Page 22 - Australasian Paint & Panel Nov-Dec 2018

SHOP TOUR
The sun shone for the Paint & Panel Melbourne bodyshop tour on 11 October which was sponsored by 1Q1 bodyshop flow managerment system and Masterbooth who offer paint shop solutions.
MELBOURNE SHOP TOUR
THE FIRST STOP was a fabulous family business, Weststar Prestige in Sunshine. 'Dealer principal' Brad Kolich explained the history of the business which is celebrating 30 years as a Mercedes-Benz factory approved repairer. In addition to the Mercedes-Benz approval Weststar also has Tesla, Peugeot and Suzuki badges. The first unit is devoted entirely to Mercedes-Benz, the second unit, built a few years ago, with the Masterbooth paint facility dedicated to Brad's father John. A recent addition is a third unit which is a dedicated customer collection area and electric car repair bay.
The Kolich attention to detail and dedication to a great customer experience is evident throughout the business.
The Kolich family laid on something of a spread for our 'tourers'. Refreshed with coffee, fantastic pastries and with a Mercedes-
Benz goodie bag in hand, the group then headed for Spot On Panels in Deer Park which has recently won a special Paint & Panel editor's award for 'Most spectacular autobody shop in Australia'.
Jaws dropped at the massive scale of the business and the beautiful design of both the workshop, reception area and staff faculties. We all had lunch in the huge, stunning staff lunch room. Thanks to Vesco Jolevski and his team for letting us all gawp in amazement. The six spray booths and prep stations by Masterbooth are one of the biggest installations on the east coast.
The last stop of the day was, for many, the highlight in terms of learning. Smash Repair Solutions in Richmond is the most productive shop per square metre in the IAG repair network. Originally built to fix around 35 cars a week it sometime
pushes 60. All this with no parking, one narrow entrance/exit and one spray booth in the 800m2 workshop. Chris Beatty and Amen El Dannaoui shared how they achieved this productivity using the 1Q1 workshop planning system and how they incentivise their staff.
Chad Buckley, Manager from Peter Kittle Collision in Adelaide said: "A wonderful job was done choosing the vast range of repairer types. There was something for everyone. For me, SRS was a stand out, and something Chris Beatty and team should be very proud of. His passion for efficiency was hard to ignore.
I would highly recommend this king of tour to anyone in the industry. It’s a fantastic way to network, and gain an insight into shops you may never get the chance to visit otherwise. I, for one, will see you next year."
Main: Beautiful customer collection area at Weststar Prestige and electric vehicle repair bay. Below: Chris Beatty from Smash Repair Solutions, Richmond explains how they use 1Q1 to boost productivity. Bottom: Jaw droppingly gorgeous and huge, Spot On Panels, Deerpark.
22 PAINT&PANEL November / December 2018
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