Wichita, Kan.--When Rusty Eck Ford built its new body shop in 2004, the goal was to hit $300,000 in sales per month. After quickly obtaining that mark, it was bumped to $400,000, and after another growth spurt, Parts and Service Director Kent Haskett said the body shop is now reaching $500,000 a month in sales.
The new 24,000-square-foot building with air conditioning, and heated floors, is equipped with equipment from Autobody Equipment Solutions, including Freedom prep stations, USI Chronotech paint booths, and Pro Spot welding machines.
"We could not have had the kind of growth we have had without the facility," Haskett said. "I can't think of anything I would do differently with the body shop--it is built for speed, and I wouldn't change a thing."
Body Shop General Manager Don Hull said he has seen substantial growth just in the last two months. In July, he said he had more than 300 repair orders--a number he said was previously around 250.
Haskett said he attributes a lot of the growth to an increase in insurance work.
"We took on more insurance agents," he said. "We moved estimators out of their offices and opened them up for the adjusters."
Generating more direct repair programs (DRPs) was a difficult task, Haskett said. It included changing the minds of the insurance companies because DRPs do not look at dealerships in the same light as independent body shops, he said.
To bring insurance work in, Haskett said he offered insurance agents everything they needed, including an indoor estimating area, office space, computer hookups, and carts for their laptops.
"Trying to keep up with the growth has been the hardest things," he said. "DRPs require a lot of documentation, and they want things a certain way. Getting the staff trained to do things a certain way requires a lot of hours."
While the move into the new body shop led to growth in business, it also allowed management to move towards a team system -- a process Haskett said sets them apart from many body shops.
The team system separates employees into teams and pays each group according to their sales, Haskett said. Currently, he said he has three body teams and one paint team.
"The team-based system, has allowed us to bring in more novice technicians and keep some guys longer because of the way the team system works," he said. "A guy that is a really good bodyman is not always doing the heavy hits--that is what the younger technicians can do, and it will add years to their career."
Haskett added that in a team system, newer guys can also progress in their skills by learning from the older guys.
Sometimes, he said, it is difficult to bring someone into the system that has not been involved in it before, noting that they are often skeptical, but once they have worked in it, they really like it.
An estimating process that includes complete teardowns is another area that Haskett said sets his body shop apart from others.
"It allows us to order all the parts we need, rather than ordering a bunch of parts that we think we are going to need," he said, adding that it also eliminates extra supplements with the insurance companies.
Haskett said the benefit of complete teardowns is evident through the return rate in his parts department. Body shops tend to run a 12 percent return rate, but he said his body shop only has a 4 percent rate.
It also helps with turnaround time, he said. "If you have all the parts there, then you can stay working on that car until it goes out."
Operating a large wholesale business that delivers in a 200-mile radius and ships worldwide is also an advantage that helps turnaround time for the body shop and service department at Rusty Eck Ford, Haskett said. A parts inventory of $1.4 million often times means needed parts will be in stock, he noted.
Haskett said having a large body shop gives him a window into how his parts department is performing for other wholesale businesses. "We know how critical it is from our side to get the right parts out as quickly as possible," he said.
Having a large inventory is also a benefit to customers waiting on their cars, he said, adding that taking care of the customer is what keeps people coming back to Rusty Eck.
"We decided that as far as marketing, we would spend more on the customers we have already," Haskett said. "We are very liberal with loaner cars, and we work with them on deductibles when we need to. It is better to take care of them once they are here than try to get them in."
Taking care of existing customers and developing a good reputation will bring in more customers through word-of-mouth, he said.
Haskett said maintaining lasting relationships is integral, because Rusty Eck Ford has much more to offer its customers than just body work.
"We have a little different interest," he said. "They say that an average person needs a body shop in this city every 11 years. So I think a lot of body shops have the attitude that they are not going to see that customer for another 11 years, whereas we hope they will buy a car here, or have work done at the quick lane, or the service department."
