Page 63 - Australian Paint & Panel Nov-Dec 2020

BEST LARGE SHOP – NORTHERN TERRITORY
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AUTO CARE PANEL WORKS
YOU'VE GOT TO THINK ABOUT THINGS A BIT DIFFERENTLY IN THE TERRITORY. FOR INSTANCE: SCRAP METAL. NOT A PROBLEM. YOU STORE IT IN A CAGE BEHIND THE SHOP. WRONG!
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C OME THE RAINY SEASON, that stuff becomes razors
flying through the air! "Unfortunately, in the wet season, we get quite big blows," says Sierra Ferguson calmly. "We have to cut up all the scrap metal and get it in the bin. We recycle all the metal that we can. Given weather conditions up here,
we do our best"
It's exactly that kind of plain spoken
practicality that earned Auto Care a spot in this year's Paint and Panel Body Shop Awards.
Auto Care is owned and run by Sierra and her husband Craig, who began working in the shop back in '86.
"My husband Craig is second genera- tion," Sierra explains.
Craig took over the business from his fa- ther fifteen years back, and Sierra joined ranks five years ago when Auto Care Panel Works moved to its new, much larger site.
Spread across three modern, beauti- fully branded buildings, the series of
workshops is divided into a discreet of- fice area, as well as individual paint and panel spaces. Signage is excellent and everywhere. In the ceilings above is ample parts storage, which can be ac- cessed via a forklift.
Still: it's not quite enough space. It's the Territory, after all: "We re- placed all the roofing in the paint shop when we took over. When we knock down the inner wall and move the staffroom upstairs, it'll create a
THIS PAGE: Sierra and Craig Ferguson have created a modern, high tech facility with a great corporate identity. They juggle a massive range of jobs from Porsches to Hino trucs and everything in between.
bigger workspace, and give us more space for productivity."
The desire for a larger workshop is en- tirely justified, by the way, given the kind of cars that roll into Auto Care on a regular basis.
"The Territory's renowned for having big vehicles. Probably fifty percent of the vehicles in our workshop - or more - are off-road vehicles," Sierra explains. "We do boats, we do Hino trucks and transporters, we work for the