray and Jeff Mathews. Castorena, who is I-CAR^® Platinum^™ certified, served in the insurance industry as an automotive damage appraiser before joining Chief's research and specification team in 2010. At Chief's Irvine, Calif., measuring and specification center, Castorena developed the vehicle repair data needed to return damaged vehicles to OEM specs. He remains based in Irvine.

Len Gray got his start in the collision repair industry in 1975 as a body technician and painter. Since then, he has held a wide variety of roles, including vehicle insurance appraiser, dealership manager and heavy-duty truck body shop manager. Gray served as an instructor at Chief's Dallas training center from 1995 to 2003, and is currently based in Beaumont, Texas.

Jeff Mathews is based at Chief's headquarters in Madison, Ind., where he previously provided technical support for Chief customers and trained distributors. He has been with Chief parent company Vehicle Service Group (VSG) for more than 10 years, and also formerly served as a product consultant, customer service supervisor and trainer for Chief sister company Rotary Lift. Mathews has extensive knowledge about the Chief product line, and how to repair or troubleshoot equipment.

Castorena, Gray, Mathews and the rest of the Chief University training staff will conduct more than 20 courses during the third quarter this year, many of which are listed below. For a complete, up-to-date schedule and to register, visit www.chiefautomotive.com/Chief-University.

Most Chief University classes are approved for I-CAR credit hours through the I-CAR Industry Training Alliance^® program. Chief training also has been certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) for compliance with the Continuing Automotive Service Education (CASE) Standards.

To learn more about Chief University, visit www.chiefautomotive.com/Chief-University or call (800) 445-9262. Chief is active on Twitter, twitter.com/ChiefAutomotive and Facebook, www.facebook.com/ChiefAutomotive. For video, visit our Vimeo channel, http://vimeo.com/groups/chief.

About Chief Automotive Technologies

Chief Automotive Technologies, a Vehicle Service Group (VSG) brand, is one of the world's largest manufacturers of high-quality collision repair products and services. The Chief product line includes frame-pulling equipment, vehicle-anchoring systems, measuring systems, vehicle frame specifications and fusion equipment including welders, rivet guns and fume extractors. Chief is also a leading provider of comprehensive training on structural analysis, measuring, collision dynamics, aluminum repair, and design based repair.

VSG comprises nine global collision repair and vehicle lifting brands: Chief Automotive Technologies, Elektron, Rotary Lift^®, Forward^® Lift, Direct-Lift^®, Hanmecson^®, Revolution^® Lift, Blitz^® and nogra^®. Based in Madison, Ind., VSG has operations worldwide, including ISO 9001-certified manufacturing facilities on three continents.

SOURCE Chief Automotive Technologies

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http://www.chiefautomotive.com