How one Jax-based company responds faster than any other remote auto service techs

After a car accident, most drivers want their car out of the repair shop as fast as possible.

With four to six times the amount of computer code as an F-35 jet pilot, it’s no surprise why repairs take so long on newer cars.

To limit vehicle downtime, Jacksonville-based AirPro Diagnostics aims to get cars fixed faster.

For collision shops using AirPro’s laser-targeted automotive scanner technology, it’s a quick process: Remote techs log into a tool while the collision shop techs connect a tool on their end — anywhere in the U.S. and beyond — to the vehicle they’re working on.

“The technician can walk away from the car,” explains Josh McFarlin, president and chief operating officer of AirPro Diagnostics. “At the end of the operation, we share a detailed report of any codes cleared. The AirPro Diagnostics technician gives them a call to go over any questions.”

The goal is always to increase profitability, productivity and customer satisfaction by efficiently maximizing the time of in-shop techs. After a collision, most drivers are eager to get their car back, meaning the clock is ticking the minute the damaged car is dropped off at a collision shop.

For the shops that use AirPro Diagnostics, there’s an assurance to customers that no diagnostic will be missed and that they’ll get their car back in a reasonable time frame. The four-step process includes auto scanning, auto diagnostics, ADAS calibrations and auto programming.

With more collision shops learning about AirPro Diagnostics and its related services, McFarlin says expansion is imminent. AirPro Diagnostics is already in collision shops across the U.S.,Canada and the U.K.

Daily talks of expansion include customers as far away as Australia and Ireland.

The company’s growth has floored McFarlin since he joined the company in 2019.

“We’re adding more people every week,” he says.

McFarlin adds that most of the talent comes from the Jacksonville area, including many remote technicians. When he started, there were around 65 employees, and now the company has 300 employees.

“We’ve had great success in finding the people and the talent we need,” he says. “From a real estate standpoint and space standpoint, there’s plenty of that here.”

He adds that all the partnerships and manpower needed are in the area, too.

“The engineering firm we work with is three blocks from our office,” he says. “The data science group we work with is just down the road. It’s not to say we wouldn’t work with someone outside of the area, but we’ve been able to find the people we need to work with on these projects locally.”

Based on ongoing federal and safety regulations, the need for highly trained techs and high-tech automotive tools and services won’t disappear soon.

By 2029, all new light vehicles will require automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

This means automotive techs will continue to need creative innovations like AUGGIE, the company’s newest product, which uses machine learning and computer vision to appropriately align forward-facing cameras (FFC) on vehicles, which are used for features like lane assist. AUGGIE debuted at the Texas Auto Body Trade Show in 2021.

While the former process of calibrating FFCs was tedious, the new calibration solution takes five minutes instead of nearly an hour if done manually. During crashes and minor fender benders, it’s common for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) components to become damaged or misaligned, which is when a diagnostic tool like AUGGIE is useful for techs.

AUGGIE and AirPro users have access to dealer-trained specialists who can offer insights into repairing vehicles and better decide when calibration is needed. AirPro Diagnostics offers step-by-step guidance to ensure techs are restoring the vehicle to the manufacturer’s optimal specifications. Within 10 minutes of a service request, an AirPro tech can be on the line, ready to help a collision shop do their repairs.

Remote AirPro Diagnostics techs will always be U.S.-based, something that competitor companies can’t always say, McFarlin adds.

Even as the company expands its reach for new customers, AirPro Diagnostics’ corporate headquarters will stay in Jacksonville.

“We get calls and contacts every day from every country you can rattle off,” says McFarlin. “They’re just waiting for us to get there.”