Cover Stories

Answer: Thank you, it’s incredibly humbling. This moment represents the culmination of a lifelong journey that began when I was a 16-year-old apprentice, learning to repair plastic with handmade tools under mentors who worked without recognition or structure. At the time, most parts like bumper covers and headlights were still made of steel, and plastic repair wasn’t even acknowledged as a trade. Fast forward to today, and plastic repair has become a critical, indispensable part of the collision repair process.

Over the past 30 years, I’ve had the privilege of helping shape this evolution as an employee, business owner, and global advisor, working with major MSOs, insurance providers, OEMs, and suppliers, all while contributing to sustainability initiatives that align with where our industry is heading. I’ve been fortunate to travel the world, meet like minded professionals, and collaborate with individuals who have since become lifelong partners in this mission.

But this isn’t about one individual. It’s about transforming how our industry views plastic repair, shifting from a replace-first mindset, and a skill that’s often overlooked, to one that’s respected worldwide based on proven techniques, clear repair standards, and what actually works on the shop floor. Through the work of the Council and our expanding network of collaborators, we now have both the platform and the responsibility to lead this movement, elevating plastic repair to its rightful place as a vital, professional, and future ready trade.

Answer: Because we can’t keep working in silos or accept a culture where replacing perfectly repairable parts is the norm. Too often, we see parts discarded and replaced simply because there’s no shared understanding of what can be repaired, how it should be repaired, or which tools and materials are safe and compliant.

Plastic is now the most common material on a vehicle, and plastic parts make up over half the replacement components in a typical claim. Yet our industry still lacks recognized best practices or global repair standards. That’s not just a gap, it’s a risk. If we want to succeed, we need unity, trust, and collaboration. That’s what Plasnomic brings: a central, credible hub where experts, industry professionals and with some help from AI can come together to “ exchange information ” and define the safest, most efficient path forward for plastic repair.

The pressure is real and it’s growing. We’re seeing record-high insurance premiums and a surge in vehicle write-offs, not because the cars are beyond repair, but because repair costs have become unsustainable. Parts are more expensive, supply chains are often constrained, cycle times are under constant scrutiny, technician shortages persist, and ESG expectations are intensifying.

Meanwhile, training bodies are struggling to keep pace. Vehicles and repair technologies are evolving rapidly, while seasoned experts are aging out and new trainers are increasingly hard to find. Plasnomic exists to fill that gap by housing the most advanced plastic repair knowledge and sharing it through trusted training networks around the world.

At the same time, the industry is being flooded with untested, flashy, or outdated repair methods often promoted by trainers with limited understanding of true plastic repair, social media influencers, or marketing campaigns built on hype rather than best practices. These approaches frequently fail under real-world conditions, leading to increased repair cost, warranty issues, re-repairs, and unnecessary part replacements. Even worse, they erode trust across the ecosystem especially among consumers, insurers, repairers, and OEMs ultimately forcing some manufacturers to restrict repairability altogether.

That’s where Plasnomic, its collaborative partners and the Council step in. We’re here to lead with clarity. To test, validate, and certify only those solutions that meet the highest standards of safety, performance, and sustainability. With lab testing, proven repair methods, compliance tools, and third-party validation in progress, we’re building a foundation that gives shops, insurers, and OEMs the confidence to “repair more, not replace more”

This is a moment that demands structure, trust, and leadership. Plasnomic is here to answer that call.

Answer: Our first step is launching a global open call for solution providers, toolmakers, reconditioners and training organizations to submit their plastic repair products and processes.

This initiative, led by Plasnomic, will also involve a layer of third-party MSO, plastic repair and reconditioning partners who provide real world input to ensure relevance and credibility for all submissions.

What sets this apart is our focus on impartial, proven, practical, lab-based testing. We’ll be evaluating everything from cost of repair, impact resistance and ADAS compatibility to durability and environmental impact on all industry solutions. Our goal is to create a global benchmark trusted by OEMs & Insurers, enabling safe, consistent repairs across all markets.

And innovation or specialty providers are “NOT” limited to the big names; we're searching for proven solutions everywhere. Whether it’s a welding machine breakthrough from the UK, a proven filler-less process in Australia, advanced equipment from the U.S, or a unique tool developed in a small workshop in South Africa. If it’s out there,we want to find it, validate it, and make it accessible across the industry through the Plasnomic platform.

Answer: We’re establishing the Industry Alliance for Plastic Repair—a global initiative uniting MSOs, coating manufacturers, adhesive suppliers, training institutions, digital platforms, and sustainability leaders. This alliance will define best practices and build the training, compliance, and certification infrastructure necessary to implement them at scale.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, we’ll work with existing regional training bodies and industry groups to expand their value by integrating our programs, compliance tools, and collaborative platforms into their ecosystems.

This isn’t just a North American challenge. Technician shortages, rising repair complexity, and plastic waste are global issues. Plasnomic will be the industry’s collaborative hub, bringing together expertise across bumper repairs, headlight restoration, texture matching, and more.

With some of the biggest brands already engaged as strategic partners, we’re identifying critical gaps and co-developing new solutions from advanced repair materials to weldable tabs and scalable texture systems. True collaboration means solving problems together, and this alliance was created to do exactly that.

Answer: Repair-first is one of the most powerful levers we have not just for reducing repair costs or advancing sustainability, but for improving profitability, operational efficiency, and workforce development across the entire collision repair ecosystem.

By prioritizing repair over replacement, we eliminate delays tied to parts availability, accelerate cycle times, and deliver faster, more efficient outcomes. This approach benefits everyone involved from insurers seeking lower total claim costs to repairers aiming for stronger financial performance and higher customer satisfaction.

We’re also putting skilled labor back at the center of the process. Shifting from replacement to repair creates new hands-on jobs, especially for our auto body technicians. Plastic repair today involves advanced tools, material science, digital compliance, and texture refinement. it’s a specialty trade in its own right, and we’re helping define that pathway with structure, training, and recognition.

Every time we repair instead of replace, we reduce landfill waste, lower emissions tied to manufacturing and shipping, and eliminate packaging waste. When you multiply that across millions of plastic parts annually including bumpers, headlights, textured panels, the environmental benefit becomes enormous.

Through Plasnomic’s Exchange platform that we are building, with the feedback of the industry, our collision and training partners, we’ll quantify all of this enabling shops, insurers, and OEMs to generate sustainability reports and performance insights tied to every repair. So it’s not just a better choice, it's a measurable one.

Answer: Our end goal is simple but transformative: to take the best practices identified through this global effort and have them recognized and recommended by OEMs as the standard for plastic part repair.

That means creating a universal discipline that ensures plastic repairs are safe, high quality, cost-effective, and consistent across every region. These aren’t just theoretical standards,they’re validated by science, proven in real-world conditions, and developed by those with hands-on expertise.

And we’re not doing this alone. The true strength of Plasnomic lies in its partnerships with MSOs, suppliers, trainers, insurance groups, OEMs, and sustainability leaders all working together toward a shared vision. This collective effort will set a new global benchmark not just for plastic repair, but for how industry collaboration can drive meaningful change.

We’ve already begun breaking down communication barriers with OEMs in both the U.S. and Europe to better understand their expectations and align our efforts with their commitment to safe, OEM-compatible repair methods. When OEMs begin to formally adopt and promote these standards, we won’t just have a set of repair procedures. We’ll have established a globally recognized discipline with legitimacy, consistency, and purpose.

Answer: It’s time to put aside brand loyalties, regional divides, and outdated mindsets and make a united effort to build a stronger, safer, and universally trusted framework for plastic repair.

“This isn’t about competition, it’s about collaboration.”

Whether you’re a technician in the field, an MSO operator, a supplier, insurer, or OEM your voice matters.

Plasnomic isn’t just a platform, it’s the industry’s collective opportunity to create real standards, real training, and real accountability.

This is our moment to reset the foundation of plastic repair. Let’s build it together.

For further information or interest in Plasnomic
Mario Dimovski
Head of Plastic Repair Alliance Council
mario.dimovski@plasnomic.com