Collision Industry Conference (CIC), Southeast Collision Conference, and SCRS converge next week
The collision repair industry will converge next week in North Carolina for a lineup of events designed to drive the industry forward through collaboration, education, and strategic insight.
Starting Tuesday, the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) holds its open meeting, followed by the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) on Wednesday, and the Southeast Collision Conference (SEC) on Thursday and Friday.
Each of the events will be held at the Embassy Suites in Charlotte Concord, 5400 John Q. Hammons Drive NW.
SCRS Open Meeting
The SCRS open meeting will include a panel of speakers from the North Carolina Department of Insurance that will discuss consumer protections and effective complaint-resolution strategies.
Panelists will include North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, DOI Regional Director Mike LaBrose, and Vehicle Towing, Recovery, and Repair Analyst Belinda Harris.
The session will explore regulatory perspectives and collaborative approaches to improving outcomes for consumers and repairer businesses.
Following the meeting, active SCRS members can participate in the annual election of the association’s Board of Directors.
The meeting will be held on April 21 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., with the election happening at 6 p.m.
CIC Meeting
The CIC meeting will host a full day of panels focused on industry topics such as modern plastic repair, repair planning, AI and photo estimating, ADAS calibrations, OEM parts programs, repair legislation, and more.
Brian Herron, Opus IVS CEO, will join Aaron Schulenburg, SCRS executive director, for an open conversation on ADAS Map calibration documentation during The Industry Experiment.
The conversation will explore how the documentation supports insurer alignment and the role of identification technology in collision repair.
It will also include Opus IVS’ proposed merger with Repairfy, which prompted a CIC open mic conversation in January.
A Talent Pool & Education Committee presentation will focus on how plastic repair has evolved with advanced polymers, multi-layer composites, and ADAS features.
The Emerging Technologies Committee will examine the role of AI and preliminary photo-based estimating in collision repair, focusing on where it adds value and where it falls short.
Find a full description of CIC panels here.
The meeting will be held on April 22. Registration starts at 7 a.m. The meeting will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A reception will be held at 6 p.m.
SEC
Mike Anderson will kick off the SEC event on Thursday with a keynote address on leadership best practices. It will focus on mastering the art of delegation to installing a “How Can I” culture. Anderson also will share a “try, risk, grow” strategy designed to make improvements stick.
Thursday will feature a discussion led by Jason Scharton, 3M Collision Repair global industry relations leader, on restoring corrosion protection in the era of post-repair inspections.
Later in the day, Rick Selover, GARMAT national account manager, will take the stage to discuss eliminating the cost of contamination.
On Friday, Alex Stapleton, Spanesi sales director, and Lucas Kraft, Spanesi territory manager, will explore how integrating a consistent measuring system through every phase of repair replaces estimation.
John Helterbrand, of the Collision Engineering Career Alliance, will follow with a discussion on how education, the industry, and innovation are rebuilding the technician pipeline.
For a full description and schedule of classes, visit here.
The SEC tradeshow will also be open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday.
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Jill Tuggle, Auto Body Association of Texas (ABAT) executive director, and Justin Lewis, Washington Independent Collision Repair Association (WICRA) president, during CIC’s Nov. 4, 2025, meeting in Las Vegas (Teresa Moss/RDN).