Page 35 - Australaasian Paint & Panel Jan-Feb 2022

It’s fair to say that it hasn’t been the ideal time for expansion but there are plans afoot. “We’ll be working with our insurance partners looking at where they have gaps in the market. We’re looking at a number of transactions at the moment and at how we grow our footprint and what type of work we want to add to the portfolio,” he said.
“Any business we do buy must be aligned with our values which is putting the insurance partners and their policy holders at the forefront of everything we do. It’s all about rapid quality repairs each and every time. There were a lot of unknowns during COVID but now that we’ve gone through that, we are looking to grow the network,” he said.
“There are plenty of opportunities and we are always fielding inquiries from business owners and greenfield sites are a possibility.
“We’re a really ambitious group and in early 2022 we’ll be looking to grow and grow quickly. The people who have come on board want to be part of some- thing collectively.”
In terms of the talent pool James said it is import to invest in people.”You can’t complain about a skills shortage and not put people on. We are working in close partnership with a number of commu- nity groups giving many kids a chance. We have a number of deaf people in our organisation and we are reaching out to disability organisations.”
James said the cost of parts and lack of parts supply and new technologies are always challenging. “There are plenty of opportunities. I think there’s a sweet spot in the market for a reliable consolidated entity and the insurers prefer that one point of contact across multiple sites.
“We want to be seen as an employer of opportunity welcoming the right people regardless of background. If they’re willing to have a go, we’re willing to give them a go. Creating this kind of cul- ture will help to ensure team stability and we’re already fielding enquiries from technicians asking how they can get involved because they’ve been
told we’re a good place to work.”
WESTERN GENERAL MOTORBODY WORKS
NO OF SITESL 10
NO OF EMPLOYEES: 140
TYPE OF WORK: All types
ESTABLISHED YEAR 1975
NO OF APPRENTICES: within group 12 COMPANY STRUCTURE: Privately owned
WE WEREN’T ABLE TO TALK TO DANNY BU-
zadzic, the managing director and founder of WGMB but he sent us the following.
‘We are focussed on vertically integrat- ing our business. We repair over 750 cars a month and run two towing business and car rental business. Our low hanging fruits include expanding our services.
We are focussed on
vertically integrating our business. We repair
over 750 cars a month”
‘We have 10 sites and are looking to build our network to 15. In response to tackling the technician shortage he said: ‘We ensure existing staff are being looked after. Particularly during the pan- demic, we work closely with staff on time being taken off for family support etc. We also set up additional support via setting achievable incentives and KPIs etc.
What does Buzadzic see as the major challenges and opportunities ahead? ‘The main challenge continues to be finding staff locally and internally. This includes qualified tradesmen and even young and upcoming estimators, managers etc. While insurance companies are more aware of av- erage repair costs and there is more trans- parency against the programs they have in place re quotes, assessments and bookings, we also have to access to more data than in the past. We see this as an opportunity to capitalise on where we see that our costs are too high or quotes fall short and/or where we can negotiate with insurance and suppliers etc. More data equals bet- ter informed decisions for the business.;”
WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
LEFT:
A courtesy car outside one of the Melbourne branches.
BELOW:
Maxbutts is one of the Queensland shops acquired by the group.
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