Enjoy The Ride
Photo by Lawrence Tabudlo
This holiday season may just be a smooth ride for one deserving local family that will be presented with a vehicle refurbished by UNIBODY Autotech Collision Centers in collaboration with several community partners, including First Insurance Company of Hawai‘i and Helping Hands Hawai‘i.
“This is our ninth year doing this … my organization, my employees continue to ask for it, I cannot stop participating,” shares Michael Chong, owner/president of UNIBODY. “The technicians never really get to interact with the customers. It’s almost like their job is redundant … they don’t get the credit for what they do.
“So, when we started the program and we shared with them that this is going to be a donated vehicle that’s going to go to a worthy family in need, it brings them pride that they work for a company where they themselves can give something back to society, and just having that pride really changes the morale in the organization.
“Once that hit them, what I noticed was that it was not only important for me but more important for the group.”
Each year, FICOH donates a safe, rebuildable car that has been deemed an economic total loss. UNIBODY then provides 100 hours of labor to repair it, while also coordinating and soliciting materials from various dealers and paint companies.
“Michael has been a huge supporter of this donation project,” says Donald Queja, auto physical damage appraiser for FICOH. “His generosity and kindness speaks volumes and inspires others to get involved as well. He collaborates with automobile dealerships and vendors to have parts and supplies donated as he and his team of highly skilled technicians donate their expertise and labor in repairing our vehicles for the recipients.
“Michael’s commitment to this program shows his genuine desire to give back to the community.”
With assistance from Helping Hands Hawai‘i, FICOH selects the recipient from a list of families who have expressed transportation challenges through its Adopt a Family program. At press time, this year’s giftee had yet to be identified, but the car, a 2018 Honda Civic with a retail repair cost of $26,187, is scheduled to be presented to the family on Dec. 22.
“When we donate the car, the family gets to share their story and it kind of brings everything in conclusion during that day,” says Chong. “A couple of years ago, it was a single mother who was living on the west side, waking up at 4 in the morning to get her kids ready for school, then bus it to town, drop off the kids and go to work. After work, the kids were at an afterschool program waiting for mom, and then they bus it back, getting home at 8, 9 p.m.
“She would have to prep the kids for dinner and so forth and do this every day. The bus ride would be about three hours roundtrip, so a car would be lifechanging for this family. Her story was very touching.”
According to Chong, the idea for this project began with a conversation between industry professionals who were part of the Automotive Body & Painting Association of Hawaiʻi. Chong serves as the group’s president.
“It started off with insurance agents, body shop owners, suppliers, parts departments, dealers,” he explains. “We would get together and see how we can help one another and elevate the industry.
“Nationwide, there’s a program where they do a car giveaway, and we thought, ‘Why don’t we do one locally?’ As an industry, our success comes from other people’s misfortunes (for example, usually car accidents). Our customers don’t necessarily come to us because they want to come to us … it’s not just the car itself, it affects their work, their schedule, their family. So, we want to bring that experience and make it as seamless as possible, and as an industry, we thought how can we give back and get everyone involved.”
A graduate of Roosevelt High School, Chong earned an engineering degree from University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa before taking over his family’s business, Chong’s Auto Body, in 2002. Since then, he renamed it UNIBODY, and it’s grown by about 10 times. Today, his Māpunapuna and Kaka‘ako locations employ 22 individuals.
“In an ironic turnaround, I got my mechanical and electrical engineering degree, which I didn’t need when I got into this business earlier, and used it here and there,” says Chong. “But now with us specializing in electrical vehicles, I’m using all my knowledge and we are the EV specialist in Hawai‘i, so it’s paying off.
“(At UNIBODY), evolution wise, I think the biggest thing is the advancement of how cars were going. My vision was understanding that cars were not going to be simplified. To stay in this business, we have to be ahead of the game … I wanted to make sure I did the research and training to understand where car manufacturers are going to be.
“Statistics show the amount of accidents throughout the years has dropped nearly 30% because cars are smarter, so there’s less cars to fix, less claims, less jobs. You have cars now that if you fall asleep, it brings you back in the lane. It brakes for you … Cars are going to get more advanced where you can’t even touch it, you have to plug a laptop to it and have the software. Shops, if not prepared, are going to shut down.”
Despite the trends, Chong says he’s ready for the challenges ahead and plans to continue to build the company to last.
“I’m fortunate to be an entrepreneur and very fortunate to be successful,” adds Chong, who also has a cigar business, Brix and Stones, and wine shop, Silver Lining. “And with that mindset, I always wanted to give back and pay it forward.”
