The Rebuilder of Today: Will He Be the Rebuilder of Tomorrow? By Pete Perthel (Reprinted from the premier issue of the Exchange, August 1983.) Today’s electrical rebuilder is faced with a challenge that has been unequaled in the past. Keeping abreast of industry changes, inherent problems with each design change, updating and expanding of inventories, new equip- ment, and the constant appearance of new models is forcing the rebuilder to make new assessments of his position in the automotive aftermarket. These words apply to all rebuilders large and small, but the majority of elec- trical rebuilding shops are operated on what should be considered small scale. That is, there are 12 employees or less and the market territory is basically limited to a radius of 50 miles. It is the small rebuilder who is going to have to use every resource available to him to keep pace in the marketplace of the future. The increase in operating expenses and foreign competition have cut profits for all businesses in the United States today. The recent recession has com- pounded this problem tenfold. These high costs of operation and maintaining adequate inventories in the fast chang- ing, high tech automotive aftermarket are going to bring about some dramatic changes for the small rebuilder. Substitution has been a way of life in the rebuilding field since its inception and is likely to increase as more and more model changes reach the market- place. These changes are being made faster and more radical with the advent of exotic metals, super plastics and advanced micro-electronics. If the rebuilder of today plans on being the rebuilder of tomorrow he is going to have to have an understanding of elec- tronic theory and a good working knowledge of automotive electronic cir- cuitry. Most electrical rebuilders are quite innovative and very resourceful, but will this be enough for the future? The need for technical expertise is increasing every day in all mechanical fields. This means that the rebuilder is going to have to expand his technical capabilities by all means available to him. There are many ways already available that not everyone is making use of. These include seminars, original equipment manuals and their updates, part-time school courses and many pri- vate brand manuals. This is not to say that all rebuilders are not taking advan- tage of these educational benefits, but many shops have manuals with more dust on them than the floor does. Education is something that can’t be taken away or replaced and it never hurts to have it, so if you don’t have it— GET IT! If you do—GET SOME MORE! Remember it never hurts.