Expansion-oriented goal sets Tennessee shop on path to top repairs

“I grew up in the business,” says Brad, expressing pride in Ryan’s career choice as he reflects on his own beginnings.

Brad’s grandfather, father and uncle established a mechanical shop in 1955. “After a while they started buying wrecked cars to fix and sell, and they built a new building in 1967 that became their first body shop,” he recounts.

“My dad started giving me things to do around the shop when I was 10 or 12. He let me assemble replacement bumpers, radiator supports, fenders, etc. I spent my summers working in the shop along with my two cousins. By the time I got out of high school I could take care of most of the repairs and I was also running the tow truck.”

At age 26 Brad left the business and took off for the sky, becoming a corporate airplane pilot. “During that time I still repaired cars behind my house. Once I decided to stop flying for a living, I opened my first collision repair shop in Rutherford in 1994.”

As the 1990s came to a close Brad developed an ambitious business plan that set the goal eventually owning three locations. “To do that, I realized that I needed to be a part of something bigger to be able to structure each shop in the same way and make them more manageable. That’s when I got in touch with CARSTAR.”

The original Rutherford location was housed in a 60-foot by 60-foot building. Another 10,000 square-feet was added 2004, and in 2010 Brad officially became a part of CARSTAR to enhance daily operations while furthering his expansion plans.

The relationship led to the 2013 debut of Russom’s Dyersburg location after several years of demographic research and scouting for potential sites. “My business plan had several pages of all those numbers; the economy is growing and several stores are coming in.” The trends he identified signaled Dyersburg’s status as the place to be.

“My Rutherford shop is in a town of 981 people. We’ve been there a long time and had a great reputation, but I realized that we have been doing as much as we’re going to do there. I opened the Dyersburg shop last year to get into a more populated area. Once I get the Dyersburg location running smooth, I’ll be looking for another location.”

The Russoms purchased a 9,000-square-foot building on two acres in Dyersburg that previously housed a Christian Television station. The general office layout was left intact, but everything else was refinished and updated to the current CARSTAR branding. The space was completely gutted and transformed into a state-of-the art production area.

Family members did much of the work themselves, including painting, running air lines and refinishing the floors. CARSTAR assisted with design for the outside of the building. The ability to conduct aluminum repairs is being implemented, and additional updates are underway at the Rutherford shop, which also offers mechanical services.

Dyersburg’s Chamber of Commerce was receptive and eager to assist with bringing a new body shop to town, as were local government officials. “I can’t say enough about how well they worked with us to meet the codes to move in,” says Brad, referring to an initial sense of trepidation.

“To come in being the new kid on the block is different for me,” he observes, noting that the Dyersburg shop “is doing better than we expected at this point in time due to the community’s acceptance of us. It’s picking up quite nicely and we’ve added some new employees. The area is beginning to notice that we’re here and they admire the quality of our work.”

LaDona serves as the company’s human resources/business manager – “she’s the one that keeps all the money in line” – and she especially enjoys meeting and greeting among an assortment of civic organizations that has in-turn attracted an influx of business-oriented customers in need of collision repairs.

“We just try to get out in the community and get involved in different things. It’s allowed us to become more of a part of the community,” Brad points out, adding that office manager Mindy Carnelle is adept at maintaining a welcoming social media presence. A mobile billboard placed at various high-traffic spots around town is another marketing plus.

The Dyersburg shop was a runner-up for the National Auto Body Council’s (NABC) 2014 Body Shop Image Award, and the company clinched honors as the Gibson County Chamber of Commerce 2014 Business of the Year.

Always eager to learn
“As far as philosophy goes, I think training is everything. I try to hire good technicians and let them do their job. At the same time, we want to be sure they have the information that they need to fix the cars correctly and create an undetectable repair,” says Brad.

“I think we have a certain culture in our shops that make it a nice place to work,” he explains. “I try to hire the right people, and people that I can trust. It also helps having a small staff, and we also try to train and communicate well. We have a reputation of how we treat people and what kind of work we do. That seems to attract the right people.”

Education through I-CAR and 3M is provided. “Any other training they need, or would like to go through, is also available to them and encouraged.”

Daily release meetings are held first-thing at both locations. “There is a dry erase board with information on each car, including RO number, insurance company, parts status, delivery date, etc. Every morning we go down that list with all technicians and talk about what is needed to make the cars move through the shop faster,” Brad reports.

“I can’t say enough about the staff,” he continues. “They are always eager to learn, especially if there is a better way. When it comes to improving, the best input comes from my staff. They know how to make things work better – better than management. We do have many lean processes, and I know there is always room for improvement.”

Russom’s lean production strategy is augmented via the CARSTAR EDGE plan. “I belong to CARSTAR’s EDGE Performance Group, which is basically a 20 Group. It has helped me tremendously to understand where I am at regarding my KPIs (key performance indicators) compared to others and the collision industry at large. By knowing these numbers, and monitoring our performance, we are constantly striving to improve.”

Describing a pattern of what he calls “normal relationships with suppliers,” parts purchases are geared toward serving the customers’ vehicle needs. “Like everyone, we try to get a good discount, but I’m not willing to sacrifice quality for price. It’s not worth it to me to use substandard products because they are cheaper. In the long run, we have found that that doesn’t really save anything,” Brad says.

“We also have a great relationship with Axalta; we use their top-of-the-line products.” Both shops utilize waterborne paint. “I use it because that’s what most manufacturers are using. If we want the best color match, we have to use what they’re using,” he explains.

“My technicians have taken to it well,” Brad continues. “They want to spray the latest that’s out there. I also think that from a production standpoint, water is faster. With labor being the most expensive thing in the shop, it only makes more sense. It also helps the tech’s bottom line.”

The paint departments have computerized mixing systems along with computerized paint matching systems. “Everything in the back is networked to the front office, which helps me account for the materials that are used,” he says.

“My philosophy on new equipment is that if it’s needed, I’ll make the investment. I want to put the right tools in the hands of my technicians. I might not be the first to adapt to the newest technology – I like to give the manufacturers time to work out the bugs before I spend my money. We’ll buy what we need to do the job correctly.

Nearly 65 percent of the business comes through five direct repair program (DRP) affiliations. Area insurance providers are visited monthly. “We make sure that we do a good job taking care of their customers. Honesty and integrity in the way we do business with them goes a long way,” he emphasizes. “They know that if we tell them something, that’s the way it is.”