Several repairers and collision repair shop owners asked questions about neutralized parts processes and parts certifications by the Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) following a presentation on its Tier 1 verification program during a meeting of the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

First, an audience poll question asked who understood what a Tier 1 part is. Sixty percent said they did and 18% said they didn’t. Stacy Bartnik, Intertek’s transportation technologies industry relations manager, and Dave Mollner, training and business development director for automotive parts manufacturer Forvia Hella, were asked to present at the meeting by CIC’s Parts and Materials Committee.

Bartnik explained that CAPA Tier 1 Verified parts are made at the same factory using the same tooling, materials, and processes as the OEM-branded part.

All CAPA Tier 1 Verified parts must comply with applicable federal regulations and, according to a slide from Bartnik’s presentation, must have an “independent confirmation of consistency.” The only allowable differences are car company trademarks, branding, and packaging.

CAPA contracted Intertek as its validator in 1991 and signed an exclusive license agreement in 2018. The Tier 1 verification program launched in 2021.

“One of the reasons it got started was because of things here at CIC,” Bartnik said. “There was always this confusion over what is an opt-OE part — what bucket does that fall in? And so we had a lot of people coming and saying, ‘How do we make sure that we understand what these parts are — these parts that are made by a manufacturer that makes parts for the OE but are not sold in that OE network?’

“This [verification program] really kind of helped alleviate any of the confusion by us doing that. So keep in mind, these Tier 1 manufacturers, they make those parts for the OE. They also make parts that are under their own brand that are basically the same with the changes of branding on it. But some Tier 1 manufacturers also make a different level part. What we are verifying is the parts that have that Tier 1 verification — those that are the same as what’s being sold under the OE brand.”

Bartnik noted that many questions are usually asked about CAPA’s certification program but the purpose of her presentation at the meeting was to discuss the Tier 1 verification process, which is different.

“The certification process is a procedure by which an accredited agency such as Intertek will assess and verify the characteristics of a product, in this case parts, to make sure that they’re in accordance with an established requirement or standards,” she said. “And this involves independent testing. We’re going to make sure it demonstrates compliance to the standard that’s written, and that standard is written to be functionally equivalent to the OE service part. Also, if there’s any federal regulations, we have to make sure it meets those as well.

“When we’re talking about Tier 1 verification, that’s the process of checking documents, data, and other attributes to confirm the accuracy of that part — that it is authentic to the OE Tier 1 part.”

Bartnik added that the process doesn’t involve independent testing like the CAPA certification process because Intertek is only verifying that the Tier 1 manufacturer’s service part is made exactly like the OE part with the only difference being the packaging.

So far, CAPA has verified nearly 200 parts as Tier 1, most of which are headlamps.

“We want to make sure that there’s options; there’s a time and a place for all the different part types that are available out there,” Bartnik said. “We want to make sure when someone’s using them that they are getting a safe, quality repair.”

Tier 1 CAPA-certified parts have a blue and white label on the box and/or the part itself and there is a Tier 1 database search option available on CAPA’s website, she added.

One question asked of Mollner came from Ron Reichen, owner of Precision Body & Paint, who wanted to know if the company has a process to prevent its neutralized parts sold in other countries from coming back into the U.S. supply chain “washed” of branding.

Mollner responded, “Once that part has been neutralized and we’ve created a true aftermarket part number, it’s a different part number than the OE number. So as soon as it’s available, we’re selling that… If that part is available, it’s already here in the U.S. Nothing is going to be available to sell in Poland, Spain, or the U.S. until it’s reached its aftermarket service life.”

In other words, only true Hella OE-branded parts go offshore.

Mollner explained that neutralization, for Hella’s products, just means there is no logo put on the part. Instead, the area where a logo would be is left blank.

“The only lighting that we make and the only ADAS we make is if we are the original Tier 1 manufacturer that has the contract for that vehicle, that trim package,” he said.

In response to a question from Liz Stein, Certified Collision Group’s vice president of strategic initiatives, Mollner said Hella does work with OEM engineers to ensure the parts they build match OE specifications and with legal to follow patent agreements made with OEMs.

Erin Solis, Square One Systems senior vice president of operations, asked if CAPA Tier 1 Verified parts be decertified by CAPA. Bartnik said if an OEM finds a problem with a part and it’s taken out of service, she assumes CAPA would decertify it.

“We just have not run into that yet but it’s not out of the question,” Bartnik said.

Bartnik added that when CAPA-certified parts are no longer manufactured, they’re deleted from the certified list which doesn’t mean something is wrong with those parts.

Images

Stacy Bartnik, Intertek’s transportation technologies industry relations manager, speaks during CIC’s Nov. 5, 2024 meeting in Las Vegas. (Lurah Lowery/Repairer Driven News)

CIC Parts and Materials Committee Chair Aaron Schulenburg, Dave Mollner, and Stacy Bartnik discussed Tier 1 parts during CIC’s Nov. 5, 2024 meeting in Las Vegas. (Lurah Lowery/Repairer Driven News)

Dave Mollner, training and business development director for automotive parts manufacturer Forvia Hella, speaks during CIC’s Nov. 5, 2024 meeting in Las Vegas. (Lurah Lowery/Repairer Driven News)