AGSC and NWRA Honor Industry Veterans

The AGSC honored Paul Heinauer with its annual Carl F. Tompkins Award for Excellence in Auto Glass Safety.

The Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC) and the National Windshield Repair Association (NWRA) both honored longtime industry leaders with awards this morning during Auto Glass Week™ in West Palm Beach, Fla.

AGSC honored Paul Heinauer, president of Glasspro Inc., with the Carl F. Tompkins Award for Excellence in Auto Glass Safety. The NWRA presented David Casey of SuperGlass with its annual Pioneer Award.

Heinauer began his career in the industry with PPG’s management training program in 1979. He first sold truckloads of flat glass in the Carolinas and Virginia. Heinauer was named branch manager of PPG’s Greenville office in 1985. The following year, he relocated to Charleston where he founded Coastal Glass Distributors to manufacture and market flat, insulating and auto glass. In 1995, he started his own retail auto glass company, Glasspro.

The NWRA honored David Casey with its annual Pioneer Award.

Carl Tompkins, Sika national sales manager, presented the award to Heinauer. Tompkins emphasized the need for leaders to possess qualities of perseverance, integrity and commitment to industry excellence.

“This person runs their company with four principles: safety in all that they do, doing things right the first time, excellent service and professionalism,” he said.

Glasspro has been an AGSC registered member company for many years and Heinauer has been a constant advocate for safety.

“[Heinauer] has been a staunch advocate for the work of the AGSC for many years,” said AGSC president Debra Levy in a statement. “We appreciate his commitment to the industry and to safety.”

Tompkins described Heinauer as a pioneer of Auto Glass Week and noted that a technician from his company, Jeff Olive, won the first AGTO.

“The Glasspro team is far from perfect, but they are great people who work hard,” said Heinauer. “I’m proud and blessed to work with them.”

Heinauer also thanked his family for their support.

The NWRA honored Casey, a more-than-30-year veteran in auto glass repair.

Casey founded his Orlando, Fla.-based company in the early 1990s. He served as president of the NWRA for several years. Casey helped develop the group’s certification program and authored a column for AGRR™ magazine for many years.

NWRA president Troy Mason presented the award to Casey.

“[Casey] advanced repair as a business model by creating the first repair only franchise,” said Mason. “He was instrumental to the development of the NWRA certification programs and the education of scores of customers and those in the industry.”

Casey thanked the NWRA for improving industry safety.

“The advancements in the last 30 years that I’ve been watching are due to the cooperation of all of us together. Competitors raising the standards and the bar for the benefit of our customers is what it’s all about,” said Casey.

He thanked Mason and NWRA executive director Debra Levy for their support before giving the industry his best wishes for a good show.

Auto Glass Week™ continues through Friday. Stay tuned to www.glassBYTEs.com™ for the latest reports from the show.