Diversification is key to everyone’s business growth

When work began to slow down a year ago, B.Brothers Smash Repairs in Sydney decided to diversify into trailers to increase profits and keep hold of staff, as Sam Street reports.

A yacht is not exactly what you expect to see peeping out of a smash repair workshop. However, now that B.Brothers Smash Repairs owners Geoff Jordan and Frank Sljokic have diversified their business to include trailers, they will be a common sight at their Sydney premises in North Narrabeen.

“The boats tend to come with the trailers which can be a bit inconvenient!” Jordan says.

Jordan and Sljokic bought Silverwood Trailers at the beginning of March and predict they will recoup their outlay in just 18 months.

Jordan originally started out at a commercial bodybuilders and so big rigs don’t intimidate him.

”We’re not affiliated with any insurance companies,” he says. “When work began to get quieter, with loyal customers being directed elsewhere to have their cars repaired, we had to consider diversifying. We didn’t want to lose any staff – qualified smash repair staff are like hen’s teeth, especially on the beaches.”

B.Brothers employs three skilled panel beaters and an apprentice, two painters and a full-time detailer. Trailer builder James Garcia has now also joined the team from Silverwood Trailers.

Silverwood was based in nearby Brookvale, but Jordan says the rent in that suburb is too high. “It takes both Frank and I to run B.Brothers, so it made sense to relocate the business to our premises in Narrabeen than for me to try to work from both locations.

“At the moment we have plenty of room here, plus a place at Ingleside to store the trailers when they are ready for collection.”

Silverwood Trailers doesn’t just service units, it also custom builds box, boat and tipper trailers. Silverside’s previous owner Robbie Baxter is staying on for six months to teach Jordan the ropes.

B.Brothers has inherited all of Silverwood’s customers and already has a clutch of orders for new builds. Jordan feels there is scope to expand further into the trailer business. “We’re keeping it small to begin with; you have to learn to walk before you can run,” he says.

What makes the trailer business a particularly savvy buy is that there is very little local competition and plenty of work, especially for boat trailer service and repairs. The corrosive effects of salt water and strict servicing schedules are always going to translate into brisk trade for a workshop close to so many beaches and mooring sites.

B.Brothers invested in a new PPG spray booth and paint room for water-based paints last year to run alongside its older booth, which handles the two-pack finishes. With the costs and training associated with that investment, it was disappointing to see a downturn in the volume of smash repair business, Jordan says.

“It seems that price, not quality, is the overriding factor these days. We made the investment to be able to give a factory finish to a car and because of the higher cost of water-based paints we can lose insurance jobs. We didn’t want our business to go by the wayside.

“The trailers are dirtier, harder work than I expected but they have many advantages. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing since we took over Silverwood. We don’t have to rely insurance companies for all our work and, while there isn’t as much money involved as there is with car bodywork, the margins are higher.”