Truckworks
Best New BodyshopThe Reynolds family have owned and operated a smash repair facility in Hobart for over 50 years, repairing both cars and trucks. After two years running a truck towing business in South Australia, the management team saw the potential in setting up a dedicated truck shop in Adelaide. "The towing business acted as research for the repair business. We saw a gap in the market for a high quality repairer and decided to just go for it," says manager Mark Menzie.
Going for it in this case meant investing $2.2 million in setting up the shop. A unique in Australia Josan truck chassis aligning machine was imported from Sweden at a cost of $300,000 along with a $50,000 heat induction machine and a $600,000 tow truck, imported from the US. A 15 metre long Lowbake oven can accommodate almost any type of vehicle and eight repair bays mean up to 10 trucks can be under repair at any one time in the shop.
Business has so far come from as far afield as the WA border, Melbourne and Coober Pedy and the work does not look to be slowing down. "We need to expand already, we're going to build two more bays at the side of the workshop to allow for more volume," says Menzie.
Working in the truck repair business is more profitable than the car repair sector says owner Lyndon Reynolds. "There are less insurance hassles and each job might be upwards of $100,000 in value so you don't mess around."
Average repair times for truck repairs are three to four weeks says Menzie, which means less focus on the flow of work in the shop and more on the quality and efficiency of the actual repair process. "Each truck is different; the repairer has no real personal input in say, a Mercedes car, but when you have finished a truck, with all its chrome and extra details, it's more a part of you than a car would be," says Reynolds.
Who: Lyndon Reynolds, owner, Mark Menzie, manager
What: 1400 sq m workshop
14 employees
10 truck capacity
Lowbake, Josan,
Festo, Glasurit
Where: Wingfield, Adelaide
When: Opened November 2000