Thanks to AMA Collision for flying me up to the opening of its latest site in Bundaberg. It's a lovely shop, beautifully kitted out with the best of the best. There's Lowbake booths and an aluminium bay, the whole kit and caboodle of Car-O-Liner gear, GYS welding equipment and 3M dust extraction. It's equipped to deal with all severities of repairs and is expected to repair around 60 vehicles per week when fully staffed. The reception features the now familiar design studio common to all new AMA Collision sites.
The opening was attended by the Mayor of Bundaberg and Glasurit and ACM attended with colour matching games and 'merch swag' (yes I may have added to my substantial collection).
Stuart Faid Executive General Manager ‑ Collision said: "Our Bundaberg location represents a snapshot into our planned regional growth strategy.
"By bringing our scale, capabilities and long term commitment to these regional hubs, we provide an unprecedented level of quality, service and access to repairs for the people of those communities. Our investment in state of the art equipment as well as the recruitment and upskilling of local people provides a meaningful and sustainable economic benefit to the towns and cities we are investing in.
As another example, earlier this year we opened a state of the art mega site in Townsville. This allowed us to consolidate our fragmented representation in the area into a world class facility that can support the ongoing economic growth in the area for our customers. Our Bundaberg facility has been established with those same core objectives in mind," he said.
"I have been blown away by the engagement from Bundaberg local authority and the local business community, both of whom have welcomed us with open arms and of course there's lots of opportunity to help them too.
I am also delighted with the way the team has conceived and delivered this project from beginning to end, and I am certain that this is just the beginning of our regional growth strategy, with many more opportunities ahead of us."