Multiple Shops, Multiplied Profits
Name: Alamo Body & Paint, Inc. Location: San Antonio, Texas Owners: Wayne Baker Established: 1973 Square Footage: 80,500 (total of three locations) Number of Employees: 152 (total of three locations) Repair Volume: 1,150 cars per month (total of three locations) Average Repair Ticket: $1,300 They say everything’s bigger in Texas. Take Alamo, for instance. (No,
The Invisible Repair
Bringing a collision-damaged car back to preaccident condition in a fast, quality-oriented manner while still making a reasonable profit is the goal of every modern body shop today.
To Be Dust Free Or Not To Be
An investment in a dust extraction system
Why Weld Plastics?
It’s not unheard of for someone to ask, “Why even bother with plastic welding?” The answer: It can be a cost-effective repair method for many plastics that you’d normally throw out.
Aftermarket Crash Parts vs. OE
Some people view the aftermarket crash parts vs. OE parts debate as a war, with the sides being the collision repair industry (wearing the armor of the OEMs) battling the insurance
industry (sporting aftermarket armor).
Will Bonding Endure a Crash
The use of “structural” adhesives to attach outer door skins, hoods, deck lids and body panels is nothing new. In fact, the vehicle manufacturers have been doing it for years.
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.
Tool Time: Common Hand Tools
Can you imagine finishing a weld with a file and emery cloth or sandpaper? Can you imagine prepping a panel for plastic filler with a piece of sandpaper powered only by elbow
grease? Can you imagine removing 25 different types of screws and bolts with a socket and a screwdriver – again, powered by
only elbow grease?
Extinguishing the Flames: Explosions
Explosions, by their very nature, come with no warning – leaving you only to react after the loud noise, after the side of your shop has been blown out, after one of your employees
is on his way to the hospital. That’s why it’s important to do everything you can to prevent explosions.
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.