The Answer-Men: Rebuilders Get Serious About Sharing Knowledge Part I By Traci Matt STAFF WRITER Editor’s Note: It has become obvious that only those who work smart are going to survive in this industry. We’ve used a lot of space in the Exchange telling you to stay up on your education, and this short series is intended to show you how to do just that. Beginning this month we will pro- file rebuilders who also teach, and in the October issue Part II will talk to vendors and other professionals who also offer just the information you’ve been missing. In the early 1980s if you went look- ing for technical or business training in electrical rebuilding, you called, ah, well, there wasn’t anyone to call. Bob Goulding was just getting his start and no one outside the Midwest had even heard the name Joe Davis. Today the classified sections of many industry publications are sprin- kled with those willing to share their knowledge. Some are rebuilders who, for one reason or another, have chosen to retire or semi-retire to start teaching. Others are vendors willing to share information, specialists in electrical theory, or consultants in the finance and business arenas. And the help comes in all price ranges. Today there is no excuse not to be an expert in the field of automotive electrical rebuilding. But can you afford it? Do these guys really know more than you do? Where would you find the time? Wouldn’t it be better to just figure it out yourself? And how do you assess your needs when it comes to education? “Rebuilders that have been success- ful in their careers have much to offer the newer generation of rebuilders,” said Glenn Cheaney, a “semi-retired” rebuilder with over 45 years of experi- ence who began consulting in 1998. “Rebuilders like me that have a passion for the profession but are tired of being in business will find teaching a willing student rewarding. I try to teach quality, technique, business practice and ethics, all of which I had to learn the hard way. Having made almost every mistake possible at some time gives me opportunity possibly to keep someone else from having to tread in all my footsteps.” According to Cheaney, the frustra- tion about consulting in electrical rebuilding is the combination of the time and money factors. “Tt’s not something one can share all the detailed knowledge necessary in a week or two. There are, I am sure, cer- tain circumstances where a big change can be made in a brief period,” he said. “My experience is that those who need it worst are the ones least able to afford the service. That’s why in my ERE ad I suggest that I will gladly help anyone I can for free. This profession has given me opportunity to have most of the buttons and whistles most people aspire to. My needs are much less now. I would like to give something back if I can.” Cheaney began work in his father’s magneto, starter and generator shop at age 12 in 1955. When his father died five years later, he was on his own. “T was in business for myself for the most part of the next 37 years,” he said. “T would seek advice from old-timers. There weren’t any consultants then.” He taught himself about alternators when they came on the scene. Then he taught himself to rebuild rotors, rewind stators, rebuild drives, remanufacture solenoids (completely stripped out to the empty can), reshaft armatures, and do many other things. He made machinery and bought what he needed to make his products the best. “Quality still counts in this business. True craftspeople are getting to be fewer and fewer,” he said. “We may have a smaller market but we are now and will be paid a premium for our expertise in the future.” One-Man Show John Jervelund, owner of Brantford Starter Alternator in Brantford, Ontario, said he’s tired of hearing about how no one can make money in rebuilding any- more, and he’s about to go out on the road with a one-day show to teach you how it can be done. “Tt’s the way the industry evolved,” he said. “When I got into it, electrical rebuilding was a license to make money. It didn’t take much, and the little guys could fudge. Now the big guys are in place to make money because they are businessmen. The smaller rebuilder has been under-serviced when it comes to business information, partly because they didn’t need it.” “Staying Alive: Survival strategies for the Small Rebuilder” is the name of the show, starring Jervelund, which will debut in Pittsburg, PA on November 10. The one-day seminar will not be a tech- nical lecture, but an interactive lesson in business practices aimed at shops with fewer than five rebuilders. “The big, big guys are always going to be around. The only other ones that are going to survive are the little guys because they can change on a moment’s notice. Most of them think they’re a dying breed, but I think if they get on this business thing they’Il be the ones to survive,” he said. “They need to know their costs and how to apply it in each and every case of everything you do eve