"We don't want to get too big," Mannani said of his shop, which is a direct repair provider (DRP) for two insurers. "You lose track of quality and control. I like to stay on top of things and have a hand in the business."
In 2002, Mannani said he relocated his shop to the heart of the Denver Tech Center, leaving behind a two-bay building at West Evans Avenue and South Federal Boulevard in Denver. The 10,000-square-foot building had been a collision repair facility and was ready to move into, he said. "I know (the previous owner) had a busy shop and good operation.
"This part of town has been growing and looked like a good location to pick up," Mannani said, adding that at the time, many new homes were being built and several corporations are located nearby.
"Everything was intact," he said. "I didn't have to set up a new shop." Along with the building came two paint booths and an air compressor, he added.
Mannani said he's involved in the details of all the shop's repairs. He said he knows the current repair status of any given vehicle in the shop. This includes parts and paint and material ordering, he added.
"I do all the ordering myself," Mannani said. "I watch what I order, and I watch that (employees) don't waste material," he said. "We keep a tight ship when it comes to material; misuse can break your back."
Mannani's shop is a Sherwin Williams A-Plus facility, a paint brand he said his two painters exclusively spray.
"The color match is really good," he said. "We get good support from our rep and the company. The main thing, though, is that it's easy to spray and it's not outrageously expensive."
Mannani's son, Nathan Mannani, who is "learning the ropes" from his father, said he prefers to use Sherwin-Williams P30 SpectraPrime color primer surfacer.
The P30 system offers seven colors that can be used by themselves or in combination with each other, a Sherwin-Williams product brochure states. It also mentioned that it has good gloss holdout, is resistant to film shrinkage, easy to sand, and does not require the addition of a flex additive for plastic parts.
Painter Jeff Laughlin said he's able to achieve superior color match when he uses a 3M Sun Gun color-matching light. He said it reveals pearls and micas that would go undetected under a shop's fluorescent lights.When it comes to choosing what type of sheet metal to install, Peter Mannani said he prefers using original equipment (OE) although he added that he frequently uses CAPA-certified aftermarket sheetmetal.
"Some aftermarket sheetmetal will work just fine," Mannani said. "Overall, you're saving everybody money. Some brands are as good as OE."
When choosing which parts suppliers to do business with, Mannani said he looks first for service, then delivery flexibility, and finally pricing discounts.
The shop keeps all parts stored in numbered bins in a parts room for organization and ease of accessibility, Mannani said. The organization keeps repairs in order on the 25-30 vehicles the shop typically works on at any given time.
Because of the recent snowstorms along the Front Range, Mannani said he currently has 40 cars in his shop and is booking repairs into March. In the wake of the cold weather and ice-bound streets, he said, many vehicles have sustained suspension damage and heavy hits.
"It's been good for everybody," Mannani said of the weather's effect on repairers. "The collision industry was slow last year; this has helped out a lot of shops."
Because of increased volume, Mannani said he wants to add a technician to his 12-employee crew. For new hires, he said he relies on Randy Holmberg of AutoStaffNow, a staffing service in Colorado dedicated to the automotive industry. "The nice thing is he can screen everybody," he said, adding Holmberg also does background checks.
Mannani said he wouldn't be where he is today without the dedication and loyalty of his employees, especially General Manager Karl Moody, who, has been with him for four years.
To balance workloads and maintain steady sales growth, Mannani said he aims for an appropriate mix of light- and heavily-damaged vehicles.
"Overall we measure by sales volume, not the number of cars," Mannani said. Heavily-hit vehicles carry more labor, parts, and materials, translating into more dollars per ticket, he noted.
To straighten frames, Mannani said he uses two Chief EZ Liner frame racks, coupled with a Velocity frame-measuring system.
With the exception of alignments, Mannani said his shop conducts all mechanical repair work related to the collision. He added, however, that he intends to purchase an alignment machine to keep all work in-house. In addition, he said he'd like to add a two-post lift so insurance adjusters can inspect a vehicle's undercarriage for damage.
