career profile
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A Yale North American NA-64 mounted on the roof of the shop founded by Carlaw’s father. It’s another visual hint that this particular facility has broad interests in transportation.
From Repair to to
Up There By James Kerr
H
e started with a broom in his hand at 10 years old. Dave Carlaw of Campbellford Auto Body and Prototype Research & Development began his career the way many people do in the collision repair industry, helping out his dad after school. “My mum and dad were in the bodyshop business,” says Carlaw. The pride of several generations of bodymen sparkles in his eyes. “Started in 1951. And he never worked for anybody. He was always a self-employed person. And he was the bodyshop in the Campbellford area.” Carlaw took over the shop from his father full-time in 1981, and the rich tradition and history is apparent on the walls of his shop. In Carlaw’s office pictures hang on the wall that look like photographs of old cars, but anyone in the collision repair industry knows that’s not the only thing they are—these are trophies. The pictures list a score of achievements, each one a window into all the work that went into each project.
august 2017 bodyworx professional
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