Highly commended repairers

 

These shops didn’t win but were very close to taking a gong in this year’s awards, and in some other year they might have. We acknowledge that judging panel shops is an imperfect process and here we honour the repairers whose shops were of a very high standard and impressed the judges.

Many of our highly commended shops will go on to win in the future.

Vehicle Color Design Centre, Rydalmere, NSW

Vehicle Color Design Centre (VCDC) is not afraid of specalising in restorations, and according to owner Axel Olleroch, about half the jobs it does involves restoration work.
Olleroch has been in the prestige vehicle repair industry for some 30 years, having started in a specialist panel shop in Germany before joining the staff of Mercedes Benz. After moving to Australia, he worked for Ferrari and Porsche, then BMW where he was the head painter for over six years.

He founded VCDC Axel in 1994 and in 2005 moved to expanded premises in Antoine Street, Rydalmere, with updated equipment and other enhancements to business operations.

“We make no apology for being absolute perfectionists, offering an unconditional 12-month guarantee on all work,” he says.

The presence of restoration work was obvious in the workshop. Among the cars being worked on were two De Tomasos, which a collector had acquired and were in need of some significant TLC.

And while there was a smattering of Mercedes Benz, BMWs and Minis, there were also Commodores and Toyotas.

One of the many services Olleroch offers his clients is surface finishing by water transfer printing (WTP), which allows objects of almost any surface material and shape to be transformed into a truly custom finish, achieving high-quality results in a great variety of patterns like woodgrain, carbon, granite or photorealistic prints.

Northshore Classic Auto Body Centre, Artarmon, NSW

Prestige repair is definitely what Arvik Kalloglian, CEO of Northshore Classic Auto Body Centre, specalises in.

Kalloglian’s Artarmon-based repair facility has a Lexus repairer approval, is a Volvo repairer, and has worked on Land Rover, Jaguar, Saab, Bentley, Lotus and Lamborghini.
His position as a highly regarded Lexus repairer is highlighted by the fact that NSC is the biggest Lexus parts buyer. The fact that there were 14 Lexus vehicles in the waiting area only strengthened this position.

As part of the approach to ensuring the best of prestige results, all repairs are file finished by the shop’s technicians, who have access to the latest in tools and equipment. The shop also features a specialist aluminium booth for repairs.

Northshore Classic has five panelbeaters, three strippers/dismantlers, six spray painters and two detailers, as well as eight in the office.

The business turns over 30 to 35 cars a week from the 3000m2 workshop, which Kalloglian says will expand to 9000m2 when his planned new repair facility is built.

Highland Smash Repairs, Salisbury, Qld

Having its own in-house training program helps Brisbane’s Highland Smash Repairs stand out among the crowd.

It is one of the innovative measures put in place by manager Ray Iverson, who oversees 30 staff at the Salisbury repair facility.

With their own in-house trainer, apprentice panelbeaters and painters can do their training on the job, and this has resulted in a good retention of staff, Iverson said.

Most of the training is done using the internet.

Another innovation is a plastic key box attached to each vehicle, with each lockable boxes stuck to the vehicle’s window. Iverson said it had proved to be a great time saver in the workshop.

Highland Smash Repairs does mostly drivable work, and has three prep bays and three Autobake booths with Sikkens refinishing system.

Other equipment includes Car-O-Liner and Autorobot pulling and measuring systems and there is also a specialist plastic repairs department.

The shop is a SMART repairer for Brisbane’s southside for Suncorp.

Cranbourne Body Works, Cranbourne, Vic

When the AP&P judging team visited Cranbourne Body Works, owner Kevin Slattery had only been in his new repair facility for a month. Slattery had moved from a 600m2
building located directly behind his new premises, which has given him a new working area of 2351m2, all under the same roof.

The shop features two Car-O-Liner benches and Seetal spray booths. The Sikkens paint system was being operated from a temporary location with the mixing room still to be commissioned during the judging visit and there was an electrician toiling away in the back ground.

Slattery is a member of the Sikkens A-Coat program, which he describes as like having a business coach on hand, and he was using the program to help benchmark his business practices.

Features of the new complex is a renovated waiting area for clients, separate areas for assessors to do their thing and a vast array of workshop space for the planned expansion of the business.

There are 10 staff working at Cranbourne, including Slattery and his wife Nicky, and he was about to engage another panel beater after the judging.

Slattery operated Cranbourne Body work from the adjoining building for 21 years and is now ready to take the next step to expand his business.

Northshore Collision Centre, Artarmon

As a specialist BMW repairer, Northshore Collision is a shop that shows aiming for a niche market can work.

Set up by Lee Koudsy, whose LSR Autobody is just down the street in Hotham Parade, and managed by Glenn Donnelly, Northshore Collision has been operating for a little over 12 months and is repairing up to 30, mostly BMW, vehicles a week.

Donnelly says the shop is averaging about 100 cars a month, including dealership work, and only worked on prestige vehicles.

It uses Glasurit for BMW refinishing, and is trialling Glasurit’s waterborne paint. PPG’s Envirobase is used for non-BMW work.

This is done in two Lowbake ovens and there are two Rapid prep stations.

Equipment includes two Cellette benches, two Carbench benches, and Unimig, Wielander and Schill welders. Dust extraction is the CAV ducted system  from Lowbake.

The repair facility has three painters and one apprentice painter, three beaters and three apprentice beaters, a detailer and three office staff.

Mandurah Panel & Paint

After working as a one-man show for 10 years, Mark Brady has now expanded his Mandurah Paint & Panel shop, south of Perth, WA, into a new, purpose-built shop.

Brady and his wife Dollar have been working out of their new shop for 15 months, which allowed them to install a pair of drive-through Lowbake spray booths, an in-floor Car-O-Liner Mk 5 bench and two speed benches for smaller jobs.

The spray booths are separated by a mixing room fitted out with the Sikkens paint system, and the business is a member of Sikkens A-Coat group. It is also a member of WA-based Car Craft Group. Across from the booths is the four-bay prep area.

The environment is important for Dollar and Mark and they have Green Stamp accreditation.

The business has a 1000-litre in-ground water tank and water is separated and cleaned before being cycled through the system. This is done using a VGS industrial separation system. Part of the push for a more sustainable business has involved investigating the implementation of Sikken’s waterborne paints. Mark says he has used Sikkens for the past 10 years.

Repair equipment includes Prospot inverter welder, Unimig for steel and silicon-bronze welding and there is a Dynabrade mobile extraction system.

Mandurah Paint & Panel has five panelbeaters and two apprentice beaters, three painters and an apprentice painter, two cleaners, a workshop manager, parts and stores manager and four in the office, including Dollar and Mark.

It carries out work for RAC, SGIO and Suncorp brands.

STC Crash Repairs

A black ’68 Thunderbird with a 454 Chevy will be the last of the projects Danny Candeloro plans to handle in his STC Crash repairs in the Adelaide suburb of Kilkenny.
STC is putting through about 15 cars a week with the five staff that work in the repair shop.

Candeloro looks after the estimating and workshop management in a business started by his parents, Sandy and Teresa, more than 30 years ago. The family partnership extends to Candeloro’s wife Angela, who also works in the business and job- shares the office role with his sister Liz.

The business does mostly insurance work, keeping to the “mum and dad” cars, according to Candeloro.

“We do a broad range of work and cover all bases,” he says.

The business is a member of the Master Collision group – Candeloro is one of the group’s directors – which provides it with an array of information and access to training.
It is also an A-Coat Select member through Sikkens, which Candeloro said helps keep the shop efficient.