Lever Touch people: Demetres Katigoudis, Chief Operating Officer USA

What are the biggest challenges facing the auto industry?
Challenge number one is the Chinese market, there there is potential of growth and risk. Another one is the connected car. This car serves as a hub receiving and transmitting data to its surroundings. Clearly a third one is the increased competition and how automakers find space for growth. It would be naive to exclude governmental policies

What innovative figure from the auto industry would you have liked to meet?
I would have liked to meet Sergio Marchionne, the Chairman & CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles & Ferrari

What auto industry innovation would you have liked to have invented?
V2V Communications. The Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for light vehicles, is a technology that will allow vehicles to “talk” to each other and ultimately avoid crashes by exchanging basic safety data, such as speed and position, ten times per second, to improve safety.

What do you think the future of auto repairs will look like?
For many, the days of do-it-yourself auto repairs are long gone. As a result, the costs associated with fixing cars have gone up. Mechanical and Body Shop Technicians require more training, which makes them more valuable — and more expensive. Digital Age cars have parts that are much costlier to replace.

What can be Lever Touch’s contribution in that future?
The technology for hail damage repair seems to be more efficient than the overall, end-to-end process of repairing the vehicles. The result is a finished vehicle supply chain that’s not only vulnerable to hail damage, but also to delays, disruption, unhappy customers and lost revenues.

Lever Touch America Corp, Miami USA

Lever Touch America Corp, Miami USA

How did you learn about Lever Touch?
It was a personal experience, going back to 1998, when I was the Logistics director in a compound that got hit by a hail storm that affected more than 12.000 vehicles.

What surprised you the most about Lever Touch’s way of working?
Effective – prompt – professional: Are a few words that describe the way Lever Touch came about and provided us with peace of mind to overcome the disaster that had hit the company. But the end result made the difference to the company and the Brands that had been affected.

What do you expect from this new step in your career with Lever Touch?
I am expecting to have a chance to see Lever Touch grow in another continent as a successful company, always keeping an excellent customer service as its first priority.

I am looking forward to use the professional skills that I have developed during my 35 years in the Automotive industry engaging our highly skilled technical force, to increase our present services and productivity in the area of alternative repairs in the USA.

I look forward to joining a company with a mission that I firmly believe in.