H & M Malaga Smash Repairs
AWARDS 2006 AAMIAAMI/AP&P AUTOBODY REPAIRER OF THE YEAR REGIONAL WINNER (SMALL SHOP) W.A.
H & M Malaga Smash Repairs
The story of H & M began in 1982 when Muoi and Hang Nguyen arrived in Perth penniless from Vietnam. Husband Muoi qualified as a spray painter in 1988. In 2005 the pair bought an existing shop in the Perth suburb of Malaga and set about securing work from the major Perth insurers, RAC and SGIO.
Today they have a thriving repair business with a total staff of 11. The Nguyens are looking to expand as soon as they can obtain more space in front of their existing shop. They currently have three beaters, three painters, and an assembler. Husband Muoi handles quoting, shop management and quality control while wife Hang runs accounts and work scheduling.
In Perth, as well as other Australian states, insurers are drawing up lists of repairers according to the equipment they have. By investing in a Fan inverter, a MIG welder, and the Fan dent pulling system, H & M has joined a small number of Perth shops to which local insurer RAC sends cars made after the year 2000. More and more cars are now made with increasing percentages of high strength steel, but a shop needs both the equipment and the training to cut and weld it.
Along with some work from SGIO and other sources, the shop's output of 15 to 20 cars a week is continually booked. Expansion can only come from more work space and more technicians ? especially panel beaters which are in short supply in the west.
The shop runs Spies Hecker refinish, Fan welders, two Auto Robots, a Panel and Paint quoting system, in-house plastic repairs (for which Muoi is qualified), Ceccato compressors, and in-house paintless dent removal.
What sets this shop apart from many others is that Muoi Nguyen will not compromise quality just to win a job. Where some shops will mask up door handles, turret trims and door seals, he removes them and paints thoroughly - so that the clear will not start to peel where it joins existing work.
"Sometimes I could get a job if I came down just a hundred dollars, but when I compare my quote with another shop's I see that they have just masked up and not removed," he says. "I won't do that. I'd rather lose the job."
Hang Nguyen runs work scheduling via a big whiteboard at the entrance to the panel shop. It is a simple system but shows clearly job progress and the allocation to technicians.
The Nguyens are well aware that their shops needs updating in the areas such as the spray booth and mixing room, There are plans to build a new booth and improve the work flow of the shop in general. But, like most shops, space is limiting factor and they must wait for the building in front to become available.
POWELL'S COMMENT
Muoi and Hang Nguyen have overcome considerable adversity to have reached this point. But there is more to come, with some ambitions plans for expansion. I can see this business going a long way with its strong ethics and straight dealing.