The National Windshield Repair Association (NWRA) and the Auto Glass Safety Council™ (AGSC) recently announced that they will consolidate into one group, effective January 1, 2019. Though technically not a merger, NWRA will dissolve its membership, standards and work products and will be welcomed into the newly formed Windshield Repair Division of the Council. Following are three things you might want to know about the pending consolidation.

1. It’s not a merger. Though the two groups are joining together, the arrangement is technically not a merger. Instead, NWRA is dissolving and its members and resources will be designated as being part of the AGSC. Joining the groups together in this manner is actually easier legally.

2. The consolidation is expected to make both groups stronger. “We are doing this to make a stronger more unified voice when we represent the auto glass industry before audiences such as insurers, fleets, government entities and more,” says NWRA president Troy Mason. “Further, there is a good amount of duplication (certification, government affairs) between both groups that will be eliminated by the consolidation.”

3. Repair-only companies can and should remain members. The new consolidated group includes a Windshield Repair Division for companies that repair glass, even if they do not replace auto glass. A number of protections and programs have been put in place to make sure that repair is well represented in the AGSC. The Windshield Repair Division will be made up of those who solely repair glass as well as Registered Members that also repair. The Division will have a Steering Committee of at least six people, and of those six, at least one shall be a member of the AGSC board of directors. The Windshield Repair division will appoint the chairpersons of all repair-related Standards as well as develop programs and services for repair.

Repair-only companies will not be subject to the AGSC’s audit program, but companies that replace auto glass too will be required to be Registered Members of the AGSC eventually. AGSC Registered Member companies are audited on a regular basis.

NWRA members will receive more information about the coming consolidation soon.