Gordon Reid, Glass's new commercial director, bodyshop and insurance division, plans to focus on developing business with manufacturers and dealer groups.

“Manufacturers will become increasingly strong in the marketplace, and are likely to form more joint ventures with insurers, similar to Vauxhall/Norwich Union, leading to the mandatory approval of estimating systems,” said Mr Reid, who was responsible for developing Toyota GB's body and paint programme.

“Glass's has been strong in the insurance market, but now needs to become more involved with dealer groups, manufacturers and trade associations. Our strategy is a pincer movement.

“Dealers are a powerful influence – we want to be more closely aligned with them.”

At the show, Glass's unveiled the Windows-based version of its BodyMaster management system, which, admitted Mr Reid, was “long overdue”.

BodyMaster has been divided into four categories to help repairers choose the best system for their needs. Options range from the £3,000 entry-level Express, to be launched in autumn, to the Enterprise group bodyshop system, priced according to the number of outlets.

Glass's will launch a Glassmatix web-based package in September as part of a series of online developments, likely to include a website link to enable policyholders to track repairs online.