Wesco

A-1 Automotive Refinish Supply was founded in February, 1977 by James Altieri. As an autobody shop owner, Mr. Altieri realized the necessity for a quality, customer oriented paint jobber was not being filled in the Tucson area. A-1 Automotive Refinish Supply became the result of that realization and R-M Automotive Finishes became A-1's original paint line. In October, 1978, Dave Chimera, became an associate of A-1 Automotive Refinish Supply when he agreed to become the company accounts manager and eventually became the company's general manager. In November, 1980, Mr. Chimera purchased A-1 Automotive Refinish Supply from Mr. Altieri. Between 1980 and 1990, A-1 broke all sales and growth records for the Tucson and Southern Arizona regions. The innovative service, training, and sales techniques used are "standards" for today's paint entrepenuers in Southern Arizona. In 1986, R-M was purchased by BASF, a huge technology driven coatings company. In 1988, R-M's Diamont Basecoat System was introduced in the United States. The R-M Diamont Basecoat System is by far the most productive, cost effective, ease-of-use paint system introduced anywhere in the world to date. From 1990 through 1996, the collision industry went through some very difficult and dynamic changes. Changes were made in federal regulations and standards, new technology introduced, even changes in the look of the average body shop. Competition among paint companies increased with an increased number of foreign and domestic paint manfacturers. Because of the reputation and dedication to its customer base, A-1 faired extremely well during this time of upheaval in the industry. Being the company that it is, A-1 realized that inorder to continue to service the needs of its client base and the industry, change needed to be made to deal with the new collision industry that was unveiling itself. During the first half of 1996, Dave Chimera had the good fortune to spend some time with John Rang, owner of Leading Edge Auto Refinishes, Inc, of Tempe, Arizona. Leading Edge Auto Refinishes, Inc is one of BASF's most innovative and technology driven, single line paint jobbers. Mr. Chimera was impressed by Leading Edge's innovative business concepts and felt that A-1 and Leading Edge would be a good mix. Mr. Chimera recognized the opportunities and dropped PPG as a supplier and became a part of the Leading Edge team and a single line ColorSource BASF jobber. Leading Edge was looking to expand into new markets and A-1 was looking to change to meet the ever increasing demands of its client base.