Page 31 - Australasian Paint & Panel Nov-Dec 2022

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MAIN IMAGE: James Knox on right with Daniel Benea very proud of the Best Workplace award.
TOP LEFT: Team Banyo, QLD,
BELOW: Banyo Repairhub HQ.
the most challenging environment the industry has faced in decades, we’ve built a scalable, profitable and sustaina- ble business,” he said.
“I have no doubt that we are the lead- ing rapid repair business in the country. We’ve built quality, sustainable, process- es. I think our biggest achievement is the culture that we’ve built. That’s what I’m most proud of and, obviously, I’m only a small part of that. The recognition in your awards last year of Best Workplace is reflective of what we wanted to build; we put our people first. We’ve invested in them, we’ve built great leaders, we’ve lis- tened to them. We launched three o’clock finish because we could hear people wanted more flexibility but our hours
were a challenge. They love working for us but the hours were tough. So we want- ed to give back and we’ve managed that without even a blip in the business. In fact, it’s been a great recruitment piece.
“I think I’ve driven genuine partner- ships with our stakeholders whether that’s between Chris (Beatty) and I, our partner- ships with IAG and RACV as our main shareholders and customers, PPG as our paint provider and our parts suppliers. We don’t just have transactional relation- ships, we have supportive relationships.
“The pandemic, the skills shortage, finding suitable real estate and the infla- tionary environment have all been a big challenge for a business that wants to double in size every year.
“Obviously the pandemic had the vol- ume volatility and now we’re in an envi- ronment of significant inflationary pres- sures. We do have the support of IAG but outside of that we face the same challeng- es as anyone else; we’re not immune.”
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Knox starts as CEO for Auto Parts Group in January next year. “I’ve long been an admirer of that business and what found- er Steve Campbell has built. I’ve been working with him for many years and
I always say that despite
the most challenging environment the industry has faced in decades, we’ve built a scalable, profitable, and sustainable business,”
watched him build the scalable and genu- ine alternative to the OEM supply network for parts. So, Steve has asked me to come in and help take that business to the next level and I think it’s a huge opportunity to continue to disrupt a related industry. The benefit for me is that I still get to work with repairers and will also start to liaise with the insurers too.” he said.
“What will I miss at Repairhub? I’m go- ing to miss the people. We’ve got some fantastic leaders and support in here. My direct team have been wonderful sup- porters and one of our key strengths has been the depth of leadership — I think we’ve got some of the best managers in the game across the board.”
Knox is confident he’s handing over the wheel of a tight ship. “I leave the business in great shape, which I’m really happy about. We’ve done all the hard work for the next CEO but there’s also a lot of continuity with the leaders in the business which will really set it up for continued growth.
“Repairhub is a well-oiled machine and with Chris as the founder and COO here, it shouldn’t skip a beat while a new CEO takes the helm.
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