COVER
The Lowe family at CSN OpenRoad Richmond Auto Body, in Richmond, British Columbia. From left to right: Scott, Emily, Megan, Bob and Randy Lowe.
THE LOWE LEGACY For 60 years, CSN OpenRoad Richmond Auto Body has put quality above all else BY GIDEON SCANLON
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s its owner and staff prepare to celebrate the business’s 60th anniversary, CSN OpenRoad Richmond Auto Body has never looked better. Both the current owner, Randy Lowe, and his father, founder Bob Lowe, have reason to be proud. In every way, CSN OpenRoad Richmond Auto Body is at the forefront of the industry. As the flagship operation of a four-location MSO, the 4,400 square-metre (48,000 sq. ft.) facility is large enough to house 50 of the network’s 121 employees. It is filled with all of the state-ofthe-art equipment required to meet the needs of the 12 OEM certifications it has received. It has a long-standing formal relationship with a local dealership group. It has a large number of
customers built on a word-of-mouth reputation for providing excellent repairs. More importantly, both men feel the business lives up to its motto—Quality above all else. Not so long ago, however, things almost came to an abrupt end. In 2006, as Vancouver underwent a massive urban development campaign to prepare the city for the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Government began expropriating property. Unfortunately for Randy Lowe, CSN OpenRoad Richmond Auto Body sat right in the middle of one of these planned construction projects. “I just remember we all felt a lot of stress about the situation,” Randy’s daughter Emily recalls.
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“I can remember my parents having the employees to summer barbecues at their cabin. From that, I learned that your employees are your greatest asset. You need to treat them like family, and to earn their respect.” —Randy Lowe