Vehicle wrap training options/recommendations.

[Kemble]

3M
Lowen
Avery
Orafol & KPMF

Any others?

None of our 5 installers have any certifications. Their install times are horrendous. It's apparent that I need to get them trained/certified. 3 of our installers have been doing wraps for 5+ years but have no certifications. They can get the job done, but their install times are longer than industry standard and often times I'm having them redo certain spots or we are patching areas.

What certifications/classes do you recommend is 100% worth the investment?

When you send employees to a training, how do you usually handle the cost? Company paid and have the employee sign a 6 month to 1yr commitment?

 

[signheremd]

I recommend Training vs Certification. Certification is more likely to lead to employee shop for jobs with higher pay. We sent our employees out to train and paid their way (the wrap training was only 1.5 hours away, but for other equipment trainings we have flown). We have never asked them to sign any agreement - wouldn't bother doing that as no advantage to you. As example: non-compete agreements are not enforceable when that is the person's sole vocation; you simply cannot prevent another person from making a living.

There are trainings set up all over the country. Doesn't matter which brand sponsors the event. Trick is registering before they fill up. Also you have Justin Pate's school and videos, and there is a women that started a school and is getting lots of praise - she is in California, WrapStar University. Orafol + KPMF have a tow-day training in Salt Lake City, Utah, on September 20-22. Just search OrafolWraptraining.com

I would send them to a two or three day class, and let them come back and see if they improve and if they want to go further and get certified. Remember, if they get faster and have fewer mistakes it only saves you money and they are worth more per hour - as long as you have the work. So investing in them is investing in the quality of your business even though you feel the risk of training them and losing them. If you treat them well and adjust compensation based on skill improvement, green pastures will be a lot less likely.

 

[Kemble]

So brand doesn't matter? We use 3M IJ180CV3 & 8518 Lam, wont the Avery & Orafol classes be using their respective brands and install differently? It's mainly the techniques right? regardless of the media they are using?

 

[signheremd]

They install the same with only minor differences in things like cold stretch or percentage of stretch before color changes. As long as the vinyl is low initial tack and repositionable, it will install nearly identically - same squeegee techniques, same way of working over convex areas, etc.

That said, if you happen to get trained using a strong initial tack with air egress, real wrap vinyl will seem like a walk in the park.

 

[Stacey K]

Comment here from the peanut gallery. Signheremd mentioned Justin Pate's videos - THEY ARE REALLY GOOD. I don't really do any wrapping but got stuck doing it a week ago and watching his videos were EXTREMELY helpful!! He was representing Avery but I used Arlon SLX and I didn't really notice any differences. It could be a starting point that you just shut down for an afternoon and watch some videos with pizza while you wait for a training session. Just an idea!

 

[gnubler]

Ditto on that. I've also watched his videos and he's a really good teacher.
Not just vehicle wraps, but also window film and other graphics.

 

[Aardvark Printing]

Old adage: CFO: what if we train them and they leave? CEO: What if we don't and they stay?

 

[Kemble]

Avery has 2 trainings coming up local to us.
1) Full Print Digital Wrap Training - Instructor: Charlie Trujillo - $995
2) Supreme Wrapping Film™ Training - Instructor: Justin Pate - $1099

Can anyone shed some feedback on the difference between the two classes? Both classes say "no experience required". I have 5 installers I want to send. 3 have 5+ years experience, 2 have less than 1 year experience.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I recommend that you get rid of your highest paid "experienced" guy who thinks he deserves a $10/hr raise before doing anything else. If he has 5+ years under his belt he should be good enough to not only bang these things out but also help to get the others up to speed. Find 1 guy that has the potential to learn and advance then send him to a class. Then go from there. If your lead guy sucks then no amount of training will fix it and he will only hold the rest back from excelling.

 

[Stacey K]

I vote for Justin Pates class. I agree with notareal - five years is a long time, he should be up to speed by now.

 

[Stacey K]

One more comment. A couple weeks ago I hired a random guy to teach me to wrap a police car. I ended up firing him the next day but a few things I noticed...

He had good technique with the heat gun and squeegee and was able to "feel" the vinyl and mold it around curves.
He did a good job of cleaning the vehicle.

What he did NOT know...
He did not know you are supposed to do one large panel vs. cutting the panels at the doors. Once we watched a Justin Pates video, he understood and we were able to tackle most of the other side.
He not know that patches are not acceptable. There was a disconnect between doing wraps for business and doing wraps for his friends.

If I had hired the guy as a long term, he might have worked out as he had some potential but he clearly did not have the same idea of what a good job and an OK job was. Most of that is MY FAULT. I did not set my expectations correctly.

Do you think some of the problems you have is the expectations are not correctly communicated? The more I think about it, the more I agree with Notareal. One guy needs to lead the way and set the expectations of proper technique. That starts with you setting the expectations of what is acceptable and what is not. Then it falls on your lead installer to ensure proper technique is being used. And that falls on you to get him trained (which is why you are here LOL).

 

[Kemble]

One more comment. A couple weeks ago I hired a random guy to teach me to wrap a police car. I ended up firing him the next day but a few things I noticed...

He had good technique with the heat gun and squeegee and was able to "feel" the vinyl and mold it around curves.
He did a good job of cleaning the vehicle.

What he did NOT know...
He did not know you are supposed to do one large panel vs. cutting the panels at the doors. Once we watched a Justin Pates video, he understood and we were able to tackle most of the other side.
He not know that patches are not acceptable. There was a disconnect between doing wraps for business and doing wraps for his friends.

If I had hired the guy as a long term, he might have worked out as he had some potential but he clearly did not have the same idea of what a good job and an OK job was. Most of that is MY FAULT. I did not set my expectations correctly.

Do you think some of the problems you have is the expectations are not correctly communicated? The more I think about it, the more I agree with Notareal. One guy needs to lead the way and set the expectations of proper technique. That starts with you setting the expectations of what is acceptable and what is not. Then it falls on your lead installer to ensure proper technique is being used. And that falls on you to get him trained (which is why you are here LOL).

Couldn't agree with you more. I need to set those expectations and communicate them. I guess I just need to grow a backbone and do what is best for the company. I know what I should do, just hate being the bad guy.

 

[LowenCertified]

3M
Lowen
Avery
Orafol & KPMF

Any others?

None of our 5 installers have any certifications. Their install times are horrendous. It's apparent that I need to get them trained/certified. 3 of our installers have been doing wraps for 5+ years but have no certifications. They can get the job done, but their install times are longer than industry standard and often times I'm having them redo certain spots or we are patching areas.

What certifications/classes do you recommend is 100% worth the investment?

When you send employees to a training, how do you usually handle the cost? Company paid and have the employee sign a 6 month to 1yr commitment?

We offer comprehensive installation training, testing and certification on 3M films. We've certified over 3000 installers over the last 10 years and have weekly classes available. After certification you are also part of one of the largest installation alliances in the US and eligible for contracted work thru Lowen and our partners. Check us out at www.lowencertified.com

 

[rydods]

I've taken 2 of Justin Pates Avery Dennison classes. Digital Print and Color change. Became certified as well. I also subscribe the the wrap institute and watch the instructional videos every morning. Absolutely love his approach to wrapping and he's a great instructor. I can't say enough great things about what he's done and doing for the industry.
3M focuses on walls and floors as well I believe so I'm really interested in training here as well.
I think any of the options you have provided would be extremely beneficial.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Couldn't agree with you more. I need to set those expectations and communicate them. I guess I just need to grow a backbone and do what is best for the company. I know what I should do, just hate being the bad guy.

It's not an enjoyable or an easy thing to do for pretty much anyone and not something to take lightly. I stew over these things way longer than I should unless it's something totally egregious.
It took me well over a year to get to the point that I had enough with my lead guy, at the time, to run him out even knowing that we would never progress with him here. You don't have to be the bad guy and honestly letting lackluster employees remain in place makes you a bad guy in the eyes of others that are being held back by a particular employee. FWIW, he apologized to me after it was all said and done. He was the 3rd person that I had ever hired and had the opportunity over the years to grow into a role, he chose not to. It also opened my eyes and forced me to change many things at my business to avoid this sort of thing from happening again. I'm just blabbering but hope it helps. For some reason, I feel like your situation now is very similar to the one I had.
I will say that you need to take some free time and develop a management plan, scheduling system for each employee, good time estimates for tasks and a way to set expectations before doing anything else. That will make your life much easier because then employees either meet expectations or they don't. You don't get the full on asshole feeling when you shit-can someone that is not meeting the expectations that are laid out in front of them. That was also a giant mistake I made at the beginning which persisted for years as I tried to navigate profitability. The more you make, the more you can pay the good ones to keep them around.

 

[Connoley]

I highly recommend the 3M Preferred Installer training for vehicle wraps. It's widely recognized in the industry and covers both window film and paint protection film. My installers came back with much better techniques and their install times have really improved.

 

[MrDav3C]

When we had our wrap training, we ended up getting in touch with a trainer directly rather than through a vinyl supplier.

It turns out that the trainer had ran courses for various vinyl manufacturers but obviously if you go on a 3M course, they will only teach with 3M vinyl etc.

We felt this may be somewhat limiting as obviously we want to be aware of all the products on the market and use the right vinyl for the right job rather than solely feeling confident in only using one make of vinyl.

We ended up having the trainer come to us rather than going on a course, this meant we could work with and learn about different wrap vinyls from various manufacturers & the course was tailored directly to our needs with more one on one training that a standard course would offer.

Obviously this costed more than a standard course but the additional benefits outweighed the costs massively.

The wrap trainer is now also a good friend of ours & we often work together on projects and help each other out when we can!

 

[Behrmon]

We had a good experience with GeekWraps in FL especially if you’re a 3M shop, you can opt for training or training/cert. we opted for the latter. It’s a company investment so company pays all expenses IMO so you just need to feel solid on those you’re sending. I also agree that the WrapInstitute video subscription is very much worth the money.

 

[Modern Ink Signs]

32+ years in the business
25+ years wrapping vehicles


Here is my opinion as the business owner, vehicle wrapper and even from an employee perspective (I use to be one before I bought my business)

From the employee perspective, I’d say that they know what they know and it is on you, the owner, to try and get them the tools to get better. I’ll follow up on this in a bit.

Training
I recently hired a person that had gone through the Avery training program. Let me tell you there is SOME knowledge of wrapping but not a lot. What they learn there in minimal in the overall knowledge of wrapping. I have to continue to teach. Sending them to other training courses can help. Maybe they pickup 1 or 2 things they did not know. Videos are great too. In the end it is practice and doing their job. I equate the skill of wrapping as a TRADE. Just like a carpenter, plumber, etc.

You or your lead installer better be the person that has the knowledge to handle ALL the possible wraps that you do.


Tools
You should have a lot of them. Different squeegees, tucking tools, heat guns, IR heaters, ladders, scaffolding, etc, etc, etc. I probably have hundreds if not thousands of dollars in tools for my installers.


Certifications
They better know how to wrap. When it comes to testing you only get 1 shot. We are a 3M Certified Installation Company (not the individual). If they fail you just paid for their failure and will have to do it again within a calendar year.


To me it sounds like your installers need more training, experience and knowledge. Now you as the owner also need to get them to improve on their times. That is a discussion you need to have with your team. I’ll bet they might have ideas but aren’t saying anything.

 

[caribmike]

I took a week long course at 3M in Minnesota several years ago. It was a great experience and the skills I learned were valuable.