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Top TechnicianIAAF update
IAAF update
12 Jan 2010
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IAAF spells out bid to attract garage members
GARAGES will be asked to pay £10 per month to join the recently-formed Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF).
The IAAF’s Quintin Cornforth (pictured) said membership would be half price for the remainder of the year. It will rise to £20 per month in 2011.
Formed only last week, the IAAF is an evolution of the Automotive Distribution Federation (ADF) that aims to represent the independent workshop trade as well as suppliers, distributors and factors. It has three divisions representing distributors, garages and specialists in political lobbying.
Garages that decide to join will be able to subscribe to a technical helpline service (provided by Mototek) for £130 per year.
Asked why garages might want to join the IAAF, Quintin said political representation in both UK and EU parliaments was the main benefit.
The IAAF is hoping to capitalise on the lobbying momentum achieved during the Right To Repair Campaign, which comes to an end later this year.
“Garages may say ‘how important is lobbying?’ but if we don’t fight our corner in the corridors of power in London and Brussels, we will end up losing out to the very effective lobbying of the well-funded VMs,” said Quintin.
“The independent garage in the UK just does not get his voice and his interests looked after by any current organisation and that needs to be addressed.”
Quintin claimed there would be no conflict of interest between the benefits offered to garages by the IAAF and the schemes offered to workshops by parts companies and distributors, many of which are now by default IAAF members, having been part of the former ADF.
“The real difference is that the various distributor member schemes are commercial tie-ins between distributors and garage installer customers who offer all sorts of attributes that lock them together from a commercial point of view,” said Quintin.
“We have no wish to step on the toes of our members’ schemes. We want to pull every level of the industry together. The only missing component in our representation until now has been the guys installing the parts.
“There is no intention to start growing our offer to independents such that it steps on the toes of our other members. It would be a silly thing to do.”
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