Page 34 - Australaasian Paint & Panel Jan-Feb 2022

Market intelligence
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PAINT&PANEL JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022
RIGHT:
Bodyline is one or the original SCRG’s branches in Sydney.
BELOW: Dominic James CEO of SCRG.
tion. There are still areas that we will need to infill over time in Melbourne and Sydney,” he said.
“I like to think of us as a manufactur- ing just in time business and to be con- sistent you need consistent work spaces. You never get two shed facilities the same but I’d like to feel that in 90 per cent of our shops, you walk in and say its feels just like the other branch.”
Such a large organisation is inevita- bly challenged by the technician short- age. “There’s a huge fight for talent at the moment. We kept recruiting during lockdowns and picked up some great people but we constantly have a 10 per cent vacancy. When you are looking to grow your business 30-40 per cent in the short term, finding new talent is hard.There’ssomecrazymoneybeing thrown around.
“The Paint & Panel Best Workplace award was massive for us because it’s about demonstrating to the industry that it’s about the benefits, the work en-
vironment, the team and the culture. We can’t compete just on money, it’s a race to the bottom. We like to think we’re attractive on the money but it’s
a whole package that we offer. That said we’re all competing for a smaller and smaller pool with an ageing workforce.”
Parts inflation is another challenge. “We’d like to see a more supportive collaborative OEM environment that works closely with the repair industry, with better discounts - parts inflation is a problem. There is also uncertainty over frequency with changing move- ment patterns which affect volume and severity,” he said.
Knox feels that the culture created at Repairhub is an opportunity: “There are a lot of unhappy technicians who haven’t been looked after. We’re taking the lead to create attractive workplaces that will attract young people to the in- dustry, with career paths and lots of op- portunities to promote people.
“Also the customer experience is an op- portunity. Choice of repairer doesn’t scare us because when people see the shop they are impressed and happy to leave their car and walk straight into a hire car. People have been desperate for that sort of ser- vice in the industry. Customers are at- tracted to the convenience of this model.”
STRATEGIC COLLISION REPAIR GROUP
SITES: 13
EMPLOYEES:150
TYPE OF WORK: All collision repairs ESTABLISHED: 2019
NO OF APPRENTICES:12
FUNDING: Privately funded
SITES IN: QLD,NSW
STRATEGIC COLLISION REPAIR GROUP
(SCRG) was formed in 2019 when the company bought Stanley’s Panel Works, Bodyline Motor Body, Cowper Smash Repairs, Coulson Body Repairs, Silver- water Smash Repairs and CRA Group. That gave them 13 sites in two states.
Over the last two years the group has been busy working on integrating systems and processes. Dominic James is SCRG’s CEO and he gave us the group update.
We’re a really ambitious
group and in early 2022 we’ll be looking to grow
and grow quickly.”
“All the vendors are shareholders in the group. During COVID the group as a whole was able to trade through and we were able to do the right thing by our em- ployees. Standing people down is a terri- ble outcome and we didn’t want to do that. It was tough, but I think we are in a better position now because we showed our peo- plethatwearecommittedtothem.
“We also maintained our PCM (price cost model) throughout the lockdowns. which showed our insurance partners that we were able to deliver even in try- ing circumstances.”