Darren Holmes has realised his vision for Holmes Smash Repairs in Toowoomba and business is booming.
Holmes took over the shop from his father in 2007 and over time it has grown piecemeal as he’s had to add an extra shed here or there.
“I made a decision early on to grow the business as I believed that if we didn’t, then we might get swallowed up,” he said.
His ambition back in 2007 was to have a second site but now the shop is repairing around 70 cars a week he feels there’s no need to go to the expense and hassle of having another location.
Holmes is always researching and learning from others. He’s been on study tours to the US and UK and talked to other shop owners on those tours or at conferences like Paint & Panel LIVE. “You can get some great information over a quiet drink with other repairers. I take someone else’s idea and put my own spin on it and make it work for me.”
It was at Paint & Panel LIVE that Holmes decided to work with business coach Sarah-Beth Cleaves who was a speaker at the event. “I worked with her for 12 months and she really helped me to break down the barriers to expanding the business.”
While the refurbishment of the shop is sleek and modern it’s what’s gone on inside the doors that has reinvented the business.
“We changed the way we looked at repairing the car,” Holmes said. “Historically the repair was mostly controlled by the panel beater, but you can’t afford to have your higher paid staff doing what others can easily do. We broke down the whole process in order to achieve efficiencies and increase our cycle times.”
The shop now employs 35 staff including two mechanics, a windscreen fitter and an auto electrician to keep as much as possible in-house. Holmes also has five apprentices. “It’s really important to train them up for the future,” he said.
The idea of the new shop was to accommodate the better processes Holmes and his team had created. The paint shop is still on the other side of the street which isn’t ideal. However, Holmes has bought a unit next door to the panel shop to develop so that the whole process can be under one roof in the near future. Nevertheless the new process is working really well, said Holmes.
Implementing a strip and fit area was one of the efficiencies which freed up the panel beaters to do what they do best. The production line approach has seen turnover double since the new-look shop was finished in December last year.
“Our better cycle times mean happier customers which mean happier insurance companies. A lot of our old customers ask where Holmes Smash Repair went as the building looks so different. The work providers want this modern image but of course it’s what goes on behind the facade that’s most important.
“As long as we keep doing the right job and the right price on time the work will keep rolling in,” Holmes said.
“I think we can repair even more cars per week although the issue now is not thinking of it terms of numbers of cars but rather the dollar value of the work.”
Another aspect of the refurbishment was putting his own stamp on the business. “We painted the reception ourselves, and airbrushed the logo onto a bonnet. The outside is Holden red – again we painted the panels.”
The new shop has even been nominated for a local building award. Holmes has managed to transform his business both inside and out and is still tweaking and refining. The exterior has gone from tired 1970s to sharp 21st century.
“I still stand outside the front, look up and feel I need to pinch myself. I can’t believe how well it turned out.”
This article was first published in Paint & Panel magazine March/April 2016