AUTO TECH NEWCASTLE OFFER FIVE STAR SERVICE
You wouldn’t expect to find a state-of-the-art body shop repair centre in the middle of Newcastle, but life is full of surprises. This huge facility of Auto Tech grew out of the Docrat Group which houses brands Volkswagen, Audi, Suzuki, BAIC, Shell, Astron and a logistics division.
The group was founded in 1997, where the two directors, Abdus and Omar, cut their teeth into the automotive market with Volkswagen and Audi. Through the years they worked hard and carefully attached supplementing businesses to their operations. In 2008 they added Auto Tech to their operations. It is excellent to see just how far the Docrat Group has progressed from such humble beginnings.
Auto Tech has optimised production workflow. Body damage is repaired with their bench rack repair machine which is coupled with electronic measuring systems that meets the very latest Volkswagen and Audi aluminium body shell repair technology. Specialised training for Aluminium repairs was undertaken in Germany at Volkswagen Germanys’ state of the art training facility in Neckarsulm.
All staff are trained by the various OEM’s and are right up to speed with new methods of quality structural and non-structural repair. The next step of quality control is where the paint shop takes over with Sherwin-Williams, OEM approved DeBeer refinish waterborne and premium quality primers and ultra-high solid clear-coats. Auto Tech have recently invested in the very first Sherwin-Williams Collision Core Pronto automotive colour matching machine in the South African Market. It is an absolute revelation.
It is capable of delivering perfect formula colours at a rate of four tints every five minutes. With four high-tech dispensing heads, Pronto can mix up to four colours at the same time. Pronto is the first solution to offer concurrent multiple mixes. This adds up to an astonishing 192 different colours a day. Pronto is a user-friendly plug-and-play solution that requires no manual mixing, cleaning or calibration and can be operated by anyone. This frees up skilled technicians to focus on application and repairs. Initial global users have demonstrated a total mix time of five minutes – 50% quicker than alternative competing automotive mixing systems.
This fully automated recirculation system reduces maintenance related downtime substantially, letting shops focus on their core tasks. Colour accuracy, time savings and paint savings too – a sound investment in their business.
Operations Manager Mohammad says that they are now able to increase the repair cycle production immensely between the insurance damage or non-insured driver repairs which have increased in recent times in their local market.
With hospital like cleanliness the two spray painters follow a no-reject philosophy with the use of a new colour tool. Fully integrated with Colour Retrieval Systems by Sherwin-Williams, The five-angle spectrometer delivers 24/7 colour matching capabilities.
This also assists in getting accurate formula retrieval. The final stages are polishing and quality control. Auto Tech carry a full line-up of approved repair centre accreditation and repair for the full short-term list of insurance companies in South Africa.
“Technical back-up from Azeez Choonara and the team at Auto Colour Matching Centre have my business at heart and constantly implement changes that make the process more efficient and produces a better finished product. The support from Sherwin-Williams along with adequate training of long-term staff add to the rhythm of the quality of our final repairs,” says Junaid, after sales director for the Docrat Group. Using the DeBeer system has meant excellent colouristics, ease-of-use and a savings of more than 30%! We are over the moon with the product and service we experience at Auto Tech.”
They both agree that the Auto Tech business has been built on a five-star service principle with almost all of their clients coming in as repeat users. Within the business they have seen a 15% increase with uninsured drivers using the shop for repairs this past year alone. It is a trend that they are gearing up for with their small area repair section at Auto Tech which is growing fast.
Within the business they have seen a 15% increase with uninsured drivers using the shop for repairs this past year alone. It is a trend that they are gearing up for with their small area repair section which is growing fast.
Story and pics by Ian Groat
