Page 52 - Australasian Paint & Panel Jul-Aug 2020

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52
PAINT&PANEL JULY / AUGUST 2020
MARRICKVILLE PRESTIGE SMASH REPAIRS
COVID-19 AND THE FORCED LOCKDOWN DIDN’T DO THE REPAIR INDUSTRY ANY FAVOURS - BUT IT WAS PARTICULARLY HARSH TO JOHNNY KARAVASILIAS OF MPSR.
KARAVASILIAS STARTED WORKING WITH
his father and uncle at the family run business Marrickville Prestige Smash back in 2006. A qualified panelbeater he was keen to learn everything he could about running a successful autobody re- pair business.
In 2014, he began a major renovation with the intention of improving work- flow and creating better customer facili- ties. Still very young, at just 25, he turned to Lowbake for guidance on how best to maximise the space he had in a relatively small shop. “I learnt so much from Mark Williams and the team over the renovation period,” he said.
The renovations and improvements have continued ever since, and the business has grown considerably. The original Marrickville shop doubled its output and Karavasilias managed to rent the neighboring building adding more floor space.
A Lowbake Aluminum Repair Room was recently installed, with Karavasilias striving to add to the Holden, Suzuki and Peugeot manufacturer approvals the business has already gained. He was one of the first shops in Australia to achieve Gold Class back in 2014.
Karavasilias, like most good repair shop owners, is an incredibly hard work- er. He often starts work at 2am to get a jump on the day while the telephones are quiet.
Once he had Marrickville up and run- ning how he wanted it, he decided he was ready for the challenge of running another shop. Two opportunities arose as the same time – one was a boutique shop in Brookvale and the other a huge space around the corner from the origi- nal shop. “Ideally I would have liked to have tackled them one at a time, but business was booming so I dived right in. I love a challenge”, he said.
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE:
Smart customer service area; stunning workshop design; Gas-IR arch.