Just one winner in each category in each state but often it’s a very close call. Here is a small selection of the businesses we admired. We would mention more if only we had the space.
Regatta Motor Body Repairs
Regatta Motor Body Repairs in Sydney’s Five Dock has been highly commended before and for good reason: it’s an extremely well-run family business. Brett Leslight has taken over the reins from his parents and the shop has undergone a major, cleverly designed renovation. The art deco signage is classy and memorable. The acquisition of the site next door is going to allow a revamp of the paint shop and is likely to offer an opportunity to optimise workflow further. The judges hope that Regatta is nominated next year as it is sure to be a state winner soon and was just pipped at the post by Blaas Autocraft.
Hondat Smash Repairs
Talk to Dan Lynch at Hondat Repairs at Burleigh Heads in Queensland and you feel that someone has pressed the fast forward button. Lynch certainly isn’t short of energy and since he took over the business from his father at the beginning of the year, he has staffed it with young, talented, energetic workers. The team cracks through some repairs: 20 to 50 cars a week depending on the severity of the damage. Focused, quality-oriented, customer and eco-friendly and a little bit barmy, this workshop is one to look out for in the future.
CPC Quality Smash Repair
CPC Quality Smash Repair, in Dapto, NSW, was a bit of a revelation. It won’t win any prizes for a fancy reception or stylish workshop but Rita Di Cesare, who manages the family business, is passionate about keeping up to date with all the latest repair methods and just wishes there were more opportunities to train. She will be taking over the business from her parents, husband-and-wife team Phil and Rosa, when they retire. Rita Di Cesare does the quoting and the ‘shopping’, she says, but we suspect a lot more besides. She has attended I-CAR courses and the business has kept up with investing in the latest equipment in order to return each car to manufacturers’ specification.
The staff of two panel beaters and one spray painter are repair machines, averaging around 10 to 15 cars a week. The family is extremely community-minded and Phil is especially active in raising money for local charities. This is a tight, focused team that can turn out high quality work and still find time to go the extra mile for their customers.
Most improved
There are two shops in SA that have come a long way in a short time – Carisbrook Collision of Salisbury Plain and Dynamic Paint N Panel, Woodside.
Carisbrook was bought by the Napoli brothers, who also own Smithfield Crash, just over a year ago. What manager Paul Whelan has achieved in a short time made a huge impression on judge Neil Powell, who had visited the shop in the past. There has been a massive investment in equipment, a massive clean up and the enormous workshop has a great workflow. When the new paint shop has been put in, Carisbrook will be hard to beat in the new shop category in SA.
Heading for the hills
Dynamic Paint N Panel husband-and-wife team Cos and Rosie Condo expanded from their Stepney site (a previous award-winning shop) towards the Adelaide Hills and bought the Woodside shop. They have built a cosy reception area in a demountable, cleaned up the separate paint and panel shops and invested in some new equipment. The Condos are proud to be the first carbon neutral smash repairer in SA, and they engage in social media, have a good website, a clear business plan and a vision for their future. The judging team will look forward to seeing what further progress they make in the year to come.
Giving back to the community
A great deal of the work smash repairers do in the community goes unsung. As well as being involved with schools and local charity work, many shop owners are willing to give disadvantaged people a fair go. Tas Mourmouras, who couldn’t believe his shop had been nominated because it wasn’t shiny and new, is one such business owner. He employs an Afghan refugee and despite the fact the man has very little English, Mourmouras was making progress teaching him to be a panel beater when we visited. Palace Accident Automotive Repair Centre in Moorabin, Victoria, is an old building but it was well lit and clean and a great environment to carry out the light smash repairs undertaken there and painstaking restoration of mainly classic Fords.
Helping youngsters
Phil
Munday’s Panel Works in Bayswater, Victoria, was another example, and
not an isolated one, of employing youngsters with Down syndrome, autism
or who had been in trouble with the police and giving them a go. To all
of the shop owners who often do
this as a matter of course, Paint and Panel salutes you.