We salute the finalists
Awards 2004 Norton AAMI
Paint & Panel's judges for the 2004 Autobody Repairer of the Year began the judging process by inspecting the most frequently nominated bodyshops, then selected 14 regional winners. From those, three national winners were chosen.
Here we revisit the regional winners to pay tribute to their excellence and their inspiration to other shops around Australia.
1. Father and son Michael and Daniel Zammit own and run Scientific Motor Body Works, one of the biggest shops in Sydney, but their success lies in treating it like a boutique business.
2. Ron Goodman never lets go of the vision to do it better. His Exclusive Body Werks is a small shop showpiece, inside and out.
3. Robert Frame handles the demands of being responsible to a huge international company and still manages to run the BMW Bodyshop in Melbourne with good humour.
4. Doug Parsons leads a small but strong family team at Parsons Motor and Body Shop in Victorian country Castlemaine, where versatility is paramount.
5. Basil Scagliotta is still enthusiastically looking for better ways of running his South Fremantle bodyshop, Gino's Panel and Paint, after 32 years in the business.
6. Rob Blundell, owner of Platinum Collision Repair Centre in Perth, continually analyses every part of his business to increase efficiency.
7. Partners Scott Donnelly (L) and Col Shipstone are a perfect combination of youth and experience that go to make Shipstone Accident Repair Specialists a top performer in Queensland.
8. Brothers Frank (L) and Larry Napoli are partners in Adelaide's Smithfield Crash Repairs. Although large, their shop is superbly organised, with more building on the way.
9. Jimmy Feleppa is a young man who combines an abundant talent for running an efficient shop for Cafasso. His quiet manner appeals to his Adelaide customers, staff and assessors.
10. Leon Bradbery created Warners Bay (NSW) Paint & Panel from an empty block of land. He's a repairer of the future where workflow, energy and technology are all needed in the right proportions to produce a profit.
11. David Chwyla relocated his Victorian Mill Park Smash operation from depressing to inspiring premises only recently. The results have already abundantly endorsed his move.
12. Husband and wife team Linda and Dean Turner rebuilt Planet Smash Repairs last year in a new industrial park at Queensland's Kawana Waters. Clever planning and the latest technology are already paying off with lots of work.
13. Experienced smash repairer Denis Bacich was the driving force behind the rebuilding of Shacks Holden bodyshop in Fremantle, WA, where it is now a successful stand-alone business.
14. Alex and Yuri Lediaev became an inspiring success story when they literally rose from the ashes to build a shop that not only looks extraordinary but is full of work as well.