Derek Bell is mining the prestige seam with precision tools, panache and passion.
Winner of the Best New Shop last year, there’s no doubt that ESR Prestige's superb design is not only smash repair eye candy but eminently practical for efficient workflow.
State-of-the art equipment includes Car-O-liner and Celette measuring and alignment benches, custom Lowbake booths and a hand-made Italian coffee machine in the funky customer café upstairs, with its glass walls so that owners can see work being carried out on cars in the paint shop.
The
paint was barely dry on ESR Prestige when the judging team visited last
year. Twelve months on and the place still looked every bit as good
(there’s a full-time cleaner to help ensure that) but twice as busy. The
staff has increased too,
from 16 to 26.
Get behind the glamour car reception area and the stylish waiting room and owner Derek Bell has an excellent business head on his shoulders. He reckons that he’s the most expensive BMW repairer in Australia and yet the shop is chock a block. He is a man who knows his costs and isn’t afraid to ask for them.
He shares his knowledge and opinions with the MTA's prestige committee and has helped to develop repair times for luxury vehicles for eMTA.
He is dedicated to bringing on apprentices and is very strict with them. He won’t employ an apprentice unless he’s met their parents and knows they will have support and encouragement from home. This policy has ensured that he has been able to get the kind of apprentice that’s best for his shop and to keep them as they receive a great deal of on the job training and mentoring. The staff facilities are excellent with shower rooms, a good lunch room and an all-round pleasant environment to work in.
Bell is a total perfectionist and is always looking for better ways to work. He is in the process of designing the ideal tool cart for his paint shop to increase efficiency. It's a fair bet that they will be easy on the eye too.
Even on this large site, the business is bursting at the seams and Bell plans to excavate another level below the workshop to expand capacity even further. In the near future he hopes to be an approved Porsche and Bentley repairer to further enhance his prestige manufacturer portfolio.