The CEI Group Inc., a provider of fleet collision management services in the United States and Canada, has expanded its repair network in 2011 by enrolling 30 new medium- and heavy-duty truck body shops in 11 states.
Among the 30 new network shops admitted this year, 14 service heavy-duty trucks and are located in Sacramento, Calif.; Grand Junction, Colo.; Bridgeport, Middletown and New Britain, Conn.; Oxford, Ga.; Addison and Huntley, Ill.; Osceola, Ind.; Inver Grove Heights, Minn.; Clifton, N.J.; Marietta, Ohio; Linden, Utah; and Toledo, Wash.
CEI’s objective is to keep collision-damaged trucks from having to be towed more than 75 miles from the scene of an accident. “Keeping towing distances short is part of our overall effort to control the expenses of truck repairs,” says John Wolford, CEI’s senior manager of provider network services. “We add shops as our customer base requires it to maintain this standard.”
Through a managed network of more than 800 truck collision centers, CEI manages repairs on all trucks, from Class 3 through Class 8, including vehicles outfitted with specialty equipment. Its Network Services department prequalifies all shops before they’re admitted to the network, and its in-house staff of licensed physical damage appraisers audits every estimate to assure that all repairs meet industry standards and fleet customer-stated guidelines.
