Page 20 - Australasian Paint & Panel May-June 2021

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News • In Focus
PAINT&PANEL MAY / JUNE 2021
THE PAINT &
PANEL BODYSHOP
AWARDS 2021
EACH YEAR THE PAINT & PANEL BODYSHOP AWARDS PROGRAM GROWS AND IMPROVES, ALWAYS REFLECTING AND ADAPTING TO CHANGES IN THE INDUSTRY.
OMINATIONS ARE OPEN FOR
the 2021 Bodyshop Awards. Now in their 26th year, these awards have evolved with the industry and recognise not just individ- ual shops but excellence in many differ-
ent areas of the industry.
WHAT’S NEW IN 2021?
The biggest change this year is opening up the Country Repairer of the Year Award. We weren’t able to judge these shops in person as the distances between them were too great and asked nominees to send us a video entry after which one shop is announced as the winner.
Each year the standard rises and there are so many next level country re- pair facilities and we have often la- mented that there is only one winner. We approached the category sponsor Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA) to see if we could make the awards more inclusive and were de- lighted with the enthusiasm displayed by the industry association.
The result is that this year firstly, we will be judging country repair shops via Zoom so there is no need to make a vid- eo entry. Secondly, we will have a win-
ner in each state and announce the na- tional winner at our glittering awards night in November. In addition, we will be highlighting country repair business- es around the country in the magazine throughout the year.
Richard Dudley MTAA CEO said: “Country collision repair businesses are essential to the mobility of their commu- nities. They often have to turn their hand to repairing a wide variety of vehi- cles from backhoes to four wheel drives. They face an array of challenges such as attracting and keeping knowledgeable and skilled staff as well as delivery of parts and equipment.
“MTAA is delighted to shine a light on these community heroes and facilitate more businesses being recognised by the entire collision repair industry.”
BEST WORKPLACE
This is a new award sponsored by Syd- ney Automotive Paint & Equipment (SAPE). We wanted to recognise a busi- ness that is simply a great place to work and we expect the nominations will come from that business’ team mem- bers. There are no real criteria for this award, we look forward to receiving your submission on why your shop is the best place to work. We would expect some basics like decent staff facilities and a safe working environment but other than that we’re wide open.
SAPE’s managing director Paul Mc- Martin said: “We see so many of our customers look after their teams in-
credibly well having created a fantastic work environment. As a company that also strives to create a positive work culture we are especially proud to spon- sor this award.”
BEST COMMERCIAL
VEHICLE REPAIRER
This award, sponsored by City Hino, has been for Best Heavy Vehicle Repairer in the past. However, there has been a huge amount of consolidation in this space over the last 12 months with AMA Group and Royans buying up many independ- ents. There are, however, many busi- nesses which specialise in light com- mercial vehicles and small trucks. Accordingly, for the this category we are looking for repairers for whom commer- cial vehicle repairs (vehicles between 4.495 tonnes-12 tonnes) make up 30% or more of their repairs.