Page 30 - Australasian Paint & Panel Nov-Dec 2018

2018 PAINT & PANEL BODYSHOP AWARDS
Above: Paul Macauliffe, Geelong Smash Repairs best medium shop. Middle: From left Steven Brett, Axalta and Darren Wales with best large shop. Below: from left, Jazz and Vesco Jolevski with Sam Street. Above right: From left Ben, Meredith and Brenton Abbott, Fleirieu Crash Repairs, Steven Brett.
Geelong Smash Repairs’ owner Paul Mcauliffe is a modest man and seemed genuinely surprised to win the national award saying: “I’m not sure I deserve this” when he came to collect it on stage. He’s the ‘head down bum up get on with it’ type. What he has got on with is extremely impressive. Geelong Smash Repairs is a facility that inspires customer confidence from the outset. The smart modern shop front shout’s the company’s slogan ‘excellence delivered every time.’ Presenation is superb from the large, beautifully designed customer reception with its large windows showing the workshop behind. Macauliffe is smart and has seen that manufacturer badges are going to become increasingly important as cars become more complex. Approved repairers are likely to secure more work and with Suzuki and Volkwagen on board there’s a sizeable chunk of the vehicle parc and meanwhile the team benefit from the manufacturer
training on offer to upskill technicians. The shop specialises in heavy hits which other repairers might shy away from. McAuliffe has brought more and more services in house in order to plump up his bottom line and help him control cycle times – which every repairer who has the space should be considering. He is constantly improving and updating the business which will put him ahead of much of his local competition further strenghtening his position for the future.
means that everyone know where everything is and where to put it back. Equipment is kept in top notch condition. All in all it’s hard to pick fault with any aspect of the business.
BEST MEDIUM SHOP
GEELONG SMASH REAPIRS, VIC
BEST LARGE SHOP
WALES BUS REPAIRS NSW
We’ve visited other heavy vehicle repairers and some of them are excellent – however Wales takes the whole industry to another level. Take the logistics problems and dirt generation that your average car repairer experiences and times it by at least 10 and yet this facility is spotless, supremely well organsied and throughly professional. Clever solutions are in evidence throughout the business
from a custom lift for the painters to work faster, more comfortably and safer, to an intelligent approach to parts procurement and a seriously impressive parts depot.
Second generation owner Darren Wales is a great businessman. He ticks all the boxes with a sustainabile approach to business. He understands the importance of presentation and marketing and always has an eye out for an opportunity. He’s also smart enough to hire great talent which allows him to work on the business. Not only has he created a great bus repair facility, expertly run by Rob Lantham, but he has also secured contracts to be part of the supply chain for buses coming from overseas offering finishing services such as final build specification and painting.
To get the right branding Wales comissioned a photographer and took buses to iconic Sydney locations, the pictures have been made into office wall murals and used for marketing purposes. LED lighting and solar panels reduce carbon emmisions and will help to control the enormous power bills a facility like this will run up.
Everything at Wales Bus Repairs is consumately professional and performance optimised.
EDITOR’S AWARD MOST SPECTACULAR SHOP IN
30 PAINT&PANEL November / December 2018
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