Page 14 - Australian Paint & Panel March-April 2020

NEWS
14
PAINT&PANEL
MARCH / APRIL 2020
WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
BRIEFS
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LOMBARDI’S SUPERCAR WORKSHOP
LOMBARDI BROS IN PERTH HAS OFFICIALLY
opened its state-of-the-art supercar workshop. The business is a well known prestige car repairer and has a long standing relationship with luxury car dealership Barbagallo Motors. While Lombardi’s has always specialised in Ferraris and other motoring exotica, last year it achieved Ferrari factory approval and is the only factory authorised Fer- rari repairer in Western Australia.
Manager Amanda Lombardi said: “There aren’t many family businesses that have OEM approval, they are mostly dealerships. It was a two year process, as you can appre- ciate Ferrari has very high standards. They even flew out technicians to take us through all of the toolboxes and tools required.
"One of our technicians flew out to It- aly last year and loved seeing all of the latest advances and technologies includ- ing the famous factory,” she said.
As well as Ferrari, Lombardi’s also has OEM approvals for Jaguar/Land Rover, Aston Martin and Volvo. The new workshop is opposite the huge, existing facility. The idea is to separate the exotic cars, which take a long time to repair, from the more ‘mum and dad’ cars and increase cycle times for rapid repair in the original workshop. “The insurers see us as very much a prestige workshop but we can repair any car. With two sepa- rate shops, Lombardi Prestige and Lom- bardi Bros, we have the best of both worlds now.
GET THE EDGE WITH OUR PODCAST
WE'VE CREATED A PODCAST
aimed at collision repair
shop owners and manag-
ers called The Edge. Head
over to paintandpanel. com.au/podcast or sub-
scribe on your favourite
podcast app or streaming
platform. The first two epi-
sodes are sponsored by
iBodyshop and the podcast host is Ben Fewtrell from MaxMyProfit, who started out life as a panelbeater. As well as chat- ting to Steve O'Brien of iBodyshop, epi- sode one also includes interviews with
East Coast Collision and DSI Panels - talking about their experiences with us- ing the workshop manage- ment program.
In the second episode two successful repairers share their stories, Brad Kolich from Weststar Prestige in Sunshine,
Melbourne and Craig McGregor from Bodyline Motor Body Repairers and Refinishers in Kograh, Sydney who is part of the new Strategic Collision Repair Group.
CAR CRAFT HITS RECYCLING MILESTONE
Next Gen recycling has, on average, removed over 35,000 bumpers per year for the last eight years. The business now caters to many Perth repairers and ensures that these plastics collected are not sent to landfill.
Next Gen Recycling commenced operations in Western Australia in 2011 to help remove waste plastic, in particular damaged plastic bumper bars, to prevent it from ending up in landfill. The business, developed by the Car Craft Group, was initially to assist their members in removing the plastic from their premises and to ensure it is recycled and was the first business of its kind in WA and across Australia.
Car Craft Group General Manager Peter McMahon said "We get great support from not only from repairers but also our suppliers. Plastic has been an issue for a long time in our industry and as the cost of new plastic bumpers is trending down, it will continue to be an issue, I think we just recognised it early. The initiative also assists our Car Craft repairers to meet their Greenstamp commitments."
SYMACH MOVES TO AUSTRALIA
Mark Cunningham has been appointed as Symach’s General Manager in Australia, overseeing and supporting Symach activities in the region.
His more than 20 years-experience in motor trade, working with some of the largest vehicle repairers in Australia and Ireland has led him to collaborate with Symach in the expansion of the brand in Australia.