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OEM vehicle wraps coming from Ford

S

SqueeGee

New Member
Q. How can I reach customer service?
A. You can email Transit Connect customer service: Here

You can also mail us at:
Original Wraps, Inc.
Attn: Customer Service
969 S. Kipling Parkway
Lakewood, CO 80226

So it's not really Ford but a vendor.

The pricing is $
6-7 psf for graphics and $1-2 psf for istall.
 
Mosh

Mosh

New Member
They have offered wraps for a few years on commercial stuff. I have done a couple cause it was such a long wait to get them.
 
Malkin

Malkin

New Member
By my figures the rates are about:
(by the square foot)
14.67 to 17.12 for graphics
7.34 to 9.78 for install

Based on a wheelbase of 115", each square in the pricing estimator is about 7.67" along each edge, which makes each one .4085 of a square foot.
 
LowenCertified

LowenCertified

New Member
We don't work cheap, we work in large volumes very efficiently with professional installers all over North America. There is a reason that Lowen is the largest fleet and vehicle graphics producer in America; Price, Quality, and Service than cannot be beaten.

What Lowen Certified is looking for are dedicated, professional installers looking to perfect their craft and gain an additional volume of business from Lowen's myriad projects. We push business to our Lowen Certified installlers, unlike PDAA or UASG who just list you on a website for a fee. In addition, your training at our facility can also earn you 3M Preferred Installer status which comes with its own benefits.

These new OEM auto programs offer significant volume and profit for those installers that choose to partake. We are in need of many installers in every state, Canada and Mexico. Contact us at www.lowencertified.com to get involved. If in doubt check out some of our testimonials or contact those that have gone through our programs.

You can learn more about our company at www.lowen.com.
 
R

roadrage

New Member
Aww, thanks for looking out for the little guys like us. I've seen the quotes for the amount that the Lowen certified instalers are paid and no thank you. Interestingly you forgot to mention as you discredited the UASG as just a certification that one buys, that once an installer goes through the Lowen program that the installer is just Lowen certified which earnes an invitation to 3M for the final testing to become a Prefered 3M installer, which coincidently is run by the UASG.
 
LowenCertified

LowenCertified

New Member
You sir are incorrect. The new 3M Preferred installer program is aimed at individual installers, not the shop. The training and testing are provided at our facility in KS or at 3M in St. Paul. It is not administered by the UASG, it is awarded at 3M discretion after you have passed the testing. The UASG has nothing to do with the 3M Preferred Installer designation. We worked with 3M to create this new designation because we found the PDAA and UASG programs lacking. Please check with 3M if you would like more clarification.

The 3M Preferred (and by default the Lowen Certified designation) requires significantly more skill to complete that anything currently being offered. Ask anyone who has been through it and they will tell you it is serious business aimed and serious installers. If you find this particular program not to your liking, then don't participate, but please stick to the facts. We award tens of thousands of install jobs annually and are very supportive of the install community who we regard as critical partners in making our customer's branding programs successful. If you don't want to be a part of that, then don't.
 
cptcorn

cptcorn

adad
LowenCertified said:
You sir are incorrect. The new 3M Preferred installer program is aimed at individual installers, not the shop. The training and testing are provided at our facility in KS or at 3M in St. Paul. It is not administered by the UASG, it is awarded at 3M discretion after you have passed the testing. The UASG has nothing to do with the 3M Preferred Installer designation. We worked with 3M to create this new designation because we found the PDAA and UASG programs lacking. Please check with 3M if you would like more clarification.

The 3M Preferred (and by default the Lowen Certified designation) requires significantly more skill to complete that anything currently being offered. Ask anyone who has been through it and they will tell you it is serious business aimed and serious installers. If you find this particular program not to your liking, then don't participate, but please stick to the facts. We award tens of thousands of install jobs annually and are very supportive of the install community who we regard as critical partners in making our customer's branding programs successful. If you don't want to be a part of that, then don't.
Click to expand...

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...print/Resources/GraphicsInstallationPrograms/

I don't see how it's better to be a 3M Preferred Graphics Installer than a 3M Certified Graphics Installation Company. 3MPGI looks at just the installer's quality, while 3MCGIC looks at both the installers' ability -and- their business practices.

Not raggin on Lowen by any means, but how can you say your program is any better than UASG's? Just playing Devil's Advocate here. Thise whole 3M Certified and 3M Preferred designations is to ease tension between the two groups.
 
LowenCertified

LowenCertified

New Member
Cptcorn,

Our original problem started because 3m would certify one person in a UASG shop and everyone that worked for that shop was automatically included under the umbrella of 3M certification, regardless of their actual training or skills.

When dealing with multi-million dollar installs in hundreds of locations involving thousands of vehicles, we needed a program that ensured we had pro installers with real vinyl laying skills at all locations, not guys that were sub-contracted off the street under the UASG or PDAA label with minimal experience. Neither the UASG nor PDAA networks could provide this to us and in fact they both refused to work with us to create a better program for the industry.

This is not to say that we don't have a good install network. Many of our installers are PDAA and UASG members and have done a good job for us over the years. Unfortunately, we couldn't find enough quality installers in those networks to meet our current and future needs. We have some huge projects coming up that will require hundreds of installers to be available in multiple markets. What we asked 3M to help us with was to create a program that certifies that EACH individual installer that carries the designation has been through the rigorous training that the 3M Preferred/Lowen Certified program requires. This requires actually installing vinyl (on an HHR, trailer side, etc) and taking written tests in a timed environment under professional direction. You can't just join a UASG shop and get 3M Certified by being an employee.

Thus we took matters into our own hands and helped to create this new installation program with 3M participation, which will grow the availability of quality installers everywhere. Savvy installers will gravitate to a program that pushes business to them, not just listing them on a website. Visit www.lowencertified.com for more info. Ask anyone who has been through our programs about the skill and dedication required to receive these certifications and the business we are attempting to push to them. 500 vehicles @ $2.00 a sq. ft. is better than one @ $6.00..... Ready to step up?
 
cptcorn

cptcorn

adad
LowenCertified said:
Cptcorn,

Our original problem started because 3m would certify one person in a UASG shop and everyone that worked for that shop was automatically included under the umbrella of 3M certification, regardless of their actual training or skills.

When dealing with multi-million dollar installs in hundreds of locations involving thousands of vehicles, we needed a program that ensured we had pro installers with real vinyl laying skills at all locations, not guys that were sub-contracted off the street under the UASG or PDAA label with minimal experience. Neither the UASG nor PDAA networks could provide this to us and in fact they both refused to work with us to create a better program for the industry.

This is not to say that we don't have a good install network. Many of our installers are PDAA and UASG members and have done a good job for us over the years. Unfortunately, we couldn't find enough quality installers in those networks to meet our current and future needs. We have some huge projects coming up that will require hundreds of installers to be available in multiple markets. What we asked 3M to help us with was to create a program that certifies that EACH individual installer that carries the designation has been through the rigorous training that the 3M Preferred/Lowen Certified program requires. This requires actually installing vinyl (on an HHR, trailer side, etc) and taking written tests in a timed environment under professional direction. You can't just join a UASG shop and get 3M Certified by being an employee.

Thus we took matters into our own hands and helped to create this new installation program with 3M participation, which will grow the availability of quality installers everywhere. Savvy installers will gravitate to a program that pushes business to them, not just listing them on a website. Visit www.lowencertified.com for more info. Ask anyone who has been through our programs about the skill and dedication required to receive these certifications and the business we are attempting to push to them. 500 vehicles @ $2.00 a sq. ft. is better than one @ $6.00..... Ready to step up?
Click to expand...

So if you can obtain it through your facility or the St Paul testing site, does the actual person who tested for the UASG Certification need to retest in order to become 3M Preferred... Since technically it would be the same test, minus the business side or are the two completely different tests when it comes to installation?
 
LowenCertified

LowenCertified

New Member
Good question. Right now 3M Preferred/Lowen Certified is a completely different test than either UASG or PDAA offers. It relies on your ability to actually installl vinyl in a controlled and demanding environment with physical and written testing. After testing we send your info to 3M to determine if you qualify for 3M Preferred status. UASG has NOTHING to do with this. It is run by 3M Tech Service. Lowen personel, led by Sean Rhodes, will determine whether you have passed the Lowen Certified testing. In most instances, those that pass one will pass the other, but rest assured, not all that come to certify pass. We give a big discount to those that fail and wish to come back to test again. Access to our installation network is not something that we are going to hand out without proven skills.

This is not to say that at some point UASG/PDAA won't wake up and co-opt our testing methodology instead of just checking your insurance information and whether you pay your utility bill. At the end of the day all Lowen wants is a larger pool of qualified installers to handle our dramatically increasing business. We plan to create our network or qualified installers and then keep them employed and making a good living in a true partnership. Is this for eveyone? No. But those that get what we are all about will truly benefit.

Contact us with any questions.

--- Matt Lowen
 
Jester1167

Jester1167

Premium Subscriber
1st, Matt you cleverly hijacked this thread. I expect more from someone with the last name Lowen and Merchant Member.

2nd, "Right now 3M Preferred/Lowen Certified is a completely different test than either UASG or PDAA offers. It relies on your ability to actually install vinyl in a controlled and demanding environment with physical and written testing." that's exactly what UASG/PDAA do.

"UASG/PDAA won't wake up and co-opt our testing methodology instead of just checking your insurance information and whether you pay your utility bill." Really, that's all it takes to be UASG or PDAA certified?

When you strech the truth this far, you lose credibility on other phrases like: "true parternship" and "truly benifit"

3rd, Do you really think that if you call a Lowen Certified installer and ask them to wrap 10 or 20 53' trailers, that the Lowen Certified installers are the only people doing the installs. So how is certifying an installer different?

Stop trying to cut other certification down to make yours sound better. If you have a great certification be proud, start your own thread and talk about your certification and its benefits People willing to spend money on travel, lodging, testing, plus lost billable time will probably take the time to find the best certification for their situation.
 
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