Name: Alpine Collision Center
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Size: 6,000 sq. ft.
Years in Business: 16
Volume: 22 cars per week
Revenue: $1.3 million annually
Average repair cost: $1,698
Employees: 10
A small automotive repair shop is at a disadvantage when competing against shops two and three times its size. Smaller-volume body shops lack the marketing ability, professional resources and buying power of larger shops.
But the owner of one such body shop in Grand Rapids, Mich., implemented a number of creative solutions to reach the repair capacity of a larger shop, while retaining its personalized customer service. Today, steady repeat business coupled with strong revenues prove his innovative methods have paid off.
Steve Tomaszewski, owner of Alpine Collision Center, started working at a used car dealership about 30 years ago doing towing and mechanical work. But he quickly found out the work wasn’t for him, so he moved over to the body shop side. After a brief stint in the military followed by a welding course at a local community college, Tomaszewski moved to the Grand Rapids area and went to work in automotive repair. “I started sweeping the floors and worked my way up,” he explains.
Tomaszewski came to Alpine Collision Center in 1989, just two years after it opened. “It was still a baby when I came in,” he says. At the time, the 6,000-sq.-ft. shop took in decent business—about $300,000 a year in gross sales. The landlocked shop couldn’t expand, so it looked like Alpine Collision would have to stay small and modest.
Today, however, Alpine Collision Center, an ASE Master Certified automotive repair shop, pulls in about $1.3 to $1.4 million in gross annual sales. And the owner hasn’t added a single square foot or opened a second location. “With the size of our facility,” Tomaszewski says, “we’re always trying to fit 10 pounds into a five-pound can.”
Part of his strategy has been to maximize the flow and layout of the facility. “The first thing that I tried to do, back when business was stronger in the late ’90s, was to utilize the facility more.” His first tactic was to increase repair hours, adding a second daily shift. But, he admits, “that was a logistical nightmare.” There simply weren’t enough trained technicians to staff both shifts adequately.
So, instead, he focused on using the shop more efficiently during the single shift. A unique configuration allows relatively small Alpine Collision Center to accommodate 14 bays. Vehicles are positioned so that technicians can move easily and quickly between them—that might mean facing vehicles or placing the right side of one vehicle next to the left side of another. The technicians were reluctant at first, Tomaszewski says, but now that they’ve adapted to the new culture, they won’t have it any other way. “Staging a vehicle was critical to the timeliness of the process. It’s still a day-to-day issue. I’d like to say we’ve mastered it, but,” he says, trailing off to indicate there’s still room for improvement.
After assessing the shop’s layout to maximize flow, his second step was to invest in state-of-the-art equipment, including a paint booth and a laser measuring system. Even a simple hoist proved to be an invaluable asset. “It’s something that you take for granted, but when you have it, it shaves time off,” Tomaszewski says.
When he bought the facility 16 years ago, it contained a drive-through paint booth, which Tomaszewski realized was using up too much space and interfering with workflow. So he changed the layout of the shop, isolating the paint department and installing a double-downdraft-heated prep area. That simple change increased production 15 to 20 percent. As the technology increased, he also switched to ultraviolet primers to increase speed.
The laser measuring system also improved business. It produces fewer errors than a mechanical gauge and looks more professional, he says, adding that both insurance companies and private customers appreciate having a precise printout of the vehicle’s damage. The laser measuring device also helps with alignment, allowing repair technicians to pinpoint indirect damage that otherwise might have gone unnoticed.
Even though the owner puts a high priority on quick turnaround, Tomaszewski hasn’t eliminated personal touches—like replacing burned-out lightbulbs for no charge or cleaning cars twice while they’re in the shop. “We’re focused on cycle time, as any shop needs to be, but we’ll never let the technicians make the excuse that they had to cut corners to make the deadline,” Tomaszewski says.
Tomaszewski also follows up every repair job with a personal phone call. “It’s a nice way to keep your finger on the pulse, and most of [the customers] are blown away when the owner calls,” he says. Some of these small services that cost little to nothing have a big impact on the bottom line—helping Alpine Collision Center retain customers and attract referral business.
So far this innovative combination of high technology and personalized service seems to be working. The I-CAR Gold Class shop does about 60 percent repeat business—and another 20 percent comes from referrals. “In this hurry-up world, I think people do appreciate the personal touch,” he says.
Co-op membership strengthens shop’s buying power
Another innovation that sets Alpine Collision Center apart from its competitors is membership in a collision repair co-operative.
Owner Steve Tomaszewski teamed up with the owners of six other facilities in the Grand Rapids, Mich., area. The co-op benefits from increased buying power—buying parts and equipment collectively, they can take advantage of volume discounts. But, more importantly, the co-op has given Tomaszewski support and a sounding board for new ideas.
“Those guys have helped me so much. There are guys I’ve looked to as mentors,” Tomaszewski says. He talks to one of the other shop owners on a weekly basis and tests out new ideas on his fellow co-op members before introducing them at the shop. “Before you implement something, chances are these guys have tried it,” he says. “There’s no sense reinventing the wheel.”
Alpine Collision Center focuses mostly on domestic cars, but it also repairs some higher-end vehicles. In the past Tomaszewski has had trouble obtaining parts from some of these automakers with whom he didn’t have a longstanding relationship. But the name recognition of the other shops has solved that dilemma.
"Being a smaller shop, before when you ordered (some OE parts), they got to you when they wanted to. But now since one of your partners is a large volume buyer, they treat you like you’re a major player,” he says.
The next goal for the co-op, Tomaszewski says, is to switch to the same line of paint. That way the shops could pool their resources and bring in a trainer for all seven facilities at once instead of sending individual painters out for separate, costly training sessions. But right now some of the co-op members have deals that would be too expensive to break.
