The SAPE Group has announced that it has acquired Auto Paint Supplies in Fyshwick, Canberra. The acquisition follows Auto Paint Supplies founders, Pat Blake and Glen Allardyce, announcing they would retire after 34 years in the business. The pair started their company in 1987 and have steadfastly supplied a range of body finishing materials, crash repair equipment and tools to body shops throughout Canberra.
“We knew it was time to enjoy a more relaxed side of life and so we began the task of searching for a potential buyer. Our very first call was to Ray McMartin, CEO of SAPE, who was immediately interested in the idea of purchasing the business,” said Glen Allardyce.
SAPE is a leading Australian distributor for Glasurit and Baslac paints for BASF Australia and also supplies a vast array of collision repair equipment and consumables to vehicle repair facilities around Australia. SAPE has recently expanded its operations in Queensland and moved into a new facility in Cameron Park, Newcastle.
“We wanted the process to be transparent, timely and fair. We knew Ray was active in the market and had purchased a number of distribution businesses when it was time for the owners to retire. Everyone we talked to agreed Ray was a man of integrity, and that the sales had gone through per the agreed conditions and terms,” said Pat Blake.
As some businesses find themselves in complex negotiations, this negotiation, on the other hand was simple and effective, with an agreement reached in less than five minutes. The trio sat down with a piece of paper and a pen, and after a few minutes of deliberation, agreed to the total purchase price for the acquisition.
“We're proud of this achievement, but we're also aware that there is much more work to be done. The nation’s capital presents a great opportunity for SAPE to network, share our knowledge and to provide customers with exceptional service across all channels including supply, support and service. We're all looking forward to the good things that are coming,” said Ray McMartin.
Since SAPE’s beginnings in 1976, it has forged strong relationships with leading global suppliers such as Celette, GYS, Spanesi, Weilander + Schill, IRT, Innovative, Carsystem as well as major local suppliers such as CAM, Devilbiss, Iwata and 3M. Those long-standing relationships allow SAPE to bring an exciting line up of new products and services to the industry.
SAPE has also invested heavily in infrastructure to facilitate best practice training and development. The SAPE Automotive Training Academy, located at Condell Park, NSW, is the most modern facility of its type, and is equipped with latest collision repair equipment, audio visual display, video conferencing and training streaming equipment. The Training Academy provides a simulated learning environment that allows course participants to perform work tasks in an air-conditioned, controlled and safe indoor environment.
“These centres are utilised by OEM’s and the equipment is updated every two years, guaranteeing we have the latest equipment in these centres to facilitate training in the latest repair processes,” said McMartin.
“To give you some ideas of the training required by some of the late model vehicles, body shells are taken straight off the production line, flown to our Training Academy and training commences on how to repair these vehicles prior to the vehicle’s release in Australia,” he said.
Auto Paint Supplies will now operate under the trading name SAPE Canberra, and is located at 145/147 Gladstone St, Fyshwick ACT 2609 and is open 8:00am-5:00pm Monday through to Friday, call: (02) 6280 6848.