A 10-Step Plan to Profitability
A set of procedures that are very helpful for analyzing the operational and financial health
of body shops.
Computer-Assisted Alignment
Hardware-driven alignment gear has been around since the ’70s and has simplified wheel alignment quite a bit for operators.
A Well-Rounded Painter
If your customer-service index is high and your marketing efforts are giving your shop a healthy backlog of work, you know that what happens when vehicles reach your paint
department is critical to your continued success. And what goes on in your paint department is highly dependent upon the quality.
of painters you employ.
Small-Business Administration Loans
Ask 10 body shop owners to tell you the most frustrating aspect of running their businesses, and eight of them will probably name the area of financing. It’s no secret that obtaining adequate funding to meet day-to-day needs for working capital, equipment and facilities poses a major challenge.
Car Mending On A Mega Scale
Name: Chesrown Collision Center Location: Denver, Colo. Owner: The Chesrown Automotive Group and Republic Auto Nation Group Established: 1987 Square Footage: 60,000 (total); 20,000 (body shop and mechanical shop) Number of Employees: 63 (total); 27 (body and paint) Repair Volume: 350 cars per month (collision only) Average Repair Ticket: $2,000 (collision) Ever wonder what it’d
Designing A Dream: Kustom Kreations
The newly opened Kustom Kreations, nestled in the scenic Sierra Nevada mountains of Carson City, Nev., is stopping traffic – literally.
A Model of Success: A 1:24 Collection!
Lee Stone began collecting cars nearly two years ago – everything from a Ford Model T to a ’56 Ford Pickup to the newly designed 1994 Mustang – and the collection is now pushing 30 vehicles.
National VOC-Rule Update
The proposed National Rule governing the VOC (solvent) content of auto-refinish coatings has been postponed.
Get More Green from Your Yellow
Most body shops advertise in the Yellow Pages, and many of those shop owners renew their ads every year, leaving well enough alone.
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.