Queensland really turned it on for the Paint & Panel judges this year - plenty of sunshine and plenty of great shops.
First up was West Burleigh Smash. A great boutique shop which turns its hand to anything. Insurance work, restoration, recreation vehicle and even an antique coke fridge. This small happy crew works at its own pace and makes a tidy living.
Next up and something of a contrast was Euro Collision Centre. This prestige shop specialises in Jaguar, Landrover, Aston Martin and a clutch of other manufacturer badges. The business has recently invested in new Junair spraybooths and spent a lot of time organising a relatively small space to optimize efficiency.
We didn’t have to ask when Maxbutts last won the Paint & Panel awards as they had huge signs outside the shop – great marketing guys. New booths and an IR arch have been added since we last visited. This is a busy one-stop shop that offers a range of services including mechanical and towing.
Sommerville Smash Repairs is a large shop with a tidy, well equipped, tidy, efficient panel shop and a big if somewhat maze-like paint facility. Plenty of I-Car training and good management equals a plenty of cars out the door each week. We liked the clever parts storage boxes that collapse down to save space.
We finished day one at Holmes Panel and Paint. The company maximises it roadside frontage for drivebys although is hampered by the sequential shed layout for optimum workflow.
Day two started at Cooraparoo (I know it rhymes) Panel and Paint. Lamborghini-driving owner Brett Evans has a sweet set up here. Formerly a high volume, high stress business he’s moved further into town in a well to do area where people are happy to pay privately for repairs and restorations, and he carries out insurance work too. He’s pretty handy and built the reception area himself and the cool seating in there too.
On to Brisbane BMW Body shop. This huge, relatively new dealer-owned facility has branched out into Tesla and other luxury marque repairs. It’s an impressive set up, heaving with highly trained technicians on the workshop floor while presenting very much a dealership feel front of house.
Capital SMART Banyo – errrr, wow. Your jaw kind of slackens when you first catch sight of it from the street. It’s a huge building, very well organised putting out a huge number of drivable repairs each week. Enjoyed the cakes too thank you very much.
We dropped into Domroy Prestige which was bought by HHarvey owner Mark Wells and friends earlier this year. It’s a large and impressive facility and the team has begun to work their magic on the workshop organising, cleaning up and putting all the right processes in place. They still have big plans for manay more changes so we’ll definitely be back next year to see what they have achieved. We know it will be worth the wait.