Page 72 - Australasian Paint & Panel Magazine Sep-Oct 2018

2018 MARKET TRENDS
repairers too who might not otherwise have met socially. Thank you to Russ Hill of Heavy Vehicle Smash Repairs for organising this.
What the recent shift in landscape has emphasised is that awards need to be tweaked annually to keep pace with industry changes and we’re planning to hold a round table with a number of industry participants to discuss this before the end of the year.
WHAT’S TRENDING?
A number of trends were evident this year. The lack of panel technicians appears to be even more of issue than in recent years, while we didn’t encounter anyone struggling to find paint technicians, seemingly everyone was a panel beater short.
All but one of the winning shops
have apprentices and again, despite
the fact we know there is a
shortage, this wasn’t a topic that was mentioned this year. In fact between the 15 winning shops they have 40 apprentices – Holmes Smash Repairs in Toowomba wins with eight in his huge repair facilitiy, but boutique Adelaide shop Allan Doyle has three. The only shop without one is Spot On in Deer Park who are no doubt waiting until they work out all their processes and get the staff used to running the shop before they take any on.
Every year we see an upward trend in shop cleanliness with dust extraction equipment actually being used (for many years it seemed that technicians thought the extractor was for decoration). Receptions continue to glam up with the majority nicer than many hotel lobbies. Workshop management systems continue to be
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More businesses are bringing services in house such as mechanical and glass. Pictured is Damage Control Accident Centre’s mechanical section in WA.
adopted with iBodyshop dominating the market but others such as 1Q1 also popular and praised for their easy visual approach and the production and management efficiencies that they have helped to achieve. Quite simply game changers.
Talking of game changers without a doubt the biggest new one is fast drying paint, in particular clear coats. Everyone who was using them said that they were nothing short of revolutionary and had supercharged their paintshop.
It was also encouraging to see a lot more I-CAR certificates about. Clearly the message about the utter necessity of training is finally getting through. Training staff is an essential criteria in order to win these awards whether it be I-CAR or manufacturer training. However shiny and attractive the shop is, if there’s been no training, at least in the latest welding and joining techniques, then there’s no way that shop can be repairing cars correctly when undertaking structural work.
It was great to see businesses bringing more in house. We’re talking mechanical, wheel balancing, wheel repairs,
air-conditioning and tyres. Not only does the money go in the shop owner’s back pocket instead of somebody else’s but it also allows them to have greater control over cycle times.
On the less positive side those who aren’t in the approved IAG repairer network were already beginning to feel the effects of the ‘choice of repairer’ option as their customers renew policies. The canny ones of course have planned for this by trying to boost volume by other means such as pulling in new fleet work or marketing vigorously to gain new customers and raise awareness locally. There was also more evidence of repairers educating customers about their insurance policies and whether they include choice.
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“The lack of panel technicians appears to be even more of an issue than in recent years, seemingly everyone was a panel beater short.
4 PAINT&PANEL September / October 2018
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