Page 32 - Australasian Paint & Panel Jan-Feb 2023

Market intelligence
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PAINT&PANEL JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2023
MOTORONE
Sites:14
Employees: 381
Type of work: Drive & Non-Drive Established: 2019 (in collision) Apprentices: 39
Funding: Privately funded (managed by Quadrant)
Sites: VIC, NSW, QLD
MOTORONE AUTOBODY HAS MORE THAN
doubled its footprint since this time last year and put on 30 more apprentices. Of the eight new sites one was a greenfield and seven were acquisitions. Fund man- ager Quadrant has recently set aside funds to support the network’s growth with the aim of having upwards of 40 sites along the eastern seaboard and to grow earnings to $70million a year with- in the next three to five years.
Nick Gillies, chief operating officer of MotorOne Autobody said that the last 12 months have certainly been profitable for the company as a direct result of net- work growth and the existing sites.
“We have another three acquisitions in the pipeline and three greenfield sites in progress. The next 12 months for us is all about continued growth along with
strategically planning the structure around our network, additional site lo- cations and human capital require- ments. We’re the first to recognise that operating 14 shops will be very different to the challenges associated with oper- ating 30 or 40 locations, so it’s about in- vesting in that structure to ensure that consistency across the entire network,” Gillies said.
“Continuing to invest in our people is key, and part of that journey is attract- ing and developing apprentices, coach- ing and mentoring staff into new roles that come with more responsibility.
“It’s these opportunities that MotorO- ne Autobody can offer their staff that are often not possible in a private ownership situation. When we acquire a new site staff have the opportunity to step-up,
take more responsibility and develop new skills. That’s the exciting part of ac- quisitions” Gillies said.
What has also emerged is a bigger fo- cus on apprentices. MotorOne Autobody have doubled their apprentices from 5% of the workforce to now 10% in the last year. The intention is to keep the mo- mentum going especially with the com- pany’s aggressive growth plans.
“Clearly this is one of our major chal- lenges for 2023, bringing consistency to all sites with our apprentice program.”
FROM TOP: MotorOne Acacia Ridge. Nick Gillies, chief operating officer.