Starting Over
Russ Manley and his father, Ron, have run Manley and Son Auto Body and Paint in Forsyth, Mo., for 34 years. In the early years, custom work was the bread and butter for the shop, but because of poor work conditions, paint jobs that went wrong were as prevalent as the ones that went right.
Paint-Shop Smarts
To increase production in the paint shop, you can do one of two things: Buy more equipment – the object here being to do more work in the same time period by mechanizing
the task. Or, you can produce more by better utilizing your present facility and equipment – the old “work smarter not harder”
school of thought.
Creative Recruitment
Your right arm. How important is it to you? An independent body shop owner recently said he would give his to find one good technician. If people are willing to give up body parts, you know things are bad!
Before the Booth: Saving Time
In a business where money hinges on your completion time for any job, the impetus to go fast is universal. And painters battle harder to beat the book time than metal men do. While painters are constrained by dry times between coats, metal men have only the suggested book labor time to beat.
Out With The Old
A good place to start when you’re considering upgrading is to take an inventory of your shop.