Atherton Smash Repair Specialist opens new shop

Shop Profile

Steve and Karen West have just opened their new workshop in Far North Queensland, setting the standard for repair facilities in the region.

For Steve West the journey to opening his own modern repair facility with wife Karen all started when he was in grade 6 at school.

He came home from school one day to find Robert Chapman knocking a dent out of his mother's EH Holden station wagon. Later that evening he asked his mum what Chapman?s job title was and she told him he was a panel beater.

"That is when I told mum that's what I want to do," West said.

Three years later, Steve's father came home one day and said to him that it was time to leave school and look for a job.

He attended several interviews, including one with Ross Guthrie in the Brisbane suburb of Fortitude Valley.

West recalls Guthrie asking if panel beating was what you really want to do in life. "I said yes. He then asked him when I could start and I said 'tomorrow'," West said.

"My life as a panel beater began after Easter in 1973.

"The tradesman I started working with said on my first day said that he knew me but I could not remember him. Later in the day I finally remembered his as being the man who had repaired my mum's car."

The journey has now seen the Wests open their new shop in Atherton, in far north Queensland.

In September 2002 they bought Estate Panel & Paint 58 Isabella Street in a rented premise, with a business partner, renaming it Willmot Smash Repair Specialist Atherton.

They then bought the block next door in 2006, bought out their business partner in 2007 and proceeded to construct their own purpose built facility in 2009.

The shop employs one spray painter and an apprentice painter, two panel beaters and two apprentice beaters, an estimator and two financial administrators.

They use PPG paint system and the PPG Business Manager for estimating and production, and have a raft of equipment that makes for an efficient, modern shop.

Equipment includes Dataliner, Auto Robot 111 and Auto Robot Ezi Calipre computerised measuring system, Wielander & Schill inverter spot welder and brazer, Monarch baking oven and Monarch prep bay with infrared curing.

The workshop has five dedicated repair bays, five dedicated assembly bays and two post hoists.

This is all housed in an under roof area of 1076 square meter on a 1625 square metre block of land.

On Saturday evening 24 October, 2009, the new Atherton Smash Repair Specialist building was officially opened.

This brand new building was specifically designed and built for the Wests and it has set the standard in their area.

Steve erected the steel framework with his staff and local builder Bruce Schuler from FNQ Constructions made the complete construction.

The official opening was supported and attended by many of the company's local suppliers and work providers including Rob Cook from PPG in Brisbane and its distributor Russco Colourtek Cairns, among many others.

Terry Feehan from SAFE, a friend of Steve and Karen, was MC for event and Patrick McDonald, national assessing manager for RACQ and Sue Yunker, manager from AAMI, congratulated the Wests on the superb facility and attention to their customers. Steve Baton made a congratulations speech on behalf of MTAQ and further acknowledged their vision in developing such a modem centre for collision repairs on the Atherton Tablelands.

"Steve and Karen are terrific people and nice friends and even though I knew they were building a new shop I did not realise how superb it would look and how large it would be," Terry Feehan said.

"All the other guests, and especially the insurance company people, were of the same view.

"The new facility in Atherton is certainly the best in the whole of their area. To see such a stunning building in a regional area of North Queensland further shows that Steve and Karen's vision for the future is strong and positive. They have a terrific relationship with RACQ as a recommended repairer and have recently built a great relationship with AAMI. Their staff are all trades people of a high standard and Steve is constantly looking at future technology and developments and ensures all his staff a trained to meet future needs in repair and painting techniques. I was very proud to be a part of their celebration."