Symach recently installed its versatile FixStation product in five Carglass branches in Belgium.
Carglass facilities in Ans, Anvers, Drogenbos, Hasselt and Charleroi now contain a double cabin as well as a paint-mixing station.
Carglass, a vehicle-glass repair and replacement company, currently operates in 34 countries worldwide and is part of the Belron family. Part of Carglass’s long-term growth strategy includes offering auto body repair to its customers in Belgium and Luxembourg.
“Our ultimate goal is to become the natural choice for glass and car body repair and replacement,” said Stefaan Hermans, operations director. “As Carglass continues to expand its business and begins to offer auto body repair work to customers, Symach products will be an important part of our growth.”
In April, Carglass acquired 15 additional locations in Belgium from Care. Two of the locations already were using Symach equipment. Hermans said it was a natural decision to purchase the new FixStations following the acquisition.
“We want to be top of mind for our customers so we can solve their problems and make it very convenient for them to have their vehicle repaired,” said Hermans. “We feel that Symach offers professional equipment that is efficient and delivers high productivity.”
Symach’s FixStation with a Flydry robot works as both a spraybooth and workstation.
“It is truly a body shop in one box,” explained Osvaldo Bergaglio, CEO of Symach. “One multi-skilled technician can perform an average of four to six repairs per day without moving the vehicle, resulting in one repair every one and half or two hours.” This guarantees a key-to-key time of half a day, he added.
The fully equipped workstation allows a technician to remove and install the parts, pull dents, apply body filler, spray primer, and spray and dry both waterborne and solvent basecoat and clearcoat. It includes a Flydry robot, a paint-mixing room, a vacuum sanding system and a Multibox with plugs and retractable air and electric. Vehicle lifts also are part of Carglass’s FixStation units
Although recently installed, Hermans said they already have found that Symach products can easily handle both small and minor damages.
“From an efficiency point of view, we can now handle several cars by using the FixStation with Flydry robot,” he said. “I strongly believe that Symach’s equipment will help us to execute high-quality jobs in an efficient way while strongly taking into account the health and safety of our technicians.”
The FixStation has built-in technology and automation that recognizes the painting phase and changes the program automatically so painters at the Carglass branches never have to push any buttons.
The team is currently being trained on how to best utilize the equipment.
“Symach studied a specific process for Carglass based on the number of repairs and key-to-key-time,” said Bergaglio. “We are now implementing a training program for the company in collaboration with AkzoNobel. We are here to support Carglass’s long-term growth strategy so they can continue to provide customers with top-notch service.”
Added Hermans: “Our goal is to provide customers with very low waiting times, while we repair their cars to the highest standards. Symach’s products are very professional and we feel that they will help us deliver exceptional work to our customers.”
