Page 50 - Australian Paint & Panel Nov-Dec 2020
P. 50

                  BEST BOUTIQUE SHOP – NEW SOUTH WALES
                             10
   PAINT&PANEL NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2020
  FIX AUTO WOLLONGONG
                   WOLLONGONG’S A FUNNY OLD TOWN. ITS FORTUNES RISE AND FALL WITH THE CURRENTS OFF THE COAST. STILL, THE FALL OF OLD INDUSTRIES INEVITABLY MAKES WAY FOR THE NEW. AND, LIKE GREAT INDUSTRIAL CITIES BEFORE IT, THE GONG’S SOUL IS MADE OF STEEL
P EOPLE LIKE RODNEY TANNOUS at Fix Auto, for instance, as- sume the only sensible pos- ture with which to face ad-
versity: head down; bum up. “I actually had my own busi- ness just down the road,”Tannous re- calls. “I was there 15 years and a Woolies development bought up the whole area.” Tannous called old mate Peter Blaas, owner of Fix Auto Wollongong. Next minute they were sitting down to a cof-
fee and talking shop:
When the two men put their heads to-
gether, they decided that the town wasn’t big enough for the both of them. “It was getting harder for us both to get
enough work and we were able to bring the two businesses together, consolidate them. He was looking to retire, so it was just a natural transition,” said Tannous.
These days, Fix Auto Wollongong is rolling through a respectable 25 cars every week, with jobs ranging from mi- nor scratches to total overhauls.
Alongside Lexus and Subaru approv- als, the Tannous team has also achieved I-Car Gold approved — a significant achievement for workshops of any size.
Besides helping to broker relation- ships with work providers, joining the Fix Auto organisation has paid divi- dends for Tannous –particularly during the harshest periods of lockdown.
      




















































































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